Simple is not always a synonym for easy. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Simple is not always a synonym for easy.   Simple can be difficult, but if simple principles are mastered, simplicity can be quite effective. And simplicity is the factor connecting some of today’s most successful ventures including Papa John’s Pizza, Apple’s iPod, Southwest Airlines and even healthy churches.   In the book "Simple Church," Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, and coauthor Eric Geiger used extensive research and more than 400 case studies to support the idea that the healthiest churches embrace a simple biblical process of making disciples.   "The research shows that the churches that have greater simplicity are the churches that have the greatest effectiveness," Rainer said during an interview for Inside LifeWay, a news podcast produced by LifeWay’s communications department. "We define simplicity in the book as a congregation designed around a strategic process that moves people through the stages of spiritual growth.   "... Most churches today don’t have a plan to take people from being a new Christian to being a mature Christian," Rainer stated. "The book looks at how many churches out there are making strong … [Read more...]

When "Belinda Baker" left her New Orleans home to work in East Asia, she had a plan: "Settle in, tell my neighbors about Jesus and then [go to another place]. Simple, easy, quick." RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – When "Belinda Baker" left her New Orleans home to work in East Asia, she had a plan: "Settle in, tell my neighbors about Jesus and then [go to another place]. Simple, easy, quick." It didn’t quite happen like that. Nine weeks passed, but no new disciples for Jesus. "I had never gone this long without leading someone to the Lord," Baker said. She immersed herself in the East Asian culture. She rode bikes with them, made friends with as many people as she could, prayed over their houses, ate all their food and got sick – many times. Still, Baker had not led anyone to the Lord. Frustrated, she prayed: "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew in me a right spirit within You." After nine months, her sister came to visit. Baker told her sister she stank at being a missionary. Her sister didn’t have miraculous words of advice, but God used her to help Baker get a new focus. "She taught me so much [just] from loving my friends," Baker said. "She loved [East Asia]. "The Lord wanted to do His work in His time, and I was … [Read more...]

Missions is a well- established component of Bethel Baptist Church’s overall ministry program, but the arrival of a new pastor has sparked a fresh awareness within the Chicago-area congregation of about 120 people of their shared commitment with other Southern Baptists.     BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (BP) – Missions is a well- established component of Bethel Baptist Church’s overall ministry program, but the arrival of a new pastor has sparked a fresh awareness within the Chicago-area congregation of about 120 people of their shared commitment with other Southern Baptists.   "I believe that as Southern Baptists – being the independent-minded people we tend to be – to have strategized back in the 1920s to voluntarily work together to provide security and consistency for our missionary effort was one of the most visionary and spiritually blessed things we as a convention have ever done," said Wright Eavenson, Bethel’s pastor since March.   "And for us as Southern Baptists to have actually maintained it all these decades, it has to be a God thing."   The pastor noted, "Because we voluntarily cooperate through the Cooperative Program, we have a worldwide missionary force that is able to accomplish things no other organization can. I … [Read more...]