evangelism

Spiritual Training Series #1: Train Yourself to be Godly

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Imagine you just received a baby picture from friends who just had a baby. What if they sent you a picture every year? What if you are like me and don’t clean your fridge very often? As you put up the picture from year five, you notice the picture from the first announcement. And then you realize there has been very little change. The baby is still hardly any bigger and doesn’t seem to have developed much. Unfortunately, there are some children who do not mature the way we expect, who never crawl or walk or communicate. This makes us sad because a baby needs to grow.

As followers of Jesus, we need to grow, too.

1 Timothy 4:7 says “train yourself to be godly”.

Philippians 2:12 says “work out your salvation”.

We are to become more “godly” or Christ-like. We are to continue to grow and develop spiritually to become a better expression of the image of God as we were created to be, according to Genesis 1:27.

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he crated them.

Genesis 1:27

This is not just about our own hard work though. In Colossians 1:29, the Apostle Paul writes: “I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” Yes we are to train ourselves and work out our salvation and struggle. We have a part to play in our spiritual development, but this is never something we do no our own. Like Paul we can depend on “Christ’s mighty power that works within me”.

We can and should do our part. It may be that we choose to practice some of the Spiritual Disciplines that Christians have practiced throughout history. This includes prayer, scripture reading, fasting, sabbath, generosity, and so on. As we practice these disciplines, we make an effort to do our part as we invite the Holy Spirit to do His work in us to make us a little more like Jesus.

Whatever training we want to instill in our lives, we do need to train ourselves to become godly. For this to be a priority in our lives, we need to intentionally prepare a training schedule or plan. When will you read the Bible, and what will you read? When will you pray, and what will you include in your prayer time? When will you choose to fast, and what kind of fast? How will you practice generosity, and so on?

Think back to the time when you first became a believer in Jesus. We could say you were a baby Christian. What would that picture have looked like if your heavenly Father had taken a picture and hung it on his fridge in heaven? What would a picture he took this year look like? As I look back 51 years, to the time He could have taken my “spiritual baby” picture,  I trust that my picture – the me that God sees – would give evidence of much spiritual growth and maturity. Maybe the picture would not just include me, but other people around me who have come to know Jesus or been impacted for Jesus by me.

I pray that you are intentionally pursuing Jesus and looking for ways to grow toward every fuller spiritual maturity.

Keep on looking up,

Andy Wiebe

God Draws People to Himself in Creative Ways!

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A few years ago, I asked one of our members why she started attending our church. Her answer went something like this: “I read my horoscope, and it told me that I am a religious person, but not in the conventional way, so I thought I would go to church to find out.” Our creative God can use a horoscope to draw people to Himself!

I am preparing for a baptism service in a few weeks. A lady who is preparing to be baptized on that Sunday sent me a copy of her testimony of how she came to the place of surrendering her life to Jesus. It was a very well-written story explaining that she came from a family that had no interest in God, but God began to work in her life. She explained how she lingered a little longer than usual on a social media post about Christianity. The algorithm picked up on that and began highlighting other verses and Christian thoughts for her. She realized she was against the Bible without ever having read it. She started reading the Bible. She met other Christians and had meaningful conversations with them and started attending a church. God drew her to the point of surrendering herself to God through faith in Jesus. She described how she had just recently burned her tarot cards and is truly trusting Jesus. Our creative God can use social media algorithms to draw people to Himself.

I don’t know how God drew you to Him, but He is creative in how He works. We see this in scripture as well. God sent Philip to meet an Ethiopian official who was reading Isaiah in his chariot, and the official surrendered himself to Jesus. Peter preached to a crowd on the day of Pentecost, and three thousand people gave their lives to Jesus. The Lord knocked Paul off his horse and blinded him to draw Paul to Himself. Zacheus was up in a tree when Jesus noticed him, and Zacheus’ life was changed as Jesus went to his house and opened his eyes to a new reality of faith in God.

Jesus said in John 6:44, “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me.” We are told that the Father draws people to Himself. But we are not told how that drawing may take place. God is creative and has all kinds of ways to break into hard hearts and draw people to Himself.

The examples I shared of people I have met make it clear that God doesn’t need you or me to begin bringing people to Him. In both cases, once they were interested and searching, God arranged for them to meet people who could help them along their new journey of developing a faith in Jesus and growing in relationship with God. We, as people, do not, and cannot, make anyone believe in Jesus. We can share stories about Jesus, and we can pray for and with them, but it is God who opens their hearts to faith in Him.

We have a role to play in people coming to faith in Jesus. We may encounter people at various stages of their journeys and have opportunities to be a part of their journey whenever we encounter them. Some may not have heard about Jesus, and we have the privilege of sharing the story of the Saviour of all people. Some may have heard about Jesus but never realized they needed to surrender their lives to His Lordship. Others may already have been drawn by the Father and are looking for someone to help them understand the decision they have made.

