I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church (3 John 9-10).

Every church needs a shepherd, and every shepherd needs a staff. Some staff are volunteers that lead a ministry, and some are paid staff members. The wrong staff can damage a church for decades and the right staff propel God’s people to fresh vision-fulfillment. Staffing in a church is as critical as the engine in a jet.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19).

The destiny of some churches is death. The life cycle of the church is complete. One of the great gifts a dying church can make is to become a Legacy Church (Gray 2009) that invests its remaining resources as seed that falls into the ground and dies for the planting of new churches. In the Montclair neighborhood of Chicago, Grace Church died. The congregation celebrated a long and fruitful history, and they gave their assets and property to the Great Lakes District of the EFCA for a new church. An elder oversight team from neighboring churches called a gifted young couple to restart a church in that location; thus, a dying church left an enduring legacy. Eight years later the church is over 200 people and just added a second service to accommodate growth.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.