This week marked their sixth year of camp. Since that first camp, the group has welcomed new churches, expanded its leadership team, and outgrown their initial camp setting. This year more than 300 students and 100 volunteers from 16 churches in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland gathered at Heartland Retreat Center in Central Ohio.

This year’s theme was “Into the Fire” and was based in the book of Daniel. The main evening session speaker was Pastor Dave Nicodemus (Grace Polaris), and the morning sessions were taught by Pastor Blake Cruise (Movement), Ben Campbell (Grace Polaris), Pastor Bryce Cruise (Marysville Grace), and Pastor Nick Mazza (Bellefontaine Grace).

New this year at camp was the program team — a group of high school students from Grace Polaris who served in all capacities from running games to greeting at check in to cleaning up after meals. The team met with programming co-directors Ben and Hannah Campbell throughout the school year for spiritual development and practical training in preparation to serve the week of camp.

The camp emphasizes biblical fun and biblical truth. Activities are designed to foster relationships with other campers and counselors through team building games, meals, group discussions, and free time options. Campers also earn points for their teams by memorizing Bible verses and answering “Spark Questions” such as “Who is the Trinity?” and “How do you define repentance?”

Another ongoing emphasis of the week are their FIRE values: faith, inclusion, respect, encouragement. These values are talked about often, modeled by the staff, and expected of the campers. They set the tone and create the culture that enables everyone to feel like they belong at camp.

More information about Ignite Middle School Camp can be found on their website IgniteMiddleSchoolCamp.com.

Photos provided by Ignite.

The post Into the Fire first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Have you ever had a verse that you have read a dozen times, but one day it just hits different? It’s like walking on the same path every day, and one day you notice a beautiful plant and wonder, is that new or has it always been there and I’m just now noticing it? This verse in Colossians was one of those for me.

The Pauline Epistles (specifically Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians) tend to be books I return to often, sometimes just because they are familiar and easy when I don’t know what else to read. But that familiarity can cause a blindness to the depth and beauty of what is actually being said. Several years ago I read Colossians 1 — likely as part of a topical Bible study at church, I can’t remember exactly what drew me to this passage at this particular time — and the section of verses about the preeminence of Christ struck me in a new way.

Verses 15–20 emphasize Jesus as the superior, supreme authority. In that particular season of life, I needed a reminder of this. Everything around me felt like chaos that I could not control — where I was living, what my job was, what my family looked like. Rapid-fire changes in a relatively short period of time that left me feeling anxious and untethered.

One day the Lord slowed me down and opened my eyes to the beauty of verse 17. “In Him all things hold together.” I had this picture of Jesus wrapping His arms around me and all the things I could not control and saying, “I am holding this together; you don’t have to.”

That picture of Jesus became a lifeline to me. That phrase became like a mantra. Every time anxiety rose, every time things felt uncertain, every time I felt helpless…I repeated over and over, “In Him all things hold together.” As I sat at my kitchen table praying. As I walked around the neighborhood. As I drove to work. As I laid awake at night. “In Him all things hold together.”

Knowing this and clinging to this does not negate the real human emotions invoked by life circumstances. It does not take away the sting of disappointment when a loved one betrays you. It does not eliminate the stress of work when your boss makes a decision you don’t like or a coworker is frustrating. It does not remove the tension of a strained relationship with a parent, child, or sibling. God created us in unity and harmony, and we feel deeply the effect of anything that disrupts that. And yet, despite how we feel, we can trust that Christ is holding all things together.

The first few verses of Hebrews 1 echo this sentiment. Because He is superior, because He is the heir of all things, because He is the Son of God through Whom everything was created, because He atoned for our sins…we can cling to the truth of verse 4 that says, “He upholds the universe by the Word of His power.”

Maybe you’ve walked this path before, too. You’ve read the words, heard the sermons, sang the lyrics. But perhaps today, on that same familiar path, you’re finally seeing the beautiful truth that was always there: “In Him all things hold together.” It was true the first time you passed it and it’s true now. It will be true when the struggles, strife, and stress of life press in. You can rest in the peace of knowing Jesus is holding it all together and you don’t have to.

