The Hope Project was an ambitious vision. Using multi media, it sought to initiate a conversation with secular New Zealanders nationally about Christian faith – while boldly rallying churches to equip and mobilise their members...
An effort spanning more than five years is now over. The Christian message was taken to a nation through secular media - while a message on the importance of engaging in non-threatening two-way spiritual conversations...
This year, after a 16 year gap, a national evangelism conference is being resurrected. Called 'Engage' - the conference will be a rallying point for evangelism at which church leaders and members can inspiration and...
Today I find myself in a situation I've not been in before - and I awake seeking God for perspective. Then our just-5 year old comes into our bedroom and jumps on our bed. "Its...
Over four years ago I travelled to meet with 70 ministers’ associations around the nation. I explained the Hope Project vision – but qualified the presentation by clarifying that this project was still like a...
While the Hope Project has communicated the Christian message broadly… it is still just a program. A program is like a topping on a pizza. The question is, what is the base of the pizza...
God made humans social creatures - and this means we all enjoy a good conversation. When spiritual topics come up in conversation, it is not difficult to ask a person if they’d be interested to...
Small things count! Most people don’t come to faith as the result of a one-off meeting. People journey toward faith over time. There might be a dozen interactions with Christian along that journey. So small...
We must not forget that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation for all who would believe (Romans 1). God anoints the message of salvation through Jesus in a special way. When...
Opportunities do not come twice! For sure, sometimes another opportunity comes - but that is another opportunity! In actual fact, every opportunity comes once! And in a day and age when most people will...
For years church leaders have been lamenting about how difficult it is to get members to disciple (or mentor) others. Even when their own spiritual lives are healthy, many members wouldn't know what to say...
A young schoolboy who recently caught a ride with a friend of mine looked out the window and asked her, “What are all those buildings with the letter ‘t’ on top?” Times have changed! it...
Jesus had three key conversational techniques. (1) He asked questions, (2) he made provocative statements that drew people in (possibly the most difficult), and (3) he told stories from the natural world that aided understanding,...
Some people wrongly assume that, if we truly love people, we will find a way to share the gospel. I haven’t found this to be true. I’ve met many sincere Christians who would love to...
While many identify fear of rejection as a key hindrance to outreaching action, it is unavoidable that love conquers fear. No matter how much time we give to showing them how to outreach - if...
A friend recently recounted the typical journey of all organisations - including our churches and para-church organisation. It is an interesting reflection: Mission - movement - model (mechanism) - monument. (And, does the Shining Lights...
I've been reading a leadership book (which I'll leave nameless because what follows). It promotes prayer as a vital leadership habit - but then it measures prayer in terms of time. It's a great book...
A recent Pew study claimed that New Zealand is one of only three countries in the world where the non-religious are expected to outnumber the religious by 2050, according to new research. They believed that...
At present, some are pushing for a new flag. You may have seen the FB post which points out the possible connection between the flag and our constitutional foundations. If not - skim to the...
Are you sick of churches hurting people? Have you been hurt within a church? ‘Water under the bridge’ is the title of a new book by Don Barry, Pastor of Gateway Church in Hamilton. It is...