In Preaching Articles: "Church Life"

Are You Training Lay Preachers? You Should!

By Chris Surber on Jan 24, 2024

When we neglect to develop and maintain active lay ministry in the life of the local church, our churches miss out in at least five ways.

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

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God Doesn't Need Cops In The Pulpit--He Needs Preachers

By Ray Hollenbach on Dec 11, 2019

There's a big difference between drawing a crowd and preaching a sermon. The church is desperate for life-giving preachers.

Tags: Preaching

Success Is Never About Defeating The Giants

By Brandon Cox on Nov 27, 2023

Success isn’t about beating giants. It’s about building a life that grows through trials and challenges.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:34-37

Tags: Facing Giants, church ministry, success, goals, achievement, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, success in ministry  (view more)  (view less)

The Best Way To Promote Church Growth? Support Small Churches

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 27, 2021

I want as many people as possible, all over the world, to know Jesus. The good news of the gospel can’t be confined within the walls of my church, the distinctives of my denomination, the borders of my country, or the customs of my culture.

Tags: Support, Preaching, Church Growth, Small Church

Is Your Church Lying?

By Greg Stier on Jan 15, 2025

When it comes to evangelism, a mission statement can turn from big black letters on a church marquee to a little white lie that the church is telling the community.

Scripture: Acts 4:31

Tags: Evangelism, Church, Gospel, Honesty, Church General, Evangelism How To, evangelism, gospel, church  (view more)  (view less)

The Benefit Of A Church Crisis

By Josh Reich on Feb 16, 2021

Nobody likes a crisis. No one likes bad news or being disappointed or being uncomfortable. We like when things work, when things are easy, when things go our way. Yet if you are a leader, at some point you will walk through a crisis with your church.

Scripture: Acts 12:1-10

Tags: Preaching, crisis

Who Is Lord Of The Church?

By John Macarthur on Jun 16, 2022

The church today is badly in need of reformation again. And Christ’s lordship over His church is still the central truth we must recover, which requires the unleashing of His Word among His people again. We cannot merely float along with the latest evangelical trends and expect things to get better.

Scripture: Acts 10:42

Tags: Church, Body of Christ, Christ the head, Lord Of The Church, church  (view more)  (view less)

The 4 Most Overlooked Realities Of A Healthy Church Turnaround

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 13, 2022

Many pastors say “I want this church to turn around”, when what we really mean is “I want this church to get bigger.” Those are two different goals.

Tags: Church, church

8 Ways To Bust Leadership Discouragement

By Charles Stone on Sep 28, 2022

"Discouragement is a universal experience for ministry leaders and the word actually self-defines itself…dis-courage meaning no courage. Some of the Bible’s greatest characters faced it: Moses, David, Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus, and the apostles. Nehemiah, the great Old Testament leader faced it when he led the Jews to rebuild the wall. Yet, his response offers us hope when we face it."

Scripture: Psalm 77:11, Nehemiah 4:10-21

Tags: Blessings, Burdens, Leadership, Nehemiah, leadership, Discouragement, thought life, pastoral leadership  (view more)  (view less)

11 Ways To Be The Church For People Who Don't Go To Church

By SermonCentral .com on Jul 20, 2019

People need to know us before they can trust us. And they need to trust us before they’ll go to church with us.

Tags: Evangelism, Outreach, Apologetics, Discipleship, Preaching, christian living, evangelism, preaching, Christian Living  (view more)  (view less)

9 Dynamic Ways To Widen Your Church’s Front Door

By SermonCentral .com on Aug 10, 2019

As you develop your outreach strategy, consider including a plan for equipping your church members to be recommenders and inviters

Tags: Preaching, preaching

6 Things Church Leaders Need To Know About Small Churches

By SermonCentral .com on Feb 15, 2022

Ninety percent of the churches on earth are under 200 people. Eighty percent are under 100. There may be no segment of the church that is more normative. But they may also be the most misunderstood.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:25

Tags: christian unity, Church Unity, Megachurch, Small Church

The Ultimate Character Test Any Great Leader Passes

By Carey Nieuwhof on Nov 14, 2023

Moral failure takes out more leaders than it should. But real success is deeper than just avoiding the ditch.

Tags: Leadership, pastoral leadership, church leadership, First Things First, Leadership Failure, True Success, e, leadership, Character, Faithfulness, Home Life, Integrity, Popularity  (view more)  (view less)

What Do We Mean When We Say Church?

By Dr. Rowan Williams on May 13, 2023

Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams presents a surprising--and thoughtful--view of what it means to be the church. See if you agree.

Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20

Tags: Church, Body, Church Body of Christ, Church General, church  (view more)  (view less)

10 Reasons Even Committed Church Attenders Are Attending Church Less Often

By Carey Nieuwhof on Jun 21, 2023

It comes up in a surprising number of conversations these days. And no one’s quite sure how to respond to it. The issue? Even committed church attenders are attending church less often.

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25, 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3, Matthew 24:9-13

Tags: Technology, Culture, church decline, Church attendence, culture  (view more)  (view less)