Five Key Reasons Many Churches Struggle to Reach Their Communities

Podcast Episode #577

SUBSCRIBE:
iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio • Spotify

The local church is responsible for engaging the community. Many churches today are declining because they are too inward focused. In today’s episode Thom and Sam discuss the basics of engaging the community and neighborhoods around the church.

A few episode highlights –

  • The call to pastor a church is the call to pastor a community.
  • Established churches can become busy with programs and get distracted from serving the community.
  • If you are going to reach the community there needs to be an intentional plan.
  • God honors churches that put prayer as a priority.
  • The pastor needs to take the lead on inviting people.

The five key reasons are:

  1. Busyness with activities
  2. Lack of intentionality and priority
  3. Scarcity of tools
  4. No prayer about or for the community
  5. Leaders and members who fail to become an active part of the community

Resources mentioned in today’s podcast:


Episode Sponsors

The mission at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission. The school offers more than 40 different degree programs, including the new Master of Arts in Church Revitalization in partnership with Church Answers and the Revitalization Network. This 37-hour degree is designed to help students move established churches from flatlining to flourishing.

Learn about this program and more by…

… Read More

—

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

قالب وردپرس

Thousands of Students Prepare for ‘Bring Your Bible to School Day’ on October 3

Thousands of Students Prepare for ‘Bring Your Bible to School Day’ on October 3



On October 3, children all across the United States are invited to bring their Bibles to school with them for the sixth annual “Bring Your Bible to School Day.”


According to the event’s sponsor, Focus on the Family, the event is designed to be a yearlong movement that encourages students to not only bring their Bibles to school but to share their Bibles and live their lives according to the word.


To help students get involved in the movement, Focus on the Family offers monthly challenges that give kids “specific, tangible actions they can take to live out their faith at school and in the community throughout the year.” 


The motto for this year’s event is: “Bring It. Share It. Live It.” And according to CBN News, this is the first time Focus on the Family has introduced the “Live Your Faith” initiative.


This year, too, the ministry is offering one student and their family a chance to win a trip to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. if they sign-up to participate in BYBTSD. 


BYBTSD made national headlines in September after Focus on the Family revealed that NFL superstar Drew Brees would be partnering with the organization on the event.


Known for its pro-family beliefs, Focus on the Family was pegged as homophobic and anti-LGBTQ, sparking many to call Brees’ partnership with the Christian organization into question.


As…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

‘Give Your Life to Christ’ — Brother Forgives, Hugs Ex-Cop Who Killed Botham Jean

‘Give Your Life to Christ’ — Brother Forgives, Hugs Ex-Cop Who Killed Botham Jean



The brother of a man shot and killed in his own apartment by a former Dallas police officer shocked the courtroom and sparked a national debate Wednesday by forgiving his brother’s killer and urging her to turn her life to Christ. 


The brother, Brandt Jean, then hugged the officer who had killed Botham Jean. The interaction even brought the judge to tears. 


“I forgive you,” Jean said before urging the former officer to “… Give your life to Christ.”


Amber Guyger was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison for the 2018 fatal shooting of Botham Jean. Guyger had mistakenly entered the wrong apartment and believed he was in her apartment. 


Brandt Jean, who is 18, took the witness stand after the sentencing and addressed Guyger.  


“I don’t want to say twice or for the hundredth time … how much you’ve taken from us. I think you know that,” Jean said. “But … I hope you go to God with all the guilt [and] all the bad things you may have done in the past. Each and every one of us may have done something that we’re not supposed to do. If you truly are sorry – I know I can speak for myself, I forgive you. And I know if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you.”


As he spoke, sobbing could be heard throughout the courtroom. 


“But I love you just like anyone else. And I’m not gonna say I hope you rot…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Title X Protect Life Rule Reallocates Millions of Dollars from Planned Parenthood to Other Providers

Title X Protect Life Rule Reallocates Millions of Dollars from Planned Parenthood to Other Providers



Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that $33.6 million in Title X funding will be reallocated to 50 other groups and not Planned Parenthood.


