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5 Ways to Pray for Your Church Family in 2020

By
Erik Raymond
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

As we turn our calendars to a new year, we instinctively make plans to give attention to what matters. As Christians, we know that when we think about our priorities, prayer is right at the top of the list. I was reading through Nick Batzig’s helpful post on how to pray for our pastors and thought about how we could pray for our churches. Here are five ways that we can be praying for our own church family and other churches as well.

1. Pray for a hunger for the Bible.

If the goal of the church is Christlikeness, then the diet for the church must be the Bible. After all, it is the Bible that God uses to make the child of God more like the Son of God (John 17:17). Therefore, we can pray that the church would be filled with people who hunger for hearing from God in their private devotions, public gatherings, and conversations with other believers. Imagine the impact of a church full of people who wake up eager to come and hear the Word preached on Sunday morning. Imagine a church that longs to open the Bible each morning to discover anew the truth of God’s character and conquests. Imagine hearts so overflowing with the Bible that their text messages, conversations, and meditations just drip with the Scriptures. Everything pivots on what we do with the Bible.

Our Father, give our church—give me—an abiding delight in Your Word. Cause me always to hunger for the truth while being ever satisfied with the truth. Lord, make our church a Bible-saturated church.

2. Pray for thankfulness.

A thankful church should not be taken for granted, and an unthankful church should not be left alone. The Apostle Paul identifies being unthankful as a footprint of unbelief (Rom. 1:21) while noting thankfulness as a mark of a believer (Col. 3:15–17). One way we can be praying for our churches is to plead with God that we would be thankful.

But thankful for what? And thankful to whom?

The Apostle shows us that the thankfulness we are after is God-centered and gospel-wrought. In other words, we want to see churches enveloped by a real joy in God because of what He has done for us in Christ. You see this in Colossians 1 as Paul, himself in prison, prays for a church full of people whom he has never met—that they would understand the greatness of God and joyfully respond to the gospel with thanksgiving to God (Col. 1:9–14).

God, make us to be a church that is thankful to You and for You. May Your worth and work captivate our hearts, minds, and wills so that circumstances are transcended by the fact that You are for us in Christ.

3. Pray for gospel growth.

The gospel is intended to advance. Jesus commissioned His disciples as missionaries (Matt. 28:19–21) and churches have been advancing the gospel ever since. This cannot happen, however, with churches full of people unmoved by the gospel. The truth of the gospel must get down deep into the marrow of our beings, our very souls. It is a truth that must color every thought, action, and reaction. As we grow in our understanding of the gospel (and its implications), we find ourselves growing in our knowledge and application of the Bible. We become mature. Now, please understand—there is a difference between knowing about the Bible and gospel growth. The Pharisees knew a lot about the written Word but they rejected the incarnate Word. You have to do more than graduate with a degree in Bible Trivia. To grow in the gospel is to have one’s identity, mission, security, and hopes all built on what Christ has done. A church that is growing in the gospel is filled with people who are joyfully loving, serving, and sacrificing for one another as they demonstrate the gospel. They are also tactfully, winsomely, and zealously declaring the gospel to each other and the world around them.

God, strengthen us in the gospel. Draw us deeply into the glory of Christ. Make us more and more impressed with Him this very day. Cause us to grow in the gospel and walk in a manner worthy of it.

4. Pray for holiness.

The Apostle Peter exhorts us to be holy because God Himself is holy (1 Peter 1:15–16). Before the church is anything else, she is set apart to holiness. Therefore, one of the prevailing burdens for us in prayer is to walk in holiness that corresponds to the reality of being positionally set apart by God. This is a challenge because we live in the midst of a world that is not holy. It does not regard holiness as a virtue. It, quite frankly, mocks holiness. As a result, we need to continually pray for our church family that we would be a holy people. The Bible tells us to pursue, or strive, after holiness with an intense effort (Heb. 12:14). This unwavering burden to reflect the divine character to one another and to the world around us must be an ongoing prayer.

Our holy God, make us to prize and pursue Your holiness. Strengthen our burden, commitment, and endurance to strive daily after holiness in our lives.

5. Pray for unity.

The gospel brings people together. What’s more, it brings sinful people with various backgrounds (geographic, ethnic, economic, etc.) together. The gospel takes selfish people and causes them to love one another. However, we know from reading the New Testament and from experience that selfishness constantly attempts to overthrow unity. How do we combat this? We are told to preserve unity (Eph. 4:2) by walking in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. This is a humble, gentle, enduring, and loving walk. It tends toward preserving unity rather than fracturing it. As long as selfishness exists, we must find ourselves praying for unity. We get there by asking for believers to walk this gospel walk, leaving footprints of humility.

Father, You are one God in three persons. There is such a loving, happy unity in the Trinity. Make this church—make me—to feel this happiness. Cause us to be united in and through the Trinity so that we might be united together, as a church, in love.

This article originally appeared here.

May Jesus’ Name Be Known Through Me

By
Marshall Segal
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Jesus came on mission, lived on mission, died on mission and left his disciples—including all of us who follow him today—on mission. Conversion is about commission, not just salvation, because we’re not saved to be saved, but saved to be sent. Redemption is a life-saving rescue, but it also involves a profound rewiring and repurposing. We are saved to go out into the world for the glory of our Jesus—to make him known as our Lord, Savior and greatest Treasure.

How is that mission accomplished? What plan did Jesus bring to make himself known in the world? Well, it began with a small group of confused, unqualified and unknown men that walked with Jesus—and even one of them betrayed him to death.

Jesus “called the 12 and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits” (Mark 6:7). Jesus could have chosen the experienced, well-educated teachers of the day. He could have commissioned the crowds that gathered in city after city—thousands and thousands of people. Instead, he picked 12 seemingly random guys, stayed with them his whole ministry, and sent them out to speak on his behalf.

“We’re not saved to be saved, but saved to be sent.”

Sent by Jesus for Jesus

These 12 “went out and proclaimed that people should repent” (Mark 6:12). Repentance—turning away from sin, from other gods, from lesser treasures—is the fitting response of a sinful people to the good news of a holy, sovereign and gracious God.

It was a condition for salvation (Luke 13:3, Luke 13.5″ data-version=”esv” data-purpose=”bible-reference”>5), but it was so much more than a condition. Repentance is living, breathing and believing faith. Why would we continue walking in sin when we’ve seen the path of life, when we’ve heard the gospel—the medication all our sin-sick souls so desperately need? This was the message in the disciples’ mouths. There is a Name that loves the unworthy, redeems the hopeless, heals the sick and conquers every evil. His name is Jesus.

Sent With Nothing, and Yet Everything

Before the disciples went out with the news, Jesus “charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics” (Mark 6:8–9). Why would he intentionally make their journey so hard, hungry and precarious?

To make and keep them humble and dependent on God. Those entrusted with the greatest news in the world and empowered to be lights where they live will always be tempted to be proud and self-reliant. It’s a profound but pervasive irony that fruitfulness so often causes us to forget the sovereign love of God upholding and empowering all our ministry. One way to avoid the trap is to intentionally forego safety and comfort, even safety and comfort we can afford to provide for ourselves.

Sometimes we need to make ourselves trust God for what we need tomorrow, instead of structuring our lives to only need him every once in a while, when an unexpected crisis comes. Leave what you need at home, and know that you’ll have what you need. Your Father loves you more than you know and has more at his disposal than you could possibly fit in that bag—or house, or 401K (Matthew 6.33–34″ data-version=”esv” data-purpose=”bible-reference”>Matthew 6:33–34).

Leading Up: How to Get Your Good Ideas Across

By
Dan Reiland
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

You have good ideas but you may need help leading up to get your good ideas across.

You are passionate about them, but they seem to hit brick walls more often than you like.

Ever been there?

When you have what you believe is a good idea, passion alone isn’t enough to get it across.

Leading up is a nuanced art required of all leaders.

