The one thing everyone who interacted with him seems to agree on is this: Tim Keller was a heckuva nice guy. So nice, some say, it’s hard to believe he was a conservative evangelical. So nice, others say, he caved…
John Onwuchekwa leaves Atlanta pastorate
A pastor who called out the Southern Baptist Convention for racism two years ago has stepped down from his Atlanta pastorate, saying his gifts for church starting do not translate to leading a larger congregation. John Onwuchekwa made headlines in…
We need more but different churches
The number of church closures continues to rise. According to a study published by Lifeway Research last May, about 4,500 churches closed their doors in 2019 while only 3,000 churches were started. This is a shift from 2014 when Lifeway…
Whatever happened to Southern Baptists and church autonomy?
Neither one of us had a clue what we were doing 12 years ago, but a friend and I started a church. We didn’t know anything about starting a church, but we knew a great deal about church. Between us,…
Acts 29 leader explains who they are, what they’re doing in church planting and where the money is coming from
When the Acts 29 Network recently announced it would offer up to $50,000 over two years to church planters, a common response among traditional pastors and lay leaders was, “What’s Acts 29?” And even among those who were aware of…
Acts 29 ups the ante by offering church planters $50,000 apiece
In yet another sign of how church networks are replacing denominational identity, the Acts 29 network announced Jan. 11 that it will provide up to $50,000 apiece for new churches started through its sponsorship. Leaders of Acts 29 insist it…
How a Nigerian church’s ambitious goal raised questions about its business model and the faith industry
In February last year, David Oyedepo announced that his Nigerian-based church was going to establish 10,000 new branches in Nigeria. Such a gigantic goal raised more than a few eyebrows. Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel International,…
How one Vietnamese convert sparked a church-planting movement that defied the odds
The afternoon Bible study in what was then called Saigon began as most others, with a group of curious Vietnamese nationals walking into a small, nondescript home. They attended for a variety of reasons, but primarily to learn English and…
State conventions beyond the South question SBC North American Mission Board’s spending and accountability for church planting
A decade-long disagreement over how Southern Baptists fund church planting and missions in North America is coming to a head and threatens the sanctity of the denomination’s spirit of cooperative giving. The result: State conventions outside the South are reducing…