Word of Hope Blog
Read the latest thoughts from Ralph Moore, a veteran practitioner in disciple making and church multiplication.
You Can’t Ride A Frozen Bicycle
I recently visited Sapporo, Japan. The snow was beautiful and preparations for the Ice Festival were quite interesting. I was there to teach a seminar about making disciples and planting churches. Brought along an extra suitcase filled with winter clothes only to find the daily weather unusually warm, but still freezing overnight. We got fresh…
Calling: Why You Should Plant Churches
People often ask why I expend so much energy on making disciples and planting churches. Early on, I conjured up the idea that if I were to plant churches it would leverage my gifts and skills. That God could do bigger things than I imagined. These, well meaning, people usually question the sacrifices my family,…
Church Multiplication In Mongolia
The church in Mongolia is growing rapidly, mostly due to church planting. When I arrived in 2000, the pastors were a divided and competitive lot. Each was hoping to build a mega-church. My first trip was a tug-of-war for four out of five days. Out of 25 pastors, three were former Soviet Army officers. Two…
Activating An Army by Todd Wilson
What would our world look like if the body of Christ was truly activated and engaged in joining God’s work in the way He designed and for His purposes? Ephesians 1 tells us the mission of the Church is to carry the fullness of Jesus into every crack and cranny of society. Ephesians 2:10 says…
We Still Hold The Money…
While the Western church grows richer it is gradually edging itself to the margins of society. We’ve shown little numerical growth in two decades and some studies show it dipping into negative territory—furthermore our society is more polarized than ever, mostly over issues pertaining to morality. That’s the bad news. Have you noticed that what…
Diversity, Innovation and Mission
Just read an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review. According to a recent McKinsey report, the more ethnic and racial diversity in a team the better they produce, financially. The numbers came in suggesting a 35 percent better return. Gender diversity suggested that companies were liable to be 15 percent better off financially. Building…
A Tale Of Three Wristwatches
A few years ago, I bought a R*lex watch. I was at a tourist spot overlooking the confluence of the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. It was a “bargain” at just $10. The guy had both wrists covered in fake Rolexes. My watch had gone to wristwatch heaven the day before so I was…
Letting ‘Movement’ Happen
Letting ‘Movement’ Happen Isn’t Always Easy The idea of a local church fomenting a movement is unthinkable to some people. To certain denominational stalwarts it smacks of rebellion. To some pastors, even launching another church appears a loss. Yet from the first, the gospel gave us a movement of church planting movements. Our prejudices, notwithstanding…
Planting With A Billion-dollar Campus
How would you like to have a billion dollars worth or real estate to help with your newest church plant? We did and it was better than we expected. Illegal At The Beach We actually started our last congregation under a tree in a beach park—illegally. Not real fun when the policeman would slowly check…
Discipling A Feedback Loop
I learned much about making disciples by watching an older man remain relevant to people much younger than himself. Nathaniel Van Cleave became my pastor at the height of my rebellious teen years. During his first sermon, he watched my friends and pried the gunpowder from a box of bullets and two shotgun shells while…