Leading up and leading change requires finesse in your leadership.

It’s not an all or nothing process. Leading up requires give and take and keeping your eye on the big picture.

Leading up is not about manipulation or politics but wisdom and discernment that shows respect and fosters a spirit of unity.

You may be the senior pastor reporting to the board, or the newest member on staff, and it feels like you report to everyone.

No matter what position you play on the team, getting your ideas to become a reality can be layered and complex, especially as the organization gets larger.

Here’s a counterintuitive caution, if you’re in a church where anyone can do anything they want, that is equally problematic. Maybe more so than a church where it’s extremely difficult for most anyone to get their ideas through.

Always check your motives first.

Why do you want your idea to be implemented?

It should always be for the good of the team and the good of the church, not just because it’s good for you. Or, it’s what you want.

I have to check myself too. When I have an idea, especially one that involves change, I ask myself, “Is this best for the church?” And I’m also aware that it’s my opinion that it’s best for the church. It may not be everyone else’s opinion.

That helps me set my perspective in the right place. It doesn’t lower my passion, but it increases my pursuit of unity.

In some environments, it may seem like the ideas and requests of the loudest person with the biggest personality in the room always seems to win, but I can assure you there is an approach that is more effective over the long run.

Here’s a better way for leading up to get your idea across:

1) Think it through carefully.

If you want your idea to land, you must know with precision what you want to accomplish or what you need and why.

Always start with why.

Your idea needs to show the value to the whole organization, not just the value to your campus, your team, or you personally.

If it’s a ministry idea, for example, think through all the elements. Be clear on everything, from resources to timelines.

Let’s take financial requirements, for example. Take the time to know the total cost. Don’t just estimate. Do the research it takes to know the real numbers.

Think through the matter of return on investment.

Will the outcome of your idea be worth or greater than the expense of time, energy, and money?

A critical question to ask yourself is – “Is there another way?” There are likely other ways to do this.

Why is your solution the best?

2) Write it clearly.

When leading up, passion is important, but a plan is more powerful.

A written plan represents your refined thinking on paper.

If you want someone to read it, make your proposal one page, two at the most. If asked for more, you can add more later.

It’s ok to attach research, data or photos, etc., but don’t cover that material. The team can look at it later if they need to.

Be sure that your written plan is clear. Remove the fluff. Use bullets over lengthy paragraphs with flowery language or unnecessary words.

Have a friend test read it. If they don’t immediately understand precisely what you are saying, write it again until they do.

3) Present it well.

Get the right people in the room. You don’t need a lot of time, but you do need the right timing and the right people.

The right timing includes questions like, “Does the agenda already have so many items that yours will be lost in the mix and become an overlooked side issue?”

Or, “Are there other items of much more importance or urgency than yours at that moment?” Be sensitive to that. Wait for the right time.

When leading up, don’t plead your case with passion hoping to “win.” Communicate in a levelheaded manner that demonstrates calm inner confidence about why your idea is genuinely good for the church.

Be sure that your idea or request is not just to make things different. It needs to make things better.

Be clear and concise, hand out your one-pager (or two), and stick to it.

Take a few minutes to answer questions then close it out, asking if more time or info is needed or if a decision can be made.

I realize this may seem very formal for many church staff situations. It would be pretty formal for ours too, but all the elements are still important.

Just make them fit the relational vibe of your culture, and again, these guidelines will be helpful.

4) Lay it down.

Remember, you are on the team to serve, not win, that’s key in leading up.

You are there to find a way, not get your way.

You have ideas, and you believe in them. Great! That’s what leaders do. It’s part of our responsibility to solve problems, innovate to make things better, and make progress.

But there is also a sensitive balance between progress and culture. Teamwork, unity, and a spirit of cooperation must remain intact.

Here’s a truth that has helped me over the years.

The person or persons you want approval from face pressures you aren’t aware of. Keep that in mind.

They may like your idea but have conflicting responsibilities, requirements, and pressures you may or may not be aware of.

Even when you lead up well, you will get no’s, we all do. You will gain much more respect and favor in the future if you take a no with genuine maturity.

It’s unrealistic to get a yes every time. Don’t take it personally.

Take it in stride, remain committed to the team, and bring your next idea at the right time. Each time you get a yes, it’s important that you deliver the results you promised!

This article originally appeared here.

Tim Keller on Godliness

By
Megan Briggs
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How to Use Facebook for Church Planting

By
Duke Taber
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Last year it became apparent that God was calling my wife and I to a new adventure. We were being asked to start a new church in Mesquite Nv. This was not my first church plant, I have done 2 others, but it was the first one I was planning that I really didn’t have connections in the community. So I had to learn how to do something new. I had to learn how to do Facebook church planting and growth. Facebook is the modern-day watering hole. Just as Paul hung out at Philippi at the riverside where the women went to pray (Acts 16:11-15), Facebook is today the place where people hang out. Instead of talking about the community at the local diner, people now communicate via Facebook.

So I decided that I was going to use Facebook to start a church. What follows is the steps that I have taken to date, that has allowed us to start with a vision and end up with a small core group of believers ready to move out of our home and into our first building. I hope it will help you in your endeavors to start or grow your church using Facebook.

Using Facebook Church Planting

There are 2 things you need to do in order to get started using Facebook for a church. You need to create a church Facebook page and you need to have a church website. I am not going to go into all the details of building a church website. I have already written a comprehensive guide on building a church website here.

However, if you are going to use Facebook to build your church, you need to have a website to drive some of the leads generated by Facebook to learn more about your church.

Creating A Facebook Page For Church Planting And Growth

Creating a Facebook page for church

The first thing you need to do is create your church’s Facebook page. Go to your profile and click the create button you see up at the top of your Facebook profile.

Once you click on create, you will see a list of options. Click on the “create page” option. You will then start the process of giving Facebook the information it needs to create your page. Follow the directions and begin the process.

Church Facebook Cover Photos

The first thing you need to do after creating your page is to put a cover photo on your page. This is the large banner photo at the top. This image can be your logo, a picture of your church, a picture of families worshiping in your sanctuary. Anything that depicts the mission or values of your church.

Your cover photo needs to be 828 x 315. Here is an example of mine. For a complete list of Facebook image sizes click here.

Facebook cover photo example

One thing to note is that your profile picture will cover part of this image at the bottom left-hand corner so do not put anything important there.

Next, you will want to upload a profile picture. This can be an image of a person, a graphic your church uses regularly, or your logo. You want to use something that when people see the tiny thumbnail picture in the post, they recognize it is your church.

Church Facebook Post Examples

The first thing you need to understand is that your Facebook page is part of your ministry to the community. It is not a glorified events calendar or church bulletin. If you are too self-promotional people will pick up on that and shy away from your church. The golden rule of Facebook posts is to post 5 posts designed to minister to your community for every 1 post inviting them to your services or events.

There are different ways you can do that.

Memes:

A meme is an image with writing on it communicating a message. You see them all the time on Facebook. You can use memes to communicate a simple principle or encouragement that aligns with the values of your church

Use a template and make sure you use branding, for instance, your logo so that people know it came from you. Here is one of our memes.

You can use scriptures, Christian quotes, or maybe your own tweet-sized (150 characters or less) devotional for the day. We share 5 memes per week. Monday through Friday.

5 Ways to Help Kids Pray

By
Tina Houser
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Remember teaching kids to pray?

As a child, I remember that every day closed with one of my parents sitting on the side of my bed, the covers pulled up under my chin, and me muttering…

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Night after night after night after night, that third line sent chills through me. Most certainly, some frightened adult had written that prayer poem out of a desire of his heart, but it lived on to torture children all over the world, right before they went down for a restful night’s sleep. After a while, I just let the words tumble out of my mouth and tried not to think about what any of it actually meant. And this is one of the prominent ways we teach children to pray—a rhyme that is said over and over without real meaning to the child.

