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Nathan Creitz

I help disciples make disciples.

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3 Keys To Maintaining A Disciple-Making Focus While Church Planting

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disciple-making keysIn the Book of Acts, planting churches in unreached areas was the natural application of the Great Commission.

In fact, the logical implication of the Great Commission is that it would be done in the context of the local church wherever it exists and that it would lead to establishing local churches where they don’t exist. Baptism isn’t something that is done isolated from Body life. It is the initiatory rite of a new disciple into the church. Naturally, if a church doesn’t exist and we are pursuing the disciple-making mission, a church needs to be established or we aren’t being faithful to Jesus’ commands. The New Testament knows nothing of a lone ranger evangelist who saves souls and moves on. The church is where disciples are baptized and taught.

This was the approach the apostles took when they were empowered by the Spirit. They established a church in Jerusalem. Then, when the persecution arose against them and many were forced out of Jerusalem, they began making disciples and establishing churches everywhere they went in Judea and in Samaria. Soon, churches were established as far out as Antioch which was a Gentile city. They were fulfilling Jesus’ mandate to be witnesses and to make disciples.

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Fighting Human Trafficking by Planting Churches

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[guestpost]This is a guest post by Patrick Hubbard. Patrick is the Founder and President of Living Bread Ministries. The vision of LBM is to expand an interdependent church planting movement among the global poor. In this post, Patrick explains how their vision of planting churches in impoverished areas is an important step towards ending slavery.[/guestpost]

living bread logoThe trafficking of human beings for sexual exploitation and forced labor is possibly the greatest humanitarian tragedy the world has known.

The United Nations estimates that there are over 2.5 million people in forced labor, including the sex industry, at any given time. This horrific practice affects 161 countries, essentially every nation in the world. Women are primarily the victims of trafficking averaging two out of every three people. The average age is between 18 and 24, but it is estimated that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.*

Often victims of trafficking are tricked into captivity with promises of job opportunities. However, they are often sold into slavery to pay family debts or provide money to care for other children. There are even cases where the poor voluntarily give their children to traffickers believing they have found a family to “adopt” them and provide a better life. Regardless of how it happens it is clear that one of the leading contributing factors to human trafficking is poverty.

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Top 20 Religious Groups in Queens, NY

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Queens County is recognized by many demographers as the most diverse county in America. As a result, there are hundreds of languages, peoples, and religious groups represented.

The following list of the top 20 religious groups in Queens reflects the diversity of Queens County (according to the 2010 ARDA report).

Top 20 Religious Groups in Queens, NY

  1. Catholic – 677,520
  2. Muslim – 81,456
  3. Orthodox Judaism – 80,000
  4. Non-denominational – 33,325
  5. African Methodist Episcopal Church – 28,085
  6. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America – 24,250
  7. Traditional Hindu – 16,775
  8. Assemblies of God – 13,989
  9. Seventh Day Adventist – 13,507
  10. Buddhism, Mahayana – 12,957
  11. American Baptist Churches in the USA – 12,003
  12. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – 10,463
  13. Episcopal Church – 9,241
  14. National Baptist Convention, USA – 7,261
  15. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – 7,210
  16. The United Methodist Church – 6,932
  17. Conservative Judaism – 6,235
  18. Presbyterian Church (USA) – 5,092
  19. Southern Baptist Convention – 4,694
  20. The Christian and Missionary Alliance – 3,585

Notes

  • The top 20 religious groups account for 47% of the population in Queens or 1,054,580 adherents.
  • Only 5 of the top 20 religious groups are evangelical protestant.
  • Evangelicals account for 3.8% of the population in Queens.

What are the implications for evangelism and church planting in Queens? What are the challenges and opportunities that this information presents? 

52 Natural Ways To Kickstart A Disciple-Making Relationship

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According to a recent study by Lifeway Research, 80% of churchgoers agree that they are personally responsible to share their beliefs about Jesus with non-Christians.

However, in the next six months only about 39% of them ever will.

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 starts with “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”. Another way to translate the word for “go” is “as you go” or “while you are going”.

In other words, disciple making should be a natural way of life for the Christian.

As you go, make disciples.

It’s in the “as you go” that most disciples fail to make disciples. Some wait until Tuesday night visitation to share their faith. Others get excited about dollar drops1, placing tracts in toilet paper rolls, and other good-intentioned but UN-natural tactics of sharing the gospel.

In a culture that craves honesty and authenticity a gospel gimmick isn’t going to make disciples. We need to look for opportunities to be ourselves and make disciples along the way.

Here are 52 (and more in the comments section) natural, non-threatening, relational ideas to help kickstart disciple-making relationships:
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Grace Baptist Church in Woodhaven NY

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Over the past few weeks I’ve been helping a church plant in Woodhaven NY. Grace Baptist Church has been around for awhile but they just recently moved to Woodhaven from Richmond Hill.

We recently mobilized a couple of mission teams to work with GBC to help them get the word out about their new location. Our teams passed out cookies and crackers on the corner of Woodhaven Blvd and Jamaica Avenue. We know of at least one who has started attending Grace as a result and perhaps others will in the days ahead.

Pastor Peter Nicotra of Grace Baptist Church serving residents of Woodhaven, NY

The church is now renting space from Emanuel United Church of Christ on the corner of 91st Avenue and Woodhaven Blvd. The entrance for Grace Baptist Church is actually on 92nd Avenue, just around the corner.

Entrance for Grace Baptist Church on 92nd Avenue

It has been a joy to work with Pastor Nicotra and we are excited about this new location in Woodhaven.

If you are looking for a church that loves God and loves people, this is the place to go in Woodhaven. You can find out more about them at gbcny.org.

One God, Two Gods, Three Gods, No God

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Is it reasonable to believe in God? If there is a God, how do we go about getting to know him / her / them? Has science ruled out the possibility that God exists?

These are a few of the questions that people who are seeking tend to ask. When someone is seriously asking these questions it is helpful to gently and lovingly point out their blind spots so they are able to see all the possibilities.

The Ignorance of Tolerance

Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesterton

Tolerance is a desirable virtue. Someone who is tolerant is someone who is peaceful and respectful of other’s beliefs and values.

However, we can be peaceful and respectful and still point out flaws. In fact, it is a loving thing to point out that it is a bad thing to harm yourself or others in the name of religion, for example.

Most people simply go along with tolerance as an ideal because it is the foundation of our society (when it comes to various religions) because it is the path of least resistance.

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