I think that if asked what is the opposite of hope, most people would respond with the word hopelessness. I can see how one would think that hopelessness would be the exact opposite of hope if we simply look at it as being depressed or without hope. However, in order to understand what the true opposite of hope is I believe we must look back to our definition of hope. Hope is the assurance or confidence that the goodness of Father God still prevails. So truly understanding

Acts 22:22 (NLT) “The crowd listened until Paul said that word…” The small town pastor and church typically don’t have as big a ‘pool’ to draw from as churches in large urban and suburban areas. Yet Jesus, the builder of the Church, expects our churches to have significant impact wherever we are located. So for those of us in small towns there is an even greater need to intentionally cast a wide net. Here’s what I’m talking about: Every pastor has a certain demographic they n

The first ever Small Town Church Conference will be October 3-4, 2016 in Villa Rica, Georgia, hosted by LifeGate Church. I love pastoring in a small town and, along with the other Small Town Church lead team members, believe every small town church can have huge impact for the Kingdom. I am excited about this conference and would like to share some reasons I think you should be here too: 1. The SmallTown.Church Conference is planned for the specific dynamics of the small town

There is a connection between hope and creativity. In fact, I believe hope stirs up creativity. We don't create because we don't like what we see, but rather because we simply see something different in our hearts. We see how things can be better. We don't have to worry or waste time focusing on what is wrong, we just find what is right and focus on that. What do you feel to create that will make a difference? Focus on that! Too many people seem gifted in cretic but the wor

One of the things I have learned about pastoring in a small town is sometimes things don’t move at the pace you wanted them to move. Securing and preparing your venue takes longer, your planned launch day gets moved back, the growth rate in your first year was not what you expected. And if you have ever done a building project you definitely know it will not move at the pace you want! I’ve noticed that a lot of pastors and leaders are D’s on the DISC personality test—Drivers.