The announcement came after the Trump administration created the Title X Protect Life Rule in 2019, as Chrisitan Headlines previously reported. The rule refuses to provide federal funds for organizations that refer for abortion services.


The money will now funnel to health departments and clinics across the United States to help meet needs caused by the loss of federal funding from Planned Parenthood and other organizations that refused to comply.


“In order to minimize the service gaps created by those grantees, HHS awarded supplemental grants to qualified organizations that comply with the law,” HHS Director of External Affairs Mia Heck said to Fox News.


“Those supplemental grants allow them to expand family-planning services and increase protections for women and children at risk of (or victims of) child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate-partner violence, and sex trafficking.”


Other organizations that lost funding besides Planned Parenthood included government health departments in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, Vermont and Oregon. States such as Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi and Delaware will receive…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Bible’s Teachings on Gender Are ‘Incompatible with Human Dignity,’ British Court Rules

Bible’s Teachings on Gender Are ‘Incompatible with Human Dignity,’ British Court Rules



A British court has upheld the firing of a Christian doctor for failing to use the correct pronouns for transgender patients, ruling that his biblical beliefs on sex and gender are “incompatible with human dignity.”


David Mackereth, a doctor with 26 years of experience, was dismissed last year from his new job as health and disability assessor with the Department for Work and Pensions after telling a superior he would only use pronouns that reflect a person’s biology.


The Christian Legal Centre sued the government on Mackereth’s behalf, arguing he was improperly dismissed and that the department had violated his freedom of thought, conscience and religion protected under the Equality Act of 2010.


But a British judge, in a Sept. 26 decision, ruled it was Mackereth who violated the Equality Act, Christian Concern reports. 


“In our judgment, refusing to refer to a transgender person by his/her/their birth sex, or relevant pronouns, titles or styles would constitute unlawful discrimination or harassment under the [Equality Act],” the decision read.


Mackereth had asserted his deeply held religious belief in the Bible – specifically, in Genesis 1:27 – was protected under the Equality Act. (Genesis 1:27 reads, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”)


The…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Church invests in canal barge to reach community

Polwarth Parish Church, which sits next to a canal in Edinburgh, is working with local charity People Know How to promote community cohesion, wholeness and wellbeing.

They’ve been given a £50,000 grant to get the project off the ground, while the congregation has raised a further £32,000.

 

Rev Jack Holt told Premier’s News Hour it all came about when authorities began to encourage people to engage with the canal system.

“We saw the potential of having a presence on the canal side,” he said. “The canal path has become a busy byway for people walking along, cycling, going back and forth to work from the centre of the city.

“That began the process of us considering how we could engage. So we thought what if we could make a garden? And then what if we could have a pontoon? And then what if we could have a boat.

“Over the last a few years, we’ve worked through these stages.”

Holt says it is vital churches are thinking about getting outside of their buildings.

“I think it’s absolutely essential in this day and age,” he said. “I’ve been in ministry for 35 years and wherever I’ve been I’ve always said to the congregation that your purpose is to go beyond these walls and find out what it is that makes you unique to where you are.”

The project’s been given backing by local MP Ian Murray who lodged a congratulatory motion in the House of Commons.

He said: “The awarding of a…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

New US Ambassador to UN Reaffirms Unwavering Commitment to Israel

New US Ambassador to UN Reaffirms Unwavering Commitment to Israel



The new US Ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, has vowed to carry on the pro-Israel work of former Ambassador, Nikki Haley.


During her first meeting with Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon, Craft committed to partnering with Israel in the fight against Iranian-backed militia groups, Hamas and Hezbollah.


“Today, Craft and I discussed challenges and opportunities Israel and the US face together at the UN. I look forward to working together in this diplomatic arena! #StrongTogether” Dannon tweeted following Wednesday’s meeting.


During the course of their meeting, Danon and Craft also spoke about undertaking a combined diplomatic effort to combat the rise of antisemitism seen across the world in recent times.


