Wow—I can hardly believe it’s about to be 2014! We have a lot of exciting things on the horizon, but right now I’m taking a minute to reflect and count my blessings for the favor Christ has bestowed on us in 2013. I’ve been encouraged by your words and comments on the new blog—6 months in and here are the posts that have been the most read so far:
1. No Plot Will Work– It’s been a rough year as more than ever I have lost or know friends whose loved ones have committed suicide. I share a deeply personal story of losing a ministry friend who lost hope and ended his life.
2. Struck by Lightning– In ministry, “interruptions” like tragedy, sickness, failure, and accusation are regular occurrences. Ministry isn’t just about budgets, strategies and important meetings, it’s also about caring for friends whose lives have been struck by lightning.
3. This Changes Everything: Bible App for Kids– There are few times in my life that I have thought to myself, “this changes everything”. Launching the Bible App for Kids in partnership with YouVersion on Thanksgiving Day was one of those times.
4. The Trifecta: Three Influencers that Produce Spiritual Vibrancy in Teens– We do a lot of research, and our data has revealed that there are three main influencers that will help produce spiritually vibrant teens. We call these three influencing factors, the “trifecta”. Find out what they are!
5. Egyptian uprising offers new day for Egyptian church– The coup d’etat in Egypt has opened doors for the church to be salt and light to a nation looking for answers.
6. The George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin in me– The Zimmerman/Martin case rattled many of us to the core. I share how much I have wrestled with the “we” versus the “other” in my own life—even in a Walmart parking lot.
7. Macro Trend: Shedding light on the 4-14 window– When research shows that ¾ of believers worldwide accept Christ before the age of 18, with percentages drastically dropping off after age 14, you’ll understand why we seek to share the Gospel with children ages 4-14, in what we call the “4-14 window”.
8. The Stereotype of Stereotyping– As an international ministry committed to contextualizing Scripture for a variety of audiences, there is truly no “one size fits all”. A birds’ eye view of where we begin to develop customized Scripture engagement tools and programs.
9. Ministry’s most overlooked idea: 5 quick tips for creating margin– So thankful for ministry friends like Matt Keller taking the time to guest post on my blog! He shares how building margin into ministry actually makes it more effective in the long run.
10. Saying “yes” to dinner = saying “no” to drugs– Want your kids to stay away from drugs? Eat dinner with them!