Whatever stage we encounter people, we can pray for them, we can share what we know about Jesus, and we can invite them to make a decision to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. We have an amazingly creative Father God who invites men and women and boys and girls to faith in Jesus in whatever way He chooses. Let’s be aware of people in our life who are searching and whom the Father has been drawing so we can help them understand and begin their eternal life of faith in Jesus.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Is Your Church Declining or Growing?

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You may have heard some of the discouraging statements about church closures recently. A study by the National Trust of Canada “predicted that one-third of Canada’s 27,000 faith buildings, most of which are Christian, would likely close permanently in the next 10 years.”[i] The narrative around church closures includes conversations about the decline of religious affiliation in Canada. A January 8, 2022 Global News Report stated: “Religiosity in Canada is at an all-time low, with recently released data from Statistics Canada showing only 68 per cent of Canadians 15 or older now report having a religious affiliation. It’s the lowest it’s been since they first started tracking this statistic in 1985.[ii] The Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research, in a 2024 article, stated an opposing view, saying “overall the Canadian Christian Church had only 2% fewer net congregations in 2019 (23,675) than they did in 2009 (24,138).”[iii] While pointing out that there are only a few fewer churches, the article acknowledged that religious affiliation is indeed down.

I understand that churches do sometimes close. The church I started in as a youth pastor no longer exists. At the same time, I am very encouraged as I think of the churches I have served as a transitional pastor over the last 5 years.

I have served seven churches, of which three were growing even during their transition, and all the rest were stable. Not one of the churches was in continual decline.

So what might this mean for us as pastors and church leaders?

There may be times when a church should close. Some of our rural communities are declining as people move away for school and jobs, which may mean a church closes for lack of people. Some churches may need to close because they have lost their mission and are no longer serving as a church, but a Christian club for a few dedicated members.

So what does this mean for church leaders?

We need to remind ourselves that we are serving God’s church. It is His church. While we can definitely do our part, we need to ask God to step in and bring revival where necessary and grow the church. We need to remind the church of our mission to make disciples who make other disciples. We need to give people hope and joy in their relationship with Jesus. We need to look for ways to bring spiritual renewal and transformation into our congregations, beginning with us.

We cannot lead people where we aren’t going first. Are you hungry for God? Are you digging into His Word, hungry for more of Him? Are you reading books on spiritual renewal? Are you praying and inviting others to pray with you? Are you loving your neighbours and those in the community around the church building?

Pastors, God wants us to use our gifting and calling to draw people ever closer to Jesus. I am convinced that when people fall in love with Jesus again, they will come alive. They will experience Him at work in their lives. As we ask for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, He will fill us and empower us for holy living and bold sharing of the gospel.

Quit preaching “self-help” sermons. Preach Jesus from the Gospels. Preach about the filling of the Holy Spirit. Introduce spiritual disciplines and invite your church to practice them. Show your members the full life that can be theirs.

God is still at work. He is still drawing new people to Himself. New believers are asking to be baptized. Some of your members are hungry and searching for more of Jesus. Encourage those who are already searching and ask God to open the hearts of others.

Are churches closing? Yes, some are, but yours does not need to be one of them. Be proactive. Do not assume the decline of your church is inevitable. God is still at work, renewing believers and reviving churches. May yours be one of those.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

[i] New report suggests opening churches to the masses as attendance dwindles

By The Canadian Press

Published: June 22, 2025 at 7:43AM EDT https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/new-report-suggests-opening-churches-to-the-masses-as-attendance-dwindles/

[ii] [1] ‘Gone by 2040’: Why some religions are declining in Canada faster than ever

By Ashleigh Stewart  Global News

Posted January 8, 2022 5:00 am

 Updated January 17, 2022 3:21 pm https://globalnews.ca/news/8471086/religion-decline-canada/

[iii] Hope For the Future: The 2021 Canadian Census

Rev. Dr. Lee Beachhttps://flourishingcongregations.org/hope-for-the-future-the-2021-canadian-census/

PREPARING FOR CHANGE #1: Presenting the Case.

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Change is a scary word for many people. Yet change is necessary if we want to continue to grow and respond to the world around us. Change gives the opportunity to improve with the hope of better results. Recognizing the value of change and helping others to do the same is an essential part of being an effective leader, as such, the next three blogs will be about leading change.

When we are leaders of change, we often assume people are following right behind us. We forget that, because of our role to lead initiatives and implement adjustments in order to see improvements, we often spend a lot of time thinking through changes before we introduce them to others, so what is familiar to us is brand new information to those we lead. We are prepared for it, but they are not. We need to be intentional and clear about what changes we are introducing, the reason for it, how it will look, and how we will evaluate it.

We want to invite people to change, not force them. It helps to give a clear idea of why each change is appropriate. Among the reasons for change may be a desire for creativity, a response to Biblical direction, or a reaction to statistical information.