Written by Randi Walle

The post In Him All Things Hold Together first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

According to Momentum, many churches could have been recognized this year. What set Marysville Grace apart was not just what they are doing, but what has been formed over time.

“There are a lot of churches each year that could receive this award,” said Eric Miller of Momentum Ministry Partners. “But Marysville Grace stood out because of the culture they’ve built. They are consistently raising up leaders from within, passing the baton to the next generation, and becoming a church that is multiplying, not just growing.”

That culture of leadership is not accidental. Roughly 70 percent of the church’s staff has been raised up from within, with many now serving as second-generation ministry leaders. It reflects years of intentional discipleship, where leadership is not simply recruited, but developed.

For Lead Pastor Jeremy Bury, receiving this recognition is not something the church takes lightly.

“It’s humbling to think about because so many people have planted and watered over the years,” Jeremy said. “We know in the midst of that it is only God who makes things grow. We are in a season where we are seeing the harvest of all that planting and watering. It is a special privilege that I am thankful to be part of.”

That perspective shapes how the church understands both its present moment and its ongoing work. The recognition is not seen as a finish line, but as a reminder of God’s faithfulness over time.

When asked to point to a moment that captures the heart of the church, Jeremy did not point to a platform or a program, but to a group of people serving behind the scenes.

“We had 11 adults, not attached to our students, take a week off to serve at the Momentum Youth Conference last summer,” he said. “They treated it like a missions trip and served tirelessly doing a lot of the jobs no one really wants to do, because they believe in serving the kingdom in this way. This year we have 16 going back to do the same thing.”

What stood out most was not just the sacrifice, but the initiative. It was not something organized or driven from leadership. It was simply a reflection of a church where people are eager to serve.

That kind of culture is not built in a moment. It is formed over time through steady faithfulness, clear teaching, and a shared commitment to follow Jesus in both visible and unseen ways. For Marysville Grace, this award serves as encouragement to continue in that direction.

“The word encourage means to fill with courage,” Jeremy said. “Lives of serving and sacrifice will always require perseverance and courage. This is a reminder to keep going.”

He pointed to Galatians 6:9 as a guiding truth for the church: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

That same clarity shapes the church’s partnership with Momentum. “Momentum shares a love for the Gospel and a burden for raising up leaders,” Jeremy said. “We love that. Having partners allows us to share resources, sharpen each other, and grow the kingdom.”

Marysville Grace’s recognition as Church of the Year is not about a single moment or achievement. It reflects a pattern of steady obedience, a culture shaped over time, and a church committed to serving with humility and purpose. It is an honor that points beyond the church itself to the God who has been at work through it all.

Written by Josh Rollins

The post Marysville Grace Church Receives Momentum’s Church of the Year Award for 2025 first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

You know the one. It measures attendance against attendance, reach against reach, growth against growth. It shows up on Sunday afternoons when your soul is already tender, and it whispers that the work isn’t quite enough. That you’re a little behind. That someone else figured out something you haven’t. That if you just tweaked your preaching style, redesigned your website, or found the right discipleship curriculum, things would finally click.

That measuring stick isn’t from God. And tucked into one of the most joy-saturated letters ever written, Paul — chained to a Roman guard, of all things — hands us a different one entirely. Look at what it says.

“I have learned to be content in whatever state I am. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content — whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:11–13, CSB

What the World Offers Instead

The world has its own version of contentment, and it sounds almost right. It’s the exhale at the finish line — the peace that comes after the striving pays off, when the numbers are where you want them and the recognition finally arrives. It is, at its core, conditional. I will be content when.

When the church grows. When the budget stabilizes. When the elders get on the same page. When the community finally notices what God is doing here. Ministry has a thousand versions of when, and every one of them is a trap because the finish line moves, the metrics shift, and the peace we were promised never quite arrives on the terms we negotiated.

