Leadership Development Worksheet

Many pastors, leaders, and elder teams want to have a leadership development program, but they don’t know where to start. Others have something, but they want to make the program stronger. If that’s you, read on! If you want to start a leadership development program at your church, here is a worksheet to work through.…

Six Essentials for Training Pastors

What exactly makes a good pastor? If you are exploring your call to ministry or are still relatively young in your pastoral position, you should know what you are called to be and do. Maybe you are currently a pastor training the next generation of elders and pastors at your church. How do you know…

Why Membership?

Some people think that the idea of church membership is outdated, too rigid or constraining, optional, or totally unnecessary. Yet David Platt says, “You cannot be a disciple of Christ and you cannot fully make disciples of Christ apart from total commitment to a local church.” And Matt Chandler explains that, “local church membership is a…

Do Ministers View Call to Ministry as Important?

Empirical research on leadership reveals that ministers place great significance on calling. This brief review will organize thoughts from ministry leaders about the importance of calling into three categories 1) calling in general, 2) the internal call to ministry, and 3) external calling. The Importance of Ministry Calling Recent research on pastoral development demonstrates the…

What is the Call to Ministry?

Scholars have defined and categorized the call to ministry in various ways. Jeff Iorg defines calling as a “profound impression from God that establishes parameters for your life.”[1] Iorg explains three types of call experiences as 1) the universal call to Christian service and growth, 2) the general call to ministry leadership, and 3) the…

Four Chair Discipling

I am currently reading an excellent book by Dann Spader called 4 Chair Discipling.  In this book, Spader takes a look at Jesus’ life and ministry and pulls out principles for us to strive for as we seek to make disciples.  Each chair represents a stage in the growth process in the Christian life.  Spader…

Bible Reading Worksheets

In his book, One to One Bible Reading, David Helm goes through a very helpful acronym called “COMA”  It is a meditation type of technique to help you slow down and write out the things you are learning as you read the Bible.  It stands for Context, Observation, Meaning, and Application.  This is a very…

Grad Group Mission and Vision

This past weekend we went through our mission, heart, and vision of Grad Group, our group of twentysomethings at Parkview Church.  We talked about our core values and what we want to accomplish.  We talked about how we see our group fitting into the overall mission of Parkview.  We are asking God to to big…