A shoe box donated to Operation Christmas Child (OCC) has the space that averages 330 cubic inches. Over the last 20 years, Samaritan’s Purse (OCC’s parent organization) has collected over 100 million of these boxes filled with love, toys, bars of soap, socks, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (This number is comparable to the […]
Cookie cutters are great tools for chocolate chip dough. This mentality, however, is a real detriment to volunteer ministry. Trying to fit every member of your church into the same ministry mold will only cause frustration- for the leaders and the volunteers. This is not God’s design for any category of ministry, especially outreach. Of […]
Imagine a Superbowl without a Lombardi trophy or a marathon win without a medal. We are designed by God to be motivated by rewards. These can be external (trophies, medals, degrees, bonuses, etc) or internal, but we look for the results of our effort. Therefore, it is imperative that church leaders help members see the […]
What if the mentality of some (or possibly many) pastors is suffocating ministry? Is it possible that the “superman” role that some pastors embrace is more like krypton to the church than salvation? God does call pastors to lead and equip believers for the work of ministry, but the choice to lord over it and […]
Decisions, actions, and the words we speak are birthed from our belief system. All possess beliefs about who God is, who we are, and our purpose in this life. Christian discipleship is, at the core, an alignment of our belief system with the thoughts and commands of our Lord and Savior. So, when something goes […]
Ten Nuggets to Discover from 1 Corinthians 12 About Spiritual Gifts 1. God does not want us to be ignorant about the work of the Holy Spirit or the use of spiritual gifts. (verse 1) 2. There is diversity in the Body of Christ, because we have differing gifts. (verses 4-6) 3. There is unity […]
“Help me find the ministry that God has for me in this church. I want to serve so that I can help others, but I need to know what to do, how to do it, and how I am doing. Sincerely, A Church Member.” This is the cry of a church member who is following […]
I grew up in an era when we were taught in school: “You can do anything. You can change the world.” Right or wrong, that was ingrained into our impressionable heads. Now, tens of millions of young adults are wandering around, trying to figure out how they can begin a revolution. Today, people are not […]
Are believers in Christ working so much at their jobs that they don’t have time to minister to people? One trend that has influenced volunteer ministry in the church is the career decisions of believers. Marlene Wilson acknowledges that the times have changed. “The fact is that people are volunteering- just not in the ways […]
Family dynamics have changed the look of volunteer ministry. Churches that refuse to recognize this change will inevitably see a decline not only in ministry participation but also in the spiritual growth of the congregation. Families look different today than when I was a kid (BTW, I am only 37 years old). We did not […]
Follower of Jesus, husband, father, pastor, Bible teacher, doctor who has yet to do surgery.
Jeremy Amick: Marti,
That is a great and simple procedure for m...
martijennings: My definition of a good leader is what I call the ...
How to Get People to Follow You (5 Christ-honoring Distinctives) | Follow One Lead Others by Jeremy Amick: [...] Leads Others, Somewhere (Leadership Overview...
Mike Sain: What is your definition of leadership? one who lea...
Mike Sain: Is the church today winning? I have to say yes and...
