Ten years ago, I was working at a job I thought was meaningless. I was twenty-three, engaged, and hoping to enter pastoral ministry. The Lord led me to become a member of a healthy church in my college town. I aspired to be a pastor but wanted to serve faithfully as a church member while […]

How does a church create a healthy, biblical culture? No church wakes up one morning known for evangelism or its thriving young adult program. Some aspects of a church’s culture depend on its context—the urban church will have a different makeup than the rural church. But much of a church’s culture is shaped by what […]

The Overlooked Art of Delivery Delivering a sermon is an aspect of preaching that often receives insufficient attention. Much of this stems from the reality that pastors rightly do not wish to focus on entertaining their congregation. Rather, a pastor seeks to glorify the Lord, who uses the “foolishness of preaching” (1 Cor. 1:21) to […]

I once stumbled upon an old well that was about 30 feet from an old farmhouse and 100 feet from a creek bottom. It seemed about 20 feet deep and 10 feet wide with brick walls and a brick opening. At the time, it had about two feet of crystal-clear water in the bottom, but […]

The visions of all local churches should sound pretty similar if we are going to be faithful to the mission mandate given to us by our Lord.

There’s one, often overlooked, verse that has captivated me more than any other. I reflect on it often, returning to it again and again as a compass for my life and ministry. I do so because of the stark warning and promising reward this verse contains.

Editor’s note: This summer, we’re sharing articles aimed at encouraging pastors, ministry leaders, and church members in living and serving in light of Christ’s coming Kingdom. To hear more on this topic from Jason K. Allen and other key leaders, register to join us for the 2025 For the Church National Conference, “Kingdom Come: Ministry […]

“I don’t know what God’s doing, but I feel like He’s calling me to do something. What does Jesus want me to do?” Whether you’re a ministry resident weighing the future or a mid-career professional thinking about seminary, the question “Am I called?” can be overwhelming. For many, it represents a major life change, like […]

When I was a kid growing up in church, it was common to hear someone say, “I surrendered to ministry in 1968,” or, “It was on a Sunday night that I surrendered to ministry.” You don’t hear that kind of language much anymore—the word surrender. But it’s actually an incredibly powerful idea. It doesn’t mean […]