In the past couple of weeks I spoke with two different people about what youth are looking for in churches today. Both of them said something that I would not have expected them to say. They both said that youth…
Is church health measured by numbers or impact?
For quite a long time now we have been told that healthy churches are growing churches. I don’t know how often I have had someone suggest to me that if a church is really healthy, it will grow numerically. It…
Are We Making The Right Choices For Our Children?
This week I had an interesting conversation with my wife in which we raised what may be the most important question for parents, leaders, and pastors to try to answer in regard to the young people in a church. It…
A Good News Bad News Look at the Church
Over the past few weeks I have been reading a Good News/Bad News kind of book. It is entitled A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada and is authored by Sam Reimer, professor of sociology at Crandall University and…
Speaking Up For The Small Church
This past week I have been extremely busy doing what I most enjoy doing – meeting with leaders and talking about the small church. Sunday October 23 – Preached at Pinewoods Chapel in Angus, Ontario Tuesday October 25 – Attended…
Small Churches Need A Voice
Small churches need someone to speak out for them. They need someone who will take a strong stand expressing the value that small churches all across Canada have. They need to have someone who will represent them wherever church leaders…
Are We As Friendly As We Think
For the past few weeks I have been looking at the need to face reality in our churches. Until a church is willing to face the brutal facts of its reality, it will never move from where it is to…
You Will Be My Witnesses
At the heart of the Great Commission in Matthew is a command. There are four actions mentioned in the Commission (going, making disciples, baptizing and teaching) but only one of those is a command. When I am teaching on this…
Evangelism In The Small Church
Before I enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program at Acadia Divinity College, I asked Dr. Andrew MacRae, who was in charge of the program, if I could do my thesis around the broad subject of the small church in…
The Disappearance of Corporate Prayer
When I was a young student attending Ontario Bible College (Tyndale University College) in Toronto, I worked with the youth group in the church that I attended. It was a great way to put much of what I was learning…