Some people forget or wait until the last moment to get Mom a flower or card. Flowers can be expensive when purchased at the store individually, but they can be purchased for less than fifty cents per flower in bulk. Your group can probably explain to a local supermarket florist what you are trying to [...]
Back in the sixties, there was a radio drama spoof featuring a crime fighter in a chicken suit. Yes, it seems silly now…well, honestly, it was silly then too. The signature sound marked the end of each episode: A voice over would proclaim “Chicken….Maaaaaaan!, and a manic crowd in the background would emphatically shout “He’s [...]
Spring is here and this season is a great opportunity to reach out to your community and show them God’s love in practical ways. Here are three great outreach projects that are perfect for spring: 1. Free Car Wash This is an effective, practical service. We offer a car wash every week in the summer. [...]
Patrick lived a life of tragedy turned into victory. That’s supposedly why we celebrate March 17th by eating special Irish foods and drinking green beer. These are supposed to be celebrations of a life redeemed. This time of year there is a lot of hoopla around a lot of silliness that has little to do [...]
Can we do outreach on our own? Or is it better to create outreach teams? Steve reflects on his past mistakes and answers these questions while giving practical advice.
All leaders go through mental and emotional gyrations that can cause mental messiness. Some of these sins are greater than others. Some are easier to recover from than others. The beginning of walking in freedom is to recognize you really are stuck. Once you see the problems you can more easily walk away from your [...]
I had a very interesting conversation with a colleague recently (Darrell MacLearn) about using the term “unchurched” to describe a person. It is a favored term among most of us in the church world. But, should we use the term to describe those outside the church? First, let’s set the terminology. When most of us [...]
I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Sjogren at a conference he sponsored at the Kings Island Inn in 1989. I should have known something was up when I lost one of my 2 front teeth setting up the sound equipment (a story for another time, but feel free to insert your favorite hillbilly joke [...]
In my previous article “Evangelism is not just relationship” I submitted that we must not hesitate to share the Gospel even if we don’t have a relationship with the person. My hope is to get people talking about the Gospel. Yes, preaching the Gospel to those we come in contact with. If we try to build a genuine relationship with someone and [...]
Not that long ago my wife and I were sitting in our kitchen, preparing a nice family dinner. Suddenly our doorbell rang. Going to the door we saw Ghebremariam, a 38 year old woman from Eritrea who works for Mariam. Ghebremariam is a refugee from Eritrea, a neighboring country to Ethiopia. She had to leave three [...]