Georgia Baptist Mission Board Blog
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Following Jesus Together: Following Him so that our Children can Follow Us
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I always imitate Christ.” As parents, we should be able to say to our kids, “Copy me as I try to copy Christ.” Or better yet, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” Children will do what they see. I’ve often heard it said, “More is caught […]
June 26, 2020: An Unusual Legislative Session Comes to an End
After a three month delay, the end is here! On Friday, June 26, 2020, the Georgia General Assembly concluded its legislative session that began January 13. The legislature had been in recess since March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic and had reconvened to resume the 2020 legislative session on June 15. This has made […]
Beyond Regathering: Ministry in the New World
Who moved the cheese? In his book Who Moved My Cheese, Dr. Spencer Johnson describes the difficulty of change in any organization. His tells a story about a maze, cheese, mice, and change. The maze is built just for the mice, and they got used to where the cheese was placed within the maze. When […]
Send Your High School Graduate to College Well
Regardless of whether they are moving on to college, heading to technical school, going into the service, or starting a career, graduates need some things from us as a church, from previous mentors and leaders, and from parents. It is important for students to be sent into college well from both the parents’ perspective as well as that of […]
Why Should My Church Be Single-Focused?
Let’s Define Single Adults Singles are unique. There is a specific way to reach and minister to each type of single adult, but these labels are not meant to place singles into different ways of being reached. Quite the opposite. Once you know who you want to reach, you need to know how to reach […]
Churches in College Towns have an Unprecedented Opportunity to Serve Students
There is great uncertainty right now in your church. When will it be safe to open? How will we phase in the various programs and elements of our fellowship? What ministries are vital? How do we emphasize Christian community and fellowship and do it safety? There is also a parallel course at your local college or university. Even if […]
ADF: Supreme Court Delivers a Troubling Decision Against Harris Funeral Homes
Americans should be able to rely on what the law says. Unfortunately, it seems the U.S. Supreme Court does not agree. Today, the Supreme Court ruled against our client Harris Funeral Homes. In doing so, the Court has delivered a truly troubling decision: Unelected officials and courts can effectively rewrite laws — forcing Americans to guess […]
June 15, 2020: The Georgia Legislature Reconvenes
On Monday, June 15, 2020, the Georgia General Assembly will reconvene to resume the 2020 legislative session. The legislature has been in recess since March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic. There are officially 11 legislative days left out of the yearly 40-day session. The only constitutional requirement is that the budget must be passed […]
June 5, 2020: Georgia Baptist Mission Board Statement on Racial Injustice
DULUTH, GA, June 5, 2020 – The body of Christ is a tapestry of multi-ethnic believers who come from many different cultures. All believers are unified under Jesus Christ, who is the Head. The Georgia Baptist Convention (GBC) reflects that diversity with 536 predominantly non-Anglo churches that have a membership of over 113,000 and represent […]
10 Evangelistic Ways to Share: Using your Influence to Share your Faith through Social Media and Beyond
As pastors, it is our hope that we effectively communicate the gospel, be an example of evangelism, and that our congregation is actively living out and sharing their faith with others. In the height of the pandemic, there are more churches that are virtually having services, with the chance to reach more people than ever. […]
4 Ways to Save Money while Maximizing Gospel Impact
There are many areas where COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our churches – and a big one is money. Our executive pastor made the statement early to our staff: “Don’t spend any money!” With the closing of many businesses and the basic shut down in much of the state, churches have experienced a considerable decline in giving […]
61 Super Summer Ideas for Kids
There’s no doubt that this summer will look very different than any other summer in recent history. As most events and activities have been cancelled or postponed, families will be spending much more time at home. And while this has been true for the last several months, there’s no longer distance learning going on for […]
Create A Better Online Bible Study Experience
There have been four waves of questions or issues that I’ve been asked to help pastors and churches address during the past few months. The first was “how do we get our worship services online?” The next was “how do we get our giving/offerings online?” The third was “how do we get our Sunday School […]
Develop Great Next Generation Pianists with these 14 Tips
Developing next generation pianists can seem like a daunting task. Children begin taking piano lessons for many reasons. Most often, it is because their parents want them to learn an instrument. Children arrive at the door of the local piano teacher, and weekly lessons ensue. They typically participate in a few recitals and occasionally enter […]
How to Have Certainty in Uncertainty
When we start a new day we all realize deep down inside that there is always uncertainty. We don’t really control the events of the day … not really. So much of life is beyond our control. But to be honest, we don’t think too much about that on a normal day. Normal routines and set schedules […]
The Simple – But Powerful – Life of Prayer
During complex moments in life, I have found that the most helpful things are very simple. “Get back to the basics” sounds like a saying too simple to be helpful. Don’t overlook the obvious. It is the simple things that bring balance. One of those simple things is prayer. Just like we need to breathe […]
What does the Coronavirus Shelter-in-Place Order mean for my Church?
