Tonight we had one of our "Coffee House" events at our church--a night of music (sung and played), art (painted by our members and displayed at our gathering), and spoken word (poetry, short readings--even a rap from our interns back in the summer). We are doing this once a month on Wednesday nights, and it has been well received.…

Jesus calls us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick. And if we do this to even "The Least of These," we have done this unto Christ (Mt. 25:40). So there are so many reasons to reach out to the poor in those in need in our community. It meets a need. It shows kindness. It brings glory to God. And as Mt. 25:40 shows, through this service, we…

My life is always filled with relationships. From a young age my family life was filled with a large family; Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Friends. Our small home was filled with people coming and going of all ages. As an adult I became an account executive and five days a week my life was filled with people! Eventually I moved to a 2nd state and did the same. New…

Tonight was a fantastic night of service for those going to the Dominican Republic family trip this December. My girls, Gina and Emily, were able to serve alongside other families in checking the Magi boxes, making sure that they were ready for shipment.

But what really made the night was that the person who leads this…

Today we were blessed to have a study with a woman named Jacinta. She starting worshiping with us about three weeks ago, after being directed towards us by one of our church leaders who works for a local non-profit.

Jacinta checked on her connection card (member/guest card) that she was interested in a seeker Bible study. We have this listed as a prominent type of response that people can check on their card, which helps in setting up these studies. So we got…

I love sharing the gospel, seeing people come to faith, equipping others to reach out, starting missional movements within a congregation. I hope that, no matter your gifting, that is something that you want to see happen too.

While this is the church that God calls us to be--we are fundamentally a church on mission--this is…

I love sharing the gospel, seeing people come to faith, equipping others to reach out, starting missional movements within a congregation. I hope that, no matter your gifting, that is something that you want to see happen too.

While this is the church that God calls us to be--we are fundamentally a church on mission--this is…

As a good product of the Reformation movement, I applaud the fact that billions of people around the world have access to a Bible, should they choose to have one.

Historically, I realize that the translation of the Bible into the vernacular German, combined with the printing press, helped put thousands of Bibles into the hands of non-clergy. As people…

Does prayer make a difference in reaching out to others for Christ--including starting seeker Bible studies? Does having a specific time and date and plan for a seeker study matter? Is there power in making a specific ask of people?

The answer to these questions is YES!

1. A Plan

Recently,…

One of the areas that church leaders and seminaries would do well to read and train in the area of sociology, the study of how individuals and groups of people interact with one another, for three primary reasons:

1. The church is a social system, or community, and a study of this field can provide valuable insights into how a church…

Today I received a call from a dear woman who has a sweet spirit and tender openness towards God. I had added her to one of our outreach groups, as I felt that she had a heart for reaching broken people with love and tenderness.

She mentioned that I had put her in that group. I said, yes--but if she did not want to be in it, she could just drop…

Recently my wife and I were privileged to attend the Dedication Ceremony for the donation ceremony of Dr. Virgil Trout’s 16,000 volume library. Dr. Trout has lectured in over one-third of our nations major universities on Christianity, ethics, and Science. (See http://devotionalsforeverydayliving.blogspot.com/2012/10/dr.html for a short bio). His topic at the dedication was: The Usefulness of the Impossible. The…

How Do We Reach People for Christ? - The Apostle Paul was one of the major writers of the New Testament and one of the greatest evangelists who ever lived. In the close to his letter to the church in Colossi, Paul wrote:

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our…

In the events leading up the “Great Confession,” Jesus had done amazing things. He had cast out demons, healed diseases, fed five thousand, and literally walked on the water.

To us today, it would seem clear that Jesus was doing things that only God could do. But for many, there was a confusion or blindness as to Jesus’ true nature. In fact, throughout Mark’s…

Vacation Bible School was once billed as an outreach event. And indeed it was at one time. Unfortunately, today it is often merely an event for our own children. So, how do we make VBS more evangelistic.

1. Pray for this event, that God will send seekers the church's way. Evangelism does not happen without…

Wow. So each week, I and others in our seekers group commit to trying to bless three people each week (for both Christians and…

I am reading a great book right now entitled "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future." It is really about how certain global and cultural changes are moving us from a heavy left brain emphasis to a much more balanced left-right brain world. 



I will share later some of the great applications that this book has for ministry. However, I…

This past week there was a landmark Supreme Court decision regarding Hobby Lobby--a privately held, family owned religious craft and bookstore company based in Oklahoma--and religious freedom. In a narrowly framed 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that companies of this nature could not be compelled to offer health care plans to their employees that covered contraceptives that cause abortion…

I love sharing the gospel with people. And I love seeing people start following Jesus and be baptized into his name.

This past Sunday, Vololona (2nd from the left in picture above) and her nephew, Earnest (2nd from the right in picture above), were baptized into Christ! They are originally from Madagascar, and we came to know them through our…