Another way we teach children to pray is nothing short of a Santa’s wish list. We ask children to share their requests, which is another way of saying, “Let’s tell God what you want Him to do for you.” They quickly rattle off a long “To Do” list of relatives and friends who are sick and pets that are missing. Then we acknowledge that God answers prayer only if God does it the way we’ve suggested.

This may come as a surprise, but God really answers every prayer. His answers are of such a wide variety that we can’t even imagine the possibilities. It’s an everyday occurrence, though, to hear someone say, “God still answers prayer,” when what they mean is, “God answered in the way I wanted Him to.”

Is this how we should teach our children to pray? Scary prayers? Prayers that fall from their tongues without thought? Prayers that find themselves alongside nursery rhymes? Prayers that instruct God exactly what He’s supposed to do for us? What would your best friend think if every time you spoke with him, you just said the same rhyme? And she most certainly wouldn’t stick around as your friend if all you ever talked to her about was what you wanted her to do for you. Something needs to change in the way we teach our children to pray.

We’re just downright good at getting ourselves into messes and then praying that God will get us out of them somehow. Instead of praying for deliverance from the mess, what if we started teaching kids to pray in the middle of the mess, not with their minds set on deliverance, but simply asking God to help them see how they can grow in His wisdom by going through it? How about praying for the strength to make it through to the other side?

If you look back on your life and identify the times when you grew spiritually—those times when spiritual growth seemed to come in leaps and bounds—I venture to say that it was in times of struggle. It was during those times when there were more questions about life than there were answers that you felt God moving in your life in a tremendous way. That’s when you saw miracles happen. That’s when you found yourself resting in His presence.

Through those times, spiritual truth became clearer. So why do we shy away from that? Why do we pray that we never have to experience it? Why do we teach our children to pray safe prayers that if answered in the way they are prayed would only keep them from searching for God’s truth and His plan for their lives?

As a newlywed, 34 years ago, I woke my husband up in the middle of the night to ask him a question, “Why do we need to pray if God already knows everything?” I was content to ask the question then roll over and go back to sleep. My husband, on the other hand, wrestled with the question the rest of the night. Over the years, we’ve come back to that conversation, and it’s been a growing time.

Teaching Kids To Pray

So why do we pray? It’s about coming into His presence. It’s about being part of a relationship that is alive and full of meaning. I’ve talked to a lot of children’s workers, and they all hang their heads in unison when I talk about those times when we look up and see parents at the door. We put our words in high speed and quickly tell the kids to bow their heads and close their eyes so we can pray. While you have your head bowed, the kids are putting their jackets on and not at all thinking about spending time in the presence of God. That sure doesn’t feel like leading the children to a relationship that is alive and full. The Lord deserves an apology.

One of the first things you can do to elevate the importance of prayer is change where it falls in your time with the kids. We open with a ceremonial prayer and then close haphazardly. The children know what to expect so their brains experience something similar to the sound that depicts the off-screen teacher on the Charlie Brown cartoons … blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.

Think about the ways you experience a friend. You share a meal together. You go to a game with rowdy fans together. You sit with him in silence as he grieves the loss of a loved one. You sing karaoke with her. You sit quietly on a dock waiting for a fish to bite. We need to teach our kids that there are an endless number of ways they can experience the presence of God through prayer.

Prayer is a spiritual discipline, and like other disciplines, it needs to be practiced and experienced on a regular basis in order to become something that we can’t imagine living without. So our challenge is to give children an opportunity to experience the presence of God in different ways. They need to be shown how each time they engage in a conversation with God, it can be new and fresh. Prayer should be a time of evaluation when each person makes a conscious effort to identify their spiritual condition and expose that before the Lord.

The best way of teaching kids to pray is to help them understand that there is no set place or position or time of day. Since God is omnipresent and prayer is experiencing the presence of God, then anywhere, any time, any position is in fair territory. Let me just get your creative juices flowing with these prompting ideas.

5 Ways Of Teaching Kids To Pray

1. Let John the Baptist help you pray.

When John was in the wilderness, he told the people that: (1) they needed to confess their sins, (2) they needed to exchange their old lives for a new one, (3) they needed to be baptized, (4) they needed to stay on track, and (5) they needed to live authentic lives.

Help the kids identify where they are in these five points. If they need to confess their sins (point #1), then tell them to put one finger of one hand in the palm of the other hand. If they have asked the Lord to forgive them of their sins, but need help staying on track so they don’t slide back into those old habits (point #4), then tell them to put four fingers of one hand in the palm of the other hand. Each point gives them a way to talk to the Lord about where they are spiritually.

teaching kids to pray

2. Pray like Daniel.

Daniel’s disobedience to King Nebuchadnezzar’s law was obvious because he prayed three times a day at his window. When Daniel prayed, he was unashamed. He didn’t care what other people thought of him. He only knew that he was devoted to God. You probably have a window in your worship room and most kids have a window in their bedroom. Use a Crayola window marker to write on the window. You can simply write, “Pray Today” on the window, or the kids can actually write out their prayer in its entirety on the window. Then kneel down at that window and look to the sky. Concentrating on the sky will act as a focal point and help kids clear their minds of other thoughts.

teaching kids to pray

3. Pray like Moses.

When Moses heard of Koreh’s plans of rebellion, the Bible tells us that Moses’ first reaction was to drop to the ground and pray. So instruct the kids to kneel all the way and bend over with their faces to the floor. Teach the children that when they are threatened by anything, they can pray like Moses and lay themselves before God.

teaching kids to pray

4. Pray with the unseen paper clip.

Lay a paper clip on the table; the paper clip will represent the child. That paper clip is you! Cover the paper clip with your hand so you can feel it under your knuckles. Then place a bar magnet over your knuckles. Slowly lift your hand with the bar magnet still against the knuckles. The paper clip will hang from the palm of your hand as long as the magnet stays in place. You can’t see the paper clip hanging there, but you can feel the power of the magnet. Pray that even though we can’t see where God is leading, we will always feel God’s presence. Seeing this object lesson will give the kids a way to associate with God leading them in ways they can’t see.

5. Pray a color.

This is especially good with younger children. Pull one crayon from a full box. Thank God for everything you can think of that is that color. Smother God with thankfulness prayers of a particular color. That seems like a much better way to say goodnight than “IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE.”

Let’s raise this generation of kids to feel at ease with prayer and know it as a real conversation, not just a rhyme or a give-me list. Let’s raise them to not be afraid of going through any life situation because God will be with them and teach them great spiritual truth on the journey.

How to Ask Your Boss for a Raise

By
Aaron Helman
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Youth ministry is a tough job that requires a ton of time and energy …

… and many of us aren’t totally satisfied with the paycheck we receive in return.

That leads to stress and frustration, and sometimes it leads us to leave youth ministry.

I’ve fielded plenty of complaints from youth workers all over the world.

But the hard truth is this:

If you’ve never actually asked for a raise, then it’s your fault, not your boss’s.

Every time I listen to a youth worker who’s frustrated with his or her pay, I ask the exact same question:

Have you told your boss that you feel like you deserve a raise?

In three years, this question has been answered affirmatively exactly once.

Does that mean that a lot of us are getting upset because other people aren’t giving us solutions to problems we never told them we had?

Probably.

See, complaining about your salary at a youth worker’s convention or to an Internet blogger really doesn’t do much to help fix the problem.

In fact, it is probably unhealthy and inappropriate to complain to others about your compensation if you haven’t first addressed the problem with your church.

Complaining to the wrong people is the least effective way to solve any problem—especially in ministry.

Now, before you go running into that board meeting, let’s take just a minute to address the most important question:

Do you deserve a raise?

If you are completing all of the assignments in your job description at an adequate rate, it’s going to be tough to convince anyone you should be paid more than you originally agreed to.

But there are two scenarios in which you are justified in asking for a raise (or other perks):

You do significant work that was not in your original job description.

