I first began to be concerned about churches years ago while working as a Youth for Christ director. Being continually involved in the conversion and spiritual growth of teens, I found great difficulty in transferring that fresh vitality to the latency of the average church.
Only a few of the many pastors I knew mirrored the freedom, joy, and spiritual optimism I had come to associate with fellow YFC workers. Furthermore, I observed that evangelistic works were siphoning off a majority of the qualified seminary graduates, only serving to increase the desperate situation.
It was a vicious cycle—an active, progressive, faith-inspired evangelism under well-qualified leadership unsuccessfully trying to feed into a dormant, reactionary, doubt-filled leaderless ecclesiasm, only to have converts soon leave the church and search elsewhere for the vibrancy they had originally experienced.
It became clear to me that creative leadership would have to be channeled back into local congregations if total renewal was ever going to be experienced. But, how could that happen?
It was as a result of such reasoning that I eventually committed myself to become the pastor of a local congregation. As I write this, I wonder aloud, “What drew you to become a pastor?” Certainly you sensed a call from God. But, what factors confirmed that call? And, more importantly, what factors continue to confirm that call today?
I invite you to continue exploring how to strength that sense of call. In these blog posts and in the other outstretched arms of Mainstay Ministries, I want to come alongside you and bolster your efforts to serve Christ and His Kingdom.
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Pastor, when “sermon prep day” rolls around each week, do you face the task of preparing another sermon with a frown on your face? If so, you’re not alone. Many pastors literally dread preparing their Sunday sermon. There just doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. The good news: David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help, whether you need to create a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon. For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
With the Advent Celebration: “Seasoning the Season,” you can help your congregation season their Christmas traditions with the flavor of Christ. More than simply helping them to remember that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” you can encourage people to focus on Christ in the very traditions that have become part of our celebration of Christmas: decorating our homes, conveying Christmas greetings, giving and receiving gifts, gathering with family and friends, entering the new year with goals. Click here to see a Special Limited-Time Package Offer.
