Mark shares insights on bridging the gap between humanity and divinity in church outreach, emphasizing the importance of nonprofits and sustainable models for church growth. He offers practical advice for new church leaders, highlighting the need for passion, prayer, patience, and persistence in their ministry efforts.
🔥 Top 5 Takeaways:
1. The importance of multi-ethnic ministry.
2. The church must engage with the community to be relevant.
3. Multiple streams of income are essential for church sustainability.
4. Church economics must adapt to the community’s needs.
5. Passion, prayer, patience, and persistence are key to success.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
In this transformative conversation, renowned theologian Dr. N.T. Wright challenges the Western church’s Platonized view of salvation and calls pastors back to the Bible’s actual vision: new heaven and new earth. Discover why understanding resurrection, not just afterlife, changes everything about how we live, lead, and witness today.
Dr. Wright unpacks Ephesians’ cosmic vision, explains how Western Christianity moralized salvation instead of vocation, and shows why the church is God’s multicultural project displaying new creation to watching principalities and powers.
🔥5 Key Takeaways:
The Bible emphasizes a transformative hope for creation, not an escape from it.
The church has a responsibility to engage in social justice and beauty.
God’s kingdom is already present and active in the world.
Misunderstandings about God’s anger can distort the gospel message.
The church should model unity and diversity as a reflection of God’s kingdom as seen in Ephesians.
JOIN US FOR OUR 2026 PASTORAL COHORT WITH N.T. WRIGHT! More info here.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
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Christine Caine mobilizes people everywhere to live on mission for Jesus. She’s an evangelist and co-founded the anti-slavery organization A21 with her husband Nick. She shared during a workshop at Beyond Us Conference.
Christine’s Story…
37 years in ministry
Didn’t speak English until age 5 as adopted parents were Greek and moved to Australia from Alexandria, Egypt
In January 29, 1989 a friend took Christine to a Pentecostal church in a warehouse and had an encounter with Jesus.
Grew up Greek Orthodox and then ostracized after becoming a follower of Jesus. Married at 30, first child at 35, and married a pentecostal pastor.
Only one who showed up for a church clean up day. The pastor asked her if she would help start a youth service. Since he was going on a 6 week mission trip, he asked her to put together a proposal since she was the only one in the group in college.
Too often the younger generation is trying to build a platform rather than building the Kingdom of God.
Jesus calls us to follow Him and die to self.
Australia at the time only had 2% attending church.
Looked for the pillars to the unknown god (Acts 17).
Created seminars like anti-bullying to get into the schools where they focused on building relationships and leading students to Christ. Wrote grants for their seminars. Ended up in meetings in the Australian capital of Canberra.
Became the director of Youth Alive which did big events leading lots of people to Jesus.
Ministry is needs based. Find a need and meet that need.
Being in a very secular culture meant they had to earn the right to talk about Jesus.
Evangelism and justice! Spirit and truth!
Married in 1996.
Felt called to evangelism and church planting.
Helped planting churches in Bulgaria.
In 2007 saw posters of missing children and felt convicted to help even though already so busy with ministry.
Did not know of any anti-human trafficking organizations. Russian and Albanian mafia behind much of the trafficking. No laws at the time against what was happening.
Moved to Thessaloniki from Australia which was the “parking lot of human trafficking.”
79% of the Syrian refugees coming into Europe in 2008 came through Greece an hour North of the A21 headquarters.
Now A21 is a global anti-trafficking organization in 22 countries working with the Red Cross and U.N..
Speaking is the overflow of the work they do.
What we do with our time matters into eternity!
Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove.
Paul spoke very differently in Berea than he did in Athens. He never compromised, but he was wise.
One morning praying and felt led to pray for the -stan nations. 3 days later 7 women from Uzbekistan had come to the A21 after care center. For a year they had been praying to Allah and nothing had happened. Then one remembered her grandma had told her about the God of Europe named Jesus.
Go so far that you need God to show up and His gifts to live out what He’s calling us to do.
A girl from North Africa had been trafficked with 60 other girls in a shipping container. 30 of the 60 girls had suffocated and died on the journey to Istanbul. Men wearing police uniforms brought them to apartments where they were raped and kept for days. They were then being taken to a brothel in another city.
Tragically, 25 of the 30 girls drowned when thrown off boats as the coast guard approached them. Only 5 of the girls survived. 1 of the 60 girls ended up in the A21 freedom center.
A girl from Georgia (Russia) was there as well and asked Christine why she was there helping them. So Christine told her story of abuse and finding healing from the love of God through Jesus.
