Church Ministries Archives - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

When Your Church Still Can’t Meet in Person — or Online

With limited internet access, one Peruvian church has had to think differently about how to do church during an ongoing pandemic.

Jun 10 2021

Throughout the pandemic, churches have celebrated the power of online services. People who would never have set foot in a church could casually hop online for a bit of hope. But for people in the community of Ciudad de Dios, going online for church is an impossible luxury. Located on the outskirts of Arequipa, Peru, the neighborhood is made of people working simple jobs with meager wages. Any internet access comes in the form of cell phone data. And with schools online during COVID-19, families have had to use most of their data for their children’s educations. Now, well into…

When Steve and Lois Dresselhaus invite you to kayak, be ready for deep conversations about God and worship at sea.

May 13 2021

TEAM missionary Steve Dresselhaus was in his usual place of worship on Sunday morning. Not in a sanctuary, but in nature. Not with a congregation, but with fellow ocean enthusiasts. Not in a pew, but in the seat of a kayak on the Sea of Cortez. One of his friends paddled up. “Steve, I like this church,” the man told him. A Ministry Born out of Burnout On any given week, Steve and Lois Dresselhaus see church happening around their dinner table, in a kayak, in someone’s yard, on a hike or in their living room. It takes place during…

Missionaries around the world serve to help the church bloom and grow. Here's how you can pray for church plants this month. Photo by TEAM

Mar 01 2021

Ask a church planter how you can pray for them, and they’ll tell you they need perseverance. Church planters have to learn a whole new culture, while building relationships, organizing services and staying in close connection with God. On top of all that, being a church planter means being available to your new congregation at all hours. “There are times when the people in your young church need you to drop everything and help them,” says Vicki Reyes, a TEAM church planter in Mexico. Vicki shared a few examples: “A woman and her two children show up at the door….

When Imelda’s mom forbade her from going to church, Imelda rebelled. She got baptized — and prayed for her mother’s salvation.

Nov 18 2020

“Are you crazy? What’s wrong with you?” Ten-year-old Imelda had just come home from an evening church service. She’d been growing to love and follow Jesus, and now she was ready to be baptized. But her mom, Vicenta, would have none of it. Their family was supposed to be Catholic, and Imelda’s involvement with a Protestant group raised all kinds of red flags for Vicenta. “She was a minor,” Vicenta says, suspicious that someone was manipulating her daughter. So when Imelda told her mom she wanted to be baptized, that was the deal breaker. Vicenta not only forbade the baptism,…

Seeker Bible studies let people explore Scripture without the pressure of showing up for a church service. Will you pray for missionaries leading these studies?

Nov 01 2020

Leticia* thought she was only going out to pick up her senior discount card. She never expected the errand to change her life forever. But as the she stood in line, Leticia began chatting with the woman next to her. Two hours later, a clear friendship had formed. And two weeks after that, Leticia invited her new friend over for a visit. Leticia’s new friend was TEAM missionary Sandy Rios, who serves in Mexico with her husband. The couple eagerly accepted Leticia’s invitation. And soon, they began a small Bible study with Leticia and her two brothers. Leticia didn’t know…

Why I Need Other Cultures on My Church Planting Team

Every church planter has cultural blind spots. One of the best ways to find them is working with fellow believers from a variety of cultures.

Oct 19 2020

I’m not sure if you know this, but you have a culture — and not all of it reflects God’s Kingdom values. Shocking, I know. This may not be an entirely new idea to you, but let me push it a bit further. Not all of the cultural convictions that you think reflect God’s Kingdom values actually reflect God’s Kingdom values. In other words, you and I have values we think are rooted in Gospel principles — but are actually, mostly, born from our cultures. There is some irony here for missionaries because many are great at spotting this in their…

In the Summer of 2019, violent protests in Papua left burning buildings in their wake — but these protests also led to a surprising friendship.

Mar 11 2020

People barricaded the streets. They threw stones at local businesses. They set buildings on fire. The people of Papua, Indonesia, were not happy, and they wanted the government to know. As TEAM missionaries serving in Papua, Devon and Katie Hayes thought it best to keep a low profile during the protests. They tried to avoid big groups of people in the streets and parks. And eventually, the Indonesian government sent military troops to clean up the situation. Devon and Katie warned their sons Seth (age 6) and Nick (age 3) about what was going on. But kids aren’t necessarily concerned…

People raise their hands in worship at a church ministry happening in Australia

TEAM has church ministries going on all over the world, and we are taking this month to focus on praying for them. Keep reading for specific ways to pray.

Oct 01 2019

Steve didn’t look like your regular pastor. After all, he spent a lot of his time Kayaking out on the water. Didn’t pastors have more “churchy” things to do? That’s what Susana was wondering when Steve invited her and her group of friends to go Kayaking with him. But when Steve confirmed that he was a pastor, Susana immediately opened up. She told Steve all about her difficult life. She had been divorced twice, and she was currently raising three teenagers on her own. Steve and Susana quickly became friends, and Steve invited her to his house church. Susana and…

Julio and Libia sit together and study the Bible.

You would never guess that Julio and LIbia were once bitter enemies. Keep reading to see the amazing way God worked in their lives!

Aug 21 2019

On Sunday mornings, Libia and Julio don’t look like anything special. Just two close friends worshiping God, maybe imagining their future together. You would never guess that this time last year, they wouldn’t speak to each other — much less be in the same room together. Or that they were bitter enemies for five long years. The fact that they happily sit together at church now? TEAM missionary Dawn Moore says it’s nothing short of a miracle. Peruvian Couple Seeks Better Life in States Libia and Julio’s relationship was complicated from the beginning. They both grew up in Peru as…

There are hundreds of books on church planting, so how do you choose between them? One missionary gives his top five picks!

Mar 14 2019

Most of us follow the same pattern when we want to learn about something before we do it: Hop on over to Amazon and we see what books are available. However, if you type “church planting” into the Amazon search bar, it spits back 845 different resources. If you don’t know much about church planting, it can be nearly impossible to decide where to begin. So, let me help! I’ve spent 5 years church planting Guatemala, and in my experience, these are the top five books every church planter should have on their shelf. 1. Apostolic Church Planting: Birthing New…

Tag - Church Ministries

When Your Church Still Can’t Meet in Person — or Online

Building House Churches Through Outdoor Adventures

3 Ways to Pray for Church Plants

A Daughter’s Rebellious Prayer

How to Pray for Seeker Bible Studies [November Prayer Focus]

Why I Need Other Cultures on My Church Planting Team

The Riots That Led to Friendship

Church Ministry — it Might Not Be What You Expect [October Prayer Focus]

Bitter Enemies Reunited in Christ

The 5 Best Books on Church Planting