Pentecost reminds us of our true identity as the children of God and brought us into a new community as the body of Christ. By Bill Hall, National Director, Canada Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Saskatchewan Homelessness Conference. For two days I listened to presenters talking about the causes of homelessness and … Continue reading "“Homeless No More”" Read the article
Easter Sunday is the most attended church service every year. It is also a great opportunity to invite those who don’t normally attend to visit your church. Check out the March Church Hack and consider using our linked Easter icons and imagery to make your Easter service last beyond the Hope Avenue experience on Sunday. … Continue reading "Church Hack: Easter Service Tips & Tools" Read the article
Adapted and paraphrased from Living the Christian Year, by Bobby Gross. Palm/Passion Sunday – This is a week to follow Jesus and vicariously enter in his suffering. Imagine laying your coat in the road before him as a sign of honor and respect. Wave your palm branch over him as you worship and shout Hosanna, … Continue reading "Spiritual Responses for Holy Week and Easter" Read the article
Healthy leaders lead to healthy church, which leads to healthy leaders. What might the 4 Es look like in GCI. Check this link for more information. Engage: recognize & recruit As pastors/leaders, we create an environment of recruiting and invitation. This is proactive. We do this by modeling a pattern of recognizing and inviting others … Continue reading "Application of the 4 Es in a Healthy Church" Read the article
As with all things in ministry and mission, context matters. By Cara Garrity, Development Coordinator In college I had the opportunity to study abroad in London, UK. My first night there I asked a waitress “where is the bathroom?” After a few strange moments, someone in my group kindly translated for me and asked, “where … Continue reading "Contextualizing the Process of Development" Read the article
This is the first of a series of articles on the process of development that discusses the 4 Es of Engage, Equip, Empower and Encourage. By Cara Garrity, Development Coordinator What do you think about when you hear the word “development”? What examples come to mind? How would you describe them? One of the images … Continue reading "Process of Development" Read the article
“If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would anyone in the community notice?” By Tim & Linda Sitterley, Regional Director and Pastor. Tim: As a regional director, I’ve asked many of the pastors in my region the question listed above. It’s an unpopular question, known to pastors throughout the Christian world. It’s a relevant question … Continue reading "Building Relationships vs Building Exposure" Read the article
Every member of the body of Christ has the same primary calling. But God gives us different gifts (Romans 12:4-8) and invites us into a diversity of second callings. We can think of second callings as personal response to the primary calling of Christ. Then, our God-given gifts, our passions, our experiences, our contexts, become … Continue reading "Church Hack: Discerning Gifting and Calling" Read the article
He Is Risen By Rick Shallenberger, Editor The format is “Reader’s Theater.” You are all telling different views of the same story. In this particular Reader’s Theater format, you aren’t really in conversation with each other, but you will be feeding off each other’s comments – as if the words they said just triggered your … Continue reading "Reader’s Theater for Good Friday or Easter Sunday" Read the article
By Rick Shallenberger, Editor Sometimes you can make a point through a dramatic reading. Dramatic readings present possible emotions and intensity of stories or characters we find in the Bible. They are not direct quotes from the Bible. As John tells us, if everything Jesus said or did was written, there would not be enough … Continue reading "Dramatic Readings – Voices of Easter" Read the article
