Church Planters, Make Sure Your People Know You Love Them
By Steve Jennings | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017When laying the foundation for a new plant or revitalization, there’s truly no better advice than this: “Before you do anything else, make sure your people know that you love them.”
When Two Become One: Legal Considerations of a Church Merger
By Jonathan Rourke | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017This article outlines the legal considerations of a church merger. It’s not a recipe for the success of the marriage, but a roadmap for blending families. It’s not very romantic, but it’s necessary.
What I Learned from Two Failed Church Mergers
By Matthew Cunningham | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017I’ve attempted to lead our church toward two church mergers, but neither have worked out. Here’s what I’ve learned.
Planting Churches for Pleasure, Not for Profit
By Nathan Knight | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017What’s needed to plant a church isn’t the wisdom of Jim Collins, but the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Calculated Risks of Church Planting: Sending Your Best Members and Elders
By Juan Sanchez | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017No matter the costs and effects of church planting on the planting church, the Lord is always faithful.
Anatomy of a Church Merger
By John Folmar | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017Four things I learned from our successful and fruitful church merger—almost 20 years after it happened.
How to Merge Two Church Cultures
By Dave Russell | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017In a church merger, you must understand the two existing cultures and lead them to become one. Here are five ways to do that.
You Can’t Plant a Church If You Don’t Know What a Church Is
By Nathan Knight | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.19.2017Ecclesiology can’t be assumed nor should it be considered a distraction to the church planter’s “mission.”
The Danger of “Church Shopping”
By Brett McCracken | 06.12.2017When a church becomes less about the demands of Scripture on our lives and more about our demands on the church to fit our preferences, it loses its power to transform us and subvert our idols.
Book Review: Sinai and the Saints, by James M. Todd III
By Paul Alexander | 06.08.2017Do Old Testament laws apply to modern Christians? This book seeks to answer that question.
Persecution and the Wisdom of Church Polity
By Caleb Greggsen | 06.07.2017Only a church in relative safety and comfort has the time to talk about polity. Right?
The Pastor’s Personal Life: A Source of Power in the Pulpit
By Conrad Mbewe | 06.01.2017The day you lose your godliness is the day you lose your power in pastoral preaching.
Why You Will Join the Wrong Church
By Sam Emadi | 05.15.2017Personal relationships were never meant to serve as the foundation for our sense of church commitment.
Nine Lessons for Pastors Facing Leadership Conflict
By Peter Hess | 05.08.2017Two years into our church plant, we faced our first major crisis. Here are nine takeaway lessons on dealing with church conflict.