I’m not sure that I know a single youth worker that hasn’t taken on extra jobs. If you are regularly doing significant work that was not in your original contract, you should definitely ask for a raise.

In this case, you’re not just asking for a raise. You’re also asking to rewrite your job description.

You are fulfilling your job description at an exceptional level.

A lot of people like to talk about numerical growth here: i.e., the youth program has doubled in 18 months. I don’t like to talk about numbers in these meetings, except in the following circumstance:

If the growth of your youth group has caused you to work more hours to keep up with it, ask for a raise.

Other than that, look for other examples of excellence in your ministry, and share these when you’re asking for a raise.

Seven years ago, I was able to successfully secure a raise by demonstrating that writing all of my own curriculum was both improving the ministry and saving us money.

What if I’m not doing those things?

If you need a raise to support your family, but can’t justify it with your efforts, be honest with your pastor and say something like this:

I’d like to be paid more, but I want to make it a win-win for the church. Are there any other responsibilities I could take on now and then we can talk about my compensation in six months?

Once you do that, or if you already have, you’re ready for the hardest part …

How do I ask for a raise?

Once you’ve determined that you deserve a pay increase, you’ve got to get over the awkwardness and ask for it.

Do not send an email. Find the right person and speak with them face-to-face.

Be prepared to speak as specifically as possible. Outline the specific reasons you feel that you deserve the pay increase, then ask for a specific amount.

Most importantly, talk about the plans that you have for the future. Give the deciders a reason to be excited to pay you next year.

This is the place where I’m supposed to give you negotiating advice, but I won’t. Instead, I want you to have this discussion prayerfully and honestly.

After all, ministry certainly isn’t about getting as much as you can.

What if they say no?

There are a lot of valid reasons you might get shot down. Maybe the money really isn’t there. Maybe there’s some disagreement about their assessment of your work.

But what happens next?

I’ll assume you’re there because you believe in the cause of Christ and his calling on your life.

In other words, if you got into youth ministry for the money, you might be confused.

I’m assuming you’re not going to quit your job without a raise.

Instead, ask the deciders what they’d like to see from you in the next six months. Schedule another meeting in six months and agree to have this conversation again.

And what if they say yes?

Tell me about it, especially if you used any of this advice to get you there.

Tell me how you got there and how you expect that a raise might help your life and your ministry.

Tell me, do you deserve a raise?  

Pastors, Don’t Cast Your Members in These Roles

By
Eric McKiddie
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Between school plays, little league teams and numerous other ways, we have all been given roles that we thought were below us.

We wanted the leading role, but got curtain duty.

We wanted to pitch, but got stuck in right field.

What was that role for you? (Or maybe I’m just speaking for myself.)

Like a director of a play, pastors view all the parts of our church in terms of how they contribute to the whole. Pastors determine what is primary, what is secondary and what is tertiary. You have to do this if you want to be a good leader.

The problem is when pastors do this to their church members and attenders, too.

We have a tendency to cast them for roles based on our concept of our church’s narrative, rather than on the basis of God’s grand unfolding narrative for his kingdom.

Three ways NOT to cast your church members and attenders:

1. Extras.

Extras don’t affect the storyline at all. They add motion to the scenery. They are props.

Is that how you view visitors?

Is that how you view people who don’t serve or lead?

In the drama that God has written for human history, there are no extras. Everyone is wrapped in a narrative of their own. The fact that God wrote their story gives it dignity and purpose.

Your job as a pastor is to learn whether and how Jesus has become the main character of everyone in your church.

If your church is too big for that, then you need to facilitate it through your elders, small groups, an assimilation process, etc. You are, after all, responsible for the care of their souls (Heb. 13:17).

Perry Noble Asks Church to ‘Grab the Miracle’ of $2m Building

By
Jessica Lea
-
Father’s Day program ideas for church

Perry Noble, the former senior pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina, announced in his sermon last Sunday that he needs the members of his current church to help raise $2 million so they can move into a new building. Noble told the congregation of Second Chance Church (launched online in December of 2017), that there are those who will accuse him of simply wanting to build another big church building, a claim he flatly denies.

“I’ve seen the Christian celebrity side,” Noble said. “The book deals, the conference circuit, the magazine articles, churches being written up and talked about and bragged about. You know what? I don’t care if I ever see that again. The thing to me that is the most important is individual people meeting Jesus and finding hope again.” Christian celebrity culture, he said, “left me empty. What fills my cup is seeing people who feel like they’ve been lost and abandoned by God find hope again.”

Second Chance Church Is Growing

Noble based his sermon on 2 Kings 6:1-7, using the passage to frame his explanation of why Second Chance Church needs to pursue a building in Anderson, South Carolina, that is coming up for lease in April 2021. Noble began by reading 2 Kings 6:1, which says, “The company of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us.’”

“They had what you call ‘growth problems,’” said Noble and went on to state that the building where Second Chance Church is currently meeting is too small. He added, “Nobody’s more shocked about this than me.”

The church opened with two services, then went to three, and is currently averaging 950 people per Sunday every week. Noble said he can’t do an “invite your friend” message because if everyone brought a friend, there would not be room for all the people who would come.

In many ways, Noble acknowledged, it would be more comfortable for the congregation to stay where it is. But just as it took a willingness to step out of their comfort zones to move from being an online church into their present location, they should be willing to risk discomfort again to pursue a space that would allow their church to continue to grow. 

“This place has been a source of hope and a source of healing for so many people,” said Noble. “There have been people in this room that have met Christ. There have been people that, if this environment would not have been created, you wouldn’t have made it through.”

What Is the New Building Like?

The building the church is considering used to be a Walmart years ago. Noble said there are 28,000 square feet available for them to lease, which would allow them to build an auditorium that would seat 700 and therefore double their current seating capacity. The new building would also allow Second Chance Church to expand its children’s ministry, news the congregation responded to with enthusiasm.

The only problem is the church does not currently have the $2 million it needs to pursue the new building. And so far, they have not been able to secure a loan from a bank. There are, Noble said, two reasons why banks are unwilling to lend them money.

One is how young their church is—banks want them to have existed for five years before giving them money. The second is the way that Noble was fired from NewSpring. 

The congregation expressed dismay at this second reason, and Noble himself said, “It’s great. It’s great.” But he went on to say, “No, it’s not wrong, it’s just life. I’m not a victim. Hey, let me tell you something about victims. Victims never walk in victory. As long as you want to be a victim, you can never walk in victory. You know what? That door closed, that’s fine. That’s fine. There’s another one’s going to open.”

Noble said the chance to lease the $2 million building “is our opportunity.” According to him, Second Chance Church has two choices. The church can either move forward with that building or it will have to return to being a video campus. The second scenario does not seem to be an option Noble is willing to consider. He said, “I don’t think God’s called us to step backwards. I think he’s called us to move forward.”

Lineup for Pastors Conference Riles SBC Complementarians

By
Stephanie Martin
-
Father’s Day program ideas for church

Soon after the 2020 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Pastors Conference released a preliminary lineup of speakers and performers Monday, denominational conservatives took offense at several names. They’re especially troubled by the booking of spoken word artist Hosanna Wong, a teaching pastor at a non-SBC church near San Diego.

On Tuesday, the president of the conference—which takes place June 7 and 8 in Orlando, ahead of the SBC’s annual meeting—defended the lineup, which also includes David Platt, Jim Cymbala, Wayne Cordeiro, and Phil Wickham.

Conference President: ‘She’s not preaching’

Dr. David Uth, pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando and president of the Pastors Conference, tells Baptist Press that Wong’s role will be as “a musical artist.” He says, “She’s not preaching. She’s not coming as a preacher.” Wong is involved with Celebrate Recovery, Uth notes, and has appeared at his church as well as Saddleback.

