Free Will Baptists on the Frontier
by Eric K. Thomsen In late July 1822, David Marks, a Freewill Baptist evangelist from the Randall movement in New England, found himself several months into a mission trip within the rapidly expanding western frontier. After spending five days preaching near Portsmouth, Ohio, Marks planned to cross the Ohio River to preach in Kentucky. When the time came, the river ferry was absent. Unwilling to miss his preaching appointment, Marks...
Unity Movements among Free Will Baptists of the South Near the Turn of the Century: A Little Known Story
by Robert E. Picirilli During the late 1800s and early 1900s, several unity movements emerged among Free Will Baptists in the South. Two of these have just recently come to light and are briefly described in this article for the first time. Robert Vaughn and I have written the story in full detail for publication later.[1] Some historians suggest that such movements were the fruit of the Second Great Awakening. One such was the merger...
Why Church Administration?
by Jeff Nichols Why did you enter ministry? To make a difference? To help people? To introduce people to Jesus? There may be many things on your list, but somewhere close to the top of that list is to obey Christ’s command to make disciples. That’s why you are giving your life to this grand adventure called ministry. You want to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ. You want to see them be baptized and grow by leaps and bounds as...
Lessons from a Pastoral Succession
by Josh Baer Pastoral transitions are inevitable. All pastors leave at some point, whether through resignation, retirement, or even death. While this has always been the case, we are facing a potential crisis. Our churches will likely undergo a massive transfer of pastoral leadership in the next decade as more pastors than ever reach retirement age.[1] This potential crisis is too important to ignore or avoid. The transfer of...
Assimilating People into an Effective Discipleship Process
by Tommy Swindol Among the many elements of a healthy church, three are particularly important concerning the assimilation of newcomers: maintaining an effective discipleship process, ensuring the right people are leading each ministry, and creating the right church culture. By effective discipleship process, I mean that we want to create a scope of spiritual development into which we can assimilate people. Once we align our...
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