Cooperation

A Church and Churches: Integration

By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Church and Churches | 05.10.2013

Local churches have the same Christ, same confession, and same commission. Here are ten practical implications of these connections.

A Church and Churches: Independence

By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Church and Churches | 05.10.2013

To understand how local churches relate to each other we first need to ask, who holds the keys?

When to Intrude, When to Defer

By Michael Lawrence | 9Marks Journal: Lay Elders: A User’s Guide—Part 2 | 01.03.2013

When and how should lay elders push back on decisions of staff elders? Consider first what “hat” the staff elder is wearing.

Building Unity and Friendship Among Elders

By Bob Johnson | 9Marks Journal: Lay Elders: A User’s Guide—Part 2 | 01.03.2013

How elders relate to each other will impact how they relate to the flock, for good or ill. Here are a few ideas for helping elders build deep friendships and sturdy unity.

Don’t Pull the Plug on Your Association Yet

By Matthew Spandler-Davison | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

The local Baptist association is dead. Or at least on life support. This story of turning one around provides great reasons not to pull the plug just yet.

Closer than a Brother: Why I Belong to Acts 29

By Robert Greene | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

Pastors need to care for each other. Here’s how that care found one pastor when he needed it most.

Baptists Reading Together and the Birth of Modern Missions

By Michael A. G. Haykin | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

A small group of Baptists who read, talked, and prayed together sparked a renewal that led to the birth of the modern missions movement. What might God do through similar means today?

Rescued from Isolation: The Columbia Baptist Minister’s Association

By Justin Runyan | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

A young pastor found relief from self-imposed isolation through a new local association of ministers. Here’s how.

Coming Together: The Pastoral Fellowship for Practical Theology

By Brian Croft | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

From the four corners of Louisville, a growing number of pastors have been gathering for fellowship, teaching, and prayer. Here’s their story, and some of the unexpected fruits they’ve seen.

The Story of Sojourn Network

By Daniel Montgomery | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

How can a church raise up and sustain pastors who are faithful over the long haul? That’s a question Sojourn Network is trying to answer.

The Birth of a Gospel Partnership: Evangelium21

By Matthias Lohmann | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

Here’s how a group of likeminded pastors came together to promote gospel growth in German churches. First step? Invite John Piper to dinner.

Pray for Revival—In the Other Guy’s Church

By Andy Johnson | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

Our love for Jesus never shines brighter than when we rejoice in the progress of the gospel—in others’ churches.

The Great Commission Is Bigger than Your Church

By Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012

The great commission is bigger than your local church. How should that shape your priorities and posture as a pastor?

For the Church: How Can You Support Parachurch Ministries?

By Jeramie Rinne | 9Marks Journal: Church and Parachurch: Friends or Foes? | 03.01.2011

The most vital thing we can do to help the parachurch is to foster healthy, biblical churches.

How Church Discipline Will Save the Parachurch

By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Church and Parachurch: Friends or Foes? | 03.01.2011

Jesus authorized only one institution on earth to clean the kingdom gutters and unclog its pipes—the local church.