Usually when we hear the acronym, ROI, it is in a financial context where we are discussing the “return on investment.” Often we are trying to anticipate whether the potential payoff will be worth the risk of investing our finances in one option as opposed to another. But at a conference several years ago, I learned a different way of thinking about this acronym. The Exponential Conference’s purpose is to help congregations move toward multiplying disciples of Jesus. This bi

It is hard to make friends as an adult. When you were a kid, friendships seemed like they just happened all the time. In reality, being in school connected us with peers, our parents arranged playdates for us, and finding a new friend was as simple as literally asking somebody, “Do you want to be friends?” And if it seems like it would be weird as an adult to ask some random person you just met if they want to be friends… that’s because it is. Don’t do that. Have you ever

How can we have spiritual conversations with people who are disconnected from Jesus and the church? One of the best methods we’ve discovered is evangelistic prayer walking. Spiritual conversations can be difficult to begin, even with people who are already Christians. However, for those who seek to participate in Jesus’ mission of making disciples, these conversations are important and necessary. So how do we begin a spiritual conversation with someone who has never been to c

Author's Note: "Read - Pray - Sing" is what the people of Lazarus Church and other Harvest Partnership churches call " Family Worship. " This simple format for family devotions has been expanded for families who will be worshipping at-home rather than with the collaborative Harvest Partnership Maundy Thursday worship service which will be hosted by Resurrection at 7pm on Thursday. We hope you enjoy this powerful illustration of the self-sacrificial love of Jesus for us as mu

I mean, wouldn’t it be smarter to try to make our existing churches healthier? Don’t we have enough churches already? And if a new church starts won’t that new startup just take away healthy members from established churches? Why start churches? One of the most brilliant answers to these objections was penned by the late Dr. Timothy Keller and was entitled, “Why Plant Churches?” This 2002 article, which you can read for yourself here , pointed out that although church revit

The other day my oldest son asked me, "Joash's story is pretty sad, isn’t it?” Like often happens when my kids ask me a question out of the blue, it took me a moment to process. “Oh, you mean Joash in the Bible?” He said yes, that Joash became king when he was seven years old, but even though he started off good, later he turned against God. I asked some more questions and discovered that my son had recently read the story of Joash in his copy of The Action Bible which pres

As we’ve been watching the news unfold for the last week, one story has been at the top of the headlines. Perhaps you have been wondering a question like I have. What is the Christian response to the war in Iran? Before I share my thoughts, let me qualify that I am speaking to this issue not as a politician, nor as a fellow citizen, but as your pastor. Like you, I have a personal responsibility as a citizen to use the responsibility entrusted to me to influence our governm

Putting ashes on your head is pretty strange. Especially if you didn't grow up in the church, you may have wondered why people observe this unusual practice. Where did Ash Wednesday come from? According to the Museum of the Bible , Pope Gregory established the official start of the season of Lent to be 46 days prior to Easter as well as the creation of Ash Wednesday with the tradition of placing ashes in the shape of a cross on people’s foreheads. The season of Lent - which b

If you’ve ever struggled to keep up the habit of reading the Bible, you should hear this: Studying the Bible is better with friends! Lazarus Church Groups In our Discipleship Groups , participants consistently tell us that the thing that has been most helpful to them is accountability. Accountability does NOT mean that if you don’t show up or you didn’t get around to reading you’re going to be in trouble. Instead, we think of accountability as positive peer pressure. When yo

One of the phrases I’ve been using lately when someone shares an answer to prayer or some other piece of incredible news is, “Look at God go!” Admittedly this phrase is a bit hokey, but at those times when I’m overwhelmed by what God has done and I’m fumbling around for words, this expression is what comes out. These are the words that came to mind as I was looking back at photos of the first public worship service at Lazarus in 2020 and our charter as a congregation in 2023

Have you ever wondered why we baptize people? We baptize people because Jesus commissioned us to in Matthew 28:18-20 as part of His calling to make disciples! As people who are sinful from our beginning ( Psalm 51:5 ), we need the forgiveness that is delivered to us through baptism ( Titus 3:4-7 ). We believe that the Holy Spirit is also given to us in our baptism ( Acts 2:38 ) and receiving the Holy Spirit is our adoption into the family of God ( Romans 8:14-15 ). This mean

Why is church important? The Bible encourages Christians not to give up the habit of meeting together in Hebrews 10, but what is the reason? Here’s what the author of Hebrews says: “23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as

Someone once told me that Christians should read the newspaper in one hand with their Bible open in the other hand. It is easy to get discouraged when the news reveals global conflicts, economic concerns, and yet more tragedies. Alongside news headlines like these, Psalm 46 comes to mind as one of the best Bible passages on which to dwell. So, I've included devotional below loosely based on the format used in our favorite devotional prayer app . Depending on if you listen to

January 25, 2026 Grocery stores are packed. Neighbors are wrapping pipes. Kids are eagerly wondering if school will be cancelled. Our community is busily preparing for this winter storm. It's good that we as the church pay attention to that and ask, "What would God's people do here?" Rather than waiting to make a decision on whether or not to gather at Birnham Woods Elementary this weekend, let's embrace this cultural moment so that we can intentionally steward it well. In