Your pastor suddenly announces that he's retiring. A major industry in your community closes and your leadership moves away. Your congregation grows and you suddenly realize your current leaders are unable to keep up with the demands on their time.

These events are part of the natural flow of life. But it still leaves churches with a constant challenge—where do you find qualified leaders to replace ...

Topics:	Enthusiasm, Leadership, Mentoring, Servanthood, Spiritual leadership
Filters:	Counseling, Discipleship
Purpose:	None
References:	Matthew 22:37, John 13, 1 Corinthians 9
Date Added:	July 11, 2007

Materials: One rock.

List open-ended statements, starting with light subjects, then moving to deeper issues. Samples:

• My second favorite color
• My favorite food and a memory attached to it
• Mama always said …
• What I like most about our church
• The funniest thing that ever happened at our church
• How I came to faith in Christ
• Something I've been praying about for a long time

Ask one ...

Topics:	Counseling, Crisis, Grief, Healing, Mentoring, Pastoral care, Shepherding, Spiritual care
Filters:	Church staff, Counseling, Discipleship, Elder, Pastor, Pastoral care, Shepherd, Small groups
Purpose:	Ministry
References:	Matthew 22:36-40, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Date Added:	July 31, 2007

For each statement, mark how true it is of you:

—Kevin A. Miller

Discuss

1. Individually, what are your areas of greatest strength? What needs more attention?

2. As a group, how would we answer these questions?

3. What might God be asking us to do so he can work more powerfully among us?

Pray

As Peter called the people to do in Acts 3, invite God to bring times of refreshing to you and your church.

Topics:	Prayer, Pursuit of God, Renewal, Spiritual care, Spiritual disciplines, Spiritual formation, Spiritual growth
Filters:	Counseling, Discipleship, Elder, Pastor, Pastoral care, Shepherd, Spiritual director
Purpose:	Discipleship
References:	Matthew 22:35-37, Hebrews 10:19-25
Date Added:	July 31, 2007

Have you ever reflected on what—if anything—your community thinks of your church? What helps a church build a good reputation among its neighbors? A good reputation requires:

1. Visibility. Most of our neighbors never see the church in action. To help overcome this barrier, our church in Toronto held a fall carnival. Besides providing fun and fellowship, the event helped neighbors discover ...

Topics:	Community impact, Culture, Evangelism, Outreach, Planning, Seekers, Service, Spiritual friendship, Strategy, Unchurched
Filters:	Church staff, Discipleship, Elder, Evangelism, Outreach, Pastor, Shepherd, Worship
Purpose:	Evangelism
References:	Matthew 5:14-16, Matthew 22:39
Date Added:	August 01, 2007