How down to earth and welcoming is your men’s group? Research shows that genuinely relational and friendly groups make it easier for people to experience a sense of “belonging.” People ..read more

Generation Z has grown up very differently than other generations, but this age group recently learned how God’s calling hasn’t changed. Samford University in Birmingham hosted the Alabama Baptist State ..read more

Few things bear more fruit and have a greater impact on a local church than systematically and consistently investing in men. By J. Josh Smith I am a fourth-generation pastor on both sides of my family. This means my father, both grandfathers, and both great-grandfathers were all pastors. I have a brother who is a pastor, three uncles who are pastors, and at least eight first cousins who are pastors or missionaries. All of that to say, when I became a first-time pastor, you would think I would’ve known what I was doing. At least, I think that’s what the first church that hired me assumed. But ..read more

A little book is making a big impact on the discipleship of new believers. “First Letters: Basic Truths for a New Believer” by Larry Hyche is a plainly written Christian primer that explains the basics of the faith. Designed for someone who has little to no church background, the 72-page volume is becoming recognized as a valuable tool for communicating Christianity in simple terms. The book originated with a series of letters that Hyche, a youth minister at the time, handwrote to a new believer. Each letter was written with the expectation that a related conversation would take place wit ..read more

Since I was a teenager, the example of spiritual giants in the Christian arena has greatly propelled me toward personal growth and ministry leadership. Stories of personal sacrifice in our culture of comfort stand as a beacon of Jesus’ invitation for self-denial and bearing our crosses. As one of the first celebrity athletes, C.T. Studd was the Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James of his day, and he walked away from fame and fortune to share the Gospel on the mission field. How inspiring is that?! Would you do it if God called you to leave everything to enter the ministry? Would you do it if God ca ..read more

“It’s dangerous to have the light that’s on you shine brighter than the light that’s in you.” I recently heard a pastor share this at a conference, and it’s now embedded in my heart. As ministry leaders, we cannot neglect our personal spiritual health. Whether you’re a lay leader or full-time pastor, people notice you and listen to you, making your walk with Jesus even more important – not only for your sake but for the sake of the people you serve. The following interview is with Teman Knight, pastor at Heritage Baptist Church, Montgomery. Teman also serves as an adjunct Old Testament and Heb ..read more

Jamie Dew said for him, everything changed the night of June 16, 1995, when he was at a Centrifuge camp. “The night I came to Jesus, I knew two things,” he said. “Number one was that I was home in Jesus, and number two that I was going to spend the rest of my life doing this.” He didn’t know what “this” meant at the time, other than some kind of ministry — and he definitely never pictured his current role as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Dew told the 128 high school and college students present at the Called conference Aug. 5 at Samford University that e ..read more

Research shows men’s discipleship lags behind women’s. The power of relationships can help make disciples of men in church. By Tobin Perry Dig deep into research about ministry to men in America, and you’ll find both good news and bad. Despite a spike in 2022 among men who never attend, the gender gap in church attendance has closed in recent years, according to the General Social Survey (GSS). In 2022, there’s a 5-point gap between men (15%) and women (20%) who attend religious services at least weekly. That’s less than half of what it was in the early 1980s. The gender gap in at ..read more

More and more Americans are concluding they don’t need church. One of the key reasons is that more and more churchgoers are concluding that they don’t need each other. Today, two-thirds (65%) of churchgoers agree they can walk with God without other believers. If those who go to church do not value the relationships at church enough to see them as essential, then how can the church communicate to our disinterested neighbors why church matters? In our efforts to make the Gospel personal, we have short-changed the corporate aspects. We frequently use a phrase not found in Scripture to describe o ..read more

At the end of this year’s Adventure Weekend, Larry Hyche asked Joe Brothers to come on stage and close the event in prayer. And Brothers told him something that he didn’t intend for Hyche to share. “He whispered to me, ‘This is my 50th year of working with kids,’” said Hyche, who serves as men’s spiritual development specialist at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “He has been faithfully bringing boys to our events and Royal Ambassadors events for years.” Hyche was encouraged by that story of faithfulness standing right in front of him. And as he introduced Brothers to pray, he shar ..read more