Category: Blog
7 Creative Things You can Mail for Children’s Ministry Followup
by Patrick Bradley: Kids love getting mail. If they’ve visited your church for the first time, mail them a ‘thanks for coming’ note on one of these 7 creative things you can mail for children’s ministry followup. It turns out you can mail lots of weird stuff if you affix […]
The Blessings and Burdens of A Church Planter’s Wife
by Gloria Furman: No two church planting wives are the same. Our unique church contexts, seasons, personalities, challenges, gifts, perspectives, and preferences could fill volumes. WHAT’S DIFFERENT If you sat down for chai with Ananya in Ahmedabad and asked her to discuss the blessings and burdens of being a church […]
What is a Disciple Maker?
by Bobby Harrington: Discipleship.org’s theme for the 2017 National Disciple Making Forum is Disciple Maker. So it is important to state a clear definition: A disciple maker is a Christian who enters into relationships with people to help them trust and follow Jesus. Our definition is based upon Jesus’ example of […]
Ideas for Your Summer Reading List
By Warren Bird: What’s on your summer reading list? Here are my recommendations for church leaders: Bigger Faster Leadership by Samuel R. Chand Renowned leadership consultant, Samuel R. Chand details the account of the construction of the Panama Canal, and draws parallels between it and successful leadership methodology. An […]
Discipleship and the Gift of Desperation
by Nate Larkin: The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the original twelve disciples before Jesus called them. Their personal histories are vague, but there is one thing that we can say with confidence about all of the apostles: these men would not have made the radical decision to walk away […]
The Loneliness of Church Planting
by John Starke: For the last decade or so, there’s been a deepened interest in urban church planting. Young guys move into big cities with visions of planting “a church for the city.” They want to live in the neighborhoods that many evangelical churches attempted to escape in previous decades. […]
How to Stop Saying I’m Sorry To Your Family
by Frank Bealer: I have several friends from Canada and whenever we get together I’ve noticed they tend to apologize for everything. They say sorry even when the fault is clearly not their own. It’s unnecessary if you ask me, but it could explain why our neighbors to the north […]
Episode 187: Finding a Location
by Daniel Im & Todd Adkins: What should you look for in a permanent location? In Episode 187 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, we’ll talk about things to look for when you’ve outgrown your current location and are looking for a new venue. Here’s Byron with today’s question: What are […]
How to Write a Church Donor Acknowledgement Letter
by Patrick Bradley: When a business or individual donates something, send them a church donor acknowledgement letter for their tax records. A local coffee shop has generously offered to provide coffee and muffins for your workers at a community service event. How exciting! All they want in return is a […]
Church Planting across Ethnic Lines
by Joel Kurz: Nine years ago, my wife and I (both of us white) moved into a neighborhood where we were an ethnic minority. We wanted to plant a church. Over the years, our idealism has been crushed, we’ve hit rock bottom, experienced a rebirth of vision, and have slowly […]