Last updated May 5, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. The Shelter-in-Place Order went into effect on Friday, April 3 and will last through April 30, 2020. Here is the latest information in The Christian Index. However, there is a new Executive Order that will go into effect on May 1, 2020. It contains changes related to […]
9 Tips to Connecting Students in Small Groups during the Crisis
After a few great weeks of connections in our new normal of Zoom Sunday School, yesterday felt disconnected. This week we had three guests, of which, two were first-timers. Overall, things are looking good, but this past Sunday was a little stale. The students just were just not into it! They responded slowly or not […]
Positive Emotional Health in the Midst of COVID-19
It is interesting that in the middle of this pandemic that this month is designated as “Mental Health Awareness” month. To be quite honest, far too many people think pastors aren’t real people and should never deal with issues like depression, isolation, or despair. For some people, they are super-human. Nothing could be further from the truth. A pastor’s life is […]
Considerations for Reopening the Church Building
Table of Contents: Be Informed Prepare Your Church Worship Services Service Times and Locations Amenities Staffing and Volunteers Small Groups and Sunday School Preschool and Children Choirs and Orchestras Tech Teams Recap Discussion with Governor’s Office Updated as of 4 p.m. on May 5, 2020. Please check back for updates on reopening suggestions. Use the […]
Fishing during Social Distancing: Invitations and Evangelizing during COVID-19
How do we share Jesus when we can’t get within six feet of someone? There are a few different ways you can encourage your congregation to share personally as well as ways to lead an invitation when you return to church. Encourage Your Congregation to Evangelize! Here are some ideas you can use to teach […]
5G Coverage: Using an Online Presence to Reach Lost People
Every church has been forced, amid COVID-19, to establish an online presence. Churches have been encouraged by the increased exposure they have been getting by being online. Post corona, churches should never give up their online presence. In fact, churches should enhance and expand their online presence to not only minister to their members, but […]
Personalizing Prayer During Uncertain Times
The COVID-19 times may be uncertain, but the One who is and has been for all times is not. When we are at a loss for what to say to God, we know His Spirit intercedes for us. Use God’s words to personalize these prayers for yourself or others He is putting on your heart. […]
7 Thoughtful Questions to Ask about your Preschool Ministry
They Are Precious In His Sight One Sunday we took our preschool-aged grandchild to church with us. While she and her family are very active in their church, her younger brother needed to stay home and this prevented their family from being at their church. But rather than MaCayla missing church altogether, we all decided […]
The Pianist in the Praise Band
Being a pianist is often a solitary pursuit. You take lessons with one other person in the room, you practice by yourself, you play solos, while your friends who play string and wind instruments are always making music in groups. You might accompany a soloist or play duets with your organist, but your role in […]
5 Steps to a Better Soundcheck in a Modern Worship Environment
Have you considered what a soundcheck in your church looks like? One of the greatest and perhaps most overlooked challenges for modern worship environments (regardless of styles) is the use of sound systems to support and amplify live music and speech to the congregation in a way that is clear, musical and engaging. Too often […]
COVID-19 can bring the Next Great Awakening
It’s time for a reset. The time we have spent apart due to the COVID-19 quarantine will have an eternal impact on churches as we move forward into the future. It has changed the Church from within, because individual people have changed. She will not reemerge the same. It seems like such a long time […]
VBS and COVID-19: If, How, and Why?
