This is the eighth episode of a twelve-part series focusing on new pathways to restoring spiritual vitality in your church. There are 12 frequently identified broken bridges affecting reaching people for Jesus Christ. In this eighth part, Dr. Kent Hunter talks about Broken Bridge #8, which deals with “foreign language.” It’s about how the language and words we use in churches can be a roadblock to reaching unbelievers.
Broken Bridges: New Pathways to Restore Spiritual Vitality to Your Church (Bridge #2 Podcast)
This is the second episode of a twelve-part series focusing on new pathways to restoring spiritual vitality in your church. There are 12 frequently identified broken bridges affecting reaching people for Jesus Christ. In this second part, Dr. Kent Hunter talks about Broken Bridge #2, pastors failing to develop succession plans as they transition into retirement.
Resource references:
- Who Broke My Church? 7 Proven Strategies for Renewal and Revival
- Spiritual Gifts Survey
- sendnorthamerica.com
SEND North America: Rationale for SEND (Podcast)
This is the first episode of a five-part series focusing on SEND North America. In this episode, Dr. Kent R. Hunter talks about different movements of Christianity in the world today. He highlights that each area where Christianity is growing, it is paired with a youth movement. It is because of this that inspired the founding of SEND North America. You can find more about SEND North America by visiting www.sendnorthamerica.com.
Resource references:
- Who Broke My Church? 7 Proven Strategies for Renewal and Revival
- sendnorthamerica.com
- The J-Dog Journey: Where Is Life?
- CRU
- YWAM
- You Lost Me by David Kinneman
Witnessing: The Evangelism Committee Catastrophe (Podcast)
This is the second episode of a six-part series focusing on Witnessing. In this second part, Dr. Kent Hunter talks about the church Evangelism committee, looking at what it normally looks like, and how that falls short of God’s plan. To read more about this, check out the January/February issue of The Church Doctor Report.
Resource reference:
How to Become a Missionary: Becoming a Christian Witness on a Mission (Part 36 of 40)
When people share their God stories, it’s because the culture of your church promotes this way of life.
In time, it can lead to a revival, which is an act of God.
A revival is when the church grows by geometric progression.
At any given time in history, several Christian revivals are occurring somewhere around the globe.
- Including right now!
A revival is when it is humanly impossible to explain or imagine or measure how many people are so quickly becoming Christians, and coming into churches.
When Christians follow Jesus’ words, “And you will be witnesses of Me…”
- God brings explosive growth to the Christian movement.
To summarize the steps of this movement:
- Just start asking people in groups around your church, “Anybody want to share what God is doing in your life?”
- Be patient. Let it happen as the Holy Spirit leads. You can’t force a change in culture. You just plant seeds and nurture. God grows the movement.
- Ask those in your church to list those in their social networks who show no signs of being believers in Jesus Christ.
- Ask everyone to pray responsibly for those who are unchurched in their social networks—their sphere of influence.
- Encourage everyone to pray for an opportunity to share one of their “God stories” that relates to the challenges experienced by someone in their social network.
- Continue to build the culture of sharing God stories around church—everywhere, but in worship.
- Equip everyone at church to look for signs of receptivity.
- Watch your church explode with growth as new people come to Christ.
- Be patient, building this culture in your church takes time.
- Never stop practicing this culture.
If you would like to know more, you can also subscribe to my podcast on Apple Podcast and Google Play. We will expand on this theme further in our series beginning on March 6, 2018.
How to Become a Missionary: Becoming a Christian Witness on a Mission (Part 35 of 40)
When people live in a culture of sharing God stories at church
- They eventually, without a program, start sharing God stories with unchurched people in their social networks.
- Why?
- They begin to hear God stories of others in church, as people share that they reached out to a non-Christian in their social networks.
- Then, they begin to hear good stories from those people who have been reached, who are now worshipping at the church.
- That motivates those in your church to share their God stories in their social networks all the more.
- The momentum grows also because, when someone shares their God story—and it results in a person coming to Christ, and coming to the church, it is positive reinforcement. The Bible says, “All heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.” So do the people who God used to lead those sinners to faith, and the church—through their God stories.
This culture takes on momentum and begins to grow by geometric progression—which is Jesus’ plan.
Here’s how to understand geometric progression:
- Take an 8 ½ X 11 inch piece of paper and fold it over once.
- The paper was very thin, but now is twice as thick.
- Now, fold it over once more.
- Now it is four times as thick.
- Again, now, when you fold it again, it is eight times as thick.
- Do this fifty times, and your piece of paper would be so tall, literally, it would reach from here to the sun.
- Fold it once more, and it would reach to the sun and back again!
- This is how the growth of the church is supposed to work. We don’t usually call it geometric progression. We call it revival.
If you would like to know more, you can also subscribe to my podcast on Apple Podcast and Google Play. We will expand on this theme further in our series beginning on March 6, 2018.