24,000. That’s the number of students on three college campuses in Bloomington-Normal who need to be reached for Jesus. Jonah Christiansen estimates that many students are not attending a local church. Christiansen is part of a team from Ankeny, Iowa that is planting Salt Church near the campus of Illinois State University (ISU) this fall. […]
Johnny Hunt urges personal connections in evangelism
We must believe God can save people, if we are to witness to them, Johnny Hunt told evangelism leaders in Illinois Sunday night. “The reason we don’t witness is because we see people in actuality instead of possibility,” he said. Hunt led a worship rally at First Baptist Church of O’Fallon as part of a […]
Putting Covid’s communications lessons to work
Andy Stanley says in the church, the best communicator usually gets to be the leader. But that doesn’t mean the preacher is always the best communicator in other formats outside the pulpit, or that those of us who preach have nothing to learn about becoming more effective communicators. In fact, what our churches experienced during […]
Hope in the waiting
The details of the Christmas story can enthrall me, drawing my imagination into a cold night in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph, road wearied and expecting, settled in a gritty stable. The sharp night air mixed with smells of straw and sheep. A million stars in the clear Middle Eastern sky. I love the idea of […]
Leadership disrupted
Read: Daniel 1:1-21 These days feel unprecedented, but they’re not new to God or his people. There’s comfort in that. Knowing God has taken his people to and through disruptive days before provides us with reassurance that he will do the same for you and me now. Pastors, ministry leaders, and parents: how do you […]