Free Training: Learn how to do "remote church"

These are trying times for churches all around the world as we figure out how to minister to people during a pandemic.

First, we want you to know that we are praying for your ministry and will do whatever we can to support you during this time. Our goal remains to help churches and pastors to thrive in all contexts.

Second, we are joining together with Servant Keeper to provide free training on Wednesday, March 18 at 1:00 PM (Eastern).  This training will cover all aspects of working remotely, free live streaming options, online tools for church members, etc. 

Sign up for the training here.  The ID number to register for this free online training is: 218621

We hope you’re navigating this season well, and we hope this training will be helpful if this is new territory for your congregation.

Your friend in Christ,
John Stange
NMB Director

Webinar: Raising Up and Reaching Out

On Tuesday, August 27, 2019 at 1:00pm (Eastern), I will be partnering with Servant Keeper to host a webinar titled: “Raising Up and Reaching Out - Developing leaders and connecting with your community through generous hospitality”

The webinar is free, and if you’re interested in participating, just click the link below to sign up. We had 850 leaders registered for today’s webinar on “Discipleship”, which was pretty close to the limit on how many people we could host, so please don’t wait to sign up if this training would be helpful to you.

Thanks!

John

Guess what happened in Harrisburg last evening?

Craig Campbell, who is helping us plant a church in Beaver Falls, PA, just sent us this story of something that happened last evening during and after our NMB planters webinar. Check it out…

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You never know how your ministry will effect others! 

This morning (29th) during my devotionals I was reading Psalm 29. In verse 3 it says "the voice of the Lord is upon the waters, The God of glory thunders, The Lord is over many waters." I told Barb about this and we talked of the irony of the rain and flooding we experienced the day before.  

I work for the railroad and today I was called to work at 3 pm to run a train from Conway, Pa. to Harrisburg, Pa. I was bummed because at 8:30 pm I was supposed to attend an online webinar with the National Mission Board (NMB) for church planters (Beaver Falls). I called John Stange, Director. of the NMB and said I would be working and could not attend.  

Well, with all of the flooding we've had, the train is stopped near Columbiana due to a tree toppled over on the tracks due to all the rain (Psalm 29:3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters!!) because of the rain . So we sat in Conway waiting for the train. Finally at 6pm, the bosses tell us they are going to send us by cab to Harrisburg. I called John Stange to let him know that I could attend the meeting at 8:30 and that I would be on my cell phone in a cab! Thank you Lord. 

We get in the cab at 8pm and at 8:25pm I logged into Zoom to attend the webinar. My co-worker was sitting next to me in the cab, and I introduced him to John and the other 2 webinar participants. We were listening, and participating in the discussion. The main topic of the webinar was “how to handle discouragement in ministry,” especially in church planting. I was answering questions about Beaver Falls and participating throughout the webinar. John asked me to pray for the other 2 planters + my co-worker who was now participating in the webinar.  

The webinar closed at 9:30pm and I turned my phone off. I had noticed our driver had an accent and I asked him where he was from? Nigeria, Africa and he has been in the USA for 18 years. So we started asking him about Nigeria and we were having a great discussion.

I asked him about religion in Nigeria. He said they were very religious, half Christian & half Islam, but all hypocrites. He said the religion I talked of on the phone did not exist in Nigeria. I asked him again about religion and he said very sternly “you are not listening to me, I will tell you again, very religious but all hypocrites.”  

We changed the topic and we talked about the rampant corruption in Nigeria and the abject poverty of the people & he then brought up religion and compared the poverty of the populace and how many of the Nigerian churches act, he said “they pray all day and do nothing, the leaders are all in the 1 %, they watch the poor and sick die on the streets and do nothing to help. You speak up against them and you come up missing, its all power and greed.” What he said about most of the churches was heartbreaking. 

Then we talked about the USA and I have never heard a more emphatic and deep love for America. He would put to shame most American born people. I almost felt compelled to say the Pledge of Allegiance due to his patriotism. This man loves America and all that it stands for; and is disgusted at all that Nigeria has embraced and the blame that America takes around the globe.  

As we were getting close to the motel I asked him his name, he said I go by Will.

I said “Will, “The values of America that you love can only come from God, I said Jesus loves you and I will probably never see you again, but God will.”  

He asked “if it comes from God why have so many Americans quit your churches?” I said “Will, its the same lie that has corrupted us all since we rejected God. Before that rejection, we weren’t even aware of ourselves, we were only aware of others, self awareness is the cause of all of our problems.” 

This has been a long story and I am sorry, but it needed full context to see how God orchestrated this meeting with Will and how He opened the doors for him to hear one  hour of ministry through the NMB.

