Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders
Blog Articles and Resources for Pastors and Church Leaders
Preparing Couples for a Marriage, Not a Wedding
As pastors, our call isn’t to put on a great prelude to a party (i.e., a wedding). It’s to prepare engaged couples for marriage, a lifelong relationship. Too often, time constraints lead many of us to focus the bulk of our “preparation” on planning...
3 Lies About Fighting Sin
Sin is a reality for every Christian. Which is why fighting sin is one of the most common topics a Christian thinks about, wrestles with, and seeks counsel on. However, many of us carry around 3 subtle lies about how to fight sin. If we want to...
How to Tell the Gospel with Storytelling
“For every generation, or maybe even every decade, a book comes out that will become a standard reference for evangelism and apologetics,” says CT’s recommendation . “ This book has the potential to become the leading manual for Christians engaged...
Matthew’s Surprising and Barely Recognizable Christmas Story
Matthew’s version of our favorite holiday <Matthew 1:18-2:23 > is hardly recognizable except for the star and the wise men. Joseph nearly divorcing Mary, Herod’s diabolical ploy, the slaughter of the innocents, the flight to Egypt, waiting...
Feeling Overcommitted? Here’s Some Practical Wisdom
A married father with two kids is living at maximum capacity. Between work and family, trying to be a good husband and father, his plate is full. Now, add to this his hatred of disappointing people and his love of having fun. He prefers saying yes...
A Fresh Look at Doubt and Doubting Thomas (Complete Sermon Outline)
Free sermon outline! The Zondervan Pastor’s Annual gives you a planned preaching program for a full year, including complete sermon outlines for morning and evening services, messages for special occasions, and more. Start saving time in your sermon and service preparation.
How to keep leaders (and guests) coming back for more
Alpha is a ten-week course that provides a safe place to explore life’s biggest questions. Globally proven and highly effective, Alpha creates a culture of invitation within your church and is a great front door for people exploring faith. We know...
The Power of Preaching Like a Teacher
J. I. Packer (1926–) is known primarily as a writer, theologian, and professor; however, throughout the majority of his career, he was a preacher dedicating himself to the training of theologically astute church people. Having stood in hundreds, if...
8 Spiritual Practices for Pastors (and Everyone) Facing Pressure to Achieve
Twenty years ago, when I first came to pastor Tenth Church in Vancouver, I was intimidated. I felt nervous about the challenge of pastoring a historic church that had dwindled from more than one thousand to a little more than one hundred members....
Creative Outreach with Alpha
Alpha is a ten-week course that provides a safe place to explore life’s biggest questions. Globally proven and highly effective, Alpha creates a culture of invitation within your church and is a great front door for people exploring faith. From...
Counseling Adolescents: Wisdom from Theology and Psychology
Nothing seems quite as daunting to parents, youth pastors, helping professionals, or teachers as the adolescent years. Recently I was speaking to a group of parents at my church, and a parent made the comment that it feels as though rearing an...
Embrace the One-Another Way: An Appeal from Andy Stanley
If we were to ask Paul what faith expressing itself through love looks like (see Galatians 5:6 NIV , he might rattle off this list: Submit to one another Forgive one another Encourage one another Restore one another Accept one another Care for one...
Divine Generosity: Empowering Us to Breathe Deeply and Live Courageously
Let me tell you a story. . . . While it may be a familiar story, how well do we know it? Many people believe this story is the most important story in the world. The characters and main events of the narrative are commonly known, but how well do we...
7 Ways to Create a Culture of Invitation
Alpha is a ten-week course that provides a safe place to explore life’s biggest questions. Globally proven and highly effective, Alpha creates a culture of invitation within your church and is a great front door for people exploring faith. A...
11 ways to get your church behind Alpha
You’ve got the venue. Check. You’ve got the dates in the diary. Check. You’ve got the team trained. Check. You’re ready to go… but the church aren’t as invested as you are. Sound familiar? Here are eleven quick tips for getting your church members...
30 Seconds That Can Transform Your Evangelism
Will there be roadblocks when we begin naturally sharing our faith with nonbelievers? Of course! I can tell you this: if you love people and spend time listening for the leading of the Holy Spirit, you will find your way. As you seek the Lord’s...
Free Resources
Using How (not) to Save the World with your church or small group?
Here are some tools to help:
The Small Group Tool Kit includes two mobile-friendly invitation cards, reflection cards to enhance your small group experience, and a worship song playlist curated by Hosanna Wong that can beplayed during small group meetings or personal Bible study time.
The Church Tool Kit includes a downloadable poster, bulletininsert, invitation card, and Power Point slide.
Is your church talking about anxiety, depression and mental health issues? You should be.
Shawn Johnson, lead pastor of Red Rocks Church, gives a
searingly honest portrait of anxiety and depression and shows readers how to fight back and live free. He also has put together three free tools pastors can use to help their congregation have a productive conversation around mental health, including a discussion guide, sermon notes and key Scripture verses.