Clarity breeds brevity. Lack of clarity leads to lots of words. Our churches today lack clarity on disciple making. That confusion is evident by the long list of words used interchangeably such as discipleship, coaching, mentoring, disciple making, and shepherding. Unfortunately, these words aren’t synonyms. Instead of clarifying the call to make disciples, they complicate and confuse. In the past … Read More
What Will Next Winter Be Like?
Yes, you read that right. I’m asking you to consider what winter will be like before we’ve even gotten through summer. This isn’t only a question we can ask about the weather. It’s also a question we can ask about the church. When it comes to your church, what you do now can have a huge impact on how you … Read More
The Disciple Maker Card
In any discipleship process, relationships are essential. A disciple maker is seeking to engage the heart of a new believer, or a disciple partner, with spiritual truths that lead to life transformation. These spiritual conversations have a high view of Scripture and emphasize our response to the Holy Spirit. What is God saying? What are you going to do about it? Discipleship can be … Read More
406 Day of Prayer and Fasting
BIG SUCCESS & A SIGN OF SPIRITUAL HUNGER What a blessing it was to be a part of the first ever, online, all-state prayer meeting for Montana. Approximately 75 people representing 19 different churches united in heartfelt, passionate prayer on the date represented by our area code, April 6 (4/06). Online, there were churches gathered in homes, and fellowship halls. … Read More
Baptist Foundation of Montana
Baptist Foundation of Montana (BFM) was established to meet the financial needs of the Southern Baptist churches in Montana, 130 and growing. These needs most always fall into 2 categories – facilities and pastor support. Facilities consist of land, buildings, and furnishings necessary to support church activities. Dealing with BFM is certain to be much easier than with conventional banks because … Read More
Reaching Without Reservations
With credentialed Bible teaching and evangelism experience at home and abroad, Tim Osterlund shares the principles of biblical interpretation with residents of the Crow Indian Reservation south of Billings, Montana. Osterlund – an adjunct professor for Yellowstone Christian College (YCC) – relied on his experience navigating various world cultures in leading the course that he said was a “tremendous opportunity … Read More
NAMB next gen coaching cohorts equip youth, collegiate leaders
By Brandon Elrod ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Christians have focused energy on passing down “the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all” for centuries. Each time one generation passes on the baton to the next, new challenges surface. Rapid changes in technology and cultural shifts, however, have seemingly made the task more daunting. From April 19-20, the North … Read More
What’s Your Witnessing Style?
Our country is getting back to normal quickly. Masks are becoming a thing of the past and so is social distancing. This means we can start getting together with people again. One of the greatest needs our churches have as people begin feeling comfortable with being around others is to resume our evangelism efforts. The most effective form of evangelism … Read More
Choosing the Important Over the Urgent
Charles Hummel wrote a booklet entitled Tyranny of the Urgent. In it he shares about the tension that exists between things that are truly important and things that are seemingly urgent. His conclusion was that seemingly urgent things in our lives frequently overcome the most important things in our lives. This led him to coin the phrase, tyranny of the urgent, which … Read More
Who Has Your Back?
There is nothing more comforting than a friend or family group who has your best interest at heart. You know that no matter what you are facing, you can count on them to support and encourage you. They are a GRACE ZONE, because they understand what you are facing, and they sincerely care about you. In pastor life, these types … Read More