All speakers and performers have good relationships with the denomination, Uth says, and only nine percent aren’t Southern Baptists. “My goal, my prayer was that we could open ourselves up to hear from people that maybe were good friends of ours, but not in our…Convention,” he says. “I feel like they have a message for us. I feel like God wants to speak to us through them.”

Critics Decry a Lack of ‘standards’

Tom Ascol, president of Founders Ministries, shared Wong’s bio on social media. Regarding the controversy, he later tweeted “Pray for the SBC. May God have mercy on us.”

A post on CapstoneReport.com calls Uth’s reasoning—that Wong is only performing—the “same nonsense we always [hear] from the SBC enablers.” It continues: “Today’s SBC…has no standards. It wants the Woke and the Celebrity to highlight its annual events. Will conservatives take back the SBC at the Annual Meeting in Orlando, or will it continue the slide into progressive oblivion?”

Others addressed a slippery slope. Larry Farlow, a church elder in Georgia, tweeted: “It’s OK, the woman pastor is not actually preaching. It’s OK, the woman pastor is not preaching on Sunday mornings. It’s OK, the woman pastor preaching on Sunday mornings is under the authority of the senior pastor who’s male. Meet your new woman pastor.”

On ReformationCharlotte.org, Jeff Maples notes the importance of Wong’s title, saying the key issue is that she “claims to be a pastor when the denomination, according to its own resolutions, rejects this as unbiblical.” Maples also notes that Uth “invited all of the homosexuals in Orlando to take the stage in his church” after the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.

Outrage is Misplaced, Says Denhollander

The SBC has been grappling with women’s roles in the church, specifically regarding the concept of complementarianism. Author and Bible teacher Beth Moore says a theology of separate gender roles leads to abuse, while John MacArthur says Moore should “go home.”

Sexual abuse advocate Rachael Denhollander entered the debate with a Twitter thread about the outcry over Wong. Some people are calling for SBC Executive Committee funds to be withheld, she notes, while others want a protest letter or for Wong to publicly repent. “Where were the calls for public repentance when Paige Patterson and Jerry Vines repeatedly put sexual abuser [Darrell] Gilyard into the pulpit?” Denhollander asks. “Where were these calls to action when women and children and young men were behind raped by pastors, who were then protected by pastors? … Because sexual abuse isn’t seen as that big of a deal.”

Josh Gagnon: How to Make Your Church Fit Your Community

By
Jason Daye
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Josh Gagnon is the founder and lead pastor of Next Level Church. After planting a church, he has led his church to reach thousands in a very challenging ministry context and provides incredible wisdom for pastors and ministry leaders, no matter where they happen to be serving. Josh has a new book, entitled, It’s Not Over: Leaving Behind Disappointment and Learning to Dream Again. He and his wife, Jennifer, raise their two sons in New Hampshire.

Key Questions on Planting a Church for Josh Gagnon 

-After planting a church, how did your church really start to grow? Did you sense there was a turning point in your ministry?

-How do you and your team work at understanding the context when you plan to open a new campus?

-What is your advice for people thinking about going multisite?

-How can all pastors pursue “God-sized dreams,” even if their churches don’t experience significant growth?

Key Quotes from Josh Gagnon

“We started Next Level Church pretty much on accident.”

“I had never been to a church conference before, I had never read a church planting book before, I had never been mentored before, and we just started, just wanting to reach those that we did life with, and God blessed it.”

“We faced many obstacles then, and we face obstacles now.”

“One of the larger obstacles I had to face was just learning how I needed to mature…ministry leaders and all leaders, we exaggerate what God will do in the short run and we underestimate God what can do in the long run.”

“The reality is a plane needs resistance in order to take off and God-sized dreams are going to come with resistance.”

“Don’t get discouraged when you’re facing opposition. Don’t get discouraged when you’re discouraged. Get concerned when there’s nothing in your life you’re chasing that causes you to feel discouragement.”

“We’ve never sold out to a model. The reality is that models change, models will come and go, but the gospel remains the same.” 

“I think that’s a danger in the church world…I think we go to a conference and we see X working at X church, and we bring it back to our community and we try to do it, and it doesn’t work and we wonder why. It’s because we are all pastoring a different Sunday school in a different area of the country, and we have to make sure it’s relevant for where we live.”

“One of the dangers of the multisite movement—it’s a blessing and a danger—is it’s almost like church leaders feel insecure if they’re not multisite nowadays.” 

Why Christian Movies Are Gaining More Viewers and Higher Earnings

By
Stephanie Martin
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

In the 15 years since Mel Gibson’s R-rated The Passion of the Christ set box-office records (and sparked numerous controversies), the Christian movies industry has continued to morph and expand. Though some pains have accompanied that growth, wrestling with various challenges seems to have helped the industry refine and improve.

During the past few years, family-friendly fare has been receiving better reviews—and reaping headline-making financial returns. Now Hollywood’s major studios all have marketing departments geared toward reaching the coveted Christian audience. And more filmmakers and producers with a faith-first focus are crafting movies with biblical and moral messages.

As a result, industry experts see a bright future for Christian filmmaking, a genre that’s faced numerous adaptations throughout the decades.

 

Christian Movies Overcoming the Propaganda Label

Back in 1910, a Congregational minister named Herbert Jump wrote a pamphlet promoting “The Religious Possibilities of the Motion Picture.” By the 1950s, Christian filmmaking was associated with epics such as The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. Faith-based groups including the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Campus Crusade for Christ made significant contributions to the new niche market.

Early Christian movies that released nationwide often had gospel-centered, evangelistic themes, which may have led critics to dismiss them as propaganda. Small production and marketing budgets didn’t help; neither did the way many faith-based filmmakers isolated themselves from Hollywood, relied on clichés and shallow characters, and developed sanitized versions of secular hits.

But since The Passion of the Christ made history—and waves—in 2004, titles aimed at believers have grown exponentially, in both quantity and quality. Well-received Christian movies now regularly top box-office expectations.

 

Why Message-Based Movies Are Thriving

Films such as Facing the Giants (2006), Fireproof (2008), October Baby (2011), and Soul Surfer (2011) marked a new era in Christian movies. By 2014, when the $2 million production God’s Not Dead grossed almost $65 million, Hollywood and the public took notice. Four years later, the Erwin Brothers’ I Can Only Imagine—which cost just $7 million to make—grossed an astonishing $85 million. That film’s success led the filmmakers to a partnership with Lionsgate.

Movie critics and insiders attribute the growth to several factors. More Christian films are being based on real-life events, making them more relatable to non-Christians as well. Screenwriters try to avoid bombarding the audience with a message. Also, big-name “mainstream” actors have been appearing in faith-based films; for example, in 2017 Octavia Spencer starred in The Shack, and Faye Dunaway was in The Case for Christ.

Instead of just targeting pastors, urging them to bus congregants to theaters, marketers now emphasize a movie’s widespread appeal. “We’re developing beyond just the genre of sermon-on-film,” says Bill Reeves of WTA Group, speaking to the Los Angeles Times. “We’re trying to answer the question of ‘What else is out there?’”

Politics is likely a factor, too, note industry professionals. Since the 2016 presidential election, says producer Erik Lokkesmoe, “People don’t trust institutions. They don’t trust the top-down. They want stories that are real and honest.” Speaking to Business Insider, he describes a “Trump mentality” among Christian moviegoers, saying that because they feel as if their beliefs are under siege, they’re flocking to theaters to “confirm” those positions.

Because audiences have felt beaten down by some of the secular media, says Pure Flix CEO and co-founder Michael Scott, higher-quality Christian movies provide welcomed opportunities for expression. “That’s the environment now,” he says. “There’s more openness to talk about faith-based films.”

Francis Chan at The Send: Stop Worrying About Staying Alive

By
Jessica Lea
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Father’s Day program ideas for church


In a sermon he gave at the Send conference in Brazil, Francis Chan challenged the crowd to count the cost of preserving their own lives instead of wholeheartedly giving themselves to God.

“We live in a time when too many Christians are obsessed with staying alive,” said Chan. “And Paul says, ‘My life has no value. I just want it used to tell others about Jesus.”

Count the Cost of ‘Saving’ Your Life Instead of ‘Losing’ It

Chan began his sermon by reading part of Acts 20, in which Paul tells the Ephesian church elders that the Holy Spirit is compelling him to go to Jerusalem. There, Paul knows he will face “prison and hardships.” But, he tells the elders in verse 24, “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” 

“This is such an important verse for our generation,” said Chan. “Paul says, ‘I don’t count my life of any value.’ Can you say that, that you don’t count your life of any value?”

Chan then referenced Jesus’ words in Luke 9:24 (also recorded in Matthew 16:25 and Mark 8:35): “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” 

Chan said, “I want you all to experience a life that is given over for the gospel.” It is hard to live with this kind of focus because the enemy is constantly trying to distract us with the idea that our best life is in this world. “Even in the church, people will tell you to play it safe,” said Chan. “But that’s not what Jesus said.”

In two weeks, Chan and his family are leaving the U.S. to be missionaries in Asia, a decision they made after returning from the slums of Myanmar six months ago. They had spent time there going hut to hut, telling people about God. “They had never heard of Jesus before,” said Chan, “and they’re just staring at me, listening. I tell you, I felt so much peace at that moment.”

When he and his wife got on the plane to return to the States, he asked her, “What do we do on a normal day that even compares to this?” He then suggested moving to Asia, to which she responded, “Let’s do it.” 

Only two weeks ago, Chan was again in Myanmar in a village where no one had ever heard Jesus’ name. Again, he felt a deep sense of peace and thought to himself, “I want everyone to feel this peace. Because this is what we were made for.”

Spiritual Foodies

Chan mentioned that he currently lives in San Francisco, where people really enjoy food and are picky about what they eat. They are so focused on eating quality foods that they will criticize any meals that do not meet their standards. This foodie culture stands in stark contrast to an experience Chan had when he visited a camp in Africa filled with about as many people as were in the crowd listening to his sermon. 

When he arrived at the camp, he saw that a woman there was screaming and acting crazy. Chan soon realized she was distressed because her son was lying at her feet, clearly starving. He looked like a skeleton, and Chan saw that people in the camp all around him were also starving. “So it was very hard,” he said, “to go back to San Francisco and be a foodie again.” 

Said Chan, “Right now the church is filled with spiritual foodies.” What he meant was many people listen to sermon after sermon with a picky mindset, criticizing what the speakers are saying and, “Meanwhile, there’s people in the world who have never heard of Jesus!”

We have no business nitpicking sermons if we are not willing to share the gospel with people who have never heard it, said Chan. And the purpose of The Send conference is to challenge people to count the cost and go into that world for that very reason: “We’ve asked you to come, to die.” 

Chan said his hope was those at the conference would not merely hear a sermon, but that the Holy Spirit would fall upon them—“into the core of your being”—opening people’s eyes. Then they would no longer view their lives as precious, but would count the cost and clearly see that Jesus is worth dying for.

Ken Feinberg Believes in the Good of the United Methodist Church

By
Megan Briggs
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

A diverse group of 16 leaders in the United Methodist Church, including traditionalists, centrists, and progressives, recently came to an agreement about a proposal to split the denomination. The group spent several months hashing out the proposed separation plan and released their proposal on January 3, 2020. The “Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation,” known as “the Protocol,” came together thanks in large part to attorney Ken Feinberg, who offered his services pro bono. 

“There is not a price tag you could put on what Mr. Feinberg has done for us,” Bishop Thomas Bickerton said during an announcement about the Protocol. 

Feinberg rose to renown for his negotiation work on cases such as the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund. According to UMC Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer, Feinberg believed the diverse group could come to a unanimous agreement on a separation plan “more than we seemed to believe in ourselves.” 

Ken Feinberg Wanted to Preserve the ‘Integrity and Effectiveness’ of the UMC 

Feinberg, who is Jewish, was asked by friend and UMC member Richard Godfrey to help the UMC, which has been crippled by conflict over their ambiguous stance on homosexuality for decades now. The Special Session of the General Conference in St. Louis last year was designed to put an end to the conflict. At that gathering, delegates voted to pass the Traditional Plan, which solidified the UMC’s Book of Discipline language declaring that homosexuality is “incompatible with the Christian teaching” and prevents clergy who identify as LGBTQ from serving in ministry roles. Even after the deciding vote, though, debates have continued to flare and various entities of the UMC have decided to disaffiliate themselves with the denomination. 

During a panel discussion about the Protocol that was live-streamed in January, Feinberg explained that a unanimous agreement among group members was the only thing that was going to resolve the conflict. “Everybody, of the 16 members and the mediator, everybody recognized that if you do not reach a…unanimous agreement, ask yourself this question: ‘what is the alternative?’ to decades of strife, tension, stress.” 

Speaking to Religion News Service, Feinberg explained why he decided to lend his services to the UMC without charge. “I just thought that it was important in contemporary America with all of the trouble we have now–social unrest and the division politically, cultural differences, et cetera–I thought it was in the public interest to preserve the integrity and the effectiveness of the church,” he said. 

Feinberg said he set three ground rules for the mediation process:

One, confidentiality. No leaks. Everything that we’re discussing around the table as part of the mediation must remain sealed in that room. Everybody agreed, and confidentiality was maintained.

Two, make sure that the people around the table are the right people to mediate, that they have the credibility, the experience, the respect. That’s important.

Three, make sure that those mediation participants, those individuals, speak for the various constituencies—the progressives, the centrists, the traditionalists. Make sure that these people have the authority to help us all get to “yes” in this process, that they can deliver.

It doesn’t do any good if the wrong people are at the table, if they say, “Yep, we can do this,” and then they can’t deliver their constituency.

Who Was at the Table?

The group formed as an “outgrowth” of a consultation initiated in July 2019 by Bishop John Yambasu of Sierra Leone and other Central Conference Bishops (the Central Conference includes Africa, Europe, and the Philippines). 

Leaders from Europe, Africa, the Philippines, and the United States were involved in the Protocol. The 16-member group included representatives from various groups within the UMC, such as UMCNext, Mainstream UMC, Uniting Methodists, the Confessing Movement, Good News, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, the Wesleyan Covenant Association; Affirmation, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Reconciling Ministries Network, and the United Methodist Queer Clergy Caucus. Those familiar with the nuances of the UMC will understand these groups represent a wide spectrum of theological and doctrinal beliefs. Also present in the group were bishops from the United States and other nations.

Yes…Your Church CAN Reach Millennials

By
Dale Hudson
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

Does your church want to reach Millennials? They are the young fathers and mothers that you want to reach.

They are the young couples you want to mentor.

They are the up and coming leaders you want to invest in.

Millennials get a negative review at times.  We talk about how less committed they are to the church.  How they tolerate things that their parents and grandparents would find deplorable.  How they have a shallow faith that cannot stand for the truth.

But…they can be reached.  They can be discipled.  They can be the next generation of leaders who will take the Gospel to the world in unparalleled ways.

And in-spite of all you read and hear about them,  I want you to know that you can reach Millennials and their families.

Millennials have unique traits and characteristics that you want to know about so you can be effective in reaching and discipling them.  Let’s look at some of those generational specifics that will help us know how to connect with them and invest in them spiritually.

Millennials are digital natives.  They grew up in a digital world and engaging with technology is as natural as breathing for them.  And yet we fall behind in using technology to engage with them and share the Gospel with them.

Millennials have grown up with massive changes happening all around them.  They are used to change and do not walk away from it.  But often we refuse to change so that we can stay current with the culture we find around us.  If we are going to effectively reach and minister to Millennials, we must keep a solid grip on doctrine while changing our methods so we can be relevant and reach Millennials.

