Often times in ministry we fill a need to please, whether it’s with members, donors, or some other group of influential individuals. However, when we do that we lose sight of who we are really called to please. It is hard as a leader to push through outside noise and focus on what we know God is directing us to do. Sometimes it won’t make sense even to you, but God is faithful and often moves in ways that there are no doubts that His hand is all over it. If you are pleasing the Father, He is faithful to bring the pieces together.
Are We Willing to Give God Our YES
Are we willing to give God our yes before even knowing what He will ask of us? The good news is that if we are willing to give God our yes, He is able to do a work that is beyond anything within our human capabilities. Faith often causes us to move from perceived comfort, traditions, and safety into the uncomfortable unknown. However, even though we may not be able to see the end of the path, we can be encouraged that the One leading us not only sees it but controls it! We may run into thorns, rocks, bumps, and hills along the way, but when we reach the end we are able to see all of His provisions as we look back on the journey. Have you given God your yes?
Preparing for Rockdale Baptist Church's Intentional Revival
We had a great time Monday night as we went through our table host training for this weekend’s Intentional Revival at Rockdale Baptist Church! The table hosts will be crucial in seeking wisdom from God about the future of the church. We appreciate everyone who has volunteered their time for this weekend, and are excited to see what God will do through the church as a result of the Intentional Revival. We ask that you continue praying for Rockdale and everyone that will be involved in any capacity this weekend, that God would remove distractions and make His presence known.
Rockdale Baptist Church Intentional Focus through Church Revitalization
Through their focus on church revitalization both locations, Rockdale Baptist Church and The Church at Stanton Springs, are intentional about becoming the church God is calling them to be. They are holding an intentional revival at the start of February to step back and refocus on the ministry God is calling them to do in Rockdale County. Would you please pray with us that God would bless this intentional focus and place the call on each member’s heart for the new direction of the church at both locations?
The foundation is blessed to continue taking this journey of intentionality with both campuses and eagerly look forward to celebrating what God will accomplish through the church’s commitment to seeking His will.
Heritage Hills Baptist Church Receiving Clarity through Church Revitalization
Heritage Hills Baptist Church has been seeking clarity for God’s direction for the church and ministry. We are excited to see how God will bless their efforts to focus on reaching the community God has placed them in. Would you please join us in praying that God would provide that clarity and that He would do a movement only He is capable of?
The foundation is blessed to continue walking beside Heritage Hills as they seek to become the church that God desires them to be.
White Oak Hills Baptist Church Reaching the Community through Church Revitalization
We are excited to see how God is moving through White Oak Hills' commitment to reaching their community. God is positioning White Oak Hills to be a beacon in their community through their work with the high school, as well as putting the initial plans in place for developing a senior living community with the church at the center. We are asking that you would pray with us that God would continue to guide the church and leadership, keeping them attuned to the direction they feel Him leading the church and ministry.
The foundation is blessed to continue partnering with White Oak Hills and allowing God to use all of us to further reach those who are lost in our communities.
Merry Christmas from the Kingdom Growth Foundation!
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
As we celebrate this Christmas season, our hope is God will make His presence known and felt in your life and ministry.
God of Unlimited Atonement
God’s sacrifice of His son was meant to offer EVERYONE atonement for our sins. Unfortunately, not every person is willing to accept this gift. It should, however, give us hope as we work to reach a lost world. No difference in race, culture, past actions, political stance, education, or how someone dresses is too big for God’s grace to overcome.
From God’s initial covenant with Abraham to Jesus’ fulfillment of that covenant, we see that God always intended for His grace and redemption to be sufficient for anyone willing to come into a relationship with Him. Our job as believers is to introduce the same God who brought about a change in our hearts to those we interact with daily.
Is Your Church on the Edge of the Waters
Just as the Egyptians did, many churches find themselves at the edge of the Red Sea today. The situation may seem hopeless or daunting, but God did not place your church in your community to fail. Do we have enough faith to trust God to part the waters in front of us and take that first step into the water?
Often, we are all guilty of looking for the bridge over the water, which offers security and safety, avoiding the very real threat of the water crashing down on us. However, when we have the faith to take that first step into those waters, we allow God to do a work that only He is capable of. It does not mean God will remove the fears(the Israelites were terrified of their situation) or that the work will be done overnight. It does mean that, just as God held back the waters and Pharaoh's army, if we keep our focus on the goal He has set before us, He will bring us to the other side on dry ground.
Reflecting on God's Provision to See His Kingdom Grow in 2025
We want to take time to thank God for all He has done within and through the foundation this year. We believe God is moving and know that if we continue focusing on His Kingdom First, He will be faithful to guide us and remove any obstacle in our path so we can see revival and growth within His church locally, nationally, and globally.
Church Revitalization and The Pastor’s Cohort
Pastors from all four churches involved with KGF’s Pastor’s Cohort gathering
God brought four churches into a partnership with the foundation through our first pastor’s cohort, Emmanuel Community Church, Heritage Hills Baptist Church, Rockdale Baptist Church, and White Oak Hills Baptist Church. It has been exciting to see how He is moving through each church as they seek what God is calling them to do in the communities that He has placed them in. We are excited to see what God does through the cohort in the coming year as He lays the foundation for an intentional revitalization in each church.
Community Revitalization at White Oak Hills Baptist Church
White Oak Hills Baptist Church has been praying and seeking what God would have them do in their community in Dekalb County. They felt God calling them to develop a community not only to provide housing for Senior adults, but also to create one centered on Christ. God has put them in a unique position next to Redan High School, allowing them to see multiple generations impacted through God’s work through the church. The foundation worked with the church and DeKalb County to see this dream come to fruition and was honored to present White Oak Hills with a $10,000 grant to assist with what God is doing through their ministry.
