The secret to joy-filled obedience
My kids love to make chocolate milk. When they pour chocolate syrup in the milk, the …
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3 Things church planters should look for in a worship leader
I am approaching the end of a season in life. By the grace of God, I …
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Why celebration is a tool for multiplication
You’ve heard it said that you are what you celebrate and there is nowhere that is truer than …
Three ways weakness changes us
When my mother died, I held on to the worn, dingy safety belt that adorned her …
Why membership is a tool for multiplication
Recently, my wife and I were driving back home, and decided to check out the country …
Perspective for the under-appreciated mom
C.S. Lewis wrote The Screwtape Letters in February 1942. He penned a series of fictitious letters …
Tools for multiplication: Preaching
Increasingly, church planting has become a “household term.” And for many reasons that should give us …
Elisabeth Elliot once said, “It takes guts to be a mom.” (I am told that she …
Genesis 2:18 – Keeping a marriage strong as a church planter
I will never forget the day that my husband sat me down and said the words, …
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How to encourage your wife while planting a church
Regardless of where you are in your church planting journey, chances are you know how essential …
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The Flourish blog exists to serve and support you as you minister to your church, family, …
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; but jealousy is like cancer in the bones. …
No church planter wants to fail and no church planter starts off expecting to fail. However, …
Mistakes in church planting: Joseph Velarde
I am a huge Atlanta sports fan, as I was born and raised in Smyrna, Georgia. …
Mistakes in church planting: Andy Metzger
Anyone who has ever planted a church can tell you that one of the most accurate …
Four actions that cultivate emotional health
Until a few months ago, emotional health sounded like hogwash to me, like the luxurious self-reflection …
Friendship and the pastor’s wife: Help others have a healthy perspective
I was standing at the door after church, talking with folks, when a woman who’d been …
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Free guide: How to build a successful marriage
The majority of Christians I meet like the idea of church planting conceptually but would never …
Spiritual warfare: Enduring it
If I’m honest, I’d never thought much about spiritual warfare. Pastoral ministry in general, and church …
Where is church planting in the Bible?
The majority of Christians I meet like the idea of church planting conceptually but would never …
Spiritual warfare: Fighting it
If you are a church planter, you are in a war today and your greatest enemy …
Spiritual Warfare: Identifying it
Paul, while concluding his letter to the Christians in Ephesus, wrote “For we are not fighting …
The only way to win at the comparison game
Why do we torment ourselves by playing the comparison game? It’s part of human nature—evaluating the …
The Bible speaks about the reality of a conflict we face as believers, and we popularly …
What to do when you get unfriended
We were friends. Good friends. Our daughters played together and enjoyed sleepovers. We laughed at the …
How to send mission teams well
Mission teams can be a tremendous help to a church planter, but often they become a …
Friendship and the pastor’s wife: A Healthy perspective
My husband and I have been in full-time vocational ministry since the day we were married. …
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I am a huge fan of great mission team experiences. Over the past 13 years of …
Sitting in my inbox was an email from the Loft with a subject line that read: …
Honoring your Sending Church: Clear communication
Leaving the nestWhen I left Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2007 to go play college basketball at …
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Honoring your Sending Church: Teachable spirit
One of the best ways to honor your Sending Church is to be teachable throughout the …
Honoring your sending church with a thankful heart
I’m often temped to skip right over the later parts of Paul’s letters. You know, those …
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Ten thoughts on fighting for a good marriage
I do. It’s something I keep before me. I’m not going to slack off. I can’t. …
When you are jealous of other churches
It happens when I’m driving down the road and pass “that” church. It happens after a …
How to use technology to reach your church and community
Everywhere you turn these days, you can’t help but hear the term “big data.” Retailers, app …
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How to be a more productive minister
My guess is that on most days you find it hard to reconcile your calendar with …
I had noticed her looking at him, laughing a little too loud, practically swooning over the …
Why strategic communications matter in the local church
One of the most famous movie lines of all time comes from the 1967 film Cool Hand …
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Reflecting Christ in a tense political climate
My heart has been incredibly heavy over the state of our nation. I have friends and …
Why conversion growth is crucial in church planting
Healthy things grow. If you’ve been in ministry for long at all, you’ve probably heard that …
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How to get a church to engage in a community
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This quote, most often attributed to Peter Drucker, has been used …
My husband and I recently planted a new church in a transitional part of the city …
Transformational relationships with God
