Christmas Highlight (Bibles)
Christmas Highlight (Bibles)
What Should We Do When Members Won’t Attend?
Pursuing longstanding non-attenders and disciplining those who can’t be found is a mark of a healthy church.
Articles on Church Ministry
614 results found
Reviving a Classical Vision of Pastoral Ministry
Coleman M. Ford, Shawn J. Wilhite
According to Scripture, the pastor first and foremost prays (Acts 6), shepherds his people (1 Pet. 5), lives a virtuous life in the Spirit, and upholds sound teaching in local settings.
Dear Pastor, Slowing Down Might Just Save Your Ministry
Coleman M. Ford, Shawn J. Wilhite
In the past five years alone, how many reading this have questioned your calling, lost ministry friends and co-laborers, or have grown generally weary?
How to Pray When You Want to Give Up in Ministry
If you’ve been in the pastorate very long, you most likely have considered walking away and doing something else—anything else—with our lives.
What Your Church Needs More than Productivity
Prayer shows our dependence on God. It honors him as the source of all blessing, and it reminds us that converting individuals and growing churches are his works, not ours.
What If I Differ with My Pastor on Politics?
You may disagree with your pastor’s approach on a particular issue. He could be wrong. You could be wrong. It may be important enough to leave. It may not.
D. A. Carson’s Tribute to an Ordinary Pastor (His Dad)
Most pastors won't regularly preach to thousands, let alone tens of thousands. They won't write influential books, supervise large staffs, and they will never see more than modest growth.
A church’s commitment to prayer is one of the greatest determiners of its effectiveness in ministry.
An Unnecessary Pastoral Disconnect
Pastoral leadership should be by appointment of Christ and in union with Christ and should prioritize preaching the word of Christ on the mission of Christ.
5 Things That Shouldn’t Be at the Center of Missions
Throughout history, churches have been the launch-pad for mission and the Great Commission. Yet the trend among missionaries and missions agencies has been in another direction.
Podcast: Remembering the “Seashells” Sermon 23 Years Later (John Piper)
John Piper shares what he was thinking as he walked onto the stage on May 20th, 2000 to deliver a message to over 30,000 young people and talks about the impact that sermon had on his ministry.
The Mission of Your Church Will Shape How You Think
A church’s mission impacts what kind of church you will join. Different churches will shape your conscience, your spiritual life, and your worship differently.
How to Incorporate Biblical Archaeology into Your Preaching
Is there a connection between archaeology and preaching? Do the two relate? What is there point of intersection?
Our work, when earnestly undertaken, lays us open to attacks in the direction of depression.
2 Ways Our Motives Can Be Twisted in Discipleship
When Christians discuss any given topic, our aim should be to align our thoughts with God’s thoughts, not his thoughts with our thoughts.
An Open Letter to the Preacher Writing a Sermon
Grace is slow sometimes. But grace is also powerful. The Lord will do his work.
A pastor preaches on marriage often enough to know how a husband should love his wife, right?
Don’t Let Go of God’s Sovereignty over Your Worst
God did and does have something to do with your tragedy. I know this sounds like a cruel statement, but stay with me. There is hope in the end.
Dear Pastor, Sermon Prep Is Worth the Effort
Sometimes it can be hard to remember that in the Lord’s goodness and grace he has called us to take up the most significant and fulfilling task in the world—to be a pastor-teacher.
Dear Pastor . . . Your Leadership Is Needed in the Pulpit
Pastor, the work of shepherding God’s people naturally involves and requires good leadership. There’s no more important place for that to happen than in your preaching ministry every week.
Dear Pastor . . . Save Your Church from Yourself
Pastor, you also must keep a close watch on yourself. Neglect your own soul, and your public teaching, however seemingly fruitful, is a ticking time bomb.
Are You Worshiping God in Vain?
Worship is bowing, lifting hands, praying, singing, reciting, preaching, performing rites of eating, cleansing, ordaining, and so on. But the startling fact is that all these things can be done in vain.
2 Things Pastors Can Learn from Spurgeon’s Preaching
One of Spurgeon's great strengths is that he would always seek preach Christ to people where they were at and to their needs.
How Do We Define “Success” in Ministry?
We do the work of pastoral ministry so that our people might treasure Christ together. That’s the often unheralded yet beautiful definition of “success.”
Want to Be a Missionary? Check Your Motives
We don’t just need more warm bodies called missionaries; we need qualified people sent by healthy churches who are equipped to do missions well.
3 Crucial Qualities of All Good Sermons
Pastors need all three of these views in order to give an accurate account of what God is doing and will do.
Dear Pastor . . . You Should Follow More Than You Lead
Joanne J. Jung, Richard Langer
We challenge people to lead, we train and equip them to lead, and we celebrate and praise them for leading (or condemn them as the case may be). Followership, in contrast, is almost completely ignored.
An Open Letter to the Church on the Issue of Infertility
Recognizing that many couples in your church community are infertile will invariably change the way you think about your community.
2 Ways Leaders Can Exemplify Humility to Those under Their Authority
Make it your personal ambition to build up those around you, and let them flourish in their gifts.
Why Use Written Prayers? A Personal Reflection
I understand and respect the hesitations that some believers have regarding the use of written prayers—either privately or publicly. I have close friends who fall on both sides of this discussion.