Church &amp; Ministry

Church & Ministry Church Growth

How to Respond to the Trend of ‘Churchless Christians’

By Michael C. Mack According to a Barna Group survey, the majority (62 percent) of churchless Americans consider themselves Christians. “Most of the churchless in America””contrary to what one might believe””do not disdain Christianity nor desire to belittle it or tear it down,” says the report. This graph provides a more detailed breakdown: How can churches make sense of these surprising findings, and more importantly, what can churches do in response to them? “I think a dissatisfaction with the institutional church is significantly responsible for the result,” says Mike Shannon, professor at Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University. In The Rise of

November 16, 2015

Church & Ministry Teaching

Lesson for November 22, 2015: Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens (Acts 17:1″“4, 10″“12, 22″“25, 28)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 15Â issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Acts 16 set the stage for the gospel going up and down the social ladder. Acts 16 illustrated the truth discerned in Acts 15. If Gentiles did not have to become Jews to be Christians, then that is good news for everyone. People like Lydia (Acts

November 9, 2015

Church & Ministry Teaching

Lesson for November 15, 2015: From Derbe to Philippi (Acts 16:1-5, 8-15)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 8Â issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ The pioneer statement, “Go west, young man,” matches our text. Another way to say our title, “From Derbe to Philippi,” is “From Asia to Europe.” Those of us who live in the western hemisphere need to thank God for this text. Western civilization would have been

November 7, 2015

November Ministry Ideas

By Michael C. Mack November 21: National Adoption Day. Held the Saturday before Thanksgiving in all 50 states. On this day a number of courts and communities work together to finalize the adoptions of thousands of children in foster care. Ideas: Work with agencies in your community to support adoptions. Plan with adoptive parents in your church to advocate for adoption in your community. Plan your weekend services around adoption, inviting adoptive families from the community. Speak about God adopting Christians as his children (Romans 8:15, 23; Galatians 4:5) in your sermon or Sunday school lessons. November 27: Black Friday.

November 2, 2015

Church & Ministry Teaching

Lesson for November 8, 2015: Saved by Grace (Acts 15:1-12)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 1Â issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Church growth can be a pain. It demands more space, time, effort, and personnel. For some people it”s a real threat, but most believers know that it”s eternally worth it. What is typically called the first missionary journey (Acts 13, 14) was incredibly successful. Here are

October 31, 2015

The Best Sermon I’ve Ever Heard (4)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either.Â ____ Marie Jobe Marie is an avid reader, running enthusiast, and a passionate pursuer and supporter of Brian Jobe, lead pastor at Harvester Christian Church, St. Charles, Missouri. Marie”s Best Sermon: The best sermon on what it means to be a temple of the Holy Spirit by John Mark Comer, pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon (https://vimeo.com/90938239). Why Marie likes this sermon: “I am very passionate about inspiring others to take responsibility with

October 30, 2015

Church & Ministry Small Groups

The Place of Video-Based Studies in an Inductive Bible-Study Group

By Michael C. Mack Do small groups that use an inductive Bible study model ever use video curriculum? Yes, many do. It”s a both-and, not an either-or decision. A leader and group who have been trained in how to dig into the Scriptures can do video-based studies in order to explore specific topics or interests. A couples group, for example, might carefully choose a marriage study like The Song from City on a Hill (cityonahillstudio.com) to do together. Or a group might choose a study that helps them investigate an important topic, such as spiritual revival, and choose the new

October 27, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Nothing More Valuable

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe most wouldn”t suspect that loneliness, discouragement, temptation, and insecurity are companions of the person leading their church””especially growing, dynamic ministries like those led by the four guests in our most recent Beyond the Standard podcast. But each of them””Ben Cachiaras, Tim Harlow, Eddie Lowen, and Greg Nettle””admitted to at least one of these problems. And all four credited their association with each other as a key to rising above barriers to emotional and spiritual health. They”ve created a group where they”ve found the freedom to confess sins, share doubts, discuss problems and possibilities, and discern

October 11, 2015

Integrity in Preaching

By Daniel Overdorf Stories abound of preachers and plagiarism. Some are funny: “When Chuck Swindoll starts preaching better sermons, so will I!” Or, “If I use one source, it”s plagiarism; if I use two sources, it”s research.” Other stories, though, are heartbreaking. Churches have fired ministers for preaching sermons downloaded from the Internet. Other preachers have kept their jobs but split their churches””half their members not wanting to serve with a leader they feel has broken a bond of trust. Plagiarism is using someone else”s material without giving credit. And it tempts even the most faithful of us. The temptation

October 4, 2015

Church & Ministry Small Groups

How to Train Small Groups to Study God”s Word

By Michael C. Mack Biblical illiteracy in our culture and churches is a commonly accepted reality today. In a world where moral relativism is more popular than ever, how does the church get back to living by God”s standards? Brad Himes, involvement director at Broadway Christian Church in Mattoon, Illinois, has developed a solution in his church”s small groups. He says the “Just Push Play” model of small groups has set the bar way too low for meaningful discipleship to occur. Churches have recruited hosts or facilitators rather than shepherd-leaders (1 Peter 5: 2-4), and provided minimal if any training.

