Community Chat

Does a church that tends to lean older in congregational age have a chance of reaching younger generations? If so, how can they do that effectively? In part 1 of a 2-part conversation, Brandon McCarroll makes his second appearance on Community Chat (see Episode 4) and discussed 10 myths of what it takes to grow young as a church. While some of these qualities actually can make a difference, they aren't the determining factor in and of themselves, certainly not in a vacuum. Next week, we'll pick up the conversation with the six core commitments a church does need to make in order to grow young. Many of the insights in this conversation are drawn from the book Growing Young by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin (see link below).

Brandon McCarroll is the Senior Pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Denton, TX, where he previously served as Student Pastor. He's a graduate of Baylor University and Truett Theological Seminary. Brandon can be reached at [email protected].

Links:

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

Growing Young book: https://a.co/d/eSrqlei

Highland Baptist Church (where Brandon is Senior Pastor) website: highlanddenton.org

Highland Baptist Church Facebook: Highland Baptist Church of Denton

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

When you hear the word "stewardship," what do you think of first? Probably money. And churches LOVE talking about money, right? Well, it's actually one of my LEAST favorite topics. The reality, though, is that stewardship is also about our time, our gifts, talents, and abilities, and even taking care of our physical bodies.

In his second appearance on Community Chat (see Episode 3), our guest David Bonnet, Executive Pastor of The Life Church in San Angelo and Arlington, shares about how stewardship is a huge part of our discipleship. In reality, it's something we want FOR you, rather than something we want FROM you. In addition to a number of ministry positions, David has also worked as Procurement Manager at Standard Aero, as a (civilian) Logistics Manager for the United States Air Force, and as the Director of Energy Solutions, Finance, and Investor Relations at Ideal Impact. Additionally, he runs a website primarily for pastors called, "The Pastor's Penny."

David can be reached at [email protected].

ALSO, it's not too late to attend the free India Gospel Mission banquet on Thursday, March 2nd at The Bowden in Keller with Dr. Abraham Mathew (see Episode 5). To register, you can email [email protected] or [email protected] to RSVP. Reservations must be received by Thursday, February 16th.

Links:

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Class Video (led by David Bonnet; see Episode 3): youtu.be/-r79i_nycYM 

Pastor's Penny website: pastorspenny.com

The Life Church website: tlcfamily.com

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

1.4 billion people. What would it take to reach the soon-to-be most populous country in the world? It’s daunting to even think about.

Our guest Dr. Abraham Mathew, Founder and President of India Gospel Mission and the Southern Asia Leadership Institute, shares about how God is at work reaching the nation of India as pastors from local communities are trained and sent back to their communities to spread the message and love of Jesus Christ. Dr. Mathew is a graduate of Anderson University (BS Business Administration, Accounting, and Business/Management), the University of North Texas (Master of Business Administration and Management), and Trinity Theological Seminary (Doctor of Religious Studies), in addition to his CPA Certification in the state of Texas. Dr. Abraham worked at UT Southwestern for over 36 years, including his time as Assistant Vice President of Finance.

Dr. Mathew can be reached at [email protected].

If you are interested in attending the free India Gospel Mission banquet on Thursday, March 2nd at The Bowden in Keller, you can email [email protected] or [email protected] to RSVP. Reservations must be received by Thursday, February 16th.

Links:

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

India Gospel Mission website: indiagospelmission.org

India Gospel Mission Facebook: INGospelMission

Southern Asia Leadership Institute: sali.org.in

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

"If your church ceased to exist, would your community even know?" It's a haunting question - but one we must wrestle with. I hope the answer is "Yes!" So, what does it look like for a church to effectively minister to its community?

Our guest Brandon McCarroll, Senior Pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Denton, TX, shares what Highland is doing to reach its community. Their insights can be helpful as we investigate how we can impact our communities. Brandon is a graduate of Baylor University (BA Film and Digital Media) and Truett Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity). Prior to serving as Senior Pastor, Brandon was the Student Minister at Highland.

Brandon can be reached at [email protected].

Links:

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

Community North Baptist Church's FOR Campaign website: formckinney.com

Highland Baptist Church (where Brandon is Senior Pastor) website: highlanddenton.org

Highland Baptist Church Facebook: Highland Baptist Church of Denton

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Have you ever wondered why a particular passage of Scripture doesn’t make sense? Or have you ever wondered if you’re missing something as you look at Scripture? Our guest David Bonnet, Executive Pastor at The Life Church San Angelo/Arlington, tackles the topic "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth." The title, and much of David's inspiration, comes from the book of the same title by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart. In addition to David's current role, he has pastored multiple churches in Texas, served as Director of Energy Solutions, Finance, and Investor Relations at Ideal Impact Inc., lived in Sierra Leone for 2 years while coordinating Restore Hope's efforts there as Country Director, and worked as Procurement Manager at Standard Aero and (civilian) Logistics Manager for the United States Air Force. David has a Master of Divinity from Truett Theological Seminary, which is where he and Kevin began their friendship.

David will be leading the "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" class at Community North Baptist Church (2500 Community Avenue, McKinney, TX 75071) on January 25, 2023, at 6:00 pm. There is no cost to attend, and the class will be available by video at youtube.com/@communitynorthbc the following week. 

David can be reached at [email protected].

Also, if you are interested in participating in Cultivating Compassion, the initiative discussed by Todd Porter in Episode 2, visit bit.ly/cultivating-compassion.

Links:

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

The Life Church (where David is Executive Pastor): tlcfamily.com (San Angelo) and lifearlington.church (Arlington)

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

"On earth as it is in heaven...this is what the Kingdom of God is: righteousness, peace, and joy...so we participate in the coming of the Kingdom of God, we become the answer to Jesus' prayer - that it would be on earth as it is in heaven - when we contribute to more justice or righteousness, when we contribute to more peace, when we contribute to more joy." Today's guest Todd Porter, a Research and Development Fellow at Ideal Impact but also the Founder and Catalyst at Kairos Collaborative and Interim COO of the United States Christian Leadership Organization, addresses topics of compassionate communication, valuing others, and more. Additionally, Todd shares about an exciting initiative taking place in 2023 called "Cultivating Compassion," which is FREE and begins on Thursday, January 26th. Find out more about Cultivating Compassion or register at bit.ly/cultivating-compassion.

Todd can be reached at [email protected].

Links: 

Cultivating Compassion initiative website for information and registration: bit.ly/cultivating-compassion

Kairos Collaborative website: kairoscollaborative.org

United States Christian Leadership Organization website: us-clo.com

Northern Texas - Northern Louisiana Synod (ELCA) Public Witness for Peace and Justice website: ntnlpublicwitness.org

Charter for Compassion's Social Justice Sector website: charterforcompassion.org/sectors/social-justice

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

The Church is far too often known for what we're AGAINST rather than what we're FOR. In this episode, Kevin uses Community North's new sermon series "FOR" as a jumping off point for discussing how the Church (and Christ followers individually) can show people they are FOR them - because God is for them.

Community North Baptist Church website: communitynorthbc.org

Music: Lookin' Up by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

A quick hello and welcome to Community Chat, kicking off in 2023!