Darrin Patrick is the lead pastor of The Journey church in urban St. Louis. Patrick started The Journey church in 2002, and has watched the church expand into a Christ-centered missional force in the city of St. Louis. The multi-site church has over 2,000 regular attendees. In addition to his pastoral responsibilites, Darrin Patrick is the vice President of the Acts 29 network, and regular contributor to The Resurgence. Here is a review of his new book, The Church Planter.

Note: Sharefaith Blog will be conducting an interview with the author, Darrin Patrick. Keep up with the blog for when the interview will be released.

Continue reading “The Church Planter by Darrin Patrick – Book Review” »

authors · book review · christian books · church planter · darrin patrick · new releases · reviews

Sunday School. The term conjures up images of Bible-toting, well-dressed children trooping into classes. It brings back visions of a flannelgraph Apostle Paul (who, interestingly enough, looked exactly like Jonah, Peter, and Saul). It brings back memories of patient and loving teachers, as well as some very fidgety lessons. I look back on Sunday School as a formative factor in my spiritual growth. However, some churches today are dispensing with Sunday School. Is Sunday School an institution we must defend? Or is it something that needs to die?

In order to answer that question, we must think–Scripturally, carefully, prayerfully, and strategically. We need to rethink the cherished tradition of Sunday School. Continue reading “Is Sunday School Old School? Rethinking the Cherished Tradition of Sunday School” »

church identity · church mission · mission · pastoral leadership · sunday school · traditions · vision

Today, we are featuring an interview with the Joshua Project. Chances are, you’ve heard about Joshua Project, and maybe seen a link on a blog to the “Unreached People of the Day.” If you’re involved in missions in any way, you may have profited from their vast collation of demographics data from around the globe. If you have a passion for the spread of the gospel, your heart has been warmed if you’ve ever visited their site.

And if you have no idea what Joshua Project is, you’re in for a treat as you read on.

Continue reading “Christian Interview: Dan Scribner of the Joshua Project” »

christian interview · christian mission · church missions · joshua project · missions

Anger is a powerful force. And this world contains many angry people. It’s not just nonbelievers who experience anger and who vent their rage. Even Christians struggle with the powerful forces of anger. Anger is a rampant problem that wrecks families, harms children, tears apart churches, and divides the body of Christ. Are you an angry person?

Continue reading “Are You Angry? Dealing with Anger according to the Bible.” »

christian living · dealing with anger · godly behavior · grace · how to deal with anger

Three! Two! One! The countdown timer hits 00:00. The house lights go down. The stage lights go up. The screens flash an intro scene, and with a powerful riff from the amped-up band, the show has begun! Dozens of lights start criss-cross the stage with electrifying movement. Colors undulate with the jolting syncopation of the drums. Spot lights blaze on the audience with blinding force. The pulsing rhythm, wild dancing, and screaming musicians have whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

But the show has just got started. Still to come..a comedy shtick from a funny guy, a dance lesson, a hilarious drama with a self-help theme, a few object lessons, and finally…the pastor comes whizzing in across the crowd from a zip line rigged from the rafters.

Welcome to Entertainment Church.

Continue reading “Enough of the Show. Give me Jesus.” »

christian leadership · church entertainment · church media · church relevance · preaching methods · relevant church

“Our Father which art in heaven…” This phrase introduces one of the best-loved and well-known passages in the entire Bible, the Lord’s Prayer. In this short, but meaningful prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. What we have in the Lord’s prayer is a beautiful example of prayer that we can follow in our communication with God. Continue reading “New Christian Video – The Lord’s Prayer Christian Video” »

christian media · christian music videos · christian video · christian video downloads · church media · church video

Heading into the fall, we have prepared a new series of PowerPoint sermon templates. These Christian PowerPoints are designed with autumn colors and a fresh, contemporary design. They are perfect for using in a fall sermon series, regardless of your topic or text. Take a look, and see how you like them.

Continue reading “Fall PowerPoint Sermon Templates” »

christian media · christian powerpoint · church media · church powerpoints · powerpoint backgrounds · powerpoint sermons · powerpoint templates

Click to view the Giving Thanks Video

Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, but now is the time to get ready. We’ve prepared a Christian video specifically for the Thanksgiving season. Find out what real thanksgiving is–and how to thank God. Giving Thanks Video Continue reading “New Christian Video – Giving Thanks Video” »

christian media · christian music videos · christian video · christian video downloads · church media · church video

As an addition to the recent article on atheism, Christian Arguments Against Atheism, we wanted to provide a succinct overview of the various proofs for God. The following are formal proofs for God, stated in the form of doctrinal affirmations. Thanks to Greg Bartlett, professor at Foundation Bible College in Edmonton, Alberta Canada for supplying this material. Continue reading “The Existence of God” »

apologetics · arguments against atheism · case for christ · preaching · sermon · theology

You hear the words “mission” and “vision” float around a lot. They’re part of business jargon. They’re high-flying words. They are part of the vocabulary of executives, business gurus, and capable corporate savants. They are also part of the structure of an effective church. More and more, churches are developing mission statements, vision statements, and even adding a “Vision Pastor” to their leadership team. It’s a good idea (for reasons which we’ll explain in a future post). However, in an effort to get back to the basics about mission, it is important to find out what the Bible says about our mission. What is it? And how does it play out?

Continue reading “Church Mission – Getting Back to the Basics” »

church mission · church vision · global evangelism · great commission · mission · missions · outreach