CDM Archive

Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

Church Leadership

The Necessary Motto for Life and Conduct: Give Thanks

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By George W. Mitchell. Thereare many things that should be causing us all a great deal of concern and self-examination as we look across the Presbyterian Church in America. This should especially be the case as we look at the lives of ministers, their families and their relationships with other ministers in the PCA and the real lack of unity in approaching common goals and common enemies – self, the world and the devil.

It appears that more and more we hear about ministers falling into the sin of immorality. Fami

Editorial

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There are several ways to grow a church. We talk about four major ways, but there are others. The standard four are: internal church growth where members are growing in their relation to Christ and to each other; evangelistic growth which refers to conversion growth; a daughter church growing out of an existing ministry; and the establishment of churches cross-culturally.

The PCA is committed both in principle and practice to planting new churches. To do this takes much prayer, patience, time and effort; and there are a multitude of ways to go about it. We welcome Christians into the PCA, but we also are aware that the best growth comes as the Gospel is presented and people are converted and added to the church.

New church growth is a major part of the PCA’s strategy. But is it worth the energy, resources and sacrifice to plant churches? Given all the other factors in the PCA, that has to be a legitimate question to answer. But before we do, we should have some information that would help us respond intelligently.

Recently Win Arn with Church Growth, Inc., released the following statistics: Out of the 240 million Americans, 40 percent have no religious affiliation, and 31 percent are Christians in name only. Between 80 and 85 percent of the churches in America are either plateaued or are declining. In 1900 there were twenty-seven churches for every 10,000 people. In 1987 there were only twelve churches for every 10,000 people. Black Ameri

The Reign in Spain Lies Mainly in Miami

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By Bill Iverson. Shenandoah! In Virginia that’s a valley and a river – dramatic and breathtaking because of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In Miami it is a church – a rivulet in a vast plain of humanity waiting for the rains of heaven. It may again become a river and this time overflow into the Caribbean basin and all of Latin America even as before, sending confluences throughout America.

Calle Ocho – that’s Eighth Street in Miami’s Shenandoah Section where my dad, Dan Iverson, started Shenandoah Presbyterian Church in a dance hall. From 1926 to 1951, 4004 persons came to Christ, joining the church by profession of faith. Shenandoah started seven other churches – such as Granada, Key Biscayne and Kendall and sent 150 of its sons and daughters into the ministry of the Gospel. The vast influence of the church in its grandchildren is now beyond measure. Evange

The Love of God and Evangelism

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By D. Clair Davis. Why is it so hard to share the Gospel? What gets in the way? Is it because you don’t know how? That’s not a big obstacle anymore. If you need training, it’s there. Evangelism Explosion helps you to encourage people to talk first about what they think is the Gospel. Otherwise, you catch yourself doing all the talking and then wondering what they mean when people nod their heads. It helps to know things like that.

Or do you wonder if the Lord is calling you to this? Are the elders the only soldiers we have, or do they show the rest of us the way? If you have questions about every member ministry in general, then you really do when it comes specifically to evangelism. When the Bible says the Gospel is to be preached to the whole world, it’s easy to react by saying, “Thank God for preachers” and then write another check. Maybe you need to work that through. But knowing the how and who isn’t a lot of help unless you see why. You can’t think straight about evangelism until you’ve grasped what the Gospel is about. This is the issue. t always has been. There is such a thing as resenting it when other people are saved – or at least not being full of joy praying about their salvation. Work through the New Testament again. The Gospels tell you what the Lord says to Phar