Josh Hunt's Blog, page 270

What does Jesus’ leadership look like?

Jesus is our role model for leadership. He was and is the greatest leader who ever lived. He led by being a servant to all of those around Him. He knew who He was because of His intimate relationship with His Father, and out of that relationship He ministered to the needs of individuals. He […]

Dawson Trotman’s secret to growing a Sunday School

I used to have a map of the world that I kept before me. I’d put my fingers on some of the islands—Australia, New Zealand, Okinawa, Formosa—and say, “Lord, let me win men for You in these places.” I was challenged to do this by Jer. 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, […]

Small Group… it is all about the opening

For instance, consider how to open a meeting in a way that gets people involved. One of the best ways to do this is to use an icebreaker. Small group research and experience have repeatedly shown that icebreakers help people warm up to one another and to discussions. And there are some technical rules for […]

Connecting introverts into small groups

I will never forget the night I stood onstage in the gym where we were hosting our first-ever connection event at Cross Point. A connection event is basically speed dating for small groups. People came to experience what a group was like in a neutral setting before committing to show up at someone’s house for […]

How Muslims View Jesus

No chapter on the Islamic view of prophets can be complete, especially for the Christian reader, without a brief mention of the Muslim understanding of Jesus Christ. Whereas there are some areas of general agreement between the Qur’anic and Old Testament views of prophets (with one major exception being the Islamic claim that they were […]

The principle of multiplication

Considering that the church prior to Pentecost numbered only a few hundred believers, this is an astounding achievement. Probably the Christian community within three decades had multiplied four hundredfold,18 which represents an annual increase of 22 percent for more than a generation, and the rate of growth continued remarkably high for 300 years. By the […]

The “House to House” principle

In Acts 20:20, the apostle Paul declares to members of the church at Ephesus, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house” (NKJV). The early church followed Jesus’ pattern of discipleship and spiritual family life. They broke bread from house to house […]

What does it mean to shepherd a group?

The metaphor of sheep and shepherding is crucial to understanding Jesus’ way of leading. The Bible describes Jesus as the good shepherd (John 10:11). Matthew 9:36-38 reads, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The […]

Nine benefits of small groups

Because we believe sustained life change happens best in the context of community, we make small groups the priority option for spiritual growth in our church. Many churches offer a variety of classes for people to choose from to help them grow in biblical knowledge. While I don’t believe there is anything fundamentally wrong with […]

The Great Commission as a lifestyle

Discipling men and women is the priority around which our lives should be oriented. Why do we say this? because Jesus Christ Himself said it in His final words before His Ascension into heaven. Matthew’s account sums it up: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of […]