Just 28 days ago, many of you sent your high school students off to Orlando, FL, for LIFE Conference 2022. This triennial gathering of C&MA students is crafted to be a time of worship, teaching, and encouragement. For many of our students, this last aspect is vitally important. The Kingdom life has always been, and…
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Perhaps, like me, many of you were taught early in ministry that the way to multiply something is to divide it in half. If you want to multiply a small group, develop another leader and divide the group into two groups. If you want to multiply your youth group, find another leader and divide the…
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Growing up, Saturday was Chore-day. Dad would assemble us kids and then begin handing out chores: Chris, mow the lawn, Mike, wash the van, Jana… you get the picture. I remember one time I was assigned to mow the lawn, but when I went to start the lawn mower it was out of gas. When I went back…
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We all know that we are called to be a “going” people. The church is to “go” and make disciples who in turn “go” and make disciples. The question for us, then, is how do we create this culture in our local church? Below are some ideas to consider along these lines. Start with you. God…
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One of the challenges I hear of repeatedly is how can churches keep (or get) young adults involved. Here’s three things that young leaders are looking for in your church. They want to be involved where interested, make a significant impact, and they want to be included in the leadership conversation. Involved. Younger leaders thrive when given the opportunity to serve or…
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LIFE Conference 2022 is less than one year away! While that may seem like a long way down the road, it’s critical to have a good plan for pulling off a successful LIFE trip with your students. I asked Pastor Harry Owczarek, Youth Point Person for the RMD and Associate Pastor at Faith Alliance Church in Sidney,…
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Over the last couple of months the District staff team and leaders within the District have been working to develop strategies for coming alongside the student and children’s ministry leaders in the RMD. While these strategies will continue to be refined, we wanted to bring a couple of items to your attention that we trust…
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Several years ago DreamWorks released a movie titled Rise of the Guardians. It’s a decent movie in which some traditional fictional characters – the guardians of children – battle against a sinister villain who eventually… well, I won’t spoil it. But that is only the secondary plot. The primary plot of the story is the acceptance of a new…
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I’ve been talking to many pastors and individual families recently who are dealing with quarantine and new shutdowns and restrictions. It seems especially hard as we look ahead to the Advent season. Perhaps, like me, you’re grieving the sense of normalcy that typically comes with the traditions of the Christmas season. It’s hard to imagine…
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Do you know someone who begins a book by reading the last chapter first? For me, that ruins the excitement of the story as it’s meant to unfold. But for some things in life, it is better to begin at the end. Example: Discipleship. Although we all want to make disciples, many times we don’t…
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