I receive phone calls daily with questions about Vacation Bible School (VBS) this year. There’s so much uncertainty about how much longer we will need to shelter in place. There’s also uncertainty about whether or not parents will want to send their children where hundreds of others will be after our restrictions have been lifted. Pastors and […]
Untapped Potential: Engage with Visitors from Before the Coronavirus
Your visitors Mike and Stephanie Oaks moved into your town in January. They took the risk and tried several churches in the area. They did what most people don’t and filled out visitor cards for every place they visited. Most, if not all, of the churches called, sent a letter, or both, after they visited […]
7 Focused Missionary Requests to Take Before God during COVID-19
Conversations with God enable us to close the distance between ourselves and thousands of missionaries serving around the world. Throughout the Psalms it is declared that He will incline His ears to us, hear us, and answer us. Prayer transports us into the middle of where missionaries are and connects us to what they are […]
9 Tips to Connecting Students in Small Groups during the Crisis
After a few great weeks of connections in our new normal of Zoom Sunday School, yesterday felt disconnected. This week we had three guests, of which, two were first-timers. Overall, things are looking good, but this past Sunday was a little stale. The students just were just not into it! They responded slowly or not […]
11 Effective Ideas for Serving Women in Your Church and Community
Women crave connection with Jesus and with other women more than ever right now. A minister recently said, “We are created for communion with God and one another. We will survive this season when we do both.” To love and serve women best, provide opportunities for them to connect with God, with their families, and with one another. Bible Study: Disciple women to study […]
An Easy Tool to Stream Online Worship to Members Who Aren’t Online
How do I provide online worship for my members who are not online? It’s a question many have been asking as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and here’s a great solution: PhoneLiveStreaming.com Zoiper sends the audio from your computer out to the SmartTalk phone line and church members can then call in to your […]
6 Simple Steps to Setting Up a Successful Facebook Group
Looking for a way to stay connected when you aren’t physically in the same room? A Facebook Group is just one option to do this, especially since most people already have a Facebook account. But, as with any social networking accounts, a Facebook group has a ton of settings that you should explore. A group […]
CARES Act: What does the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act mean for Your Church?
The House just passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). This bill has significant benefits for churches. Staff expenses, overhead, rent, mortgage interest — it’s all eligible. The “paycheck protection loan” that the government is offering turns into a GRANT if you meet a few requirements. We are going to show […]
After the COVID-19 Quarantine: 6 Pivots to Position Your Church for Big Gospel Impact
We are living in unprecedented times with COVID-19. Uncertainty is the predominant word and fear runs rampant. Yet our God is big and all-powerful. I believe God desires to see a genesis of gospel growth on the other side of this crisis like the world has never seen. Now is your time to pray, prepare, […]
10 Super Pointers to Leading a Family Devotion
As we walk through these days of coronavirus fears together, it’s important to remember that while the days we find ourselves in are unique and even surprising to us, they are neither unique nor surprising to our Heavenly Father. He is never caught off guard or surprised. Maybe some of the best questions we can […]
4 Basic Guidelines to Benevolence Ministry During and After the Coronavirus
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has opened doors for our churches to do ministry, and this is an incredible display of God’s grace. But it could also inspire the sketchy, schemer, and scoundrel to seek ways to take advantage of the systems good people put into place. As stewards of the gifts given by your church, […]
Connect with Your Neighbors in 4 Easy Steps
While most people were running from the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, some Christians at the epicenter of the virus were using their gifts and resources to minister and spread the gospel to their neighbors. History records that the early Christian Church was always at the forefront of ministry during pandemics. Christians risked their own lives […]
Why Doesn’t God Stop the Coronavirus: 4 Steps to Responding Well
Why doesn’t God stop the coronavirus? It’s a simple and yet profound question. As the body of Christ, we must be prepared to answer. There is a perceived logical argument against God when looking at a crisis. You’ll see these argument arise especially during and in the wake of a crisis. British comedian Stephen Fry […]
Coronavirus: 7 objetos simples y excelentes para usar cuando no puedes pasar el platillo de ofrendas
Para aquellos que han cancelado los servicios de la iglesia como resultado del Coronavirus (COVID-19), no se recaudara ninguna forma física de dinero los domingos. Si bien muchas iglesias tienen opciones de diezmar Online, hay algunas que no. Queremos ofrecer algunas opciones para aquellos que buscan darle a su congregación una forma de diezmar aun […]
Lista de revisión del Coronavirus: Una guía de respuestas definitiva para las iglesias
Con el Coronavirus que continúa consumiendo nuestras noticias, redes sociales y nuestras mentes, esto es un momento tumultuoso para la mayoría de las personas, para los lideres de la iglesia que tratan de descubrir como comenzar, que hacer a continuación, y preguntarse qué necesitan para prepararse para el futuro. Aquí esta la lista de verificación […]
Building a COVID-19 Prayer Team
Here are three prayer team ideas and strategies for churches, associations, and the state of Georgia. Build pastor prayer groups and prayer teams. Across Georgia, pastors are gathering together to pray as never before. This can be done in person, on the phone, or in something like zoom. Leaders must pray together as demonstrated in Acts. […]