Ministry has a way of dressing our discontentment in respectable clothes. We call it vision. We call it burden. And sometimes it is. But sometimes it’s worth sitting quietly with the Lord and asking which one it actually is.

What Paul Actually Found

Paul’s contentment is not the world’s version with a Bible verse attached. The Greek word he uses was a favorite of the Stoic philosophers. It described a kind of iron self-sufficiency: a mind so fortified that outside circumstances simply couldn’t touch you. You need nothing. You are unmoved. You have achieved, through sheer force of inner discipline, a kind of emotional Teflon.

Paul borrows the word. Then he fills it with something the Stoics never imagined.

His contentment is not a fortress built on self-mastery. It is a rest built on Someone else entirely. The source is not Paul’s resilience or his theological training or his apostolic grit. It is Christ Himself: present, active, supplying what every moment requires. The peace Paul describes is not the peace of arrival. It is the peace of accompaniment. Christ with him in the hunger. Christ with him in the plenty. Christ with him in the chains.

And notice the word that should give every weary pastor genuine hope: learned. Not stumbled into on a particularly good day. Learned — slowly, painfully, gratefully — through years of abundance and want, through churches that flourished and situations that didn’t, through the full range of what ministry actually costs a person.

Which means this is not a temperament. It is not reserved for the naturally optimistic or the theologically untroubled. It is a grace that God teaches, and he is a patient teacher. You are not behind in this either. You are being formed.

How We Lose the Thread

The trouble is that discontentment in ministry rarely announces itself. It slips in through the ordinary rhythms of pastoral life — through things that are not even bad in themselves.

It comes through the social media feed on a Monday morning. Someone’s church had a record Sunday. Someone just announced a new campus. The highlight reel plays on a loop, and none of those highlights seem to include a difficult elder meeting or a budget shortfall or a family that left without explanation.

It comes through conferences, those genuinely good and useful gatherings, where somewhere between the second workshop and lunch you stop writing down what God might be saying and start thinking of all the ways you’re not measuring up to everyone else.

And it moves in every direction. The church planter in year two, white-knuckling it through slower growth than he projected, feels it when he looks up at what others are building. The pastor of the growing church feels it differently in the pressure to sustain momentum, to justify the resources, to make sure the growth is actually meaning something. And the pastor whose congregation has held steady for a decade, who remembers when the room was fuller, who loves his people with his whole heart and wonders in honest moments what shifted. Not failure. Just the ache of a gap between what is and what he once believed it would be.

Comparison is patient. It finds every pastor eventually. It just needs a gap and it will do the rest on its own.

The answer is not willpower. It is not a better morning routine or a social media fast, though those are good things. The answer is the one Paul keeps returning to — the Christ who is not simply a resource to be accessed but a person who is genuinely, actively, tenderly present with you in whatever this season holds.

The God Who Wastes Nothing

Here is what Paul’s contentment frees us to see: God is not building one kind of church.

He is building His church and it is vast and varied and far more creative than any conference template could contain. The large church that can mobilize hundreds of volunteers, fund missionaries across six continents, and produce resources that disciple believers around the world is doing something that takes your breath away when you see it for what it is. That is the kingdom. And so is the congregation that has held the same neighborhood for fifty years. They’ve buried its people and married its people and sat with its people in hospital rooms at two in the morning, doing the slow and sacred work that no platform will ever capture. And so is the church that may never appear on anyone’s list of notable congregations but is making disciples one ordinary Sunday at a time, and will be doing it long after the trends have changed again.

God sees all of it. He uses all of it. He wastes none of it. Not one faithful sermon preached to a half-empty room. Not one hospital visit made when you were running on empty. Not one prayer whispered over a congregation that doesn’t know it’s being prayed for. Not one quiet act of faithfulness that the metrics will never touch.

The field He gave you is not a consolation prize. It is a calling. And he chose you for it on purpose.

