As church members, we’re called to reach out to our communities with the gospel in word and deed through two common approaches or styles: Gathering and Scattering. The first style focuses mostly on gathering people into the church through proclaiming the Word in evangelism. The second style focuses mostly on scattering people out of the church through serving the poor in acts of mercy. Both styles are needed.

Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Francis Schaeffer called the love Christians have for each other "the final apologetic." Whether you realize it or not, you have a structure for fellowship in your church. And building authentic Christian community depends significantly on the effectiveness of that structure.

In the Great Commission, Jesus did not instruct us merely to teach all his commandments. Instead, he told us to teach people how to obey all his commandments (Matt 28:18-20). There’s a big difference! common mistake leaders make in developing a church into a healthy learning community is the failure to identify the best styles and methods to maximize the learning experience of church members.

In determining your worship styles you will need to select a Biblically-based, culturally appropriate set of worship emphases, elements and models for your church. What will the Biblical purpose of worship look like in your worship styles?

Church leaders must be aware of two opposite and equally dangerous errors: under-adapting and over-adapting to their surrounding culture. To avoid these errors, you must learn how to contextualize the gospel through the ongoing dynamics of adapting and challenging that never stop.

One of the top mistakes church leaders make is to choose ministry styles based on what they’ve seen and prefer, not on what will be most effective in their community. The result is tragic: Ministry styles become unnecessary barriers to transforming lives and communities. How do we avoid the two extremes of cultural compromise and isolation?

Jesus teaches us that we should pray with persistent, shameless boldness especially when facing no answer. When God does not give you what you ask for, don't allow yourself to think that the Father is not loving you. Instead, learn how to obey Jesus' command to keep praying, keep trusting, and not give up.

The Lord’s Prayer may be one of the best known, least understood and worst applied patterns for prayer ever given. Most of us don't really pray like this. Jesus means for his followers to find joy, purpose, and power by asking for God's name to be glorified, his kingdom to come, and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In the Book of Acts, we find the remarkable work of the ascended Jesus continuing to advance God’s kingdom on earth through the church by prayer. Christians are used to thinking about prayer as only a means to get their personal needs met. More mature Christians understand prayer as also a means to praise and adore God, to know him, to come into his presence and be changed by him. But there is another kind of prayer that is not well know. It is what we call Kingdom Prayer.

When Jesus enters the world, he brings with him a new age of kingdom prayer and calls us to enter it with him. Every aspect of the life and ministry of Jesus is deeply rooted in prayer–more than most realize. It isn't just a peripheral thing, it's the life-breath of how he serves the Father as the God-Man, and how he brings the kingdom to earth as the King of kings.

Throughout the Scriptures we find a strong connection between prayer, the kingdom of God, and the mission of God. Never forget that the success of the gospel in church planting and renewal depends not only on God’s sovereignty and the faithful preaching of the gospel—but also on the faithful prayers of God’s people.

It's hard to lead, but it's much harder to love. When Jesus was asked what the main thing in life is, he replied, "Love the lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, "Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22)."

It's very easy to be living for another day in the future, for the product or the accomplishment of your next major milestone. Author Isaac Rubin writes, "The joy and happiness from the process lasts much longer and can be much more satisfying over the duration of your life. But if you are totally goal oriented in a success oriented culture and if the product is the only goal, you will destroy much of the possibility for true joy and happiness in life."

Church leaders must be on guard against the danger of only seeing themselves as servants and soldiers of God, but not children of God. In John 15, Jesus said, "You are my friends." That's richer than merely being a slave or a soldier. 1 John 3:1 says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" And a Father's love for his child is even higher!

One of the reasons many dropout of the ministry is because they have never learned the simple distinction between goals and desires. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

How many church leaders on their deathbed do you think wish that they had just spent more time at the church? At the root of our frantic propensity to overwork in the ministry, is usually the sin of pride, an exalted sense of our importance to the kingdom of God. The answer is not managing our time; it's managing our priorities.

In the trenches of all the hard work necessary in ministry, it's very easy for church leaders to become discouraged and depressed. It's especially easy to be seduced by the Success Syndrome Seductress! In this session, you'll learn how to balance your life and ministry priorities in the face of what can sometimes seem like impossible competing time-demands.