6 Creative Strategies for Loving Your Senior Adults
Some of our senior adults are experiencing unique needs and challenges as a result of the coronavirus’ behavior and recommendations. These can lead to overwhelming anxiety. Leaders are finding creative ways to minister to the needs of their senior flock and to reach out to the senior community at large. Our seniors offer us so […]
Coronavirus Effect: 3 Ways Your Group can be Better After It’s Gone
Currently, our assumption is that we will go through this season of the coronavirus (COVID-19) for a few weeks, and then we will return to business as usual with our church and our groups. That may be the case practically, but we cannot ignore how it is affecting each of us as individuals and a […]
Coronavirus Checklist: A Definitive Response Guide for Churches
This post was last updated on April 2, 2020. With the coronavirus continuing to consume our news, social networks, and minds, this is a tumultuous time for most people. For church leaders, you’re trying to figure out what to do next and wondering what you need to prepare for the future. Here’s a checklist you […]
Coronavirus: 4 Essential Steps to Updating Your Website
Has your church failed to communicate the impact of COVID-19? Out of curiosity, I spent a few minutes looking at various church websites to see what they are doing to update visitors and members regarding the coronavirus’ (COVID-19) impact on their church. For churches with a volunteer web person or a bi-vocational pastor doing updates, […]
COVID-19: Highlighting our Amazing Heroes
Each day, countless people serve our communities, but are often overlooked because their work is seen as just that: Work. The fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) has helped us all better understand the significant role a variety of employees play in our day to day lives. Along with first responders, medical staff and government leaders who are navigating these […]
Meeting Online: 5 Simple Tips to Keep Groups Connected
The world has changed in the past few days. I was busy about 30 days ago helping churches plan for the construction of new buildings, enlarging their organization to have more classes/groups to reach and disciple more people, and working on training events that would take place in the future all over or state and […]
Coping with Loneliness as a Single Adult during COVID-19 Social Distancing
Loneliness can come into our lives in many different circumstances. Most recently, many of us have experienced loneliness with COVID-19 and social distancing. As a single adult, you may be the only person in your home, and the thought of increasing social distancing may feel like nothing new. Society can make singles feel alone in a […]
Living a Creative COVID-19 Life with Kids
The massive COVID-19 quarantine is bringing quiet and slower days of work from home for some, while bringing stress to others who have lost their jobs. Many are now homeschooling their children, with no previous experience as a teacher. These bewildering days are already taking a toll on everyone, especially kids. Whether you set time […]
Coronavirus: 7 Direct Ways to Evangelize in a Crisis
Is there a way we can take advantage of this coronavirus crisis for the sake of the gospel? I believe there is. Just as Jesus moved into the lives of those who were experiencing crises, we as a church can be his hands and feet during this time. Here are a few ways to get […]
3 Easy Apps to Overcome Social Distancing
If you’ve googled how to stay in touch with people while in coronavirus quarantine, then you know the top answer is social media apps. This is especially true if you are a student, children’s, or college leader. There are several resources already about how to connect with small groups online. The purpose of this post […]
7 Painless Steps to Creating a Good Facebook Live Recording
With the onslaught of recommendations concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19), many churches and organizations have taken their services and group meetings online. Many have opted to use Facebook Live, which makes sense because most church members will already have an account. There are many challenges with this, especially if you’re new to this type of communication. […]
Coronavirus Culture: 3 Focused Steps to Mobilize Your Members
I know your head is swimming after the events of the past week as new recommendations were released regarding the coronavirus. You are trying to figure out the best way to do a worship service online and how to keep your people tithing in these days of being the church much more scattered than gathered. […]
Coronavirus: 7 Great, Simple Tools to Use When You Can’t Pass the Plate
For those that have cancelled church services as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19), you won’t be collecting any physical form of money on Sundays. While many churches have online giving options in place, there are some that do not. We wanted to offer some options for those that are seeking to give their congregants a […]
COVID-19: 12 Ways to Love Your Community
We have an incredible opportunity before us to show the love of Christ to our communities. Families in our communities are looking for solutions to questions that have come as a result of our current reality. Response workers are feeling overwhelmed. Working parents need childcare and the most vulnerable population needs our help and support. […]
Coronavirus: 12 Practical Tips for a Productive Kids Ministry
As children’s ministry leaders, we find ourselves searching for new ways to stay connected to children and their families while we are being encouraged to cancel services and ministries to help stop the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Here are 12 tips to help during social distancing, but you can use these any other time […]
Developing A Strong Web Ministry for Your Church
Sarepta Baptist Association Lunch and Learn, January 13, 2020 POWER OF THE WEB FOR MINISTRY QUESTION: What benefits do you see of leveraging the web for ministry? “This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14 […]
Mega List of FREE Tools and Resources To Update Your Website!