Tend What You Have Been Given

So when the measuring stick shows up uninvited — and it will — return to what Paul actually says. I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. Let that land not as a rebuke but as an invitation. An invitation into the slow, grace-filled education of a man who discovered, in chains, that Christ was enough. That his strength was sufficient. That the work placed in his hands was worth doing with everything he had.

You are not behind. You are not the pastor God is disappointed in while He waits for someone more gifted to show up. You are not forgotten, not overlooked, not pastoring in obscurity as far as heaven is concerned. You are the one He called. You are the one He is with. And the work He has placed in your hands, however quiet, however different from what you once imagined, however un-conferenced and un-celebrated, is exactly the work He is blessing.

The joy of contentment is not the joy of finally having enough. It is the deeper, sturdier, more surprising joy of discovering that because of Christ, you already do.

Tend your field. He will take care of the harvest.

Written by Josh Rollins

The post The Joy of a Tended Field: A Devotional for Pastors and Ministry Leaders first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

As this season of Charis Women’s DELIGHTED Conferences concludes, there is much to celebrate and be thankful for. More than 750 women were gathered across these six events where intentional space was created for connection, encouragement, and practical, faith-filled teaching for everyday life. 

Friday night Executive Director Jenn Avey taught from Isaiah 62. Women were encouraged to determine their faith and future by the promises of God in Christ and NOT by their current circumstances. We challenged the external voices and internal doubts that lead us away from walking in the delight of the Lord. God calls us His delight and each woman was reminded that she is the object of God’s desire. The Father doesn’t just love us in Christ, He likes us and our greatest delight is found in Him!

Saturday morning select speakers took to the stage to share their testimonies, many for the first time, developing confidence and strengthening their speaking. Many attendees found this the most moving and impactful part of the weekend. Women from every phase, stage, and age shared how God was their delight in even the most discouraging of circumstances. 

Dozens of women volunteered their time to lead workshops — from doctors to artists — bringing both professional insight and personal experience. We found delight through practical options on abiding, spiritual gifts, grief, parenting, sharing the Gospel, creative expression, prayer, Bible study, and more.

Saturday afternoon closed with dynamic worship and an examination of the life of King Hezekiah. Jenn taught from 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 37, equipping us on how to handle threats to our delight. Even in the hard and seemingly impossible, we serve the God of MORE! We can’t wait to see what God will do in the lives of all who participated.

Charis Women is exceedingly grateful for every woman who attended, served, and led. We are blown away by the hospitality of our DELIGHTED host churches and are looking ahead with expectation as the work continues. Our new conference theme and tour locations will launch this summer. For more information, join our email list at https://www.chariswomen.com/newsletter.

Article and photos provided by Charis Women.

The post God Delights in You first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Exceedingly and abundantly more than I asked or imagined.

When receiving the baton as the Director of THRIVE Pastors’ Wives Network a few years ago, one of my biggest dreams was to provide a retreat specifically designed for the pastors’ wives in our fellowship. THRIVE exists to help provide refreshment, resources, and relational connection for these precious women, and I imagined how much better those things could be accomplished if given set-aside time and space together.

Over the weekend of March 20–22, our dream became a reality. Twenty-four women, Boomer to Gen Z from three different states and varying church contexts, gathered in Hocking Hills, Ohio, for our very first THRIVE retreat. The goal was fourfold: to feed them from the Word, to give them freedom in how to rest, to foster flourishing relationships, and to send them home with a better focus on Who their Good Shepherd is and who He says they are in Him.

Together we journeyed through Psalm 23, ate delicious food at tables prepared for us, talked, sang, read, rested, hiked, played, prayed, laughed, and cried. We didn’t talk about ministry methods or instruct on the “how-tos of pastor’s wifing.” The women simply got to rest and to be themselves — to be known and understood by others and to delight in being known and loved by God. Some women came already being connected to a few, but many came without knowing anyone. The most beautiful part of the weekend for me was watching them leave not just as sisters, but as friends.

