Meet Enda. She is a wife, mother of two, and business owner. She first attended a History Makers training event in 2022. On fire and excited for others to experience the same empowerment of the Holy Spirit, she began multiplying her training in Zambia. She passionately teaches the core value of Family Priority. Edna shared, “Family is the foundation of raising leaders.”     Motherhood carries a profound responsibility. Whether you are a leader within your home or extend your reach into a church or community, the potential for impact is unlimited. Your role is invaluable, and your in ..read more

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of preparation as we look forward to Easter. We use the days of Lent for self-examination and prayer to get us ready to celebrate the most important event in all of human history – the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a wonderful and glorious event in the truest sense of the word. It occurs to me, though, as wonderful and glorious as the resurrection is, in order to have one, there must first be a death, and death is anything but wonderful and glorious. From Death to Life Death is painful, sorrowful, and difficult. We don’t like to t ..read more

Maintaining a life of integrity is no easy proposition. The enemy of our souls and our fallen flesh are constantly at work, persuading us to compromise. Maintaining our integrity requires proactivity on our part by adhering to spiritual disciplines designed to keep us safe. John Wesley referred to these disciplines as “means of grace,” the channels through which God extends his mercy and favor for our benefit. The word “discipline” implies work is involved, but that is not to be confused with “works righteousness.” As Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earni ..read more

In January 2006, Mr. Nick Flynn made an unforgettable visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. Though completely unaware, at some point during a tour of priceless artifacts, his shoelaces became untied. While descending a staircase, he tripped over his laces and fell headlong into a vase from the Qing Dynasty, circa 1662. Smashing one vase would have been bad enough, but the first vase started a domino effect, thereby smashing two more. All told, museum curators estimated the destroyed vases to have been worth more than $100,000. Fortunately for Mr. Flynn, he was not required to ..read more

The beginning of the year is a time of counting the blessings and struggles of the past year. Church leaders tally the numbers and evaluate how last year turned out to be. At ILI we gather training data from around the world for our annual report. There is a problem with counting people on the pews or conference attendees, though. While necessary, these raw numbers give us incomplete data. Are the people on our churches better followers of Jesus after sitting through 52 worship services (for those with perfect attendance)? Are the men and women who attended a training event better leaders just ..read more

Are you a Leader? How can you know whether you are a leader or not? People often say they are not leaders because they don’t hold a high-level position in their church, organization, or company. Others consider themselves leaders because they hold one such position. What if holding a so-called leadership position had little to do with it? Many decades ago, J. Oswald Sanders defined leadership as influence. His definition was made famous by John Maxwell and has stood the test of time. If that is the case, leadership as influence can be exercised from a top-level position in an organization or ..read more

Do you Pray “The Prayer?” There is a prayer that unites Christians in all parts of the world, of all denominations and theological persuasions. It doesn’t matter if you are Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Protestant, whether you belong to a mainline, Evangelical, or Pentecostal church; as soon as you hear the words “Our Father, which art in Heaven,” you will know what comes next. I can assure you that right now, somewhere in the world, Jesus-followers are saying the words of the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. At the same time, we may be so familiar with the words of the “Our Fat ..read more

In 1866 the great Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, wrote a short story entitled “How Much Land Does a Man Require?” in the story, a man named Pahom has a strong desire to acquire land for farming. He gradually can get more land, but he is never satisfied with what he has. He is always wanting more. No matter what he can buy, it is never enough. His greed leads to arguments with his neighbors and causes him to move, and though he amasses a small fortune, he is never content. Eventually, he hears about a group of people called the Bashkirs, who own a vast amount of land. He goes to them to see if h ..read more

The 100th Psalm is often called The Thanksgiving Psalm. It is a favorite of many people, and it begins with the exhortation to give thanks and praise to God. As we read this Psalm, we experience an invitation to the whole earth to know and worship God. Psalm 100: A psalm for giving grateful praise. 1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are His; we are his people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His ..read more

Everyone knows that October 31st is Halloween. It is a day that has grown in popularity in recent years and has actually moved from being a time for children to a time in which many adults dress up and have various types of activities. While I do not want to discuss Halloween itself, I do want to focus on the day that has given it its name. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” — He ..read more