Mike McKinley

The Church Planter’s Second Priority: Raising Up Leaders

By developing other leaders who can teach, disciple, evangelize, counsel, and shepherd the flock, you raise up others who can care for the health of all the church members.

The Pronouns of the Gospel

By Mike McKinley | 02.02.2017

As a person begins to understand what it means to be part of a church, the “you” and “they” turns to a “we” and “us.”

Not Them! Who You Don’t Want to Revise Your Documents

By Mike McKinley | 9Marks Journal: Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions: How to Organize Your Church | 03.29.2016

Here are the five kinds of people that you might be tempted to put on your document revision committee, but should avoid if at all possible.

In Poor Communities, Does Doctrine Matter?

By M. McConnell, M. McKinley | 02.01.2016

Does a commitment to teaching and believing doctrine hinder the spread of the gospel in hard places? Hardly.

Pastors’ Forum: How do you equip women in your church for ministry?

By B. Johnson, D. Furman, G. Conner, J. Rinne, J. Sanchez, M. McConnell, M. McKinley, P. Martin, R. Fullerton, T. Mercer | 9Marks Journal: Complementarianism & the Local Church | 03.19.2015

How do you equip women in your church for ministry?

Preaching for the “Home Run”

By Mike McKinley | 08.22.2014

Most sermons are “base hits.” The preacher presents the meaning of the text, teaches and applies it faithfully, and the congregation receives it gladly.

Should Elders Ever Walk Away?

By J. Rinne, J. Leeman, M. McKinley | 08.22.2014

In a pastoral counseling or shepherding situation, when do you say, “I have nothing else to give,” and move on?

Six Ways to Help People Pray

By Mike McKinley | 08.22.2014

Here are six ways you as a pastor can help your people become more faithful and enthusiastic in their prayer life.

Church Size: The Fault Line in the Movement

By Mike McKinley | 08.21.2014

It can be good to have a “tribe” (e.g., Acts 29, 9Marks, SGM, the PCA) where you resonate with the philosophy of ministry and get good resources for your work. I’m also glad for what God is doing to bring people together across Reformed “tribes” through movements like T4G and The Gospel Coalition. Part of what God seems […]

Stop Preaching to “Non-Christians”

By Mike McKinley | 06.12.2014

I hate the word “non-Christian”. Christians use it all the time to describe people who are not Christians. For example, we might say something like, “I invited my non-Christian neighbor to church” or “My son is dating a non-Christian”. And I guess that I am OK with using the word in that way. It’s not […]

The Remarkable Ordinariness of Pastoral Ministry

By Mike McKinley | 06.12.2014

When I started out as a pastor, I wanted our church to reach the lost. I hoped to see our ranks stuffed full of people who had been graciously called from darkness to light through our proclamation of the gospel. We’ve seen some of that happen. We’ve planted churches for Spanish speakers, we’re starting a […]

The Scariest Word in Pastoral Ministry

By Mike McKinley | 06.11.2014

Bifurcation. When I was in seminary, Diane Langberg came and spoke to one of our classes. In addition to counseling victims of all kinds of horrific abuse around the world, Dr. Langberg had quite a bit of experience working with pastors who had fallen into sexual sin. When she explained how men who (almost universally) began with […]

Evangelism across Economic Boundaries

By Mike McKinley | 9Marks Journal: Evangelism - Part 2 | 10.25.2013

The first lesson in evangelizing across economic boundaries? We’re not all that different.

Evangelism Tool Review: The Story

By Mike McKinley | 9Marks Journal: Evangelism - Part 1 | 09.09.2013

The Story is a gospel presentation tool designed by SpreadTruth.com. It is a popular tool for sharing the gospel; half a million people have viewed the gospel presentation online and The Story ESV Bible was published by Crossway in 2013. The Story can be accessed online (at http://viewthestory.com) through an app or via traditional printed […]

Five Reasons We Don’t Evangelize