November 6, 2025
We’re hearing stories from across the country about college ministries where thousands are giving their lives to Christ and being baptized in obedience to him. There’s something real happening in This Generation.
December 31, 2024
leaders can evaluate four vital signs that speak to the health of the local church: Students, Statements, Struggles, and Statistics.
July 1, 2024
Legacy Coalition was created to encourage churches to minister to grandparents as they encourage and influence their grandchildren. . . .
July 1, 2024
As the church heads into the future, we may be overlooking one of our greatest resources: senior adults. . . .
January 4, 2022
As a father, a student ministry volunteer, and a college professor, I offer these 10 suggestions of what I would teach in student ministry to help prepare resilient and growing disciples of Jesus.
October 19, 2020
COMPANION RESOURCES Lesson for Oct. 25, 2020: You’re Next (2 Timothy 1:13-14; 2:1-2; 3:10-17) “From Whom You Learned It” by David Faust (Lesson Application) ________ Study Questions for Groups By Michael C. Mack 1. What’s the biggest challenge you faced last week? 2. In what way did you represent Christ well over the past week . . . in your workplace, in this class/small group, or on social media? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the readers to read 2 Timothy 1:13-14; 2:1-2; and 3:10-17 one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Ask the third
May 1, 2020
By Tyler McKenzie The Ephesian church was a first-century megachurch that had everything, and then, by all historical accounts, lost everything. Ephesus was the sort of city Paul liked to target: a hub of culture and a place of notoriety. He knew if he could plant the gospel in Ephesian “soil,” it would spread. Ephesus was a major commercial center—three trade highways ran through it—it was a port town, and it was tourist hub. One of the seven wonders of the world, the temple to the goddess Artemis, was located there. Some estimate the city’s population at a quarter-million people—massive
February 22, 2020
By Michael C. Mack Most of us know the value of using modern technology for both personal and church use, but some of us—especially those of us over a certain age (and I’m uncertain what that certain age is anymore)—simply don’t have the expertise to use it well. Truth is, we’re afraid we’ll bumble the technological language well before we bumble the technology itself. I’ve experienced this while trying to talk to a 20-something wisenheimer at Best Buy. I stand there with a blank look on my face as he lays down some impressive technobabble. Just tell me which watch
April 25, 2019
By Emily Drayne As a child, when I heard the word missionary, I envisioned an elderly lady sitting around a fire talking about Jesus to unreached peoples. Now, eight years into my job working with missionaries, I know that’s not (always) the case. Kendi’s Cows of Grace is a great example. Kendall Grace Kemerly visualized her mission when she was 8 years old. I’m not sure what you were doing at that age, but I was playing with Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls. Purchasing livestock wasn’t on my radar. It’s key to note that no one pooh-poohed Kendi’s idea simply
April 25, 2019
By Jerry Harris I’ve always been an admirer of old souls in ministry. Their simple, godly lives are inspiring to me. I’ll just go ahead and say this . . . The latest book or ministry techniques typically don’t enthrall me, nor do the youngest and brightest stars of Christianity who are at the forefront of the speaking circuit. I confess to having cynical thoughts about this new breed’s sense of fashion—the tight shirts that highlight countless hours in the gym—and their huge social media followings and what seem to be nearly perfect lives. Sometimes I battle judgmental thoughts when
April 25, 2019
By Gary L. Johnson I hadn’t finished breakfast and had already heard of three crises facing our nation. One news commentator spoke of the growing crisis at our southern border, while other reporters spoke of global warming and opioid crises. And some commentators questioned whether these were crises at all. It caused me to think of a real crisis facing us as Christians: How does the church reach and keep the next generation for Christ? In recent years, we’ve experienced a definite decline in the number of young people coming to Christ, while increasing numbers of Christian young people have
June 8, 2018
By Rick Lowry It’s easy to focus programming on younger adults. After all, they represent the long-term future of the church. That’s why many churches place a priority on worship music preferred by the younger crowd and the children’s programs that are important to their families. I’m a discipleship pastor, and I acknowledge that our church gears most of our discipleship efforts toward those on the front end of family and life. But I have also observed that, as a result, many mature Christians struggle to find a place in their local church where they can continue to grow. As
