Author: Administrador

By Greg Pouncey Preachers love to tell deacon jokes. It might be the one about the pastor that visited a deacon in the hospital. The dying man wrote a note to him just before he passed away. The pastor stuck it in his pocket without reading it and opened it on the day of the … Continue reading “3 Aspects of an Effective Pastor-Deacon Relationships”

By Carol Pipes Americans overwhelmingly (77 percent) believe morals and values are declining in the U.S. The most-cited cause for the decline is a lack of Bible reading. A survey by the American Bible Society found that the Bible remains a highly valued, influential force in America. However, studies show few actually read the Bible. … Continue reading “Americans Value the Bible, But Few Read It”

By Eric Geiger The apostle Paul described his ministry as skillful building in response to and empowered by God’s grace. He said, “According to God’s grace that was given to me, as a skilled master builder I have laid a foundation” (1 Corinthians 3:10). In other words, the apostle Paul did not just “wing it” … Continue reading “Blueprint for Discipling People with Wisdom”

By Ronnie Floyd One of the ever-growing challenges of local church ministry is connecting with people in the community who don’t attend church. For the past 26 years of my life, I have served as the senior pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark. I can remember when I arrived in the fall of 1986; … Continue reading “Four Ways to Connect the Unconnected”

More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) believe religion is losing influence, according to a recent poll by Gallup. That’s about the same percentage as in 1970. At least 60 percent of Americans thought religion was losing its influence in 1991-1994, in 1997 and 1999, in 2003, and from 2007 to the present. Americans were … Continue reading “Americans say Religion Is Losing Influence, Yet They Want More of It”

By Ed Stetzer In the Transformational Discipleship study conducted by Lifeway Research, we found biblical engagement to be a key attribute in discipleship. As believers grow in their faith, they should have a deeper longing to encounter biblical truth. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul writes to Timothy about the value of the Scriptures: “All Scripture is inspired by … Continue reading “Bible Engagement Impacts Spiritual Maturity”

By Diana Davis Summer’s an ideal time to reach lost people for Christ. Here are a few tips to help you along the way: Promote the activities to everyone in the community. Encourage your members to bring their unchurched friends. Host a few events throughout the summer—maybe one a month—to build a bridge to visitors … Continue reading “Get Outside & Get Creative: 20 Ideas for Summer Outreach”

By J.D. Greear If there were a Guinness Book of World Records record for “amount of times having asked Jesus into your heart,” I’m pretty sure I would hold it. By the time I reached the age of 18, I had probably “asked Jesus into my heart” 5,000 times. I started somewhere around age 4 … Continue reading “Should We Stop Asking Jesus into our Hearts?”

By Staff Almost half of Americans see the nation having “more people who are not religious” as a bad thing, according to a new Pew Research study. Forty-eight percent of the country is worried about the growth of the so-called “Nones,” while 39 percent say it doesn’t matter and 11 percent believe it is a … Continue reading “Half See Rise of ‘Nones’ as Bad for America”

By Micah Fries An octopoda is a family of eight-armed creatures. The obvious star of the family would be the octopus—gangly, fluid and able to manage substantial tasks because of their eight-armed ability. I have a feeling a number of church leaders are under the impression that they are somehow a part of this family … Continue reading “Why Pastors Must Stop Trying to Do it All and Let Others Serve”