Following in Haley’s footsteps


In her first speech to the UN since being sworn into the position by Vice President Mike Pence, Craft reaffirmed America’s unwavering support for the sovereign Israeli state. “The United States has always supported Israel in the past,” she declared at the Middle East debate in the…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Christian charity warns against using court case to justify widespread abortion in Northern Ireland

On Thursday, judges ruled that the country’s laws breached the UK’s human rights commitments.

They ruled on the case of Sarah Ewart who took action after she was refused a termination in 2013.

 

She had to travel to London to end her pregnancy after doctors said her unborn child would die in the womb or shortly after birth.

Following the judgment she said: “Today’s ruling is a turning point for women in their campaign against the outdated laws prohibiting abortion in Northern Ireland.

“It should never have come to this.

“Today’s ruling is a vindication of all those women who have fought tirelessly to ensure that we never again have to go through what I did in 2013.”

Responding to the verdict, CARE chief executive, Nola Leach said: “We recognise the tragic circumstances involved in this case.

“While we respect the judgment of the High Court today it is important to note that today’s ruling relates to a very, very small number of complex cases.

“This judgment in no way justifies the sweeping changes that will be imposed on the people of Northern Ireland if the Assembly is not restored by 21 October.

“Changing the law to accommodate abortions in the cases of life-limiting conditions deemed fatal is one thing and we are ready for a discussion on these very difficult situations.

“But thanks to Westminster’s decision to by-pass devolution, Northern Ireland will have one of the…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Demi Lovato Gets Baptized in the Jordan River: It ‘Filled the God-Sized Hole in My Heart’

Demi Lovato Gets Baptized in the Jordan River: It ‘Filled the God-Sized Hole in My Heart’



Actress and singer Demi Lovato said she felt “renewed” after she was baptized in the Jordan River in Israel.


Lovato was raised Christian and has a Jewish ancestry. According to Relevant Magazine, She said she experienced a “connection to God” during her trip, a connection she said had “been missing for a few years now.”


“There is something absolutely magical about Israel. I’ve never felt such a sense of spirituality or connection to God … something I’ve been missing for a few years now,” she wrote on her Instagram page. “Spirituality is so important to me … to be baptized in the Jordan River … I’ve never felt more renewed in my life.”


Lovato shared highlights of the trip on her Instagram page. In another Instagram post, she posted a photo of the World Holocaust Center in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem.


“My heart was absolutely broken in Yad Vashem. This was such a beautiful tribute and a reminder that we can never forget,” she said.


She also posted a photo of herself with a child at the Shalva National Center, a nonprofit organization that supports special needs children.


“While I was over there I fell in love with this little beauty at the Shalva National Center,” she said. “What an amazing center for children with special needs.”


The pop singer has had a controversial career. In 2018, she was…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Catholic Church welcomes High Court ruling on severely disabled girl

Specialists caring for Tafida Raqeeb at the Royal London Hospital in east London said further treatment would be futile because the youngster has permanent brain damage, is in a minimally conscious state and has no chance of recovery.

Tafida’s parents, who live in Newham, east London, want to move her to Gaslini children’s hospital in Genoa, and have organised funding.

 

Her mother, solicitor Shelina Begum, and father, construction consultant Mohammed Raqeeb, said doctors there would keep providing life-support treatment until Tafida was diagnosed as brain dead.

They said Tafida, who has a British-Bangladeshi background, is from a Muslim family and Islamic law only allows God to end life.

Speaking after the ruling, Bishop John Sherrington, lead bishop for life issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said: “I welcome today’s ruling which has taken account of the wishes of Tafida’s parents and their innate urge to do all they can to help their daughter in what are truly tragic circumstances. The heart-breaking illness of Tafida Raqeeb and the distress which the illness of a child causes parents touches the hearts of many people.

“I trust that all the medical professionals will cooperate to continue to give her the best possible care and appropriate treatment. Such international cooperation is essential good practice in the care of tragically…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس