Pastor’s Picks – Recommend Resources

These are recommend resources that we have been personally encouraged and challenged by and hope they do the same for you. It’s been said before that great leaders are readers, and we are committed to regularly reading through our Bible and never stop learning. May the Lord bless you as you grow! -Pastor Tim Molter

September 1, 2020

Resource: How to Share Your Testimony Biblically

This assignment will help you to do three things:

  1. Help you write down your testimony which you can then share with others.
  2. Help you get ready to share your God story with someone in a conversation.
  3. Allow the church to rejoice in what God has done and share it if willing.
    If you feel led to share it with us send an email to ccfergusfalls@gmail.com

The most powerful witness you can give to someone is your testimony.

What is a Testimony?
The Hebrew word for testimony is `eduwth, which means to witness, and the Greek word is martyreō, which means to bear witness, testify, bear record, have a good report. So testify what God has done. There are three parts of a Biblical Testimony, before Jesus, coming to Jesus, and abiding in Jesus. Here are the three sections you’ll want to write down as you reflect on your life without Jesus, how you came to trust in Jesus, and life now with Jesus.

1. ­ My Life Before Jesus Christ
● All my good works and actions were like filthy rags before God – Isaiah 64:6
● My sin separated me from God – Isaiah 59:2, 1 John 3:4
● Because of my sin I deserve death – Romans 6:23


2. ­ My Life Changed by Jesus Christ
● I came to my senses and realized that I personally sinned against God – Luke 15:17­18
● I believe Jesus died on the Cross for my sins, and He rose again – 1 Corinthians 15:3­4
● I turned from sin and turned to God by placing my trust in Jesus – Ephesians 2:8­9


3. ­ My New Life in Jesus Christ
● God removed all of my guilt and shame and gives me joy – 1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19
● God loves me and has given me a satisfying life and the promise of Heaven – John 3:16
● I have peace with God through a relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ – Romans 5:1

Your testimony should include how you became a Christian so try to be specific in telling what Christ has done in your life, but don’t glorify your past as that was before Christ. If you received Jesus as a young child, you still have an awesome testimony and you can tell how God keeps a person from falling into gross sin. This is your God story so be sure to tell the truth about how Jesus saved you, changed your life, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you.

Every Christian can tell others of God’s grace because we have been saved from the wages of sin which leads to death, and have received the free gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Pray and remember your testimony or God story is really about what God has done in your life.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest.” – Luke 10:2

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August 1, 2020

Book: 100 Days to a Healthier Church (A Step By Step Guide for Pastors and Leadership Teams) by Karl Vaters

This book 100 Days to a Healthier Church, by Karl Vaters is written in a devotional format, and the principles laid out here are not the usual one-time, quick-fix solutions. They are long-term principles—nudges, not jumps (think of the tortoise and not the hare). The book is divided into four main steps over 14 weeks.

Healthy change can be your new church normal. Health carries its own momentum—the momentum of hope. Getting healthy isn’t about numerical growth. It’s about striving to increase our capacity for effective ministry no matter what size we are now—or what size we may become.

The underlying principles of church health – namely, the Great Commandment and the Great Commission – are more essential now than ever. How we make disciples will always be a greater reflection of a church’s health and vitality than how well-produced our online video content is.

There are few things in life as encouraging as having a parent, coach, or teacher put their arm around you and point you in the right direction, and this book will help churches of all different sizes become more intentional about maintaining their spiritual health.

How to get this resource: