Being raised in a pastor’s home where my dad served one church for 23 years and serving in the local church myself for more than 31 years, 26 years at my last church, I strongly believe that ministry for the long haul produces exponential results. Here are five characteristics needed to stay in a ministry setting for the long term.
“When Christ ascended into heaven, all He left behind was a prayer meeting.” Armin Gesswein, an early associate with Billy Graham and a pioneer in the prayer movement, believed the church was born in prayer. Since that’s true, a culture of prayer should be the family portrait of the New Testament Church. Why, then, does it often seem as if prayer is a peripheral issue?
He’s not like us. We subtly beg for compliments, we subversively seek affirmation, we passive-aggressively look for allies – but not Jesus. Jesus knows what He’s about. And He knows that what He offers is the only thing that truly satisfies.
Many are on fire for God’s mission—but for all the wrong reasons. Here are five traps people easily fall into, as we wrongly pursue everyday mission:
Imagine fasting for 28 days. No food or drink during daylight hours. It’s about more than testing your willpower. Your social standing and status with God depend on how well you do with this task. For Muslims around the world, this is their reality for the next month. This year, Ramadan starts on the evening […]
Over and over, the International Mission Board sees examples of Southern Baptists coming together to take the gospel to every nation. The cooperative efforts have never shone brighter than this year. Churches set a record with their generous giving. The Lottie Moon offering was the largest in the 177-yearhistory of the IMB with $203.7 million.
The big outreach event was almost here. Plans had been made and prayer supporters engaged. South Asian believer Abel was leading the efforts for a widespread gospel outreach to a largely unreached district. But COVID-19 disrupted the plans. Transportation to the region shut down and the event had to be cancelled.
On another sunny day in northern Uganda, Hector steps into the river and turns to extend his hand to Oketa Robert, a new believer. Oketa Robert walks into the water, ready to take the next step of faith and be baptized. He
Bibles lay open amid the food wrappers on the fast-food restaurant table. The two men sat quietly discussing a key concept in Christianity — Jesus rising from the dead.
Everyone in the small church wondered if the baptism was ever going to happen. In this Central Asian city visited by thousands of tourists each year, the delays kept stacking up.
Olga wanted to go to church for years, but her husband forbade it. He didn’t believe in God and didn’t want his family dabbling in a faith he understood to be false.
Across the 2,000 inhabited islands of more than 7,600 that make up the Philippines, is a vast spiritual darkness. People are not only trapped by the islands, but trapped in their sin — separated from God because many have not yet heard the life-saving Gospel.
Word spread quickly in this North African town. A medical clinic arrived, and anyone is welcome. Setting up in a local church gave some people pause, but free health care is hard to turn down.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. And it was good, until it wasn’t.