My ongoing prayer is for these relationships to continue to grow as a source of encouragement — both relationships with one another and each woman’s relationship with the Good Shepherd who cares for her.

Written by Megan Johnson

TESTIMONIALS

“Participating in the Thrive Retreat was one of the most restful and renewing weekends I’ve had. One of the things I valued the most was the opportunity to share and ask questions with fellow pastor’s wives from all ages and stages. To be encouraged, admonished, and prayed for was such a sweet blessing to my tired heart.” (Hannah Pfarr)

I left feeling more connected to the churches and wives in our fellowship and more focused on investing in my husband and my family. I believe that connecting with other ministry couples provides a really special support network for us.” (Annabeth Millice)

“I went into the retreat empty and feeling lonely. I came out full of truth, joy, rest, fire for the Lord and with companions who literally got what I was feeling.” (Lily Hoeppner)

“It was a beautiful weekend of rest and encouragement with pastor’s wives from all different seasons of life. Megan did an amazing job helping us feel seen and valued by personalizing so many details from thoughtful gifts in our room to our favorite snacks and restful activities.” (Sarah Taylor)

“I loved being with all generations of people that are walking a similar path and being able to glean wisdom. Laughing, crying, and laughing some more. I loved digging deep in the Word and having time and space to let it wash over me. The weekend was soul giving and so fun!” (Carrie Clothier)

“We are all unique and in different types of ministries and churches, but yet we have so much common ground and it’s nice to have a chance to connect in a meaningful way with like-minded ladies.  We laughed and cried together, and my heart came away so full.” (Anne Brown)

“The study of Psalm 23 and some of the comments and conversations have stayed with me and helped me feel more confident and focused in this changing season of my life. I left feeling filled up in so many ways!” (Jess Julian)

“As a pastor’s wife, we can wear many hats and this weekend we were able to take off all our hats and just rest with other like-minded women.” (Amanda Beasley)

“This time I was one in the oldest generation – Baby Boomers – and felt so accepted and honored and cared for. The beautiful spaces for meaningful conversations, the chances to pour out some needed encouragement, the moments to share in tears, the many occasions to laugh like crazy, and the treasured time in God’s Word and prayer, all contributed to a wonderful experience with precious sisters.” (Chery Boehm)

The post THRIVE Pastors’ Wives Retreat in Ohio Highlights first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

You spend hours in prayer and preparation. You labor over every word, every illustration, every point of application. Sunday comes and you deliver the message God laid on your heart. And by the time you hit the parking lot, someone’s asking if you’ve seen their kid’s missing shoe or whether the thermostat can be adjusted next week. By Monday morning, you’re wondering if anyone heard the most important thing you said. By Tuesday, you’re questioning if you remember it.

Whether you’re preaching to thousands across multiple campuses, shepherding a faithful flock in a town with more cows than people, or setting up folding chairs in a rented school gym — there’s a moment when every pastor asks, “Is this really working? Is anyone being changed?” And if you’re sitting in the pews, maybe you’ve felt it too — that subtle drift toward thinking the sermon is just another part of the service. Something to endure or enjoy, but not something that actually shapes your life.

Here’s the truth we all need to remember: Preaching is discipleship.

Not just occasionally. Not just when the sermon “hits different.” But every single week, when God’s Word is opened, Christ is proclaimed, and the Spirit is at work — discipleship is happening. Slowly. Steadily. Powerfully. In a world chasing the next big strategy for spiritual growth, we risk forgetting that God has already given us one of His primary tools to shape His people: the faithful proclamation of His Word.

PREACHING IS DISCIPLESHIP

Our modern mindset often separates preaching from discipleship. We assume discipleship happens in coffee shops, small groups, or personalized mentorship — and yes, those are beautiful, necessary expressions of Christian growth. But biblically, discipleship begins in a place we often overlook: the pulpit. When Paul describes his ministry, he doesn’t say, “Him we discuss over lattes.” He says, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28, ESV). Proclaiming Christ is not a side activity — it’s central to forming mature disciples.

