In Preaching Articles: "Ministry Work"

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

Pastors Never Know Who’s In The Audience

By Joe Mckeever on Jul 18, 2022

When a pastor stands to preach, he never knows who is listening to him. And if his sermon is recorded or broadcast, he has no clue who will be hearing his words. He will do well to make sure he knows what he’s talking about.

Tags: Communication, Teaching, Preaching, preaching tips, pastoral leadership, Teaching God's Word, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching Blunders, communication, preaching, teaching  (view more)  (view less)

8 Questions To Ask Before You Preach A Sermon

By Josh Reich on Oct 17, 2022

8 questions to ask as you prepare to preach your next sermon.

Tags: Teaching, Preaching, Preaching Help, pastoral leadership, preaching the Word, Teaching God's Word, Pastoral Ministry, effective preaching, preaching, teaching  (view more)  (view less)

5 Must-Know Facts About First-Time Visitors

By Rick Ezell on Nov 3, 2021

You may be the most skilled preacher and your church may have excellent small groups or the best children’s ministry in the city, but your first-time guests will never know unless they make a second or third visit.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, Luke 15:20-24

Tags: Grace, guest, Celebrate, Preaching, Hospitality, Visitors, grace, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Don't Put The Brakes On Summer Groups

By John Gilman Ii on Jun 21, 2024

It’s tempting to waive the white flag, to throw your hands up in surrender, to the summer slump. Many churches simply resign their efforts and re-appropriate them in the fall. First on the chopping block of suspended ministries are groups.

Tags: relationships, Volunteer, creative, Church Small Groups

The Most Necessary Thing

By Thomas C. Brown on Jul 11, 2022

Greater is the value of personal intimacy with God than busyness for him. Service must follow surrender and solitude.

Scripture: Luke 10:42, John 17:3, Philippians 3:8-10

Tags: Scripture, leadership, devotion, priorities, God's Word, pastoral leadership, Intimacy With God, Pastoral Ministry, soul care, Guarding Your Soul, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

The Top 3 Reasons Church Growth Ideas Usually Fail In Smaller Churches

By Karl Vaters on Aug 31, 2022

We're often told that small churches are failing at church growth. But sometimes church growth ideas are failing in smaller churches.

Tags: Church Growth, Context, pastoral leadership, Church Attendance, church ministry, rural church, Growth Strategy, Urban Church, context, church attendance  (view more)  (view less)

12 Simple Ways To Be A Pastor Who Prays Like A Warrior

By Hal Seed on Nov 11, 2022

I believe every pastor ought to be a prayer warrior.

Scripture: Isaiah 56:7, 1 Samuel 3:10

Tags: Prayer, daily prayer, Prayer for Others, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, Holy Spirit's Power, Seek God's Face, God hears prayer  (view more)  (view less)

Teammates: On Your Heart Or On Your Nerves?

By Lance Witt on Mar 23, 2021

There have been lots of days when I wanted to hide out in my office and not have to deal with anybody. There have been plenty of times when the people I work with weren’t on my heart, but they sure were on my nerves. I suspect you know exactly what I’m talking about.

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Getting Past Your Past

By Lance Witt on Jun 30, 2023

I know that on Sundays we walk into our churches, we smile, we shake hands, and we make nice. We pastor people and we preach from God’s Word. We are very respectable. But I know myself and I’ve worked with pastors way too long to believe that life is that neat and tidy.

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3 Reasons Good Preaching Is As Important As Ever

By Joe Hoagland on Jul 28, 2022

People love to tell you that preaching is irrelevant in this day and age. But contrary to this kind of thinking, good preaching does remain important. In fact, preaching remains as important as it has ever been.

Tags: Communication, Preaching, Teaching God's Word, Pastoral Ministry, faithful preaching, Value of Preaching, Modern Age, Busy Culture, Shepherd the Flock, communication, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

The Ineffectiveness Of A Team Without A Leader

By Ron Edmondson on Jun 4, 2024

"I try to never appoint or release a team to do work until we make sure a leader is chosen. They can choose their own leader, we can appoint one for them, or they may even have co-leadership, but there needs to be someone who has the assigned task of steering, motivating and leading the team to accomplish it’s mission."

Tags: Guide, Teamwork, Cooperation, Church leaders, pastoral leadership, church organization, church leadership, Healthy Teams  (view more)  (view less)

You Won't Accomplish Your Vision Without This

By Lance Witt on Mar 11, 2021

In my ministry Replenish, I am often asked “how do you know if a church is healthy”? What I know for sure is that the size of a church or it’s rate of growth or what happens on the platform in a weekend worship service is NOT a sure-fire indicator of health.

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When People Compare Pastors

By Charles Stone on Mar 27, 2021

Many pastors secretly struggle with measuring up to very successful pastors and churches. It’s tough, but it comes with ministry. People compare pastors. In this post I suggest a few ways to deal with this “measure up mentality.” I begin with one pastor’s experience.

Scripture: Psalm 62:5

Tags: Discouragement, Approval, Comparison, High expectations

7 Things That Get Harder As Your Church Grows

By Carey Nieuwhof on Nov 7, 2023

Ever think that growth will solve all your problems?

Tags: leadership, Church Growth, Healthy Church, pastoral leadership, church ministry, church problems, church priorities, Effective Leadership, Focus on Numbers, Elias livingstone, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)