Change and Creativity

I like trying new things, so I sometimes introduce change simply for creativity’s sake. I think there is a place for that.

Some churches have exactly the same order of service every Sunday. Everyone knows the order of announcements, prayers, singing, preaching, and so on. I like to rearrange the order of service because I think people respond to creativity. The same thing every time puts people to sleep. One member, who appreciated the creativity and variety told me, “I like coming to this church because I never know what to expect from Sunday to Sunday.”

I also like to arrange the service in different ways in order to highlight the theme of the morning in a unique and creative way. Celebrating communion is often done at the end of the worship service in the churches I serve. Sometimes, I move it to the beginning of the worship service so the rest of the service is a celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection as we were just reminded of in taking communion.

Change and Biblical Reasons

Sometimes churches need to make changes because they recognize they are not fulfilling a Biblical direction as best they could.

A church may respond to a sermon series on prayer with a renewed emphasis on prayer. They may ask Bible Study groups to pray. A church may make a prayer room available for after-service prayer. They may cancel all programs for a week to invite everyone to come to special prayer events.

A church may ask all their small groups to put a greater emphasis on outreach and inviting unbelievers because they recognized they weren’t doing well in reaching unbelievers. This is one way they are hoping to fulfill the Biblical mandate to share the good news with those who have never heard. Sometimes churches need to make changes that they believe God is inviting them into because of Biblical reasons.

Change and Statistics

Some reasons for change include statistics. We measure many aspects of life, including how we do ministry, by certain numbers.

A Sunday School class that has only two attendees may need to be canceled to give that teacher the option of serving in an area with greater need.. Giving to ministries or missions outside of the church may need to be stopped or postponed when the church is in financial difficulty. If the income does not match the budget, the necessary reductions need to be made. A church that does a demographic study of their community may recognize that there is a large number of people of a certain ethnic group in their community that has no church or church reaching out to them, so they develop a specific ministry effort to share Jesus with that group of people.

Whatever your reason for the change, whether one of the above or something else, be clear about it so that those who are affected may understand why this change is good and needed. May God guide you as you lead change.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Book Reviews: Andy’s 2024 Reading Experience

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I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

B.L.E.S.S.: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World – by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson

As Christians, we know that Jesus commanded us to share the
gospel with the world around us. Yet for many of us this is a confusing and
terrifying thought. It seems so foreign to us. Dave and Jon make it seem simple
and lay out a clear plan on how to naturally share God’s love with the people
we encounter every day. If you were looking for a plan on how to tell others
about Jesus, B.L.E.S.S. is that plan. Begin with Prayer, Listen, Eat together,
Serve, and Share your Story. I encourage you to grab a book, read it, and apply
– by yourself or with a group.



 



Book Reviews: Andy’s 2024 Reading Experience.

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I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

WE SPEAK: Proclaiming Truth in an Age of Talk – by Mike Baker, J.K. Jones, and Jim Probst

We Speak is laid out as a teaching chapter followed by five daily readings to keep the content in your mind over the week. The Discussion Guide at the back makes a book one could use for a small group or class setting. The authors remind us that “our message all these years later is still the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.” (p. 19) As followers of Jesus, we can say many things and talk about all of who God is and what Jesus has done, but the basic message comes down to what Jesus did in bringing us salvation. This is the message we have for others. We need to recognize the urgency of speaking the message, and the responsibility that is place by God on us to share that message. We may not feel qualified to speak, but we can all talk about the hope that we have. Let’s continue to speak.

Book Reviews: Andy’s 2024 Reading Experience

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I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

GO: Returning Discipleship to the Front Lines of Faith – by Preston Sprinkle

As Preston Sprinkle’s books usually do, this one also pushes the boundaries of what believers are comfortable with and used to.  He does a great job of biblically suggesting there is more to discipleship than just teaching and more to church than just Sunday morning worship. He points out that discipleship is about living out a relationship with Christ, and living it out in real and practical ways as we connect with others in our world. Chapter 9 is worth the cost of the whole book as he challenges believers to consider how much of our efforts and money is wrapped up in putting on nice Sunday services instead of helping people with their real needs. A challenging and encouraging read!

Book Reviews: Andy’s 2023 Reading Experience

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I will be sharing a brief review of every book I read this year. Hope you enjoy and hope it encourages you to keep reading.

PRAY & GO: Your Invitation to Become a Great Commission Christian – by Thom S. Rainer.

Thom Rainer has written a great book that is used for Church Answer’s Hope Initiative, a 30-day journey that can be done as a group or individually. When you sign up for the Hope Initiative you also get other supporting resources and video encouragement in you 30-day journey. The intent of the book is to help you become more active in sharing your faith as you pursue the fulfillment of the Great Commission of introducing others to Jesus. A great book to help you grow as a disciple of Jesus.