by Curtis Going The Apostle Paul is the greatest missionary to ever live, and the example of his ministry provides a dependable pattern for every aspiring missionary, pastor, Christian worker, and soul-winner. He was thoroughly convinced of the claims of the Gospel and urgently driven to carry that good news wherever the Holy Spirit led him.  One of the most extraordinary churches that Paul established was the church of Thessalonica. Paul was only in Thessalonica for a brief period of time to...

By Andrew Street The call of God has been neglected. It has been neglected because Christians have been expecting something that is, quite frankly, unbiblical: A dramatic, dynamic, special, specific call to a people and place before they engage in ministry. God calls people at all ages and stages of life. Amazingly, much of the conventional wisdom around God’s call is not rooted in biblical theology, but in personal experiences.  What does God want you to do with your life?  As holiness people...

By Dale Yocum The mere fact that a person has tried to win souls and for some reason has not been successful does not mean that he is defeated or that he is a failure. However, in the story recorded in Luke 5:1-11, Peter had tried and failed, and he was defeated. The disciples caught nothing, and Peter didn’t think they could catch anything, even with Jesus telling them where to go. Many people have this attitude of defeat. They don’t feel there’s any point in their trying. I know there are...

By Eric Kuhns The evangelical world has seen its share of fads and trends. The prayer of Jabez, WWJD, and the Left Behind series all saw their fifteen minutes of fame. Then came the hype about positive thinking, then it was how to be a leader, now the emphasis is on being relevant. Fads come and go. Many people would label church planting as one of those passing fads. In recent years we have been hearing more and more about church planting teams and church planting techniques. Multitudes of...