
5 hidden costs of digital convenience in the local church
When convenience becomes central, something subtle begins to shift in the culture of a church.

When convenience becomes central, something subtle begins to shift in the culture of a church.

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Ministry provides us with a front-row seat to the full range of human experience. One week, you are standing in a sanctuary decorated with flowers, watching a young couple promise forever.

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Over the years, I’ve studied churches that have done a good job not only of reaching people, but also of keeping them/assimilating them. Here are seven components of effective assimilation I’ve seen:

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An established church carries something precious: history. Over the years, people have prayed in those rooms, cried in those pews, laughed in those hallways, and learned to trust God through ordinary Sundays and unexpected storms. That kind of legacy is a gift.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — A church without discipleship is just a gathering. And groups ministry is key for making disciples in the local church.
The connection between Christmas and the nations is deeper than the general drive for generosity that occurs every year around the holidays. Generosity and compassion are good. But our prayers and giving to international missions aren’t rooted in a general desire to practice these things. Rather, they find a deep root in the Christmas story itself.
Each year, Southern Baptists kick off December by observing a Week of Prayer for International Missions before the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering emphasis. This week, as believers learn about missionaries serving around the world, the call is to pray for those faithfully sharing the gospel through international missions.
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. – The annual Lifeway Women’s Leadership Forum provides a space for women to be trained for leadership, as women are equipped to live out their faith in their leadership in ministry, the workplace and their homes.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) – It was the last night of a week of FUGE Camps in Mobile, Alabama, and groups were gearing up for Mega Relay – a high-energy relay race that involves everyone at camp and serves as the iconic close to each FUGE Camps session of the summer. As teams gathered to prepare for the race, one group had a different routine than the rest.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — This summer, as thousands of kids and students attended Lifeway camps across the country, camp staff challenged them to think more broadly about their role in God’s mission to make disciples of all nations, and campers responded by giving generously to Southern Baptist missions endeavors.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) – Last summer, the student ministry at First Baptist Church in Jasper, Tenn., didn’t meet for the month of July. Students weren’t showing up.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) – Even as the front doors of churches swing wide to welcome new faces to the congregation, the back doors creak open as others make their way out to another church.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) — God is beyond our complete understanding, yet we can know Him and have a personal relationship with Him. He keeps the world turning yet is never too busy for us. He created massive galaxies, yet still gave even the tiniest creature incredible detail. How can all these things be true?
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) – The Lifeway camps team has been watching to see where God is working and is ready to join Him this summer through FUGE Camps and Student Life Camp by preparing a generation for revival.