“When God works in us, nothing is useless, and nothing is spared.” - Jeannine Brown, Carla Dahl, and Wendy Corbin Reuschling, Becoming Whole and Holy “There is no circumstance, no trouble, no testing, that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ, right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with great purpose, which I may not understand at the moment.” - Alan Redpath Here's something I've noticed about people as they get older: they tend to go one of two ways. They either get sweeter with age or they get crankier. They grow wiser and more like Jesus, or they grow bitter and more like the worst version of themselves. That's because life is formation. Everything we do and everything we go through shapes us one way or the other, mostly depending on how we respond to what happens to us, whether it's extraordinary or completely ordinary. Ministry works the same way. I've watched leaders come out of nearly identical trials in completely different shape. Some come out stronger. Others come out deeply wounded, discouraged, and ready to quit. The difference usually comes down to where they see God in the middle of the struggle, absent or present, and what questions they ask about it. Some ask, "God, why is this happening to me?" Others ask, "God, what could you want to form in me through this?" Both views of God will shape us, and so will both questions. They just shape us in very different directions. In my experience, the most common sin in church leadership is an obsession with numbers and results, paired with neglect of our own souls. On top of that, we rarely stop to notice how those numbers and results, and how ministry itself, are shaping us. So here's my suggestion: stop working so hard to develop your ministry and start noticing that your ministry is developing you. How you handle the realities of church leadership will determine not only what your church becomes but what you become. Leadership and ministry will form you. The only question is: into what? One tool God uses: the fishbowl Some people hesitate to become a pastor because it opens them up to scrutiny, and now and then to outright criticism. When I was a young leader, I hated the "fishbowl effect" of ministry. Everyone was watching me, and my mistakes seemed to count for a lot more than anyone else's. It felt deeply unfair that flaws that wouldn't even register at most people's jobs could cost me my job, my reputation, and my community. Never mind that maybe it bothered me so much because I had such a generous supply of those flaws. After years of living under the steady gaze of critics and cranks, I see the fishbowl differently. These days I actually welcome it. Richard Baxter, a Puritan pastor in the 1600s, put it this way: “While you are as lights set upon a hill, think not to lie hid... do your work as those that remember that the world looks on them... ready to make the worst of all... and to make faults where they cannot find them.”[1] Baxter understood that anyone who calls others to live like Jesus is going to get called out when they don't. His advice? Live like the world is watching, because it is. Some people in your life are ready to yell "Hypocrite!" at the first opportunity, to point out failings they share themselves, and, as Baxter says, even to invent faults when they can't find real ones. And Baxter's fishbowl had a few neighbors peering over the fence. Ours has a livestream, a comment section, and someone screenshotting the announcements. But Baxter goes further. He says we should be glad about it: “As you take yourselves for the lights of the churches, you may expect that men's eyes will be upon you. If other men may sin without observation, so cannot you. And you should thankfully consider how great a mercy this is, that you have so many eyes to watch over you, and so many ready to tell you of your faults; and thus have greater helps than others, at least for restraining you from sin. Though they may do it with a malicious mind, yet you have the advantage of it.” As a Pastor, you have more eyes on you and more people paying attention to how you live. That means you have more help than most in living well and avoiding sin. What some people mean for evil, God means for your good (Genesis 50:20). What looks like a downside of ministry turns out to be a path to maturity, to formation. In practical terms, living your life in front of others pushes you to do what you already know you should do. And it often keeps you out of things you might slide into if nobody were watching. One important caveat: embracing accountability isn't the same as tolerating abuse. Healthy scrutiny sharpens you. A congregant who attacks your spouse or treats your kids like church property is a different problem, and it calls for boundaries, not gratitude. Let's be clear, though: the fishbowl isn't enough on its own. What we're really after is internal: character, a changed heart. But knowing we're living out loud in front of a watching church and a watching world gives us structure, and that structure can help us build the habits and rhythms of holiness we want. As we try to let the heart and character of Christ take deeper root in us, we have the advantage of lots of eyes around us "encouraging" us to stay on the straight and narrow. My sense is that people who embrace this find that, over time, what starts on the outside moves more and more to the inside. Slowly, the choices we make because others are watching become, through habit, real character. Because I know people are watching, I think twice about what I say in public, what I scroll past on my phone, and how I talk to my kids at church or out on the sidewalk in front of the neighbors. More and more, those choices, first made because of an audience, become part of who I am. That's especially true when I treat those moments as kairos [2] moments: times when God breaks in and uses my awareness of a watching world to show me the character He wants to form in me and the choices He'd like me to make. But what if we don't embrace it? What about those who get shipwrecked by moral failure, character flaws, and private sins gone public? People who resent the fishbowl of ministry and the Christian life often end up living one way in public and another in private. It's as if their anger at being scrutinized pushes them into a divided life: they'll play by the rules in public but insist on their own rules in private. Frustrated with the audience around them, so eager to find fault, they forget the true Audience they live before. And as we've all seen from too many spectacular crash-and-burns, the fallout is often devastating. Families, churches, and the reputation of the whole Church take serious damage. Pastors, recognize that your formation is happening, one way or another… and make peace with the fishbowl. It's going to be there whether you like it or not. If you embrace it, you may find it spurring you on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24) and keeping you clear of the sins that have taken down so many in ministry before you. “You should thankfully consider how great a mercy this is, that you have so many eyes to watch over you.” Let the Holy Spirit use your public life, and every eye watching it, to shape and form you. The fishbowl and the formation of a life in ministry are coming either way. Let them help answer the question: into what? To further explore your own formation through ministry, join us at the Multiply Summit with special guest Rich Villodas this coming February in the Washington, D.C. area! Adapted from Eldership and the Mission of God by Bob Hyatt and J.R. Briggs. [1] Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, London, 1657, p. 21. [2] Kairos is one of the Greek words for time, but it's different from chronos. Chronos is linear, calendar time. Kairos refers to significant moments full of possibility. Here, it means those times when God steps into chronos.

