Resources in this category support a church planter's walk with God.
2 hours 30 minutes 11
Church planting is about more than Sunday services—it’s about engaging your city, making disciples, and planting healthy, biblical churches. Church Planting Like a Missionary explores how planters can build strong leadership, foster missional community, and cast God-given vision in a way that aligns people with His kingdom purposes.
Ben Barfield
“So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I also...
Ronnie Martin
I’m just going to say it: Psalm 131 is one of the shortest, but most important chapters in the Bible for pastoral ministry. Why, you ask? Because it gives us a picture of what needs to be forming inside of us...
Jon Kelly
This year marks 10 years since we planted Chicago West Bible Church on the West Side of Chicago. Over the past decade, there have been many lessons learned, many things I’d do differently, and many ways that we’ve grown. But if there is one truth that I wish I could...
We rightly make much of the “upside-down” nature of God’s kingdom. Based on the Sermon on the Mount, this speaks to the self-glorifying power and pride that characterize the kingdom of the world, as opposed to the humble, servant-oriented ways...
Dan Steel
Over the last decade, I’ve wrestled a few times with what it means to serve faithfully in our midlife. I turn fifty (fifty!?) next year, and I’ve been in paid ministry for over twenty years—long enough to have watched people...
Noah Oldham
There are several things in life that have a way of exposing what is really in you. Church planting might be at the top of that list. Even if you’re really good at masking the truth, striking out on the path to plant a...
I can think of too many people—good, sincere, kind, sacrificial core team members—who didn’t just leave a church plant, but eventually seemed to walk away from the faith altogether. Not because they stopped believing the gospel intellectually, but because of...
Will Basham
One of the most common questions I get asked at the church I lead in Appalachia is, “Why do you have so many pastors?” I usually jovially answer, “Because of my incompetence.” (The benefit of elder plurality is another article for another day.) That...
A covocational church planter is one whose primary vocation is in the marketplace and who is also called to start a church. Rather than viewing work outside the church as secondary or provisional, covocational leaders understand their marketplace vocation as an essential part of...
Kevin Spratt & J.A. Medders
Discerning a call to ministry is rarely a simple or predictable journey. This eBook explores the biblical foundations and practical realities of pastoral calling through the lens of experienced church planters and multiplying pastors. Drawing from research with proven ministry...
There is an unwritten rule in our church-planting culture: find the right person, and the church will follow. The “right” person? The right person is winsome, visionary, a gifted communicator—an all-round leader who more than capably reads Scripture, the room,...
I remember sitting in a staff meeting not long ago thinking something feels off. Nothing had gone wrong. Nobody was arguing; the agenda got covered, and on the surface, it looked like a good meeting. But it was quiet in a way...
Church planting is a whole mood. When a new church finally launches, so does the church planter! A maelstrom of multi-tasks (if they weren’t already in motion) descends in quick succession, and they are all necessary (and usually good) things. But the urgency that comes with planning...
Adam Muhtaseb
In 1945, World War II ended. Japan surrendered. The fighting was over. But nobody told Hiroo Onoda. Stationed in the Philippine jungle, Onoda kept fighting WWII for 29 years. Search parties went looking for him. He assumed they were Japanese prisoners forced to act against...
Luke Simmons
Recently, I discovered I was breaking the law. Somehow, my vehicle registration slipped through the cracks of my junk-filled personal email account. After my wife was pulled over while driving my car, she told me with loving firmness that I needed...
I bet you know the passage. Matthew 11:28–30. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,...
Years ago, I saw a meme that showed a dog chasing a bird off a cliff, mouth open, ready to bite. The caption said, “Some decisions made in anger can’t be undone.” That meme has stuck with me. Because it’s funny until it’s not. It’s funny...
J.A. Medders
Our lives are filled with axioms. These truisms, even if overstated, make a helpful point that’s easy to remember. In the world of sports, we hear, “Your best ability is availability.” I love this axiom. A great player who is always injured hurts his...
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