Category: Rural Ministry
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Spread the Gospel like Stubble Clover…
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So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. – 1 Corinthians 3:7-8 ESV I was part of a lot of years…
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Windmills
In my workshop at the 2018 RHMA conference, one of the examples I gave for the need to network for ministry in your community is a windmill field. These things seem to be everywhere that it’s flat for more than 50 acres in the Midwest. If you drive across I-74 in Illinois, it looks that…
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Grasshoppers!
Numbers 13:31-33 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which…
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Read the Instructions
Matthew 7:15-20 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear…
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Dry bones in Rural America
Ezekiel 37:13-14 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’ 5 “Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold,…
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Are you at #nywc17 ? Let’s connect!!
Are you going to be at the National Youth Workers Convention this weekend in Memphis? Come stop by the National Network of Youth Ministries booth near the idea Lab in the Exhibit Hall and say hello! We would love to connect you to a network of local youth workers in your area, or help equip…
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10 Church Safety Questions You Should Be Asking…
In light of all the news surrounding the church shooting in Tennessee this weekend, there are some questions that those of us in church leadership should be asking ourselves. We live in a dangerous world. Yes, it’s unfortunate that as shepherds, we must help in protecting our flock from physical danger, in addition to guarding…
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The Church Cat.
I had a first in ministry today. A cat as a visitor to the congregation. The church I am serving is across the street from a home with several kids and a few cats. Often when I come on Sunday morning, there is a black and white cat that roams around the front yard of…
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What is a Transitional Pastor?
The other day, I posted an announcement about serving at Bloomingdale Friends church for the remainder of 2017 as their Transitional Pastor. I want to follow that up by writing a little about what a transitional pastor is (and isn’t). If you really want to dig into what the position entails, Dan Garland wrote a…
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Transitional Assistance…
So a former southern baptist youth pastor who works for a non-denominational parachurch ministry walks into a Quaker Church… This is not the lead up to a really great “preacher joke”, this is life right now, and truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. When you follow God’s call, you don’t really get to choose where…
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A Fish Story
It all starts with a young coal miner named John Kuhnert. He had a young family at home, and not a lot of resources to put food on the table to feed the young growing family. John and his brothers discovered that they could get quite a lot of meat by going fishing in the…
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Missions Monday: What’s your outreach?
If you have been in ministry any length of time, you may have heard the phrase “missions begins at home”. That is exactly what we are doing here at MinistryPlace.net with the new Missions Monday series. Our first look is at local outreach. What are you doing locally to reach the unchurched in your community?…