Tag «Discipleship»

A Surprising First Step, Pastors, toward Strengthening Your Evangelism

Over more than forty years of ministry, I’ve learned that not many Christians share their faith on a regular basis. In fact, I know few pastors who evangelize, either. So, I agree with Thom Rainer that “evangelism is dead or dying in most American churches.” I also strongly affirm Thom’s statement that “an evangelistic church…

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Where Gen Z Gets It Right And What We Should Learn From Them

I’ve recently taken on the role of teaching a cultural theology and biblical worldview class for high school juniors at a private school in my new hometown. Surprisingly, I’ve found that I’m learning just as much from them during our discussions, whether in class sessions or through our private conversations. When it comes to discussing…

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Churches Are Missing the Big Opportunity to Minister to Single-Parents

Single-parent homes are far more prevalent in the United States than most realize. They comprise one-quarter to one-third of homes with children in many communities. In your community, the number could be even higher. Consider the neighborhood around my church in Bradenton, Florida. Single Mom Households: 31% Single Dad Households: 12% Married with Children: 57%…

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An Update on Rooted: One of the Best Discipleship Resources I’ve Ever Seen

In January of 2022, I wrote an article on one of the best church resources I’ve ever seen. At that time, I shared about Rooted and how it offers a clear, transformational pathway for a disciple to become more like Jesus and make an impact in their church and community. In the two years since…

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8 Reasons Some Young People Are Walking away from Their Faith

It’s alarming to me, actually. As a pastor and as a professor, I’ve had to deal with young people who were raised in seemingly strong Christian homes, yet who’ve now turned away from their Christian upbringing. Frankly, I’m grateful that some of these young people still trust me enough to talk to me—and in those…

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They Told Me Rather Than Teach Me

I was a new believer, and my pastor gave me my first Bible ever—a red, hardback King James Version award Bible. “You need to read this book,” he told me. “It’s God’s Word.” I was 13 years old at the time, and I had never read any of the Bible. My pastor had told me…

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An Urgent Plea to Churches

I admit it: I’m pleading with church leaders with this post. I’m pleading on behalf of 19 million people in the United States. This past weekend, I led a collegiate conference at a local church. Every time I speak to college students, I’m reminded of two things: (1) they bring enthusiasm and potential to a…

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5 Surprising Approaches Churches Are Using to Increase Attendance

I like outliers. Outliers are, by their definition, exceptions to the rule. They are different from others. Our Church Answers team closely watches church attendance, especially attendance since the pandemic. Most churches had a decline in attendance. Since many of these congregations are intentional about recovering from the decreases, we note what approaches these churches take. …

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The Cincinnati Bengals . . . and Discipleship

I realize this post is an unusual one for me, but I trust it makes sense at the end. I started writing this post on a plane going from Atlanta to Cincinnati to speak in a church meeting Sunday and Monday. As a native of Cincinnati and a life-long fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, I…

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The One Thing that Solves Most Church Problems (Only 1% of Churches Actually Do This)

Church health will not improve until ongoing evangelism returns. A recent Church Answers poll found that only 1% of churches have an ongoing evangelism effort. This finding corroborated a more extensive longitudinal study we’ve been conducting since 1996, in which the lowest church health score across denominations is in the category of evangelism. The trend…

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