Many Christians have a hard time believing that their neighbors might be interested in studying the Bible. But at least one church is proving otherwise. Using a 10-lesson Bible study called "Seeking God and Finding Him!" Grace Fellowship Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., has tripled its attendance in the past five years since its members began engaging friends, family members, and coworkers in one-on-one Bible studies. Couched in investigative language, the study is targeted for the postmodern mind. Here’s how it works: Capitalizing on felt needs such as child-rearing problems or job stress, a Christian invites a friend, coworker, family member, or neighbor to go through the Bible study one-on-one, or couple-with-couple. They meet for 10 weeks, one hour a week.   more...

The urban centers of America are receiving a lot of attention today. In-depth studies of the cities have provided gripping insight into their rapidly multiplying problems. Urban leaders say that the federal government has abandoned the cities. But as we look at the situation, we can see that there have been other abandonments as well: Husbands have abandoned wives, fathers have abandoned children, and businesses have abandoned urban settings in search of bigger profits in the suburbs.   more...

Mikros A NEWSLETTER WRITTEN FOR SMALL CHURCH LEADERS Fellowship: The Benchmark of Health (Part One) By Dr. Glenn Daman------ The small church stands or falls, not by the number of programs or the strength of its financial base, but by the closeness of its fellowship and awareness of inward community. A small church can survive financial shortfalls, it can overcome meager resources, it can effectively minister to people even with limited programs, but it will not survive very long when the congregation becomes segmented, divided and unconnected.   more...

The Book of Acts is the most frequently used Scripture for church growth. It records the explosive beginnings of the church in Jerusalem at Pentecost (see Acts 1-2), its continuing growth through the witness of Peter and John (see Acts 3-5), the enduring impact of Stephen's martyrdom (see Acts 6-7), the scattering of the church of Jerusalem under Paul's persecution   more...

Would You like to know what's going on for the C.O.G.I.C.? Calendar of events, Convocation, AIM, what we believe, our stand against same sex marriage.........   more...

Empowering You to Live Out Your Values Campaign for Children and Families (CCF) is an innovative nonprofit, nonpartisan pro-family organization serving children and families in California and America. CCF believes that the natural family needs respect and support, and that children need healthy role models to have the best life possible.   more...

Instilling Purpose In Your Choir ---------- Every ministry in the church must have a purpose. While such a statement sounds simple, how many church members or leaders can specifically delineate the God-ordained purpose behind each ministry in the church? As music ministers we must constantly remind our choir members and ourselves of the fundamental purpose of the choir: to lead people in worship of Almighty God.   more...

Shut-In Schedule It's time to Seek the Glory of The Lord!! It's time that strongholds come down, and every captive go free in Jesus name. The Schedule for Mamie Leonard's Shut-In is as follows:   more...

Does this sound familiar? You are in a small town or growing suburb overtaken by urban sprawl or an urban center experiencing dramatic demographic shifts. The cluster of evangelical, mainstream Protestant, and Roman Catholic churches in the area are either aging and declining or bursting with young families with little ministry experience and low stewardship. Children are missing from the first scenario, and youth over 14 drop out from the other. In the cross-denominational ministerial association, an odd coalition of grandparents and “40-somethings” raise the cry: We’ve got to reach the youth! They scratch together a program and ask every church leader to prioritize limited dollars to fund it. As a veteran church leader, in your heart you know this won’t work -- but you can’t say anything. To criticize “the program” would look like you don’t like the youth, apple pie, and motherhood. So you reroute money and energy to the venture. Within two years “the program” falls apart amid acrimony among the church partners, generating further alienation of the youth and amusement among the public.   more...

Learning how to communicate with the people whom I call pagans has challenged both Judaism and Christianity. (Contrary to popular belief, pagans aren’t people who don’t believe in God. They believe in many gods.) Whereas communicating with pagans has always been the mission of both faiths, something very different confronts us, especially Christians, today.   more...

A consistent theme among the nearly 100 formerly unchurched we contacted to help us with this project was that doctrine really matters. Churches that attempt to reach unchurched people by compromising or diluting the teachings of Scripture are counterproductive. Hank D. of Virginia became a Christian at age 32. He found the watered-down teaching and preaching of many churches amusing at first, but them he changed his mind. "I was a true seeker," Hank told us. "I started looking around for a church just because I had this big empty place in my life that nothing was filling. No one invited me to a church. I just started doing it on my own."   more...

The VBS Power Lab is Coming!! Where kids discover Jesus’ miraculous power! Get ready for an exciting adventure, following Jesus as he heals, helps, and gives power to people who need him. Power Lab is fizzing with fun for kids, teenagers, and adults. Everyone involved in this VBS will explore God’s Word…and never be the same again! As kids experience amazing Bible adventures, they’ll take part in Daily Challenges that encourage them to apply Bible truths to everyday life.   more...