Perspectives
Articles in this category are written on various topics from the perspective of the writer.
7 Things Church Planters Want You to Know About Them
So, who is this man called to plant a church? Likely, he is nothing more than a follower of Jesus, called by God to “go” with nothing more than a vision that can only come from God. But when it comes down to it, he is just someone being obedient to the will of God, and really, that is all that matters.
Shane Pruitt
How Leaders Become Out of Touch
What can we learn about leadership from the United Airlines fiasco in 2017?
Adrian Pei
Navigating the Wave of Need
How do you set priorities in the face of overwhelming requests for help?
Scott Rodin
The Strategic Nature of Cities and the Unreached at Our Doorstep
As YWAM Minneapolis began pondering their location, they realized that one base for the city is not enough and not even relevant to the needs that God has brought to their doorstep. God is bringing the fields of harvest to our doorstep.
Timothy Svoboda
8 Mistakes We Make On Short-Term Mission Trips
We have an incredible opportunity to “go” in wisdom and with excellence because our king deserves our best.
Shane Pruitt
One Thing We Must Never Do in Ministry
We must put our eyes on Him and keep them there. But not on our ministry.
Joe McKeever
Dear Worship Leader
As you pour so much of who you are into worship, make sure you frequently pause and remember its purpose.
Aly Halbakken
Is the Church (God’s People) Thriving and the Programs Falling Short?
God, in everything, carries out the plan of His will. Can we trust Him as leaders?
Deborah Chupp
Multiplication through Simplicity
There are 500 cities in the world with a population exceeding one million people. YWAM has a ministry presence in about 134 of them. We know that God is calling us to greatly expand our outreach with hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the world. But we have to ask ourselves how we can we go about doing that.
Timothy Svoboda
Why Do We Feel So Alone?
People of the earth seem to be so lonely and so full of angst about whether or not there is anyone else “out there.” Why did God create humans with this God-sized hole in our hearts?
Jim Brenneman
A Perspective on Bad Leadership
Why I’m most grateful for the worst examples of leadership.
Adrian Pei
No Time Like the Present
Wise leaders learn from their previous experiences in cross-cultural situations. In this anecdote, Bill was well-prepared to face the physical challenges and slight inconveniences associated with his environment. One of his assumptions, however, resulted in a productive lesson learned in humility and vulnerability.
William Frisbie
The One Thing The Church Cannot Do Without
Knowing the thoughts and trends of potential churchgoers is not bad in itself. Yet how much attention and how quickly churches are apt to change their approaches to living out the gospel in light of such knowledge is tragic.
Brent Hoover
11 Things I Want Church Leaders to Know About Millennials
The combination of youth and experience can take new ground for the Gospel, but first, “more experienced” leaders might want to check out 11 characteristics I have observed from my generation.
Stephen Vaughn
Pastors Who Make $25 a Month: What I Learned About Leadership from Them
During a recent trip to Cuba, I was able to spend time with local leaders. All together, we served about 150 pastors that represented conservatively over 8,000 people in their churches. Here’s what I learned.
Charles Stone
Repentance and Forgiveness
Frustration and fear feature strongly in change processes. Churches and Christian NGOs are no exception in my experience. Not surprising I suppose, given they are staffed by humans, not angels. But left undealt with, frustration and fear give rise to mistrust and effectively block efforts at change.
Victoria Mutiso
Our Evangelical Cover-Up?
I’m an Evangelical, and as an Evangelical I have the right to join my Evangelical brothers in confessing a currently-devastating sin, in repenting from it, and in making amends. I fear that the majority of us Evangelicals have been covering up one of the most significant truths of our modern age: More people are coming to faith in Christ around the world than ever before in history, while our Evangelical denominations in the West are declining.
George Patterson
How to Say No to a Wonderful Opportunity
Saying “no,” even when you really want to do this, is going to require everything in you. Saying “no” may be the finest gift you could ever give your wife and family and your church. Saying “no” when your ego and ambition and “sense of self” are all clamoring to seize this invitation is going to say worlds about your self-discipline and focus. Here are four thoughts on the subject.
Joe McKeever
Change Before You Have To
We all put off difficult decisions. It’s part of human nature. Churches and Christian organizations and leaders seem particularly prone to this failing. We want to appear loving. We want to be nice. But the consequences of delay may prove disastrous.
Rick James
Are Millennials Selfish and Entitled?
I don’t feel qualified to speak to the general group psychology of the entire generation of Millennials, but I have spent most of my time for the past decade or so around Millennial Christians, and I think the nasty caricatures of them are just not true.
Russell Moore