The Origin and End of Missions
A missions-centered church recognizes that its mission begins with the Great Commission. Such a church doesn’t simply pay lip service to Jesus’s command to make disciples of all nations.
Articles on Church Ministry
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Introducing ‘The Biggest Story Online Curriculum’
As a subscriber to The Biggest Story Online Curriculum, you can build a customized teaching schedule, easily share lesson content with your team, and enjoy seamless digital access in the classroom.
How Celestia Ferris’s Prayerful Initiative Helped Found a Church on Capitol Hill
Although Celestia Ferris and her band of friends did not know all the difficulties facing the Baptists of Washington, they prayed to an all-knowing God who did.
Can Women Serve as Deacons? (Arguments for and Against)
This question isn’t just understandable; it’s unavoidable. Every single church with deacons must, in one way or another, come to a conclusion on whether Christ calls women to the office.
What Our Individualism Costs Us
In Western culture, the high regard for autonomy and obsession with individualism has come at a cost: community. Tthis lack of community has contributed to rising loneliness.
5 Questions Every Church Must Answer Before It Can Send Out Pastors and Missionaries
Your church will be ready to send out pastors and missionaries only when it can answer each of the following five questions with a loud and hearty, “Yes, and amen!”
Dear Pastor, Cherish Christ More Than You Cherish Serving Him
God is the beginning and end of the universe. Cherish him more than you cherish serving him. Cherish him more than you cherish telling others about him.
When You Let Ministry Become Your Identity
Whether you realize it or not, you are in an unending conversation with yourself, and the things you say to you about you are formative of the way that you live.
7 Tips for Helping Your Church Prioritize Missions
Faithful churches can simultaneously care about growth, mercy ministry, and doctrinal fidelity while still prioritizing missions. Here are seven tips for helping your church to do it.
What Kind of Leadership Does a Healthy Church Have?
There are many useful things we could say about church leadership from the Bible; yet I want to focus primarily on elders, since I fear a lot of churches don’t know what they’re missing.
Introducing ‘The 9Marks Church Leadership Toolkit’
The 9Marks Church Leadership Toolkit helps leaders assess the health of their church, equip elders and deacons, and learn biblical strategies for serving their congregations.
The Internet Perpetuates Our Spiritual Dementia
Spiritual dementia is incompatible with Christian faithfulness. As both a church historian and a pastor, I’m increasingly convinced that life in the digital age compounds the potential for losing our theological and ethical memory.
Orthodoxy Has Always Been Essential for Orthopraxy
The importance of orthodox theology in the early church cannot be overstated. Paul repeatedly tells Timothy to guard the deposit of apostolic truth entrusted to him.
Kevin DeYoung clarifies confusing aspects of the Nicene Creed and highlights how it has played a central role throughout much of church history.
The Story of God’s Faithfulness to Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Jesus’s promise that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church (Matt. 16:18) was not given to any particular church but to the church universal.
Podcast: The Surprising Impact of One Church in the Nation’s Capital (Caleb Morell)
Caleb Morell traces the story of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and how God sovereignly worked through history to both build his church and bring himself glory.
Listening Might Be the Best Evangelism Tool You’re Not Using
Gospel fluency isn’t just about talking. It’s about listening as well. This requires love, patience, and wisdom. We need to learn to slow down and listen closely to the longings of their hearts.
The Biggest Challenge the Church Faces Today Is to Think Differently than the World
The greatest challenge that the church faces today to avoid thinking like the world is the same as the greatest challenge that the church always faces to avoid thinking like the world.
We Must First Think Theologically About Missions Before We Think Pragmatically
It’s very important to think theologically about mission for several reasons. Thinking theologically about mission helps us define mission the way God does.
Times When Pastoral Leadership Begins to Unravel
Some of the greatest challenges that pastors face right now are through subtle leadership issues. When we’re guarding our hearts and lives, what should we make sure we don’t drift into?
What Are the Sacraments, and Why Do They Matter?
One of the most important aspects of church life is the celebration of the sacraments—the Lord’s Supper and baptism. But despite this importance, there is much misunderstanding about them.
What Does It Mean to Be a Contemplative Pastor?
I would encourage pastors to think about how their ministry is only going to be as effective as their growth, humility, and dependence upon the Lord.
Is Joining a Church as a Member Actually Necessary?
Collin Hansen, Jonathan Leeman
Sometimes people like to say, “I don’t need to join a church. I already belong to Christ’s universal church.” Is that right?
How Can Pastors Help Their Church Become a Praying Church?
In order to get the Spirit of Jesus in the front seat of the car driving you, you need to slow down and be attentive to him.
Our church’s gatherings are ultimately about God. We worship according to his desires, not ours. When we gather we should be governed by God’s word, not our preferences.
Podcast: How Do I Disciple Others? (Garrett Kell)
Garrett Kell talks about what it looks like to disciple another Christian, addressing how age, knowledge, and other qualifications factor into a discipling relationship.
2 Things That Matter More Than Your Preferred Style at Church
Prioritize two main things in your church decision-making process. Choose a church that is centered on the word and driven by love.
7 Heart Postures to Cultivate in Your Discipling Relationships
Discipling isn’t just about what we do, but also how we do it. If we aren’t careful, we can become overly programmatic in our approach to discipling, and our relationships can become robotic.
Dear Pastor, Value Character over Performance
Every leadership community needs to recognize that ministry is an intersection of many competing and conflicting motivations.
Podcast: The History and Impact of ‘The New City Catechism’ (Collin Hansen)
Collin Hansen shares insights on deepening your theological convictions in the age of rampant de-conversion and de-churching with a tool that has stood the test of time: catechisms.