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What Unity in the Church Is and Isn’t

Barnabas Piper

When a church is divided, it is awful. Sometimes it spells disaster. It always spells exhaustion and hurt. Whether it is division between leaders, between members, or between leaders and members, division is abominable because it is a breakdown in...
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Succession in Church Plants

Dan Steel

Church planting is inherently future-focused. Planters begin with a bold vision, prayerful dependence on God, and a strong desire to see gospel fruit. Yet ironically, few planters give serious thought to a future without themselves in the picture. We pour...
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Maximize Your Summer: Plan for Fall Ministry

Noah Oldham

Summertime State of Mind It’s summertime, and in the church world, this means that everything seems to both speed up and slow down at the same time. Children and students are out of school, and that means ministries related to...
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Ladies, in Every Season, You Have a Place in the Mission

Heather Oldham

I’ve walked through seasons that could’ve swallowed me whole—infertility, the heartbreak of unanswered prayers, and silent waiting. Then, parachute planting a church from scratch, stepping into the unknown with nothing but faith, and launching that church just one month before...
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15 Points from Spurgeon on Praying in Public

J.A. Medders

Don’t overlook your public prayers. It is too easy to fall into the practice of putting effort and thought into everything that happens on Sunday morning, except your prayers from the stage. These moments matter, are holy, and instructive. You...
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The Pandemic of Pastoral Loneliness

Matt Carter

I recently spent a couple of days around a table with 8 pastors discussing life and ministry. They ranged in age from their mid-forties to mid-fifties. Many of these guys, you’d know their names because they’ve had a significant impact...
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The Weight of Our Hope

Ronnie Martin

If the fruit of humanity is humility, then the fruit of humility is hopefulness. And hopefulness comes through the refining fires of waiting. For there to be hope, there needs to be something unseen to be hoped for.  “We look...
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Leading Your Church to Be a Multiplying Church

Noah Oldham

Evangelicalism isn’t just a theology—it’s a movement. At its core is the belief that the Gospel is meant to spread. Jesus didn’t just call His followers to gather—He called us to go. He didn’t just build a church to preserve...
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Best Practices for Leading Efficient and Productive Team Meetings

Jon Kelly

We’ve all experienced it—a meeting that dragged on too long, veered off course, or left us wondering why we were even there. The truth is, meetings should be purposeful. They should serve as strategic touchpoints that align your team, clarify...
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The Grace of “And”

Barnabas Piper

I don’t know if it’s a trend or if social media and the sharability of video clips have just made it more obvious, but there is a troubling pattern in the communication of many preachers today: the pithy false dichotomy....
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The Place of Lament in Church Planting

Dan Steel

A conversation recently has got me thinking about the place of lament in church planting, which may seem an unusual marriage of contradictory ideas, as church planting is often associated with excitement about what might be. The chance to reach...
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The Priority of Humility

Ronnie Martin

Years ago, I heard John Piper share a story at a conference I attended. He said that someone once asked him, “John, how do I learn to be humble like you?” He replied, “Who said I was humble?” The pastoral...
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Raising Church-Planting Kids: Be Their Calm in the Chaos

Heather Oldham

Planting a church is a calling that demands faith, endurance, and a willingness to step into the unknown. For church planters and their families, the journey is filled with both joy and sacrifice—long hours, uncertain outcomes, and the weight of...
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Planting a Church? Remember This Verse

Noah Oldham

Church planting is both a thrilling and challenging endeavor. It is a call to step into the unknown, trust God for provision, and engage in spiritual warfare for the sake of the gospel. For those called to this mission, the...
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3 Prayer Habits Spurgeon Wanted for Planters

J.A. Medders

Faithful and effective church planters must be men of prayer. You can only be faithful and effective when you pray to the Faithful One, to the Effector of gospel ministry. Charles Spurgeon taught his students in his Pastors’ College to...
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Confidence in the Calling to Church Planting

Tony Merida

Church planting is not a casual endeavor. It demands more than ideas or inspiration—it requires conviction—a deep, settled confidence. As we consider the essential traits of a faithful and effective church planter, one rises to the surface: confidence in calling....
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Coaching from Peter: 12 Lessons for Church Planters

Noah Oldham

Church planting demands vision and perseverance. As planters work toward the dream of a thriving church, they must also labor in the trenches of ministry. The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 5, provides invaluable exhortations for pastors and planters in...
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5 Questions to Ensure a Successful Local Community Partnership

Jon Kelly

Whether a church planter is in the early core team stages or has already launched Sunday services, it is essential that both the planter and the church body actively engage the city with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This requires...