The Changing Landscape of Youth Ministry

The increasingly complex intricacies of doing ministry in a post-modern, post-Christian reality have completely changed the context in which we minister to children and youth today. Consider some of these challenges: Non-traditional family structures Family fragmentation Lower rates of Christian affiliation Plummeting church attendance Decreasing Scripture engagement Increasing pace of cultural change Decreased biblical literacy […]

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5 secrets to build a GREAT Missions Strategy

I speak with a first-time lead pastor almost every week. And one question that consistently comes up in those conversations is this: How do I develop an engaging missions program at the church? Many people who come into their new role as a lead pastor are hesitant to change too much about the way the […]

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A courageous paradigm shift

Children’s Ministry 2.0 Part 2 Read Part 1: “Who Likes Sunday School” Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~C.S. Lewis It takes an act of courage to change or try something new. Believing we were called to help the church figure out an […]

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The Founder’s Syndrome: Finish well

It’s not easy to give up something you love. In 1993, along with a group of friends and under the direction of World Missions, we re-founded what is now known as Seminario Ministerial Sudamericano (South American Ministerial Seminary), SEMISUD, in the city of Quito, Ecuador. The optimism, energy and vision we had for the project […]

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God said Turn Right

I always drive the same route to work. One day while sitting at a red light a few blocks away from the office on a double-booked kind of day, I distinctly heard the Holy Spirit tell me to, “Take a right”. Not one to argue with the Lord, I clicked on my blinker and made […]

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Don’t break the mirror

“We need to understand that for every statistic, there is a young person who has a face, who has a story, who has a name. And I know, because I was destined to be one of those statistic until OneHope and your ministry came and saved my life.”  ~ “Theresa” When I am favored with […]

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