Listening and assessing are two characteristics found in wise spiritual leaders. Even as you seek to move forward by faith, you must have an awareness of the current needs surrounding you and in the lives of those you lead.

The story of Crown Point Baptist Church begins with the directive of the Saviour to simply, “Go.” At the age of fifty-four, Pastor Mark Irmler and his family surrendered to the call to start a new independent Baptist church in the city of Simi Valley, California.

The early “infancy period” of the church is fascinating to read about in the book of Acts. In just a few years’ time, local churches of baptized believers were established in dozens of cities in the Mediterranean region.

None of us preach in a vacuum. We live “in this present world” and have been commissioned by God to declare His gospel in it.

The principle or practice of separation has never been popular. It was not popular in ancient Israel, and it certainly is not popular for many Christians today, yet it is a crucial factor in living for God.

A dream without a plan is a wish. So, as a pastor or local church ministry leader, it’s not enough to simply have a dream to make a big impact for Christ in your community and to see many people come to Christ. You need a developed plan.

Abraham was a principal figure in God’s plan to redeem mankind, and his story is central to the record in the book of Genesis. One of the most striking and important events of his story is the offering of Isaac, described in chapter 22.

The existence of God has been the subject of debate for hundreds of years. The fact that the number of non-church goers, skeptics, and atheists is on the rise is not surprising. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The typical American attitude about summer is that it is a great time to kick back and relax. But could there be more to it? As a parent, when our children were young, Terrie and I saw summer as a time to invest in their lives in ways that were not as possible during the school year.

Ladies ministry is a very important part of the local church. It can make or break the spirit of the ladies in the church, depending on the leadership of the ministry.