The most important things to measure in your church plant are often the hardest things to …
Five warning signs that show my husband needs rest
Rest says, “I can’t, but God can.” Rest is a declaration that God is in control …
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Stories from the front lines: Kelly Parrish (Denver)
This week we interviewed three practitioners serving on the field as church planters. These are their …
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Stories from the front lines: Roni Mugaki (Minneapolis/St Paul)
This week we interviewed three practitioners serving on the field as church planters. These are their …
Stories from the front lines: Roni Mugaki (Minneapolis/St Paul) Read More »
Leading the hardest person I will ever lead
The face in the mirror is the person hardest for me to lead. Yet I have …
Stories from the front lines: Chris Flora (Calgary)
This week we interviewed three practitioners serving on the field as church planters. These are their …
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At the North American Mission Board (NAMB), our goal is to see 1,200 churches planted every …
Our choices during discouraging ministry seasons
I didn’t grow up dreaming of being in ministry. Yet looking back I can see how …
Our choices during discouraging ministry seasons Read More »
Church planter coaches: The value of a great coach
Coaching is like noise-canceling headphones; it takes all those voices, internal and external, in Matthew’s life …
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Church planting can be isolating. It is a hard calling—a calling where pastors and their families …
When we’re tempted to take ministry failures personally
My kids are going through a stage in which they often start a conversation with their …
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Learning to embrace each season’s call
This week’s Flourish post is brought to you by the Roberson family—Week of Prayer missionaries. Funding …
Week of Prayer: A beacon of light in New York City
James and Natarsha Roberson moved their family to Brooklyn shortly after receiving the call to plant …
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Week of Prayer: Resonate over riches
The past seems almost foreign to church planter Jacob Dahl. Like many college students, Jacob went …
Week of Prayer: From death to life
After feeling what Kelly and Brandi Perrish desciribe as a “holy discontent,” they moved their family …
When you pray, “Yes, Lord” to the unknown
My husband, Kelly, and I lived in Granbury, Texas, and life was great. We had four …
Week of Prayer: First year church plant gives back
After more than 30 years in ministry, Pastor Garth Leno stepped down from his role at …
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When we moved to Charlottesville to plant a church, we knew one person—our realtor. Then we …
Caught not taught: Gospel awareness
Understanding the gospel is key to having gospel awareness. The Life Conversation Guide used by the …
Caught not taught: Mission and neighboring
“What were you doing twenty years ago?” I felt compelled to start my sermon with this simple …
Let’s be willing to care for the refugee
“I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China. I don’t know who it …
Caught not taught: Love your neighbor
Life together? What is it, and how do we accomplish it? I am asked that question …
Recognizing the painful reality of racial divide
In a small town outside Selma, Alabama, shortly after my dad graduated high school in 1960, my …
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Partnering well: Serving the Sending Church in return
I almost didn’t plant, and the reason was money. It’s embarrassing but true. I vividly remember …
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Partnering well: Staying connected
I want to introduce you to a church planter that is known for planting 20 churches. …
How to respond to those who hurt us
Have you heard the old joke that ministry would be great if it weren’t for all …
Partnering well: 6 Elements of thanking your partners
Our new church is in a healthy place because of the grace of God and the …
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Leading women to advance the gospel
I’m plagued with a burden that I’ve played it too safe. And what’s even more dangerous, …
Partnering well: 7 Ways Sending Churches can provide for planters
Jesus gave the Great Commission to the Church. The Church is God’s chosen method to spread …
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Vulnerability: The currency of bravery
As we conclude this series on True Bravery, we end with the ultimate factor that produces …
Partnering well: How Sending Churches can help
Partnering is the most amazing thing in the world. It’s amazing that God partners with us! …
Partnering well: Sending Church, pray for your planter
Without a doubt, planting a church without prayer is like building a house on bare ground …
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God calls the unlikely to be used for the extraordinary
There are many examples of bravery in the Bible. Esther. Moses. Ruth. Joseph. Rahab. Paul. The …
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We are to be courageous as we give ourselves completely to God’s work. But how? Lately, …
I’m here…Now what? Pastors and local association
Back in my day (incidentally, I’ve always wanted to use that phrase), there was a common …
I’m here…Now what? Pastors and local association Read More »
How to strengthen a child’s resolve to cling to truth
Recently in our home, the background music of noisy toys and the Bubble Guppies theme song has given …
How to strengthen a child’s resolve to cling to truth Read More »
Is your calling based on identity?
Every Christian is called to be a missionary, and this calling extends wherever we are. Every …