The young woman from Georgia started yelling at Christine: “If this is true, then why didn’t you come sooner!”
Through tears Christine said: “I am so sorry it wasn’t sooner, but for the rest of my life you need to know that for the rest of my life we will be looking to help people trapped just like you.”
Propel Women is about creating pipelines and pathways for women to live out their calling.
Propel Women is about creating pipelines and pathways for women to live out their calling.
For more resources to help you reach new people or make new disciples, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here: JOIN US
Abbas talks about the pivotal role Shanika, now his wife, played in guiding him towards his new faith. He reveals the surprising acceptance from his parents and his ongoing concerns about sharing his faith journey with his siblings.
💡 Key Takeaways:
1. Abbas Khan’s Transformative Journey from Islam to Christianity 2. Finding ‘Peace’ Through Faith 3. The Role of Community and Faith in Overcoming Adversity 4. Importance of Understanding and the Holy Spirit in Spiritual Growth
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
Dr. Bob Roberts Jr., the founder of GlocalNet, a ministry dedicated to mobilizing the church to bring about transformation in the public square, co-founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, an organization committed to promoting religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships.
He shared this message at the Beyond Us Conference.
Bob went to Baylor and seminary on his way to being a missionary only to be rejected by the mission board because of his wife’s health. They tried 3 times to go overseas, but never got accepted.
Leighton Ford was mentoring Bob and speaking on global evangelism which was discouraging because that is what Bob wanted to be doing. On the ride home, the Holy Spirit came uninvited and asked him to start thinking about missions differently and posed this question to him:
“What if the Church was the missionary.”
What if we mobilized everyone to be missionaries rather than a select few?!
The Holy Spirit empowers, equips, and guides us to fulfill the Great Commission.
The first church planters in the New Testament were businessmen!
God uses everybody to advance His Kingdom!
We have all we need to complete the Great Commission! It’s just a matter of obedience and our willingness.
Going Through the Front Door (Like Paul Did)
80% of Bob’s time is with non-Christians.
Northwood Church helped start 200 churches. Glocal has helped plant another 200 churches.
“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:3-6 NIV
“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” – Acts 1:3 NIV
We travel with Kingdom authority!
Gates were entries and access and wisdom.
The Kingdom of God can be summarized with “Shalom” which means the “flourishing of all things”
Getting people to pray the sinners prayer doesn’t change the city. If it did,
How many baptisms is not the measure but is the city being renewed by new followers of Jesus is the measure.
Matthew 5-7 is the manifesto of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 6-25 includes parables that illustrates the Kingdom of God.
After the message of the Kingdom comes the Great Commission.
The Gospel makes a difference!
Colossians 1:15-20 is about the fullness of God which is the Kingdom of God.
The Church needs to live out in its community what the Gospel looks like.
No one wants you there if you only do evangelism and missions. What are we doing to serve people and to bring value to people.
We don’t have to take over a culture, we just have to be salt and light in the culture.
We don’t want Christian nationalism. We want Holy Spirit presence.
We keep trying to turn missionaries into business people. Why don’t we turn business people into missionaries.
We go in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Just ask Him to fill us with His Spirit and then believe it.
Spiritual gifts are necessary to live out the ministry of Jesus.
Just because we have seen people use spiritual gifts improperly that doesn’t mean they are not real.
We go in every dimension.
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” – Acts 1:4-8 NIV
All of the apostles go to the ends of the earth.
We need to do missions at home and abroad.
Don’t try to fix everything at home first and then going globally. Try to bring healing here AND there!
Going overseas can inspire work at home.
Mobilize your church into the dominions where they work in civil society, business, economics, medicine, agriculture, and so on.
Don’t do missions to people but with people.
Too often we want non-Christians to accept Christ, but we don’t want to be their friends.
When you go through the front door, you don’t have to hide who you are.
Go in Prayer
Go in Twos
Go in Community
Glocal.net churches start churches, works with the inner city, and chooses a hard place around the world.
Don’t become the biggest church, instead church the city.
Bring value to people and love people and share with people, and they will open their hearts.
You can disagree and respect someone without vilifying them. See people as created in the image of God.
Bob’s Ministries:
Glocal (glocal.net) mobilizes the church to engage in the public square.
K->D->S->C->
Kingdom of God -> Disciple -> Society -> Church
We promote human flourishing globally by engaging the whole of society through people-to-people engagement.
What if we learned from the global church how to do missions?
Global Faith Forum (globalfaithforum.com) – Building a culture of kindness for the common good.
