Helping disciples make disciples. Equipping the local church for God's global mission.

Additional menu

Nathan Creitz

I help disciples make disciples.

Blog

3 Reasons You Need To Know Jesus

By 5 Comments

What if Mark’s Gospel had been written as a series of blog posts? Here’s what he might have to say about Jesus based on Mark chapter one verse one.

The Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. – Mark 1:1

Everyone needs to know Jesus.

Why? Here are 3 reasons that come to mind:

1. Jesus is King

The word “gospel” means “good news”.

But not everyday good news. Like, “Gospel! My indigestion seems to be clearing up!”

More like, “Gospel! A king has been born.” Or, “Have you heard the gospel? Our king conquered the enemy army!” [Read more…] about 3 Reasons You Need To Know Jesus

David Platt: Newly Elected President of the IMB

By Leave a Comment

David Platt has been selected as the new president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

I find it important to highlight this breaking news because of the strategic importance of the IMB and because of my respect for David Platt.

If you don’t know about David or the IMB, let me give a brief introduction of my own and then share a few resources to help you get to know the man and the mission. [Read more…] about David Platt: Newly Elected President of the IMB

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

By Leave a Comment

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.

[Read more…] about 3 Keys To Maintaining A Disciple-Making Focus While Church Planting

Fighting Human Trafficking by Planting Churches

By Leave a Comment

[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.

[Read more…] about Fighting Human Trafficking by Planting Churches

Top 20 Religious Groups in Queens, NY

By 2 Comments

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?