Dear pastors and ministry leaders: LifeWay Resources President Thom Rainer is pretty good at predicting trends in the North American church. He’s been analyzing those trends for years, and recently shared his take on what lies ahead in an article titled “The Top Ten Major Trends for 2017.” I’ve reproduced his list below (with minor … Continue reading "From Greg: Trends for churches in 2017" Read the article
Sermon for March 26, 2017 (fourth Sunday in Lent) Scripture readings: 1 Sam. 16:1-13, Psalm 23: 1-6, Eph. 5:8-14, John 9:1-41 THE MIRACLE OF SEEING JESUS (John 9:1-41) By Ted Johnston Jesus performed many miracles by which he met human needs while conveying truth concerning his identity as Son of God and Messiah. One of the biblical signs … Continue reading "Sermon for March 26, 2017" Read the article
Sermon for March 19, 2017 (third Sunday in Lent) Scripture readings: Ex. 17:1-7, Psa. 95:1-11, Rom. 5:1-11, John 4:5-42 REJOICING IN OUR JUSTIFICATION (Romans 5:1-11) By Ted Johnston In Romans 1-4, Paul focuses on justification—the gift of right standing with God received by those who trust in Christ for their salvation. This gift unites believers with God … Continue reading "Sermon for March 19, 2017" Read the article
Below are links to inexpensive or free resources that address key aspects of congregational leadership. We don’t necessarily endorse the full content of each one, but all of them provide helpful food for thought and discussion. Discerning God’s Will As a Group. This training pack from Building Church Leaders teaches ways for a leadership group to … Continue reading "Team-based leadership resources" Read the article
Through the five articles linked below, this month’s Equipper addresses leadership development, a vital part of our ongoing journey of renewal. From Greg: Team-based and pastor-led Greg Williams explores the model of congregational leadership that GCI advocates and has governance systems in place to facilitate. On Leadership: Know yourself to lead yourself Rick Shallenberger notes … Continue reading "Renewing our leadership" Read the article
God uses churches of all sizes to accomplish his purposes, yet many churches, in multiple denominations (GCI included), are quite small. This small size, no doubt, presents many opportunities, yet it also presents significant challenges—particularly when it comes to discipling children. How does a small church provide a meaningful children’s ministry when only one or … Continue reading "Kid’s Korner: discipling children in small churches" Read the article
In keeping with our commitment to equip pastors and others for preaching the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), we provide this month five sermons that sync with the RCL Gospel lections for February 12 through March 12, 2017. We welcome your comments, additions and questions (use the "leave a reply" feature below). Sermon for February 12, 2017 Scripture … Continue reading "RCL sermons: February 12-March 12" Read the article
This article is from Rick Shallenberger, a GCI-USA regional pastor and a contributing editor and feature writer for Equipper. This is part 2 of a series on Christian leadership. For other articles in the series, click a number: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Do you know what it’s like to be on the other side … Continue reading "On leadership: Know yourself to lead yourself" Read the article
Dear fellow pastors and leaders, Our theme this issue is congregational leadership. Though a large topic, it’s vital to our ongoing journey of renewal. The old adage is generally true: “As go the leaders, so goes the church.” By definition, leaders are influencers, thus who they are as people and how they exert their influence, have … Continue reading "From Greg: team-based and pastor-led" Read the article
This article is by Rick Shallenberger, who serves as a U.S. regional pastor and a contributing editor for GCI-USA publications. This is part 1 of a series on Christian leadership. For other articles in the series, click a number: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. In his letter this month, Greg Williams mentions CAD’s commitment to … Continue reading "On leadership: Commitment to high support-high challenge" Read the article