CHURCH BUDGET TIP: Don’t Pay for What You Can Get FreeThe following freebies will help and inspire you to accomplish great things with the web presence of your church or ministry. 1. FREE WEBSITE Radiant Web Sites > build.radiantwebtools.com Their Pitch: Beautiful ministry websites and mobile apps powered by Radiant, a company committed to advancing the Gospel […]
Canva: A Simple Design Tool
In this digital age, visuals are incredibly important. As you scroll on your social media platforms or click through emails, you often might come across images that are poorly designed or have poor resolution. In those instances, I’ll bet you keep scrolling. At least I do.A bad image makes me think that you didn’t try […]
Teaching from the Overflow of Personal Time with God
Children’s Ministry leaders are busy people. There’s always an event to plan and prepare, curriculum to sort, leaders to enlist and train, counseling sessions to conduct, and – well, you get the idea. Many times it seems that when one item gets marked off the to-do list, three more are added. And then we add […]
The Golden Rules of Email Marketing for Churches
Developing an email marketing plan for your church is a lot of work! It requires time to do it right, and it can become overwhelming. It can become a drain on limited church personnel resources and cause volunteers to quit. Why in the world would you even think about doing an email newsletter for your […]
Keeping Your Ministry to Senior Adults Out of a Rut
Growing up my driveway was a quarter of a mile long. It took a lot of work to maintain the road that led to our farmhouse. Something that was ever present on that road was the ruts that were worn into the road. They were formed by the continuous back and forth people coming and […]
Pastor! Don’t Stress! Find A Sunday School Director!
I had three calls from pastors this week with the same question. These pastors were of different size churches and they were different types of communities. They all had two things in common. First, their churches were stuck! They weren’t growing but they were all killing themselves with the amount of work they were doing. […]
Keeping your Leadership Team Trained and Together
Staying connected with the leaders of your small groups or Sunday School is vital to their overall growth. In some ways your leadership team is much like the groups themselves. You have a regular leadership meeting. Some are always in attendance, others not so much, and still others may never attend. Like leading a group […]
Downloading Videos from Facebook
Have you ever come across a video on Facebook that you wanted to download? You probably realized pretty quickly that it’s not easy. There are some websites that you can access to help download Facebook videos, but those often leave cookies and other junk on your browsers. You don’t want to risk spyware or malware […]
Kids Don’t Like Casseroles
When a family suffers from some type of crisis – whether it be financial, spiritual, physical, or the loss of a loved one – the church understands the need to minister to the family as a whole. But sometimes the children can get lost in the shuffle of meeting immediate needs. Search for the Needs […]
Should my Ministry use Social Media?
Buzz. Chirp. Tweet. Ding. Should your organization exist in the social media world? It’s easy to jump to a quick “yes,” but let’s back up a second and hash out a few definitions. The term “social media” encompasses much more than just Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Instead, social media include websites or applications that allow […]
Not Knowing About These 6 Free Resources Will Cost Your Church
CHURCH BUDGET TIP: Don’t Pay for What You Can Get Free! Let’s face it, most churches have tight budgets. I would dare say marketing and web resources are not at the top of the list, so it is crucial that you review the six free church resources below. Tapping into any of these will save […]
Best Web Practices for Churches To Reach More People
First-Time Church Visitors Visit First On the Web Why the web? What are they are looking for? What are they finding? It is very likely that someone who is looking for a church, or already considering a visit to your church, will want to first find your church on the web for some very practical reasons. […]
The Top 5 Children’s Classroom Necessities
Why is this important to know what should be in the classroom? “… And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you […]
VBS Follow-up and Reporting
I love hearing stories from churches across our state about the great things that have happened at their VBS. Churches throughout Georgia have had fun with crafts, music, recreation, creative Bible studies, and awesome Worship this summer! My Facebook and Instagram Feed have been filled with pictures of some really awesome decorations used at VBS as […]