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May 3, 2021Think Like a Church Plant
Recently Pastor Tim Keller said that post-Covid, every church will need to think like a church plant. If you’re in an established church, do you wonder what he meant by that statement? I asked two of the church planters in our Great Lakes region to share with us what it means to them.
Jon Huizenga, pastor at Rise Up Church in Cedar Springs, Michigan
When I think of Tim Keller's statement that post-Covid every church will need to think like a church plant, four things come to mind:
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March 5, 2021What Have Our Churches Gained Because of Covid?
As we approach the one-year mark of when our lives were turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, we could all name many things we’ve lost over the past year. Even in our congregational life, that list is long and worthy of lament.
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January 7, 20215 Ideas to Help Your Church Work toward Racial Justice and God's Shalom
There are many divisive issues that we would love to forget as 2020 fades into history. But there is one issue that made headlines this past year that should not be silenced in our churches and our communities: the pursuit of racial justice.
Without racial justice, we cannot have shalom, and unless we seek shalom, we will not be joining in God’s mission of proclaiming the good news in our neighborhoods and around the world.
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December 21, 20205 Tips for Sharing Your Faith from a Missionary
Evy* spent 29 years serving with Resonate Global Mission among the Fulani, a people group in West Africa who come mostly from a Muslim background. Now, she’s back in the suburbs of Chicago.
City life is drastically different from her rural ministry, but she said sharing the gospel with her suburban neighbors won’t be so different. There’s a lot that North Americans can learn from ministry among the Fulani. Resonate asked Evy to share some tips:
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October 30, 2020Practical Advent Ideas to Shine the Light of Christ
One of the verses that give me great hope during the Advent season is John 1:5.
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September 10, 2020Where Is Everybody?
Earlier this year, when churches went virtual, there was great excitement about the number of views our worship services were getting online. But then, after Easter, those numbers started to dwindle. Some churches decided to begin meeting in person again but still found that their average attendance hovered around 50% of what they usually could expect in the summer. Surely, things would bounce back in the fall when the school year starts, and people are home from vacation, right?
Probably not.
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July 15, 2020'Resilience' Is a Beautiful Word
I've been fascinated with the word resilience. I even like the way it’s pronounced. While it may sound silly to native English speakers, for an ESL student, it can be exotic. For example, try to say Feliz Navidad. Beautiful and exquisite, right? Resilience may not compete in significance with other famous words in the Bible like love, peace, and grace—but resilience has been, and continues to be, at the heart of ministry today.
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July 10, 2020Where You Live Matters
“God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God.” —Revelation 21:3, The Message
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July 8, 2020What's On Your Doorstep?
"One day at three o’clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the temple for prayer meeting. At the same time …" Acts 3:1 (The Message)
I have been reminded of this passage of Scripture so many times over this season of lockdown. It seems that Peter and John were doing what they did every day. They were engaging together and then found an opportunity in front of them. I believe that, much like Peter and John, we have found an opportunity in front of us.
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May 11, 2020How Are You Responding to God's 'New Thing' During COVID-19?
"See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
And streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)How do you respond to suffering when you see both the immensity of the pain and you already have a glimpse of how God is using it for good? For Christians, the answer is simple and yet stretches our faith to its limits: We have to look both suffering and hope full in the face. We have to both sit and move. We have to lament and rejoice. There are real dangers to neglecting one or the other.
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