Preaching isn’t a weekly performance or a theological lecture. It’s God’s chosen means to reorient hearts, renew minds, and reform lives around the Gospel. It’s where the church, gathered as one body, hears the living voice of God through His Word.

HOW GOD DISCIPLES THROUGH PREACHING

You might not notice it week to week. Most people don’t walk out of church saying, “Wow, I just took a giant leap in sanctification!” But here’s how preaching consistently disciples God’s people:

It Reshapes Our Story. We live in a culture that constantly tells us who we are — through social media, advertising, politics, and entertainment. Every voice says, “You are the hero of your story.” Preaching reminds us that we are not the hero — Jesus is. It places us back inside God’s grand narrative, where sinners are rescued by grace and called to live for a kingdom far greater than their own. Each sermon re-centers us in that story. That’s discipleship.

It Trains Us to Think Biblically. We don’t naturally interpret life through Scripture. We interpret it through feelings, trends, and opinions. But when pastors faithfully open God’s Word — whether through expository series or topical messages grounded in Scripture — they’re teaching more than content. They’re modeling how to read, understand, and apply the Bible. Over time, congregations begin to think theologically, discern truth from error, and filter life through God’s lens. That’s discipleship.

It Lifts Our Eyes to Christ Again and Again. Our hearts are prone to wander — not just into sin, but into spiritual forgetfulness. We forget the Gospel. We forget grace. We forget that Jesus is better. Preaching, at its best, doesn’t just tell us what to do — it shows us who Jesus is. It lifts our eyes from our circumstances to our Savior. It exposes idols and invites us to treasure Christ above all. That’s discipleship.

THE SLOW WORK OF GOD

Here’s where we need encouragement: Preaching is the work of seasons, not seconds. We’re conditioned to expect instant feedback and visible results. But preaching isn’t fast food — it’s more like tending a garden. You plant, you water, you wait. And often, God is doing His deepest work beneath the surface. Isaiah 55:11 promises that God’s Word will not return empty. Every sermon faithfully preached, even the ones you thought fell flat, is being used by the Spirit to form Christ in His people (Galatians 4:19).

So, pastor — when you wonder if it’s worth it, when you feel like no one’s listening, remember this: God is always working through His Word, even when you can’t see it. Whether you preach from a stage with lights or from a wooden pulpit in a drafty chapel, heaven is not measuring your effectiveness by applause, attendance, or social media shares. Faithfulness is the metric.

And church member — when Sunday feels routine, when your mind drifts during point two of a three-point sermon, don’t underestimate what God is doing. Week by week, He’s forming you into someone who knows Him, loves Him, and reflects Him more.

WHY THIS SHOULD GIVE US HOPE

The beauty of discipleship through preaching is that it doesn’t depend on human brilliance. It depends on God’s design. He has chosen “the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21, NIV). It’s not flashy, but it’s powerful.

So, let’s recover our confidence in this forgotten power. Not confidence in the preacher, but in the God who speaks through preaching. Let’s remember that every time Christ is proclaimed, the Spirit is at work — calling sinners, strengthening saints, and sending His people into the world. And when we don’t see immediate fruit, let’s trust the Gardener. Because one day, when Christ returns, we’ll realize that those ordinary Sundays — the ones where you wondered if anything happened — were the very Sundays God was shaping His people for eternity. Until then, keep preaching. Keep listening. Keep trusting.

God is making disciples — one sermon at a time.

Written by Josh Rollins for the Year in Review 2024–2025. Josh serves as associate pastor at Pataskala Grace Church in Pataskala, Ohio, where he prioritizes Christ-centered preaching, discipleship, and church multiplication. He and his wife, Jen, have been married for nine years and are leading the church planting effort for Newark Grace Church in Newark, Ohio.