-Craig Campbell

Church Revitalization Training in Dickson City on June 13

Hello everyone,

On June 13, we will be hosting an evening of “church revitalization training” at our Dickson City Church which is located at 516 Jackson St., Dickson City, PA 18519. The training will be from 7:00 - 8:30pm, and I will be sticking around to answer questions afterward if needed. There is no cost to attend.

If you’d like some practical suggestions that might be beneficial to your church, we hope you’ll consider attending and bringing a group with you. Please register below so we know how many people to be prepared for (for handouts, etc.).

The purpose of this training event is to help your church understand some current trends in church ministry, effective methods of outreach and evangelism that can help your congregation reach new people, and ways in which the NMB is able to assist your church in the process.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there! Please spread the word and bring a group with you!

Your friend in Christ,
John Stange
NMB Director

Please Register Here…

Potential Planting Opportunity

This afternoon we had the privilege to meet up with several men who feel called to plant a church that will help reach Pakistani and Indian families in the Philadelphia area. It was a profitable meeting. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for all involved as these men are about to begin the NMB’s assessment process.

To learn more about the NMB’s assessment process, please visit our “APPLY” page.

Upcoming Training Event in Wisconsin

Hello friends in Wisconsin and Illinois!

At the end of February, I’ll be out your way to meet with churches and pastors, and host several days of training. I hope you’ll be able to be part of it! Here’s the breakdown of what’s going on.

Feb. 26

7:00pm:  Meeting with the leadership of the Streator, Illinois church (with Fred Perkins) to listen to, pray with, and strategize regarding the church’s future.

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Feb. 27

2:00pm:  Meet with any pastors and their leadership teams who would be interested in getting together for prayer, encouragement, strategic planning, goal setting. We’ll be discussing the concepts found in Thom Rainer’s book, “Becoming a Welcoming Church.”

7:00pm:  "Creating a discipleship culture in your local church" training seminar.  Open to all pastors and church members who are interested in attending.  This event will be hosted at the Westview Church in Platteville, WI.

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Feb. 28

2:00pm:  Meet with any pastors and their leadership teams who would be interested in getting together for prayer, encouragement, strategic planning, goal setting. We’ll be discussing the concepts found in Thom Rainer’s book, “Becoming a Welcoming Church.”

7:00pm:  "Creating a pipeline for a healthy growing church" training seminar.  Open to all pastors and church members who are interested in attending.  This event will be hosted at Beginning Point Church in Benton, WI.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email.

Your friend in Christ,
Pastor John Stange, NMB Director

Tamaqua's new website is now live

Be sure to check out the Tamaqua Church’s brand new website. It looks great. It’s filled with helpful information, has a modern look, and utilizes automatic scaling to make it easy to use on mobile devices. All around, it looks excellent.

There’s also a great section that includes the history of their church. If you visit the new website, be sure to check it out.

Likewise, be sure to pray for them as they use their new site to connect with their community and share the gospel.

Great job Pastor Rick Clemson and Kyle Martin (NMB Web Supervisor).

www.tamaquachurch.org

How beautiful are the "FEET" of those who bring the good news...

“How beautiful are the FEET of those who bring Good News!” Romans 10:15

Fellow pastor, God has called us to lead our church in the social context of our community to, perhaps above all else, be a “city on a hill that cannot be hidden” for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel itself.

Are we finding our church hidden from those we are called to reach behind the confusing veil of modern millennial communication means that we call “social media”?  Our local-central mission field lives physically in the shadow of our steeple but at the same time they live and communicate in cyberspace--a realm that we may have not understood or entered into.

Introducing: FEET… Facebook Electronic Evangelism Tracts!

FEET is a way for every and any church to enter into your community’s social media conversation with the Gospel linked to the ministry of your church.

We are creating short 30 second video Gospel tracts that are deployed to all those who use Facebook in the area that you are called to reach. Each “electronic tract” is briefly described in the tract’s lay-out on Facebook and then links viewers to your church’s website (if you have one), address and phone number.

This is available to any church regardless of tech-ability level. We will work with you at a coaching level all the way to a full service level. All you have to know is that the Lord has called you to speak His message to your mission field in the language that they understand--we’ll do the rest.

Typical cost to run a FEET campaign is $25 for two weeks depending on the scope of the outreach.

Our church has been using FEET on a continuing basis and the exposure of our three town community to the Gospel and to the ministry of our church has been remarkable, powerful and demonstrable. As an example, here is how one FEET campaign links our community from Facebook to our website where people can learn more about Jesus and us as a ministry:

https://www.beginningpointchurch.com/be-born-again.html

Contact Dave Liebherr, pastor of Beginning Point Church (PM) in Benton, Wisconsin, at djliebherr@gmail.com or call/text 262-352-3724 to learn more.