Timberlake Church in Lynchburg, VA is now an official partner of the Ascent Movement. Led by Pastor Brad McMullen , this multigenerational congregation is committed to helping people grow as disciples of Jesus and live out that faith in tangible ways. For many decades, Timberlake has been a faithful witness to the gospel in Lynchburg. However, over the past few years, after a season of denominational disruption, and with an increased focus on community impact, Timberlake has experienced significant growth as it has opened a new chapter. “Timberlake has experienced an impressive season of Spirit-led vitality and is now moving into a season of multiplication. It is an authentic witness to the disciple-making heritage of John Wesley, and is a great partner for the Ascent Movement and our vision. It joins many other former United Methodist Churches that have found a new home among the Ascent Community”, shared Chris Backert, Ascent’s Senior Director.

Healthcare costs are projected to rise again in 2027, putting even more pressure on church budgets. But a recent study found that rising healthcare spending, not simply insurer markups, explained 91% of premium growth from 2011 to 2024. That raises an important question for churches: What if finding a better premium isn't enough? Cedar Health Alliance is taking a different approach, designed around how healthcare is purchased, accessed and managed, not simply how the cost is divided. Read More: Rising Healthcare Costs Are Squeezing Churches. Is There a Better Way?

The Junia Network was formed to cultivate a faithful model of female leadership that reflects the image of God through mutuality and courage. We are building a community where women are equipped and encouraged to lead in full expression of their calling, modeling the way, or recovering an ancient way, that will lead the church into her future. The Junia network is made up of women leading in a significant ministry or organization (local churches, theological schools, denominational leadership, and faith-based nonprofits). The entry point is a year-long cohort anchored by two retreats (three nights and three days each). The generous hospitality of Baylor University’s Truett Seminary in Waco, Texas, and Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin, make these retreats possible. After the initial cohort, there are ongoing opportunities to stay connected with other women who share similar gifts, callings, and convictions. We launched our first cohort in 2025. During that time, we’ve started exploring the art of storytelling as a way of meaningful reflection on our lives. By learning to share our stories, we will inspire the next generation of women called to lead the Church. Now more than ever before, women are being empowered to lead in a way that honors how they have been designed by God. This style of leadership is relational, intuitive, and collaborative. It embodies new paradigms of power that prioritize relational wisdom, wholeness, and sustainable leadership—attributes the Church and the world desperately need to reveal the fullness of Christ’s body–where men and women are on mission, together. We know God created men and women in unity and distinction, both designed with the capacity to lead according to their creative design. The leadership of men and women, when lived in mutual honor and interdependence, mirrors the relational life of the Trinity—strength and tenderness, initiative and receptivity, wisdom and courage held together in love. Junia’s story reminds us that women have always been pioneers in the story of God—not in competition with men, but in partnership that brings the Church to her fullness. For more information visit the Junia Network or email carey.sims@ascentmovement.org . Carey Sims is a theologian and practitioner, a spiritual director, and coach with more than 25 years of experience in business and ministry. Carey is Director of the Junia Network.

In a crowded room at Columbia Church in Falls Church, Virginia, something more than a training was taking place. Church leaders from seven states and four denominations had gathered for the firs t Vital Preschools Project immersion — an initiative helping congregations see weekday preschools and child development centers not simply as childcare programs, but as mission-critical spaces for evangelism and discipleship. The vision is both simple and strategic: what if the church’s most consistent connection to unchurched families isn’t Sunday morning—but Monday through Friday? “Preschool is where the most unchurched families walk through your doors every day,” said co-curator Lora Gravatt. For many churches, that daily rhythm offers trusted, relational access to families who might never initially attend worship but will readily enter the building for their children. Drop-off lines, parent-teacher conferences, chapel services, and seasonal programs become moments of pastoral presence and spiritual invitation. University Methodist Church in San Antonio has experienced this firsthand. “There’s no other ministry that provides greater long-term access to families,” said Lead Pastor Ben Trammell. When aligned intentionally with the church’s mission, preschool becomes not an auxiliary program but a formative on-ramp into congregational life. Following that momentum-building gathering in March 2025, the Vital Preschools Initiative has been developing the capacity to expand its reach. Over the coming year, leaders are working to recruit and connect senior pastors, preschool directors, and children’s ministry leaders nationwide. Plans include launching a tiered consulting model offering coaching, site visits, strategy cohorts, and church assessments—tools designed to help congregations strengthen or realign their weekday ministries. The initiative also aims to curate practical resources—from licensing templates and hiring models to integration guides and training tools—equipping churches to start or re-envision preschools as vibrant ministries rooted in their mission. Rather than prescribing a single model, the Vital Preschools Project seeks to serve as a strategic guide for churches exploring early childhood education as a discipleship and outreach pathway. What unites this growing network is a shared conviction: families are already walking through church doors. The question is whether congregations will recognize the opportunity. As Gravatt puts it, “We’re not just planting seeds in kids—we’re watering the ground their families walk on.”