The post The Forgotten Power of Preaching first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Calvert Grace Church, located in Owings, Md., strives to have a robust missions culture. While they regularly pray for their missionaries and hear testimonies of their work during Sunday services, their outreach conference puts missionaries and congregants together in a different context. Outreach Pastor Trevin Hoekzema explained that exposing people to both local and global missionaries helps create connection and relationships between the church and missionaries. “Those who speak at this conference become household names to our people,” he said. 

Trevin works with the Outreach Team, a group of a dozen volunteer leaders with unique backgrounds, callings, and responsibilities, to plan and carry out the conference. Each year has a different theme and focal point, all based on Acts 1:8, which says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Trevin said this is their guide in how they structure their conference, focusing on missions near them (Jerusalem), missions in their region (Samaria), and missions overseas (to the ends of the earth).  

The overall structure of the conference is not just to hear updates from missionaries, although there is an element of that, but rather to have the missionaries lead trainings that equip others for missional work. Trevin works with the missionaries to plan main sessions and breakout discussions centered on their particular area of work in a way that also provides practical training for those attending.  

The first year of the conference, Encompass workers Tom and MaryAnn Barlow spoke along with Jason and Christy Carmean. The second year Dave Guiles, international coordinator for Charis Alliance, spoke on the concept of a plentiful harvest but few laborers, and he was joined by regional missionaries. The third year Nathan Bryant and Phil Bryant, with Assist Church Expansion, spoke on Ephesians 4 and equipping the saints for the work of ministry, with an emphasis on spiritual gifts and being a healthy church.  

This year focused on discipleship and what it looks like in their church. Discipleship Pastor Phil Shearer spoke on local discipleship and Florent Varak, director of the Church Equipping Network at Encompass World Partners, spoke on discipleship in a global context. They spoke on Acts 19 and how the early church multiplied leaders by sharing the Gospel cross culturally. They also had a local missionary serving with Fellowship of Christian Athletes share as well as a panel of elders discuss how they have been discipled in the past, how they are discipling others now, and where else they see discipleship happening in their church. Trevin said, “Our elders are actively involved in our church, and it’s helpful for people to know them and to see how discipleship happens in all shapes and sizes.” 

The conference concludes by providing people a practical way to respond to something they learned. This year attendees received a 13-week discipleship tool from Navigators and people committed to finding one person to walk through the study with, and the church committed to following up for accountability. “It’s such a joy to watch our global partners share from their ministries and teach from their expertise in ways that inspire our people to do the same here,” Trevin said. “Every year our Outreach Team and our staff have incredible follow up conversations for weeks afterwards.” 

The outreach conference was born out of a desire to both train the church and to give missionaries a voice. By pairing practical training with personal stories, a shared mission is created and a deeper commitment is developed. Trevin is passionate about churches fostering these environments and would love to connect with churches to help them think through ways they can expand their outreach both locally and globally. He can be emailed here.  

The post From Here to the Nations: Outreach Conference at Calvert Grace first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

That is what Pontius Pilate said when he brought Jesus before the crowd. The Roman governor gestures toward a battered man standing beside him—face swollen, back torn open by whips, a crown of thorns driven into His head—and he says with a hint of scorn, “Behold your King.”

Pilate means it as mockery. But the words are truer than he knows.

Because standing there, silent before the crowd, is the King of heaven and earth. The One through whom all things were made now stands condemned by the very people He made. The hands that shaped the dust of humanity are bound. The voice that calmed storms does not answer His accusers. Soldiers strike Him. Crowds laugh. Religious leaders sharpen their hatred and call it righteousness. And still the words echo.

Behold your King.

Good Friday asks us to stop and look at that moment. Really look. Because what we see there is more than injustice. More than cruelty. The cross exposes something far deeper. It exposes the weight of sin. Sin is not a minor flaw in otherwise decent people. It is the deep rebellion of the human heart that insists on ruling its own life. It is the quiet refusal to trust the God who made us. It is pride that runs so deep we will reject the very King sent to rescue us.

And that rebellion is exactly what we see at the cross. Humanity looking at its rightful King and choosing to kill Him. But something else is happening there too. Something strange. Something unexpected. Because the King we are told to behold does not look like a king. He looks like a sacrifice.

