There’s no debating the credentials of GCA’s trainters. They are all seasoned practitioners. They’re not gurus. They’re not celebritiy pastors. They’re experts. But they’re experts in a specific sense. They don’t claim to be experts at church planting ‘[...]
Author Archive
July 20th, 2011 - 9:47 am § in Church Planting
Church Planting is Not “Plug-and-Play”
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning’s sessions have been focused on understanding and defining the “ministry focus group” that a church plant hopes to reach with the gospel. Tim Rice of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, FL, and Bob Cargo from Perimiter Church in Atlanta, hav[...]
July 19th, 2011 - 5:56 pm § in Church Planting
God’s Missionary Church – GCA Conference Opening
God loves to manifest his presence and pour out his power on those who will dare to align their purposes more with his. - Steve Childers The GCA North American Church Planting & Renewal Conference commenced at Erskine College and Seminary in Due West, South Carolina this afternoon. Before 3 day[...]
May 24th, 2011 - 10:59 am § in Steve's Posts, Theology
No Longer Resisting God’s Wrath
“My last resistance to the idea of God’s wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out,[...]
Success as a Glorious Imperfection
A friend of mine shares my struggle with perfectionism. Recently she received a helpful note from her sister. On the front-side of the paper were the words, “Try…Fail, Try…Fail, Try…Fail over and over, all the way down the page until the very last line that read, “Try…Die.” When she tu[...]
April 22nd, 2011 - 4:37 pm § in Church Planters Personal Life, Steve's Posts
John Newton Quote
“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still, I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.” John Newton (author of Amazing [...][...]
April 21st, 2011 - 9:11 pm § in Church Planters Personal Life, Steve's Posts
A Quote on the Wall of a Dutch Friend
De mens lijdt dikwijls het meest, Door het lijden dat hij vreest, Doch dat nooit op komt dagen. Zo heeft hij meer te dragen Dan God te dragen geeft. (Dutch) Translation: Man suffers often most, Because of the suffering he fears, But will never come about. Thus he i[...]
February 5th, 2011 - 3:07 pm § in Uncategorized
Mistake #9: Not Understanding that the Good News is for the Lost & Found
This is the ninth in a series of blog posts called, “My Top Ten Mistakes in Ministry (That I Can Share Publicly.)” After many years of ministry experience as a church planter, pastor and seminary professor, I think I’ve finally learned that one of the best kept secrets to surviving well in the[...]
December 27th, 2010 - 11:16 pm § in Uncategorized
Mistake #8: Not Initiating Supportive Relationships
This is the eighth in a series of blog posts called, “My Top Ten Mistakes in Ministry (That I Can Share Publicly.)” After many years of ministry experience as a church planter, pastor and seminary professor, I think I’ve finally learned that one of the best kept secrets to surviving well in th[...]
September 19th, 2010 - 6:52 pm § in Church Planter Spouse, Church Planters Personal Life, Church Planting, Greatest Mistakes, Practice, Steve's Posts, Uncategorized
Mistake #7: Not Understanding Product Living VS Process Living
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” 2 Corinthians 11:30 (ESV) This is the seventh in a series of blog posts called, “My Top Ten Mistakes in Ministry (That I Can Share Publicly.)” After many years of ministry experience as a church planter, pastor and seminary[...]
August 5th, 2010 - 5:31 pm § in On the Web
Global Church Advancement Update
Earlier this week, we sent a ministry update to everyone we know via e-mail. Did you get it? In case you didn’t, you can click on over and read it here. Check it out![...]
July 18th, 2010 - 10:19 am § in Church Planter Spouse, Church Planters Personal Life, Church Planting, Greatest Mistakes, Networks, Practice, Theology
Calvin Rejects Privatized Faith and Promotes Vulnerability in Church Planting Networks :)
“In the church, as Calvin conceived it, every man helped every other man. If in Christ Jesus all believers are united, then a private believer is a contradiction in terms. Not only are the blessings and the virtues given for the common good, but the faults and the weaknesses concern the other memb[...]
May 31st, 2010 - 9:49 am § in Africa, Church Planting
2010 West Africa Update – Part 2
This just in: Another update from Steve Childers! It sounds like things are going really well so far. Please pray for the remainder of Steve’s time in Africa – which he will spend with his team in Togo – that the team will be safe and that God’s glory will shine through t[...]
May 27th, 2010 - 8:18 pm § in Uncategorized
West Africa 2010 Update
We’ve finally heard from Steve, who is in Africa this week for the 2010 GCA West Africa Church Planting Institute. He’s been keeping busy with his team. It sounds like things are going well, though. Here’s a summary of what he had to say (it’s a little stream-of-conscio[...]
May 24th, 2010 - 10:21 am § in Africa, Church Planting
Prayers For GCA 2010 West Africa CPI: Part 1
Editor’s Note: We’ve already shared that GCA President Steve Childers is currently in West Africa, leading a group of indigenous church leaders in the GCA 2010 West Africa Church Planting Institute. Some supporters have known about this for awhile and have been kind enough to commit th[...]