National churches and organizations round the globe form partnerships with foreign churches and mission agencies. Such cooperation can prove energizing, leading to more effective evangelism and development. It can also prove a snare, when unwise partnership agreements entice workers into garnering foreign resources. Resultant misunderstanding leads to disappointment and distrust.             Let your church or organization follow these guidelines for … [Read more...]

              Vigorous spiritual health and ministry arise from interaction between churches and cell groups as much as from interaction within them. The many New Testament commands to serve “one another” apply to all congregations and cell groups; no one church in an area is the whole Body of Christ. In pioneer fields, infant churches often help each other a great deal, because all are weak and need help. As churches grow in age, size and wealth, many come to feel … [Read more...]

              In Latin America, some regional associations of young churches remain limited to an area small enough so that they could meet together regularly and conveniently. This limitation allows them to take common action, implement community development, keep pastors accountable and ward off wolves. Their leaders meet often to share needs, opportunities and advice. Church members also enjoy regional celebrations where they share testimonies, energetic teaching and plenty … [Read more...]

Book of Ruth  POY! SKIT GUIDELINES: In a small group, participants might simply read their lines, or glance at their lines to get the idea so they can speak in their own words. Most POY! skits require no practice in advance. Have any small children play a brief part. Most scripts have an optional part for children, listed last under Participants. Most scripts have a Narrator who should read the script beforehand to see how to keep moving the story along. It is not necessary to employ … [Read more...]

For daily family devotions and small group discussions             Bible readings are arranged under duties that God requires of His followers, on three levels: (1) Beginning, (2) Growing, and (3) Maturing.             Asterisks * indicate stories to recount or act out. Some important stories are listed more than once, since many folk, especially children, learn better by repetition.             Before reading a text or telling a story, tell hearers what to … [Read more...]

                Before Jesus fed thousands of hungry folk who had gathered to hear him in a wilderness, He asked his disciples what resources they had. Andrew replied that a boy in the crowd had offered to share his five loaves and two fish. Jesus took this boy’s offering and fed the crowd (John 6:9-10). Early church writers reported that this boy later became a Christian leader.               Children who serve actively in God’s work develop spiritually … [Read more...]

                          Parents, teach your children to marry believers only, and give your children in marriage only to believers. Our enemy, Satan, has always employed tricks to destroy families. High on his list of evil deceptions is to get your child to marry an unbeliever. Before the Great Flood, bad marriages led to great evil, Genesis 6:1-7; young people chose wives without regard to parents’ advice or that of any elders. Pagans tried to corrupt Jacob’s … [Read more...]