theology formation and evangelism Archives

Preparation for preachers: questions to guide biblical reading

Posted September 26th, 2016

When we preachers are at our best, we study a Bible passage thoroughly as we prepare for each sermon. We usually ask a series of questions about the passage, most of which help us discover what this text says to the people who will hear the sermon. Recently I heard a presentation that challenged me to bring new questions to the text, to help encourage my listeners to respond in a particular way.

Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico juega un papel importante en la transformación de la denominación

Posted September 19th, 2016

Después de la culminación de la 222a Asamblea General (2016) el 25 de junio en Portland, Oregón, los miembros de la Iglesia Presbiteriana (EE.UU.) han seguido siendo testigo del cambio histórico de la denominación para tomar distancia del enfoque y el liderazgo nacional caucásico hacia una mayor diversidad cultural, racial y étnica.

Weekly community dinners awaken Homewood church to New Beginnings

Posted August 30th, 2016

When the Rev. Dr. Nancy Jo Dederer earned her Doctor of Ministry degree in parish revitalization, she had no idea that church transformation would become her calling. And not only her calling, but also a blessing to the people of Homewood, Illinois.

Tech expert leaves Amazon job to create prayer app

Posted August 26th, 2016

Chris Lim, a ruling elder at Indonesian Presbyterian Church in Seattle, wanted nothing less than what God wants—that God’s kingdom come. In fact, he wanted to use his expertise in technology to hasten its coming.

First Presbyterian Church of Dallas launches ‘Waffles and Worship’

Posted August 26th, 2016

By intentionally combining its Sunday school and children’s choir programming into a new Sunday Club—an expanded, holistic 90-minute session on Sunday mornings for elementary-age children—First Presbyterian Church of Dallas hopes to involve many more children and families in its ministries of faith formation.

PC(USA) software engineer asks ‘What if God was our customer?’

Posted August 19th, 2016

After earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Washington and then landing a plum job at Amazon less than a year later, what more could a young software engineer want?

Mike Breen calls church leaders to change the culture

Posted August 16th, 2016

Building on his plenary address delivered August 10 at the Go Disciple Live “Be the Light” evangelism conference—in which he asserted that “being a Christian always involves making another disciple”—Mike Breen, in his closing sermon, traced the broad sweep of salvation history to show how a more intentional culture of discipling might begin to take hold in today’s church.

Diverse workshop offerings inspire, inform evangelism conference-goers

Posted August 12th, 2016

From “Navigating Change” to “Sustaining Spiritual Vitality,” attendees at the Go Disciple Live “Be the Light” Conference chose from a wealth of nearly 30 workshop topics toward building their skills in authentic evangelism, storytelling, social media, effective church transformation, justice, church planting, and more.

Watkins calls church to adapt to the new networked age

Posted August 12th, 2016

Using the same text—Mark 1:16-20—on which he preached the evangelism conference’s opening sermon, the Rev. Dr. Ralph Basui Watkins returned to Jesus’ call to his disciples to “come and follow me,” as the foundation for his plenary presentation on “Evangelism in the 21st Century.”

Worship on the beach

Posted August 11th, 2016

Following several days of severe thunderstorms and flooding, participants in the Go Disciple Live “Be the Light” Conference were more than ready on Aug. 10 to witness the sun come up and dry the rains to make way for a unique worship experience on the beach.