Josh Hunt's Blog, page 292

Why groups are necessary for transormation

Were you to ever venture just north of San Francisco into Muir Woods, an incredible forest of sequoia trees, you would no doubt be provoked to a sense of awe over the strength and endurance of the massive trees. Sequoias are sometimes referred to as the largest living things on earth, reaching almost 250 feet […]

Doubling Groups in China

We often think of the early church as experiencing incredible, explosive, growth, and it did. But, this growth was limited to the Mediterranean basin and later to Europe. If it were not for the obedience of Paul in pursuing God’s missionary calling on his life, the church may not have expanded that much. Paul was […]

Connection

Groups connect. That is, they bring people together on a personal and heart-based level. Connection is the basis of any good work in a group. For a few minutes every week or so, members receive the experience of being attached, loved, and in relationship with like-minded people. Connection, far more than the information dispensed, keeps […]

Simple Teaching

When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he didn’t give fourteen principles on prayer. He didn’t give them a book. He didn’t even give them a sermon. He gave them a very short, simple, prayer. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said […]

The fastest growing church in the world

The fastest growing church in the world is located in Bogota, Columbia. It is called International Charismatic Mission. In the mid-eighties it was a medium-sized church (not a mega-church) when the pastor, Pastor Castellanos got a vision for doubling groups by going to the world’s largest church, Yoido Full Gospel Church, in Seoul, Korea where […]

Ying Kai on new groups

By now you may have heard the story of a pastor in Asia named Ying Kai. He had a heart to see God transform his people. His church was responsible for planting one new church a year and was considered to be successful in reaching people. Although he estimated that he and his wife, Grace, […]

Andy Stanley on new groups

A youth pastor in Georgia got a vision for doubling groups in a kind of accidental way. By that I mean that he did not sit down one day and ask God, “Give me a plan for reaching Atlanta for You!” It was more like this. Because he was a youth pastor, he spent all […]

Home groups or Sunday School?

There are those who say that Sunday School is an old fashioned, dying dinosaur, and the new hip, happening thing that God is doing is home groups. I’d like for us to think about that. It is clear that God is doing a new thing with home groups. I have asked leaders at a number […]

Defensive eating

Today is Christmas. I am not sure what that means at your place, (although, I bet I can guess!) but at ours it means lots of food. It is time to think about eating defensively. The enemy is the pecan pie. I can attempt to defeat the enemy by saying, “I will not eat the […]

Can churches in a rural area grow?

A new book I am pleased to be a contributor. Can a Sunday school ministry thrive out in a rural community? The US Census Bureau, the USDA’s Economic Research Services, and the US Office of Management and Budget all agree that a rural area is defined as having no city or town with a population […]