Resources in this category support a church planter's walk with God.
Adam Muhtaseb
Have you ever been truly discouraged? Not mildly frustrated. Not just worn out after a long week. But the kind of discouragement that makes you quietly wonder, “Can I actually keep going?” Several years into planting in Baltimore, I hit that wall. ...
J.A. Medders
Leadership is influence toward a goal. This simple definition applies to NFL teams chasing the Super Bowl, businesses seeking to increase sales, and church planters and church-planting teams. Planter, you are a spiritual leader. Spiritual leadership is influence toward the biblical...
Will Basham
I wake up every morning and generally have no idea what I’m doing on any given day. I’m not referring to my general cluelessness about life (although that does exist more often than I’d like to admit). I’m referring to the busyness that seems to captivate many of my days. And, particularly...
Jon Kelly
In Season and Out of Season Leadership—especially pastoral leadership and church planting—is both a sacred privilege and a profound weight. It invites you into moments of breathtaking joy and gut-wrenching sorrow, often in the same week, sometimes in the same conversation. It...
Ronnie Martin
The phrase “feeling stuck” likely elicits a visceral reaction. It recalls a moment in the past or a feeling in the present when you feel stifled, pressed in, unable to progress, or held back from moving forward. It could be...
Noah Oldham
Church planters often look at King Saul as the prototype of failure—an anxious, self-protective leader whose insecurity and disobedience eventually led to God removing his kingdom (and ending his life). That reading is true. Saul is a warning sign on...
Barnabas Piper
How many times have you been asked some version of the question, “So, what do you do between Sundays?” The impression many people have is that pastors roll into church on Sundays, preach a sermon, pray with some folks, and...
Heather Oldham
Church planting exposes a lot about us and about our kids. The expectations feel heavy, the spotlight can feel invasive, and the constant sense of being watched can make the normal messiness of parenting feel like public commentary on your...
If you’re like me (or … nothing at all like me), you have still probably seen a gazillion film or stage adaptations of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. One of the beautiful features of Dickens’ story is that it...
“Even Jesus flipped tables.” If you, like me, have ever uttered these words in defense of your own anger (or heard someone do so), then I am writing to you. The story of Jesus driving out the money changers from...
Dan Steel
And, dressed in sneakers, when he saw the crowds, he entered the rented auditorium and stood up. His core team came to him, he switched on the projectors, and he began to teach them. Blessed are the self-sufficient, for they...
When Paul planted the church in Philippi, he didn’t just preach a sermon—he modeled what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus in a new community. For church planters and their teams, Acts 16 provides a blueprint for...
We talked about it for years. We longingly gazed at stories on Instagram. Every summer, we would say, “We just need to do it.” And then finally, this year, we did. We booked a fall road trip through New...
You cannot plant a church alone. I want to free you from the tyranny of any hero-mentality established in your heart, journals, or whiteboards. Brothers, messiahs are no longer needed. The church has one, and He is doing great. When...
Many of us grew up in a church context that emphasized passion for God. Some of our favorite theologians and preachers from history are known for their passion. This emphasis set a standard, an objective, for us—to pursue passion for...
Life in the Land of the Anywheres From experience, church planting (or even simply pastoring) in high-mobility contexts—such as university cities, tech hubs, or urban centers with rapidly changing rental markets—presents both unique opportunities and frustrations. These are the places...
It was over nine years ago, during the second year of our church plant. I was at home in the living room on a phone call with a young man who had recently started attending our church. My wife sat...
“Forgive me for bothering you with something so minor …” How many times has somebody approached you with words like this? If we’re paying attention, we can probably detect some level of shame in their approach. They are likely afraid...
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