Which makes the words spoken years earlier by John the Baptist sound even more startling. Standing beside the Jordan River, John saw Jesus walking toward him and cried out: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” It must have sounded odd. Israel knew lambs. Every Passover they watched one die so that judgment would pass over their homes. Blood on doorposts meant mercy instead of destruction. Lamb after lamb was offered on altars as a reminder that sin demanded atonement.

But lambs were not kings. Kings conquer. Lambs are slain. Kings sit on thrones. Lambs are placed on altars. And yet when we come to Good Friday, those two images collide in a way no one could have imagined.

Pilate says, “Behold your King.”

John had said, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

And at the cross we realize they are speaking about the same person. The King of heaven did not come first to conquer with a sword. He came to conquer sin by becoming the sacrifice. The Lamb of God stands where sinners should stand. The judgment that belongs to us falls on Him. This is why the cross is so heavy. Because what happens there is not just suffering—it is substitution.

Every lie. Every moment of pride. Every act of cruelty, jealousy, or unbelief. All of it laid upon Him. The King carries the weight of the world’s sin.

And when Jesus finally cries, “It is finished,” it is not the sigh of a defeated man. It is the declaration of a Savior who has completed the work. The debt has been paid. The sacrifice has been offered. Grace now flows because justice has been satisfied.

And suddenly John’s strange words beside the Jordan River begin to burn with meaning.

Behold the Lamb of God. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is the King standing before Pilate. The King who bleeds. The King who suffers. The King who refuses to save Himself so that sinners can be saved. This is the strange glory of Good Friday. The King becomes the Lamb. The ruler of the world becomes the sacrifice for the world.

So we stand at the cross and look again.

Behold the King. And behold the Lamb of God. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

Written by Josh Rollins, as part four of a four-part Easter series titled, “Behold Your King.” Josh serves as Associate Pastor at Pataskala Grace Church and Lead Pastor of Newark Grace Church, both in Central Ohio. 

The post King on a Cross first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

God’s Word is the tool in which our confidence in Him is built — because it consistently shows Him keeping His promises. How amazing it is to behold the matchless, trustworthy, Word of God! It’s full of wonders to behold, truths to rest in, hopes to set our hearts on, and a Person to fix our affections on.

But our human hearts who have experienced disappointments in earthly relationships sometimes have a hard time remembering this. We see this in Matthew 28:1–10, at the pinnacle of all promises. The one promise that was repeatedly proclaimed, prophesied, and predicted still seems unbelievable. Here we find two fearful and confused mourners looking for the body of Jesus, having already forgotten His promise amidst their grief.

Jesus’ promise before His death is the promise kept that builds trust for all time. He kept His word…“just as He said.” Of course He did! It’s in this kept word that we can behold all the words found in the Word.

We behold the beauty of the Word, not because it’s a beautiful picture on a wall that we appreciate but because it’s the window through which we behold Christ. We drink deeply of the goodness of the Word, not because it’s the best water but because it’s the only water that satisfies. We rest in truth of the Word not because it’s rest of a good night’s sleep quickly worn off by a hectic morning, but because it’s the rest that sustains us through the hectic morning and deep into the evening.

John begins his Gospel fixing our attention on the Word made flesh who would one day take away the sin of the world. The Gospel of Luke recounts a glorious reminder to those who mourn amid a painful, confusing time, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Then they remembered His words.” (Luke 24:5–8) Behold, a promise kept.

The resurrection of Jesus is not only marvelous and wonderful in every way — it also builds our confidence in the very Word of God, leading us, inviting us, and wooing us to behold its beauty. The angel at the empty tomb comforts our broken hearts with this reminder of reminders, that the Word has been kept…“just as He said.”

Written by Dave Nicodemus. Dave serves at the Grace Students Pastor at Grace Polaris Church in Westerville, Ohio.

The post Just as He Said first appeared on Charis Fellowship.