Offices in D.C. are 3-4 min walk to the White House
Apolitical to stay relevant regardless of who is President
Building a culture of kindness for the common good
Paul served for years as lead pastor of Woodridge Church near Minneapolis. Now he serves as Generosity Pastor and his son Drew leads Mercy Hill Church nearby and Aspen Grove, their network of churches.
They share about the successful succession and their unique way of networking rather than campusing or church planting.
🔥 Top 5 Takeaways:
1. Building a church network requires generosity in leadership which fosters trust and collaboration. 2. Humility is essential for effective leadership, collaboration, and leadership transitions. 3. Shared values and goals strengthen church networks. 4. Effective leadership involves mentoring and supporting others. 5. A clear plan for leadership transition can benefit the entire community.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
Tom Lin serves as the president and CEO of InterVarsity. He shared this message at Beyond Us.
Tom’s parents moved to the USA so he wouldn’t have to grow up in poverty in Asia. As an adult, God called Tom and his wife to move to Mongolia where there were no Christians and where the Bible was finally translated into Mongolian in 2000. Now he found himself living in poverty in Asia.
Notice what God promised in Genesis 12:1-5.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
God did not say:
“I will bless you and you will have a happy life.” “I will bless you so you can live out the American dream!”
Instead, He said: “I will bless you and you will be a blessing and all people on earth will be blessed through you!”
God wants to bless people who will put their feet to their faith.
GOD’S GLOBAL PURPOSES
“Fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1)
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” (Psalm 86:9)
“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28)
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
There are more people alive today that do not know about Jesus than any time in history!
To bless the nations often requires leaving comfort.
Tom’s parents did not support their call to the mission field. His mom threatened to kill herself if they moved. Instead, they cut them off and refused communication for years.
Abraham moves and resides in at least 8 different places in Genesis 12-13. Their new neighbors were brutal pagans (the Canaanites).
God doesn’t give comfortable callings.
Consider the Global Church. For example, just a couple of years ago several college students were killed for their faith in Nigeria.
Where is your Mongolia?
That place or people group that might require leaving comfort.
An interesting thing happens when we trust God and go. We experience God’s faithfulness.
GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
Abraham’s marriage. “So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.” (13:1) Physical needs. “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” (13:2) Legacy. “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth.” (13:16)
In Mongolia, Tom and his wife saw 500 students come to Christ! Now it is a Mongolian-led mission.
God always provided.
Tom’s Mom invited him and his wife and kids to her house where she apologized just 2 months before she died.
Next Steps:
Go and get a taste short term.
Read and give sacrificially. (See Operation World)
Go local and reach the nations. (Start a bless the nations prayer group, host internationals for dinner in your home, etc.)
“Something is missionally malignant if we make sacrifices to travel the world to reach people, but are unwilling to cross the street.” – J.D. Payne
Following Jesus is not easy, but putting on his yolk is easier because it fits me better helping me live for Him.
For more resources to help you reach new people or make new disciples, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here: JOIN US
Lucy discusses ministry in a post-Christian context, the importance of training the next generation of pastors, and the role of theology in effective ministry. She emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of God’s love and the importance of empowering women in the church. .
🔥 Top 5 Takeaways:
1. Understanding God’s love is crucial for discipleship. 2. Empowering women in the church benefits everyone. 3. Shared identity in Christ should supersede political affiliations. 4. Time spent with God is vital for renewal. 5. Studying theology can invigorate one’s faith.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
Stan discusses the current challenges and opportunities in church leadership, the importance of storytelling in conveying the message of Jesus, the vision behind the series ‘The Chosen’, and its impact on faith and discipleship.
🔥 Top 5 Takeaways:
1. It’s both a challenging and optimistic time for the church. 2. Materialism and atheism are leading to a search for something eternal. 3. Artistry and quality are essential in storytelling. 4. The Chosen aims to be accessible to everyone, everywhere. 5. The current era offers unprecedented opportunities for spreading the gospel.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
In this interview, they discuss the importance of community for pastors. They explore how ministry dynamics have shifted, the need for authenticity, and the ways churches are adapting to foster discipleship and connection within their communities. Jenni also shares insights on being a missiological church and the significance of utilizing resources like YouVersion for spiritual growth.
🔥 Top 5 Takeaways:
1. Find community for yourself as a pastor. 2. Choose authenticity to better serve your community. 3. People are seeking genuine connections in church. 4. Discipleship methods need to adapt to new realities. 5. Equipping church members to be active in their communities.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
