The Walking Wounded

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Written by Sue Edwards

How to avoid destructive conflict in women's ministry

Come One, Come Anyone?

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Written by Brian Doyle

Why it’s hard to mobilize men—and how you can change that

Louie Giglio Part 1

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Written by Marcus Yoars

Listen to part 1 of our Ministry Today interview with Louie Giglio and get ministry tips for pastors.

Part 1:

Part 2: Learn how to keep Christ the focus in a me-focused culture

Part 3: How the youth leader is reaching the world, Atlanta through the Passion events.

Choosing the Right VBS for Your Church

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Written by Scott Berkey and Patti Chapman

Practical help for pastors and lay leaders in selecting the best outreach program

Vacation Bible School (VBS) has come a long way since 1923 when Standard Publishing produced the first printed faith-based curriculum for children, which was designed as a five-week course. Today, VBS has morphed and expanded into the largest church outreach program of the year for kids, though it only lasts a few days of their summer.

Churches nationwide gear up during the winter and spring months for the summer event by investing precious time, money and resources for a number of reasons. The most obvious one is the opportunity to reach out to the local community with the love of Christ and the message of hope. VBS is a non-threatening way for families to walk onto a church campus and experience firsthand a church’s commitment to loving and ministering to people.  

VBS also creates a great opportunity for the entire congregation to support and highlight its children’s ministry. VBS should always be a big deal. The exposure it creates for children’s ministry is invaluable.  

The Time to Pray is Now

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Written by Anne Gimenez

Most Americans know the score. The significance of the Nov. 6 general election cannot be understated. 

And because this particular first Tuesday in November is so critical, it also cannot be taken lightly just how crucial it has become for Americans to get down on their knees in repentance and prayer, asking God for grace and mercy to help guide us back to a path of righteousness.

Second Chronicles 7:14 says: “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Our Banana Tree Christmas

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Written by John & Elizabeth Sherrill

"Christmas is the time when nothing ought to change.”

Our newly married daughter, Liz, put into words what all of us were feeling. We had come from our home in New York state to spend the holidays with her and her husband, Alan, in their new apartment in Tucson, Ariz. Outside, on Christmas Eve, cactus-wrens hopped about the mesquite bushes beneath a glorious desert sky, while indoors the four of us gulped iced tea and thought of pine woods and falling snowflakes.

“Home in Leicester,” Alan recalled of his Massachusetts upbringing, “we’d generally go skating about now.”

“And tonight there’d be the midnight service at St. Mark’s!” Liz said. “Remember, Mom and Dad, how you can see your breath, walking in from the parking lot?”

We did remember. We wanted every time-hallowed tradition just as it always had been. No changes. Not at Christmas.