If we are going to reach Millennials, then we must be willing to make key changes in worship style, church methods and mode of operation.  Even when it means doing things differently than we were brought up with.

Much of what Gen X and Boomers oppose is simply because it’s not the way they “did church” growing up.  But we must realize change is a catalyst for growth.  We must be willing to change what is not working.  Churches have a choice.  They will either change what Millennials are not connecting with or die a slow death.

I was at a church a few months ago that had no children.  No students.  No Millennial parents.  Just Boomers.  The sad news is that church is dying a slow death.  Once the older generations pass, that church will have to close its doors.  They are terminal.

Millennials are the young leaders that we must invest in.  They have so many great qualities.  They are…

  • Optimists
  • Talented
  • Creative
  • Collaborators
  • Relational
  • Want authenticity
  • Have the traits of great leadership

Millennials truly can change the world for Christ as they step into key leadership roles.  But we must also realize that Gen X and Boomers are the key groups that must lead the mentoring.  We must add “knowledge to the zeal of Millennials.”

Let me ask you.  Are you willing to let go of the past?  Are you willing to change methods, philosophies and traditions?  What worked yesterday must be looked at closely and changed if it is no longer effective.

5 Keys to Navigating Change

By
Chara Robinson
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

If you’ve been in ministry for a hot second, you have either experienced change or have been charged to make it. Every self-help book on the planet tells us we are supposed to embrace change, get behind it and cheer it on, but oftentimes it’s much easier said than done.

So, when that fork in the road appears and, as a leader, you know there’s a situation that calls for change, what do you do? When do you address it? How do you go about addressing it? How do you implement it? These are just a small sample of the questions that arise when change is necessary.

I’m the children’s pastor on a young church plant. We were not quite half a year into it, when we as a staff had our first big obstacle of change to overcome. If you’ve started at a nice and tidy one-service church plant, you know where I’m heading with this. We needed to add a second service. We had just really gotten into a good rhythm of things and now we were needing to change. As the children’s pastor, I felt like I had just enough volunteers to cover my bases with one service. How in the world was I going to handle two?

It would have been very easy to be frustrated and get a chip on my shoulder because my world—my neat, pretty, highly functioning with one service kid’s world—was being rocked by the decision to expand. Children’s ministry was going to bear the brunt and lead to even more questions:

How would I recruit more volunteers to cover a second service?
Which mainstay kids would go to the early service and which to the later?
How would they feel about being separated?
And again … where are the new volunteers a comin’ from?

The bottom line, however, was this: The change to two services was coming and I had to navigate it and answer all the questions that came with it. Looking back now, here are some strategies I implemented that, I feel, could be applied to any change situation you may be dealing with at your church … or anywhere else in your life.

1. Clear Communication. Have clear, open communication about the specifics of the change with your staff, volunteers and especially your lead pastor. I’m blessed to have a lead pastor who understands the importance of a strong children’s ministry. Prior to the service addition, he knew how tireless our volunteers were working as well as the importance of strong small groups. So, he was comfortable with allowing me to dictate when we would move to two services, as long as it was before Easter.

2. Keep an open mind. I was all for moving to two services, but my original opinion was to have children’s environments at only one of those two. I liked what was happening and I was afraid our groups and volunteers would be affected negatively, plus, how many more kids were really going to show up for that new service initially? Five? Eight?

As we sought advice from our overseers and other churches that had navigated this before us, their opinion differed from mine. They pointed out that by only offering children’s programming at one service, we were automatically labeling one service for families and the other for singles or younger-skewed attendees. They were right, and I realized my initial reaction wasn’t going to help the church. If I had dug in my heels, would our lead pastor have given in? Maybe (or maybe not!). But after seeking advice from others with an open mind, it was obvious we were better off to offer kid’s ministry at both services.

3. It’s not about you or your particular ministry. Remember to make decisions that better the WHOLE church and not just one person or a small group. At Hill City, one of our main ideas is that we want to make decisions based on people we haven’t met yet. That is the only way we can truly keep growing. Would children’s ministry be inconvenienced? Initially, sure. Would it allow for growth of our church and thus impact children’s ministry for the better? Yes.

4. JUMP! Rip off the bandage and dive right in headfirst. It’s OK if it fails. It’s OK that from the get-go it isn’t perfect (our new service had, maybe, four kids in it the first week). Go from there and polish it up as needed. We needed two services before Easter. Period. I had a month to recruit volunteers and pump up the ones I had serving. I chose to move to two services at the beginning of March so we had a full month to get the kinks out before Easter (mainly so our first impression for visiting families was not one of disorder). Sure enough, by the time Easter came we had enough reps where things went smoothly … and it was a good thing too, because both kids services were packed! (See, I told you we needed kidmin in two services. LOL)

5. Be a cheerleader NOT a jeerer. As a leader, folks will emulate how you see the change. Your team will mirror your attitude. If I had voiced all my negative concerns to my team, they would have felt stressed and could have read into situations in that same negative way. Instead, I made sure I let them know how our vision would grow the church and how this would be a pinnacle point we could look back on as a ministry to see how God provided for us and grew our volunteers and our families. Instead of sulking, I wanted them to know God was going to do more than we could even ask or imagine, and I invited them to pray us through it. I also asked that each one recruit one person each to serve in children’s ministry.

Sure enough, we launched that second service, and guess what? All of our needs were met. God supplied more volunteers than I could have ever predicted. God showed up big, and it’s amazing to be able to look at things and see the testimony of His provision as our church continues to grow.

If you are doing church well and reaching new families, there will be change. It’s a good thing, and hopefully you can experience the same blessing that we’ve experienced with our transition.  

The Truth You Don’t Want to Admit About Your Church

By
Scott Wilson
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Father’s Day program ideas for church

When people drive by your church, what do you think they say? Do they say, “Yeah, this church is incredible, they do such a great job of helping the community”?

I used to think people said that about my church, until I began listening to them.

The truth is, very few churches are talked about this way.

To become a church that’s committed to proclaiming the cross of Jesus Christ while also being at the center of the solution for the major issues plaguing our communities, we need to change the way we function in five essential areas:

1. Change the way you think.

I used to think our church was a huge asset to the community, until a conversation with the mayor of our city opened my eyes to the truth.

The city didn’t see our church that way at all.

If anyone had asked if we had a compassionate church, I’d have pointed to our support groups for addicts and hurting people, our food pantry, benevolence ministries, our assistance for struggling churches in other countries, and on and on.

But we suddenly realized all of these were for, not with. We held a hand out to these people, but we didn’t embrace them—we didn’t identify with them and become one of them. Now, we have become committed to make compassion who we are, not just part of what we do.

Caring for people is no longer a department of our church; it has become the soul of our church.

2. Change the way you pray.

Most of us are facing such insurmountable needs in our communities that we have no hope of meeting them all without a miracle. We know we need to pray, but our prayers need to focus on more than just the needs themselves.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus teaches us something revolutionary: Jesus wants us to pray that the Father would raise up workers to meet the needs we see in our communities.

‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (Matthew 9:38).

Answer This Question Before Writing a Book

By
Christine Yount Jones
-
Father’s Day program ideas for church

Having an idea for a book is easy, but writing a book to get that idea out into the world is daunting. Do you contact an agent or mail your submission to a traditional publishing company? Do you try to self-publish, and if so how does that work? 

WestBow Press, a self-publishing division of Thomas Nelson, says the first step to getting your book published is to know your goals. They list 11 potential goals for you to consider for writing a book.

Determine Your Goals for Writing a Book

No author’s goal is to just publish a book: your goal is to change lives. The question is how do you want to go about that? Maybe you travel and speak regularly or have a church community you want to get your thoughts in front of. Or maybe you dream of your book breaking out of the thousands of self-published online books and becoming a bestseller. Maybe you have a thriving social media presence and need help leveraging it toward buying your book.