October 2, 2015

Tour of Duties

By Jennifer Johnson Recently, two older ladies in our church began taking Communion to members in the hospital. While this is far from the 24-hour, professionally trained chaplaincy program organized by First Christian Church in Decatur (see related article), for Miss Marilyn and Miss Pat it was a Bigfoot-sized step out of their comfort zones. “I was scared to death,” Pat said the Sunday after her first hospital visit. But she did it, gathering up the portable Communion set and her car keys and setting out on a faith adventure. Now she and Marilyn are old pros, sometimes scheduling their

October 2, 2015

A Backstage Pass to Volunteerism

By Jennifer Johnson Like many churches,Â Compass Christian Church in Colleyville, TX, has a new members class””theirs is called “Discover Compass”””to share information about the church, its mission, and its ministries. Unlike most churches, Compass follows this up with a behind-the-scenes tour to help each person find a way to serve. “We hold the Discover Compass class one week and invite people to come back the following week for Serve Tour,” says Rich Green, serve pastor at Compass. “We begin with a short overview of the importance of serving and why it”s part of the Christian life; then we walk through

October 1, 2015

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

First Christian Steps in to Fill Hospital Chaplaincy

By Jennifer Johnson When the chaplain of Decatur (IL) Memorial Hospital retired after 25 years of service, Wayne Kent, lead pastor at First Christian Church in Decatur, got an idea. “I approached the hospital leadership because this kind of hire is different from what they normally do,” he says. “I told them we could help with the process””or they could just ask us to do it.” With that, Kent began a series of conversations with the hospital administration that resulted in First Christian “just doing it”””evaluating applicants for the chaplaincy position, hiring the chaplain, and expanding the program to provide

September 29, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Annual Panic

By Mark A. Taylor Every August and September, I was gripped by panic. As part-time education minister with a smaller church (now it”s mega), I was responsible to recruit Sunday school workers for every age level and to staff a fully graded program on Wednesday nights. When kids choirs took a break on Sunday evenings (we had Sunday-night church back in those days), my job was to create and find workers for kids” classes then too. In a church of a few hundred, that was a lot of volunteers, and we never seemed to have quite enough. We encouraged people

September 27, 2015

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Reaching Out to Single Moms

By Michael C. Mack Studies show more than a quarter of American adults are divorced or raising children alone. Yet surveys indicate only 5 percent of single parents attend church regularly. What can the church do to reach single moms? One congregation has thrown baby showers for single moms-to-be. The goal is to show love to someone struggling and unsure of God”s love in a difficult time. Women from the church cook, plan games, and act as hosts at the event. The Single Moms Ministry at McCook (Nebraska) Christian Church started a new Bible study group and handed out fliers

September 26, 2015

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

3 Secrets to Pulling Off a BIG Serving Event (No Matter How Large or Small Your Ministry Is)

By Michael C. Mack Over the summer of 2015, Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, served its community through a wide variety of big, all-in serving events called Love the Ville (#lovetheville) that took lots of planning and coordination and made a huge impact on the community. What does it take to plan and execute big serving initiatives like the ones Northeast carried out? What are the secrets that any sized church or ministry can implement? Go and do minister Randy Gordon provides three vital planning and execution principles: 1. Talk to the right people. Maximize the relationships you already

September 25, 2015

The Best Sermon I’ve Ever Heard (3)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Interestingly, this month”s submissions include two sermons delivered at the same church but by different speakers, and two sermons by fathers of the contributors. Enjoy! Jennifer Farber Jennifer is executive director of the KORE Foundation. She works with the Small Holder Poultry Project in Haiti and oversees stateside operations. Jennifer”s Best Sermon: The best sermon on reaching, serving, and helping people to live better lives by Dennis Bratton (Jennifer”s father). This sermon was delivered at Journey Christian Church

September 23, 2015

Taming the Sermon

By Jim Tune When it comes to discussions about the teachings of Jesus, especially his “hard” teachings, I”ve grown tired of the tendency to tame any revolutionary teaching that seems just too radical or too naÃ¯ve or idealistic. The conversation too often goes like this: “I know that”s what Jesus said, but what he really meant was. . . .” For example, when Jesus tells us not to store up riches on earth, we repurpose it to say, “Do not get too attached to the riches that you have, in fact, stored up on earth.” We read the Sermon on

September 17, 2015

What Are They Thinking?

By Susan Lawrence Volunteers are at the heart of ministry. We may serve as a volunteer, work alongside volunteers, or oversee volunteers. We may even do all three at the same time! Working with volunteers isn”t the same as working with paid employees. Use the following as a cheat sheet to help you understand what might be going on behind the faces of your volunteers. For example, here are two possibilities for what the volunteer who serves every week, without complaint, and without ever needing to be reminded, might be thinking . . .Â 1. I love serving. This is

September 15, 2015

Mark A. Taylor