June 7, 2018
By Jessie Clemence I invite you to peek inside our kitchen on a small-group night. Four baby boys and a preschooler are strapped into various high chairs around the table. Three young fathers are trying to assemble dinners for their offspring while a mother nurses a newborn in the living room. The room smells heavily of tacos and mushed-up baby food. Four older adults work side by side with the young mothers, feeding babies and sneaking cookies to toddlers when their parents aren’t looking. A pile of Bibles is stacked on the coffee table for the upcoming study, but only
By Les Christie A youth-ministry expert tells why and how the church must partner with parents to bring their kids to spiritual maturity. Fifty years ago youth leaders in churches were still largely volunteers, many of them parents of teenagers. When I was in high school and attending Cardiff Avenue Christian Church in West Los Angeles, I remember Mrs. Curry (who turns 100 this year and still drives a car””yikes!) was a parent volunteer in the youth department. Jim Irby was our part-time youth minister. Both strongly influenced my early years, and I still stay in touch with them. Churches
February 18, 2016
By Tom Ellsworth I broke a promise. I don”t take that lightly, but thankfully, it was a promise to me alone. Years ago I vowed that when I became a grandfather I would not get all “twitterpated” (defined as infatuated; giddy; in a state of anxious excitement“”as used in the Disney movie Bambi, which I”ve seen again and again as a casualty of being a grandparent). My silly promise melted two seconds after holding my granddaughter for the first time. With the birth of each subsequent grandchild, the memory of such an absurd vow fades farther into my subconscious. And
August 4, 2015
By Mark A. Taylor Any college teacher, particularly one who is a Christian, will tell you this: Many, maybe a majority, of college students today come from troubled families. Chris DeWelt, an Ozark Christian College professor, described the students he knows: “Most . . . bring with them much more than just computers, clothes, and small fridges. They often bring baggage that is not so easily identified or addressed.” It”s true on secular campuses too. In his interview this month, longtime campus minister Gary Hawes says, “The largest percentage of students we are involved with today come from either dysfunctional
June 26, 2015
By Jon Weatherly How can the older generation pass along its faith to the younger? History””even biblical history””shows this is always a perilous proposition. And yet here we are, all these millennia later, still lifting up his name. A review of the Bible”s record can encourage us that it will be true again long after we have passed. I am a baby boomer, barely. Too young for Woodstock or the Vietnam draft, I watched from the safety of childhood and early adolescence as older boomers turned on, tuned in, and dropped out to create the infamous generation gap. Today, as
June 19, 2015
By Tom Ellsworth I”m not sure when it happened. I distinctly remember being a young minister just starting out who desperately wanted to bridge the gulf between the generation I so respected and my generation, which also needed to find a place in church leadership. Suddenly””at least it seems that way””I find myself moving into a different stage. I turned 60 this year and have become part of the generation to which I was trying to build that bridge years ago. I hasten to add that 60 is not old (my perspective), but neither is it young. So I want
June 18, 2015
See the sidebar, “Understanding and Appreciating the Four Generations“ ________ By Gary Zustiak It seems everywhere you look””from book titles to magazine articles to blog posts””there is a panicked cry about the church”s failure to reach the millennial generation. Josh McDowell is quoted as saying: “It is clear that we have all but lost our young people to a godless culture.”1 The Southern Baptist Convention Council on Family Life”s research indicated “88 percent of evangelical children are leaving the church shortly after they graduate from high school.”2 Eric Tryggestad, in an article entitled “Are We Losing Our Young People?” claims only
May 6, 2011
By LeAnne Blackmore Martina McBride is onto something in her song “This One”s for the Girls.” Sure, women may represent several generations, come from diverse backgrounds, assert unique personalities, claim different callings, and even participate in a plethora of churches; but the truth is, we are all the same inside. And one of those “same” qualities is our need to feel valued. Maybe, just maybe, if we can wrap our heads around this central need, churches can have a more effective ministry to the women of today. As a little girl, I remember my mom leading the women”s ministry at
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April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok
April 28, 2026
David Faust
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Rick Cherok