by John Avant | Jul 7, 2020 | God's Kingdom First, Presidents Column
If the news of Coronavirus and chaos in our streets has you down, consider this—you could be a Kachin. On July 2, over 160 people in Kachin State in Myanmar were killed when a 200-foot-tall mountain of mud taken from the local jade mine gave way and buried them alive....
by John Avant | Jun 3, 2020 | Church Leadership, God's Kingdom First, Presidents Column, Say Yes to God
In 1996 I began to pastor New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Georgia. The population around our church was significantly black, but our church was not. I embarked on a journey to see that change. It was not an easy task. As our church became more diverse, I...
by John Avant | Jun 1, 2020 | Church Leadership, God's Kingdom First, Presidents Column, Say Yes to God
Revival must change our hearts AND our actions. A global pandemic … racism, hatred, killing … our nation on fire … We don’t really need churches to reopen. We need them to restart—different than they used to be. Not divided and dominated by our theological wrangling...
by John Avant | May 20, 2020 | Church Leadership, God's Kingdom First, Presidents Column
Last week, I began this series of blogs by suggesting three questions for every Christian to consider as we navigate forward in reopening churches: What should never restart in your church? How important is the concept of safety in your church? When does honoring...
by John Avant | May 13, 2020 | Church Leadership, God's Kingdom First
“Let us be concerned about one another … not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do” (Hebrews 10:24-25 HCSB). This seems pretty clear, doesn’t it? There are good reasons to miss corporate worship. But we are not to miss it...
by John Avant | Dec 11, 2019 | God's Kingdom First, Presidents Column
I just enjoyed a very beautiful day in the neighborhood. To be honest, I never was a huge fan of Mr. Rogers. I was an older child when the show began, and I found it kind of boring. And when my own children were watching it, I wondered if Mr. Rogers was too weak to be...
