Church & Ministry
These articles for pastors, church staff, lay leaders, elders, or those headed into ministry. They focus on topics such as church life and growth, leadership, helps for preaching and teaching, and practical issues pastors and churches face, to help you lead with wisdom.
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Rediscovering the Lectionary’s Unrealized Potential
By Michael Niebauer Michael Niebauer grew up in a church that used the lectionary. For nearly a thousand Sundays, he heard four Scripture readings a week—but he couldn’t say how any of…
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For the Care of Souls: A Look at the Lexham Ministry Guides
Every pastor knows the challenges in ministry. It can be intimidating to lead a congregation well—even harder to do so from a place of reflection and not reaction. You need wisdom. Wisdom not based on trends, but deeply rooted in God’s Word and the…
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Loving a Place That Suffers: Ministry in Small Towns and Overlooked Places
By Charles E. Cotherman What does it mean to suffer with a place and its people for the long haul of ministry? Suffering happens to each of…
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What Qualifies a Pastor? The Essential Characteristic That Churches Keep Overlooking
Ask most people what they want in a pastor and you’ll hear about preaching, vision, and presence. These are good gifts. But we have all seen gifted pastors self-destruct or hurt healthy churches.
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Is Your Church as Friendly as You Think?
Most churches believe they are welcoming but research shows that over 80% of first-time guests disagree. Is your church as friendly as you think?
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Why Chasing Cultural Trends Is Killing Your Church’s Mission
As Western Christianity continues to decline, two veteran pastors argue that the church’s real problem isn’t irrelevance but that we stopped trusting in God’s Word to do what he promises it will do.
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The Multigenerational Mission of the Church Family
Just as families are formed through the influence of multiple generations, so it is in the church. Bryan Chapell shows from Scripture how churches must intentionally cultivate multigenerational faith communities, where everyone plays a role in passing faith forward.
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Why Your Church Needs to Listen to Young Adults
Churches will face extinction if they continue to age without engaging new generations—but knowing that is not enough. How can your church let young adults lead you into a more multigenerational ministry?
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The Power of Children in Corporate Worship for Faith Retention
If you want kids in your church to grow up Christian, then include them in the church’s corporate worship.
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Why Do We Have the Apostles’ Creed?
Far from a top-down decree, the Apostles’ Creed began as something far more radical—a grassroots baptismal vow that made and sustained disciples.
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Spurgeon’s Three Commitments That Made Him the Prince of Preachers
Spurgeon’s legendary preaching was no accident — it was built on three commitments that every faithful expositor would do well to imitate.
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The Four Characteristics of Anglicanism
Anglican churches worldwide share these four defining characteristics.
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Is Biblical Women’s Ministry in the Church Still Important?
By Cyndee Ownbey Why women’s ministry? Is it really necessary? Could you make a case for women’s ministry in your church if you had to? If I’m honest, for many years I…
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Pastoral Confession: A Surprising Key to Healthy Ministry
By Jamin Goggin “My sin was not mine to manage or fix on my own. What good news this was.” I went into a meeting…
