31 Days of Missional Living: Missional on Halloween (Day 31)

Printable Sticker from Nextdoor.com

 Many of you are planning your neighborhood event for tonight like I challenged you to. I'm so proud of you and I truly hope it goes well. I'll be joining you in your endeavor to reach your neighborhood for Christ through relationships. 

But the reality is even if you haven't spent the past several weeks planning a neighborhood event for tonight you can still be intentional about how you spend your time. Halloween is one of the only times that all your neighbors will be knocking on your door in one night. You should not let this missional opportunity slip by. Below are some great resources for missional living tonight:

• 5 Tips for a Happy Christian Halloween from The Resurgence
• Three Simple Ways to Be Missional on Halloween from Verge
• Login to you Nextdoor.com account to print themed flyers and stickers (like the one above)

I'd love to hear about your events. Be sure to stop by and let me know how they went.

31 Days of Missional Living: Ought-Is-Can-Will (Day 30)

Can you believe October has nearly come to an end? I can't. I'd like to share with you a Biblical formula for looking at the world. I'd love to write something truly unique and profound on Ought-Is-Can-Will but instead I'll let Mike Metzger share it with you himself:


What do you think? I would love you to share your thought on how you can use Ought-Is-Can-Will to share your faith.

31 Days of Missional Living: Share Stories (Day 29)

This week we'll be discussing how to share the Gospel. One of the greatest way to find a bridge for sharing the Gospel is to share stories. Previously we talked about the importance of listening well.Oftentimes people who you've formed relationships will voluntarily share their story with you. Perhaps they've begun to share parts of their story with you already.  Another thing you can do to form a bridge to the Gospel is to ask good questions when people are sharing their stories with you. Many times we have found that people will bring up God, the church, or Jesus all by  themselves. This is especially true when you're talking about the problems of pain and suffering. If some one brings up one of those topics you have an easy bridge to the Gospel. Be sure to gauge their attention to what you're saying and ask if it's ok to share more.

Another great way to build a bridge to the Gospel is to share your story. I'm not just talking about how you came to know Christ but specifically the hard things you've experienced in your life. Stories of abuses, depression, addictions, and the loss of loved ones provide the kind of vulnerability and validity that will cause people to give you a measure of trust and desire to know how you've survived. One of my pastors was sexually abused for ten years. His openness about that pain in his life has been a platform for sharing the Gospel on numerous occasions.

If you don't have a lot of experience sharing your story one good discipline is to right it down and share it with some one who already knows you well.  Begin praying that God will give you courage and the right words to share your story with unbelievers. Pray also that he will give you wisdom to follow the Holy Spirit's leading when the time is right to share your story, listen to another's story, and ultimately share the Gospel.

31 Days of Missional Living: Pray for Opportunities (Day 28)

This week we'll talk about doing the hard but essential work of sharing the Gospel message. Today begin asking God for opportunities to share the whole Gospel message. You may not get those opportunities right away or you may get them this week. Either way you want to be ready. Focus on praying for God to prepare your heart to share with unbelievers and to prepare those you speak with to be ready to respond to God's Spirit in their lives.

31 Days of Missional Living: A Wife on Mission, Part 2 (Day 27)

Yesterday Dena shared Part 1 of A Wife On Mission including three of seven important lessons she's learned as a church planter. She continues with lessons four through seven today.

Lesson #4: Do not feel obligated to lead a ministry!  Just because you are a “Pastor’s Wife” does not mean you must be the leader of a ministry.  You do not have to play the piano, or the organ.  You do not have to be the Children’s Ministry Director.  You do not have to be the Women’s Ministry Director.  Be a team player whenever and wherever you are needed; there were times that I found myself scrubbing toilets and mopping floors in a school cafeteria before the worship services.  But just as you would encourage others on your launch team, serve in your unique area of giftedness.  God has gifted you in a unique way and that is where you should focus your time and energy.

Lesson #5: Be Missional!  As you go about planting a church, remember, you are a missionary in your own community.  There is no secular part to your life.  It is ALL spiritual.  That means that you represent Jesus at the grocery store, at the PTA meeting, at the gym, at the park.  As you go about planting a church, share with the other moms why you are new to the neighborhood.  Share your mission with your hair stylist.  Share it with your manicurist, if you can ever afford one again.  Love the people in your community.  Meet their needs.  Jesus said, as you go, make disciples.

Lesson#6: Find a trusted prayer partner and confidant!  Pray for the Lord to bring a Godly woman into your life that will pray for you and with you, one that will be a champion of your marriage and ministry.  Your prayer partner and confident will constantly lift you up in prayer, cry with you during the tough times, and laugh with you during the joy times.

Lesson #7: Have thick skin!  Here comes the heavy and the ugly.  There will be people in your new church that will talk negatively about the ministry.  Some will even go so far as to criticize your husband, even to your face… Whoa Nelly, this is where it gets hard.  Stop, drop and pray!  Listen!  Don’t get defensive.  Take a deep breath.  Is this person speaking truth and it needs to be addressed?  Is it constructive criticism? Is it information that is helpful?  If the complaint is about the vision of the church or the mission God put on your husband’s heart, then maybe they are at the wrong church.  Mission and vision are non-negotiable.  One Pastor’s wife shared with me that she had to conclude that she could not worry about what other people say about how the ministry was being lead.  She and husband will listen to God’s lead.  She continued to say that, “God does not expect perfection and neither do we.”  Keep people around you who will be an encouragement about the ministry and have realistic expectations. 

Let me sum up this whole Church Planting ministry wife gig…

Laugh often!  Keep an attitude of gratitude!  Pray for your neighbors!  It is a divine blessing to be called to any ministry, but church planting is honestly the “front lines.”  It is very hard work, but so very worth it.  Just think of the wonderful privilege for you and your family to have a hand in the eternity of the people in your community.  You will make lifelong friendships that will stand the test of time.  You are missionaries in your own back yard.  You are “Jesus with skin on.”  


Dena Deal, along with her husband Pastor Randy and five other families planted Rock Point Church in Gilbert, Arizona eleven years ago.  She currently works alongside her husband as he coaches new Church Planters in Arizona and Southern California.  Dena has a passion to mentor women through God’s written Word.  She lives in Gilbert, Arizona, with her husband.  They have five grown children, one daughter-in-law, one amazing grandson and one scruffy dog-named Buddy.  You can follow all her posts written from a wealth of experience at, “Corkin the Crazy”.