The Top Reasons Why Most Church Plants Fail in Five Years
Churches are like mountains. They’re beautiful—but they can kill you in twenty different ways. This quote has been laying the Sriracha to...
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- Aug 8
- 3 min
Leveraging Your Missions Funds Most Effectively in a Small Church
For eighteen years I spent the first hour of my day listening to country music. My mom’s alarm clock was set (loudly) to the local...
- Aug 2
- 8 min
The Future of Church and Agency Partnership
Now I can’t unsee Star Wars. It started when my wife observed how the futuristic films manage to be simultaneously primitive and...
- Aug 1
- 4 min
Expectations vs. Expectancy: The Fine Line of Missionary Attrition
At least a thousand times, my two-year-old has woken up before dawn to watch her beloved Nature Cat, a cartoon produced by the Public...
- Jul 25
- 2 min
A Liturgy for Raising Support
O Lord I have set my face like flint. I am prepared to take a step out of the boat of financial certainty— at least the certainty that...
- Jul 18
- 6 min
The Lead Pastor's Role in Missionary Care
“Wilson!” You probably know it as the most famous line from the film Castaway, starring Tom Hanks. If you haven’t seen it, the story...
- Jul 5
- 5 min
The Five Love Languages of Missionary Care
A monkey was sitting in a tree during a typhoon. From the safety of his perch he noticed a fish that was struggling tremendously in the...
- Jun 27
- 7 min
How to Find a Meeting Space for a Church Plant
We finished setting up our tents just as the rain blew sideways. It was my first trek through the countryside as a church planter in East...
- May 16
- 3 min
The Missions Pastor's Gospel
All my friends are dead. Don’t worry, it’s just the title of a book—a spoofy children’s book for adults. There’s a drawing of a...
- May 9
- 4 min
10 New(ish) Important Books for Church Planting
The cereal aisle will murder you. Don’t believe me? Go live in another country for a few months, especially one that doesn’t have...
- Apr 25
- 6 min
The Cheerleader and the Curmudgeon: Fostering Both Excitement and Sobriety in Potential Sent Ones
Choosing the right road trip companions can mean the difference between life and death. Maybe I just say that because I recently spent...
- Apr 11
- 2 min
How NOT to Send Marketplace Missionaries
So, this could be a terrible idea for an article. But here goes. I don’t know how to send marketplace missionaries. And that’s a problem....
- Apr 4
- 5 min
Missionary, Choose the Posture of a Learner
Imagine you’re sitting in a coffee shop reading your Bible. Each time you take a sip of your coffee, you notice a stranger staring at...
- Mar 28
- 6 min
Join Me! Guidelines for Recruiting a Church Planting Core Team
Each Christmas my family has a tradition of watching a little known movie called The Nativity Story. We love it not just because it...
- Mar 21
- 10 min
Fully-Funded vs. Support-Raised Missions
I love teaching adults their shapes. They really think they know them. “What’s this?” I ask, drawing a shape on the whiteboard. “Duh—a...
- Mar 14
- 6 min
Lamentations as the Textbook for Newly Arrived Missionaries
I just finished reading Jeremiah and Lamentations. Boy am I glad that’s over. Ever feel that way? If it weren’t for reading plans, there...
- Dec 23, 2021
- 2 min
A Liturgy for Missionaries During the Holidays
This may be prayed alone, but could be more beneficial alongside fellow petitioners. Items in bold should be spoken together. O God who...
- Dec 13, 2021
- 4 min
A Christmas Meditation from Clark W. Griswold
Chances are, sometime this month you’ll take in a few of the enduring words of Clark W. Griswold. Though the name may sound like a lesser...
- Nov 10, 2021
- 5 min
10 Things You Should Think About Before Planting a Church
Think before you post. Just four words, but instantly you know what I’m talking about. It may sound similar to the old ways of saying it:...
- Aug 23, 2021
- 5 min
The Grace in Not Yet: A Defense for Staying When Others Say So
So, I live in a seminary town—people like to debate theology, and everybody wants to drop the mic. One day, as egg-headed banter was...