Big things can happen in a small town when church leaders trust God, focus on the mission and mobilize their congregation to reach out and share the love of Jesus with their community. Watch James Tripps's story.

For a church to grow by reaching lost people, the congregation needs to have a passion for souls to be saved. This seems obvious, but my experiences have shown me that many Christians aren’t too concerned about the eternal destiny of anyone other than themselves and their family.

When we think of church outreach, we tend to think of carnivals or block parties or musicals; events that involve lots of people, lots of planning, and lots of dollars. Although there is a place for such things in a church outreach strategy, I find there is a much higher return when churches are consistently outward bound even on a smaller scale. To do this, you have to be able to organize small teams of people quickly and spend less money for a single outreach.

We're less than 60 days from Christmas. Let that one sink in. As we're heading into the holidays, here are three stories and seven ideas to inspire and help you as you're planning and preparing your Christmas outreach.

While you may once again be bemoaning the interruption of your church planning calendar, this is the season for forging great church partnerships to reach lost people and serve your community. Here are some ideas to inspire you for the season ahead.

This Halloween enjoy giving and receiving, watch kids have fun dressing up in cute costumes, and use it as a time to reach out to your neighbours and show the love of Jesus. There are a variety of ways your church can host events for your community.

These are simple ways to get out and be in your community 5 hours per week. Remember, you’re building connections and making yourself accessible to those who live, work and play there. Don’t stay in your building. Get out and get in your community.

Now that we are gathering physically it doesn’t mean we’re off the hook digitally. There are still large segments of our congregation and community who can’t or won’t venture out into public gatherings. We can’t leave those people behind in our desire to get back to whatever we define as normal. Stories from churches about outbound online.

We are inspired by our everyday Children’s Ministry heroes in the ABNWT District! What they did this past number of months is truly amazing. Kathy Zelman asked some of our CM people to send in highlights and it is so great to see what God is doing in our District. May this encourage you and spur on with some great ideas in your context this upcoming year.

The imperative benefits of kindness as part of Christian behaviour.

There is nothing plastic about the feeling people experience when they receive a gift card. Appreciation emails are OK. Cards are better. Handwritten notes rock. But nothing beats a handwritten note AND a gift card. Over the last 15 months, churches made use of gift cards to show appreciation to frontline workers, first responders, teachers, and community leaders. Gift cards purchased from a local business create a triple win. The purpose is to help people in your community feel the love of Jesus.

Hope can always be found, even if it takes some time to find it. The hope of the resurrection exists for all of us. It is the job of the Church to proclaim this truth especially in the public arena of mental health. Churches are called to become communities of freedom and healing. The Sanctuary Course will help you build such a community.

If evangelism were only the work of church leaders, we would quickly hit a ceiling on our effectiveness in reaching people with the gospel. However, if evangelism is the work of every believer, anything is possible.

Resilience is the ability to withstand, adapt and grow in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy and stress. It’s the ability to transcend despite all the odds. Resilience is the single quality we all need now to go where no one has gone before.

There’s no question: this COVID-19 pandemic has grabbed our attention. It just cannot be “the same old same old.” I’m not too old to learn; I want to learn. My prayer, as we face an uncertain future, is “Lord, teach us. Lord, use us.”

Millions of Canadians are coming out from house arrest. They are excited to be out. They are a little nervous. Some of them are learning what it means to have real-life conversations again. And all of this new interaction makes for a great opportunity to look at your community with fresh eyes.

Less is more. Two courses are all you need to reach people far from God. Both function effectively online as well as onsite. Both are hugely valuable and offered free of charge. In thinking like a church planter with limited resources, offering these two programs alone will help you effectively reach your community this Fall.

For many church leaders, this has been the hardest season of their lives; their decisions have been questioned, their lives have been interrupted, their faith has been tested and, their fears have tried to overcome them. And now, they are poised for the greatest opportunity they have ever seen.