We live in an age of rapid change and instant gratification. “Outreach” magazine publishes an annual list of the fastest growing churches in America. Christian publishers seek authors with “platforms.” The church now pays more attention to social media influencers and leadership . . . Continue reading →
Church Growth
The Church Growth Ethos, Presbyterians, & Narcissism
An increasing number of pastors in the PCA are either resigning or being fired due to their narcissistic abuses undermining their ministry, which is truly disheartening. However, the more significant issue lies in the job advertisements for pastors, which often attract narcissistic . . . Continue reading →
You Can Help A Confessional Reformed Congregation In Cincinnati!
Westside Reformed Church was launched nearly ten years ago as a church plant of the United Reformed Churches in North America, immediately after I graduated from seminary. It was at Westminster Seminary California—and through related media like the Heidelblog—that I developed a . . . Continue reading →
Eugene Reformed: A New Confessional Reformed Congregation Forming In Oregon
Eugene Reformed is a Reformed Bible study in Eugene, Oregon gathering with the intention of planting a confessional Presbyterian or Reformed church. They meet each Thursday evening from 6:30–8:30pm at the Gainsborough Community Clubhouse, 2555 Lansdown Rd. Eugene, OR 97404 (Gainsborough is a gated . . . Continue reading →
If You Decide To Plant A Church, Remember…
1. Church planting should be done by seeking God’s face, for it is His eternal plan, work, and glory. Psalm 67 begins, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way . . . Continue reading →
Turning Church Visitors Into Church Members
Then, however, seemingly out of nowhere, the new member is gone. The pastor is never consulted, but he is told by another member that the visitor was unhappy with something in the church, usually the friendliness of the people, and they are . . . Continue reading →
Idea: Let’s Try Every Way But Christ’s Way
This essay was my response to an 2007 article by Nancy Morganthaler on the failure of the church growth movement (HT: Justin Taylor). It is necessarily somewhat autobiographical. My criticisms of the church growth movement are partly theoretical and partly practical, to borrow an . . . Continue reading →
Speaking In Foreign Languages In The Church? The Adoption Of Business Language In The Church In Light Of 1 Corinthians 14:27
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a psalm, a lesson, a revelation, a foreign language, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a foreign language, let there be only two . . . Continue reading →
An Update On Ventura Reformed Church
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for . . . Continue reading →
The Five Points Of A Calvinist (On Having A Care For Visitors)
I do not remember exactly when I read Jack Miller’s 1986 critique of the NAPARC world, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, but I suspect it was about 1990. I was pastoring a small NAPARC congregation and I had been charged with helping the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast For June 19, 2022: What Happens When Christians Try To Be “Relevant” And Why The Focus On The Confessions?
Despite our fondest wish to get back to the series on the Canons of Dort, the Science tells us that that it is time for only our second ever best of episode. In this episode we feature some audio from January 2010, . . . Continue reading →
The Beginning Of The End Of The Megachurch Era?
In a May 9 video message to the congregation, Pastor Dave Dummitt said the church was “about half the size we were before COVID . . . and as you can imagine that has financial implications.” He said leadership would be working . . . Continue reading →
Who Stopped Attending To The Due Use Of The Means Of Grace During Covid And Why
During his 21 years as lead pastor of Grace Church in Greenville, North Carolina, Mike Meshaw has seen many people come and go in the transient area that is home to East Carolina University. Before COVID-19 shut things down in March 2020, . . . Continue reading →
Conversion, Church Planting, And The Due Use Of Ordinary Means
As a follow up to the recent post about the intersection between Acts 29, Mars Hill, and the PCA, someone sent a link to the application to be filled in/out on for the Spanish River Church Planting program. One of the questions on . . . Continue reading →
An Overlooked Aspect Of The Story: PCA Influence On Acts 29 And Mars Hill
Regular readers of the Heidelblog and listeners of the Heidelcast will know that considerable time has been spent here analyzing and interacting with the podcast series produced by Christianity Today and hosted by Mike Cosper (see the resources below).
The Next Church-Growth Fad: Big Data
One of the several quiet revolutions introduced into American life by the two Obama Administrations was the use of “Big Data” to target voters. To that point no campaign had harnessed the power of the internet the way the Obama campaign had. . . . Continue reading →
Good News For The Reformed Churches: Small Is In Again
“According to the recently released Faith Communities Today study, half of the congregations in the United States have 65 people or fewer, while two-thirds of congregations have fewer than 100.” Continue reading →
Office Hours: Planting A Confessional Reformed Congregation In Ventura To Reach The Lost
This episode (#274) begins the 13th season of Office Hours. This semester Westminster Seminary California began its 41st year and the original primary purpose is still the primary purpose: to prepare men for pastoral ministry. It is the seminary’s conviction that it . . . Continue reading →
Seeker, Franchise, Or Reforming: Moving Beyond Some Current Models In Reformed Church Planting To Recover The Whole Mission
The need is great, the mission is great but our God is greater and his grace is greater than all our sin and weakness. Pray for the harvest. Organize for the mission (to plant churches) and ask yourself where your congregation falls in the seeker — franchise — reforming continuum: is there a passion for the whole mission? Continue reading →
Gospel Preachers Are Theologians Of The Cross
Among the many spiritual ills that afflicted the Corinthian congregation was a class of leaders, self-appointed, “Super Apostles” (2 Cor 11:5, 12). These so-called “Super Apostles” compared themselves to the Apostle Paul and claimed to be superior to him. Where Paul’s speech as imperfect, theirs was polished. Where he was arrested for the sake of Christ, they had suffered no such shame. Continue reading →