The truth is there are dozens of options worth considering about your book, including everything from “do I want color print” to “should I have a professional promotional video to promote it?” There are no wrong answers here, just different paths toward fulfilling your specific needs. So step 1 is for you to identify what you want your book to be.

What Is Your Goal for Writing a Book?

Consider these 11 possible goals as you consider why you are writing a book.

  1. Sharing your story with family and friends
  2. Writing to help others overcome a personal obstacle
  3. Writing about your hobby or personal passion
  4. Sharing information on a specialized topic
  5. Writing to build or enhance your professional career
  6. Expressing your deepest thoughts
  7. Writing because you love to write
  8. Seeing if you have what it takes for commercial success
  9. Writing to reach a wide circle of readers
  10. Writing poetry that you want to share with others
  11. Writing for fame

Once your goal is clear, WestBow cuts through the confusion of the publishing process, giving you a clear step-by-step guide, with professionals available to help you along the way. WestBow Press takes the mystery out of self-publishing and provides you with all the help you need to turn your dream into reality. So set up a free consultation today and discover how WestBow can help you!

You can set up a free consultation with one of WestBow’s self-publishing experts today either by filling out the form on their website, or contacting them at 1.866.928.1240.

The National Prayer Breakfast Speech You Should Really Listen To

By
Megan Briggs
-
Father’s Day program ideas for church

Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and former president of the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI), delivered a timely speech at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. on February 6, 2020. Brooks, who introduced himself “first and foremost a follower of Jesus,” focused on the words of Jesus which encourages compassion toward one’s enemies–political or otherwise. Brooks’ remarks, while seemingly perfect for a bipartisan event such as the National Prayer Breakfast, were overshadowed by President Trump’s remarks immediately following. 

Brooks said he was going to talk about “the biggest crisis facing our nation and many other nations today” and proceeded to address the “crisis of contempt and polarization” that is “tearing our society apart.”  

However, Brooks kept his speech positive, saying he believes that within the crisis “resides the greatest opportunity we have ever had as people of faith to lift our nations up and bring our people together.” 

Arthur Brooks: Jesus Taught Us to Love Our Enemies

Calling Jesus “history’s greatest social entrepreneur,” Brooks spoke on Matthew 5:44, where Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Brooks said This thinking changed the world 2,000 years ago, and it’s as “subversive and counterintuitive today as it was then.”

The professor and author then went on to describe how this advice might play out practically, especially in the divisive world of politics and partisan leadership. Brooks suggested making the issue personal. He gave an example from his own life. Brooks is from Seattle, a city he acknowledges is very liberal. His parents were good, moral people who led him into a personal faith in Jesus Christ; they were also liberal like most other people living in Seattle. Brooks says this experience helps him refrain from vilifying liberals as evil and stupid. He also emphasized that we can really only persuade other people to join our thinking with love, not argument. 

“How many of you love somebody with whom you disagree politically?” Brooks asked the group of politicians. Raising his own hand, Brooks indicated they all should raise their hands if they do love such a person. At this point, President Trump, who was sitting to Brooks’ right side and in the camera shot, didn’t raise his. Brooks then said that moral courage isn’t necessarily standing up to your enemies or the people who disagree with you. Rather, it is standing up to the people with whom you agree on behalf of those with whom you disagree. “Can you do it? Are you up for it?” he asked the room. 

One of the main points Brooks made is that anger is not the problem–contempt is. Quoting 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, Brooks defined contempt as “the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.” When we treat each other this way, Brooks argued, this is what makes our disagreements “so bitter” and causes us to feel cooperation is “nearly impossible.”

Some say we need more civility and tolerance. “Nonsense,” Brooks said. “Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew didn’t say tolerate your enemies, he said love your enemies.” But how are we to do this in our day and age?

Brooks Gave three pieces of “homework” to those in attendance:

    1. Ask God to give you the strength to do this hard thing of loving your enemies. Brooks said this would require going against your own human nature. 
    2. Make a commitment to someone else to reject contempt. Brooks said rejecting contempt doesn’t look like setting aside disagreement. Rather, disagreement is good–in fact, “what makes America great is the competition of ideas, that’s part of democracy.” But Brooks called on the politicians to disagree without contempt. Ask someone to hold you accountable, he advised. Public leaders, for instance, could make this commitment publicly. 
    3. Go out looking for contempt and turn it on its head. This is how we will change the country, Brooks explains. Think like a missionary, Brooks admonished the group. Go out looking for opportunities to show love to people who disagree with you and who show you contempt. Additionally, if you can’t find contempt, you need a wider circle of friends, as “you’re in an echo chamber,” Brooks said.

If you’d like to hear the entirety of Brooks’ speech, you can do so starting at the 1:21 mark of this video:

Trump’s Remarks Following Brooks’ Speech

“I don’t know if I agree with you….I don’t know if Arthur’s going to like what I’m going to say,” the President said as he approached the microphone. Trump, looking toward Brooks, then said “but I like listening to you, it was very good, thank you very much.” 

Brazil’s President Joins 140,000 People at The Send Conference

By
Jessica Lea
-
Father’s Day program ideas for church

The Send conference in Brazil reportedly saw 140,000 attendees eager to say “no” to apathy and to live purposefully for God. Among the thousands in attendance was the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is heading into his second year in office.

“I’m utterly astounded by what God is doing in Brazil,” tweeted Christine Caine, who spoke at the conference. “This is Morumbi stadium packed out with a generation hungry for God. The thing is, I’m now on my way to speak at another packed out stadium in the SAME CITY.” 

The Send Conference in Brazil

The Send conference is a collaboration between several national ministries, including YWAM (Youth with a Mission), Lifestyle Christianity, and Lou Engle Ministries. The ministries’ leaders have made “a commitment to do whatever it would take to see the re-evangelization of America and the finishing of the Great Commission.” The first Send conference took place on February 23, 2019, and the next is scheduled for October of this year in Kansas City, Missouri. 

“If every believer just led one person to Jesus this year 1/3rd of America would come to know Jesus,” says the conference’s website. “We see an opportunity for a whole generation of believers to arise who will have no disconnect between their belief and action.”

The fact that last year’s Send conference generated some controversy does not seem to have affected the success of this year’s conference. The event took place on Saturday, February 8, at three stadiums, two of which sold out. Said Caine, “It was surreal. God is on the move.”

A post on The Send conference’s Facebook page says, “Get ready for the greatest harvest of all times! What is happening today in Brazil impacts all the nations of the world. The hungriest nation is now committing to the Great Commission in a new level of obedience.” In addition to Christian Caine, speakers at the The Send Conference in Brazil included Todd White and YWAM founder Loren Cunningham.

After the conference, one pastor tweeted  “I keep receiving news about the last Saturday: 4877 decisions, 7890 youth enrolled and committed to bring revival to their schools, 6457 enrolled to care for orphans, healings, people receiving the holy spirit while watching on youtube.”

Brazil’s President Born Again?

At one point during the conference, Todd White announced from the stage: “I just got word…that your president just got born again!” 

The crowd cheered enthusiastically, and some social media users passed on the news.

Others, however, pointed out that this is not the first time Bolsonaro has made a public profession of faith. One person responded saying, “Christians get fooled too easily.” Another posted a clip of Bolsonaro being baptized in 2016, asking “Again?” According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, Bolsonaro has been a member of the Catholic church for some time, although his wife is Baptist and his son “has a great rapport with evangelical pastors.”

The reporter who tweeted about White’s announcement later clarified, “I asked The Send Brazil organizers, and they said Bolsonaro wasn’t making ‘a first decision for Christ,’ but he did say he believes in Jesus as his savior and that Brazil belongs to God.”

The greatness of God seems to have been a theme of the conference. 

Said Caine, “My biggest takeaway from being in Brazil is that I don’t believe God enough. I dream too small. I expect too little. I rationalize too much. I’ve decided to press in for more. Dig deeper for more. Pray fervently for more. My faith has been stretched and I love it!!!”

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