I have had the privilege to speak at both Dickey Lake Bible Camp and Yellowstone Alliance Adventures this summer. With ages ranging from 3rd – 6th grade, we saw them encounter God and grow closer to Him. Summer for me means camps and it is my favorite time of the year! I’ve spoken at over 50 camps…
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Over the last couple of months I’ve been writing about leadership development. My encouragement in April included two steps: Develop your definition of a leader, then identify the 5-7 essential leadership skills or traits that are necessary at all levels of leadership in your church. Step 3, detailed in my May article, entails defining the…
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Recently, Carl Nassib, a defensive end for the NFL Las Vegas Raiders “came out” as the first openly homosexual player in the league. This column is not about debating that issue, Scripture speaks clearly regarding it. What caught my attention was the statement put out by the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, following Nassib’s announcement. Goodell’s…
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I spent most of my school-age years living in a small dryland farming community. Consequently, I worked for a farmer who was part of our church. He was a good farmer and a great man who worked hard and smart to steward his farm well. He put in long hours to prepare the soil, cared…
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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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Let me ask you a question. If your church suddenly disappeared tomorrow, how would it affect, or not affect your community? That’s one of the questions I ask when I do church consulting. I’ve traveled extensively working with church communities to help them become healthier and more effective at reaching their community. Often that question…
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June 13, 2021 marks the conclusion of Rev. Jim & Ronda Stumbo’s ministry at Helena (MT) Alliance Church. Jim and Ronda have served full-time in the RMD for nearly 47 years – in two churches : Greybull, WY and Helena, MT. Jim and Ronda are “finishing well” – a term heard often these days, but not often lived out. I…
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Every church needs volunteers. It’s no secret that in most churches, the area of ministry that requires the largest number of volunteers is in children’s ministry. Often, we recruit out of desperation. When that happens, we don’t take the time to think through the kind of people we want serving with kids. I believe that…
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Have you had this experience? You have a church member who has a great heart, is very influential and loves to serve in the church. You think to yourself, “This is a potential leader.” Many pastors aren’t sure what to do next and default into placing someone like this in the most needed leadership role,…
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This past week as I was leaving the house to run some errands, I rounded a corner one block from our house and thought, “Did I close the garage door?” While it was tempting to assume that I did and just keep driving, I just couldn’t shake the thought of my tools sitting there with an…
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