Every youth ministry (and subsequently, the local church) has a responsibility to be prepared for the inevitable scenario of a hurting teenager. Crisis situations may take the form of pregnancy, rape, abuse, addictions, depression, suicide, cyber bullying, homosexuality, same-sex attraction, gang violence, and so forth. Whatever the scenario, teenagers are left broken, in need of …
When we involve young people in mission, we help nurture them into discipleship by teaching them to care for others and by providing them with opportunities to serve. Congregations often find ways to do this with older youth, but how about our youngest brothers and sisters in Christ? What are we doing to further their …
A number of years ago, a web article circulated around about mission giving, and it caught my attention. I remember reading these words from that author, “The world will never be brought to Christ unless we bring Christ to the world.” That still inspires me today about my own personal mission efforts. I truly am …
Almost two years ago, I was blessed to be a part of the ministry in the Europe, CIS, Middle East leadership conference. In the concluding service, I listened with interest to the testimony of the pastor of the Emmanuel Church in Kiev as he shared the testimony of their vision of the past year in …
You’re a Christian kid. You grew up going to church, going to youth group, and most of your friends are Christians. But at this point, in the back of your mind, you might find church boring. Maybe church stuff is getting in the way of other things you’d rather be doing. You basically go to …
On November 13, 2013, Bishop Gardiner successfully underwent an intense two and a half-hour interview before the Board of Chaplaincy Certification’s Review Committee, was approved by the Commission on Certification, and ratified by the Board of Directors as a fully certified chaplain. With this achievement, Bishop Gardiner joins the ranks of a group of four …
In November 2013, the Philippines was hit with the Super-Typhoon Yolanda, which killed at least 5,235 with an additional 1,613 still listed as missing according to the last government count. More than a million homes were destroyed or damaged, including some of our churches. Here are some reports from Bishop Roger Justiano, National Overseer of …
For eight years I wrote an article for the Mensajero Ala Blanca, the Spanish version of the White Wing Messenger. I wrote 12 articles for the first two years without knowing if anybody was reading them or being blessed by them. After two years, however, I had the opportunity to visit some of the countries …
Once upon a time, I ran. Not just because I was trying to get away from something or out of fear, but I once spent several years running for pleasure. I made daily laps around the track, experiencing the often-reported “runner’s high” along with the satisfaction of having completed a night’s workout. As I went …
In an informal survey of pastors, I asked a simple question: “What do you wish you had been told before you became a pastor?” Some of the responses were obvious. For me, a few were surprises. I note them in order of frequency of response, not necessarily in order of importance. After each item, I …