Charles Reynolds Speaking at White Oak Hills Baptist Church
Charles Reynolds Presenting $10,000 grant to White Oak Hills Baptist Church
New Kingdom Growth Strategist
Dr. Ken Hemphill
We are excited that Dr. Ken Hemphill agreed to come alongside the foundation as our Kingdom Growth Strategist. He has been instrumental in helping the foundation through his leadership, wisdom, and experience, as we focus on seeing churches grow and be revitalized.
Seeing Men Grow
The foundation partnered with both Rockdale Baptist Church and River Hills Church to invest in their men’s ministries as they work with men to discover who God wants them to be as believers, husbands, fathers, workers, and leaders.
Men gather at Rockdale Baptist Church
Men worship together at the River Hills Church Men’s Retreat
Celebrating Missions at Peace Baptist Church
Charles Reynolds at the Kingdom Growth Foundation’s booth at Peace Baptist Church’s Global Impact Celebration
The foundation was honored to be guests at Peace Baptist Church’s Global Impact Celebration, as they looked at what God had done through their emphasis on missions and community outreach as well as looking ahead to the upcoming year. It was humbling to hear how God was moving through their programs and partnerships.
Strategic partnerships And Kingdom Builders Event
Debra Potter from NCF presenting at our Kingdom Builders Event
We were also blessed to form a partnership with the National Christian Foundation. We are thankful to Debra Potter for coming to share at our Kingdom Builders event, where we explored how churches can begin to have honest and productive conversations on what it means to have a Kingdom-focused generosity, and how NCF can come alongside churches to help facilitate those conversations through one of their Journey of Generosity retreats.
The foundation also formed a partnership with The Ministry Program to offer churches an alternative source for supplies they need for everyday operations, office supplies, furniture, etc. This will help churches stretch their budgets further while still receiving excellent customer service within an organization created specifically for churches and ministries.
How can you get involved?
As we move into 2026, our focus is on making prayer a priority. So the first way that you can get involved with what God is doing through the foundation is by joining us in prayer. We invite you to join our prayer team, where you will not only find specific ways to pray for the foundation and our partner churches, but also praise God for how He is answering prayers. We are asking you to commit to praying for each request daily during your quiet time. Join our prayer team at https://www.kingdom-growth.net/prayer.
We appreciate everyone who contributes to the foundation's work. We would not be able to do the work we feel God is calling us to do without your support. We ask that you pray and seek God’s will in supporting the foundation financially. Your dollars are reinvested in our church revitalization efforts, and you can provide tangible support for the work God is doing in our communities and churches. You can make a tax-deductible gift at https://www.kingdom-growth.net/give or by reaching out to Charles Reynolds at creynolds@kingdom-growth.net
You can also support the foundation through a partnership. Our members have access to our partnerships with the National Christian Foundation, Our Journey of Hope Cancer Care Ministry, and The Ministry Program. Our goal is to see local churches grow into flourishing and healthy churches, to see God’s Kingdom grow. We believe the unique blend of partners we already have allows us to assist churches in a multitude of ways. There are no fees for partnering, but it will enable us to keep your church or ministry up to date on what’s happening at the foundation. You can find out how you can partner with the foundation by reaching out to Charles Reynolds at creynolds@kingdom-growth.net to learn more.
We also have resources available through our bookstore. These Biblically grounded studies explore a range of topics that are key to seeing churches healthy and growing through topical and scriptural studies. We provide these resources at reduced cost, along with access to free teaching resources for many of the studies, as a ministry to local churches. You can find our resources at https://www.kingdom-growth.net/store or reach out to Ben Reynolds at bjreynolds@kingdom-growth.net to find out more.
How can we pray for you?
As we commit to turning our focus back to prayer, we want to know how we can pray for your church and ministry. As we pray with you, we will be excited to see how God answers prayer and be able to celebrate together, as a community of prayer warriors, His work. Let us know how we can be praying for you at https://www.kingdom-growth.net/contactor by reaching out to Ben Reynolds at bjreynolds@kingdom-growth.net with your requests.
Trusting God to Part the Waters
The future often is full of uncertainty. Even when we know where God has brought us from in our past. However there is some comfort in something that is known. If we are going to reach our communities and continue growing His Kingdom we are going to have to go into uncomfortable situations sometimes.
Are we willing to trust God to part the waters in front of us? If our church or ministry is struggling, are we willing to do what He is directing us too? Don’t let the uncertainty of the future freeze you, trust that if He is directing you that He will clear your path as well.
God of Unlimited Love
Have you ever really thought about God's unlimited love? From the fall of man and throughout the entire Old Testament, we see man's rebellion against God and the consequences of that rebellion. However, God displayed His love by always leaving the door open for redemption and reconciliation. When Israel was willing to turn from their idols and sin and seek God, He was faithful not only to redeem but also to bless them.
However, the sacrifices we could offer only temporarily covered the people's sins. So when we move to the New Testament, we see the full nature of God's unlimited love. God provided a sacrifice sufficient to cover the sins of people past, present, and future. In doing so, He sent His son to endure one of the most brutal deaths man has ever conceived, to give each of us an opportunity to accept the gift of Christ's atonement.
The Bible is clear that most people will not accept that gift or a relationship with Christ. He, however, was still willing to make that sacrifice to give people a way towards redemption and to live in His presence for eternity. This should make us even more motivated to reach the communities that God has placed us in. Our desire should be for every person to come into a relationship with Christ, and to help disciple them to be able to go out themselves as witnesses.
God Working through Our Circumstances for His Glory
We often get caught up in our circumstances. It is easy to forget everything God has already brought us through because we are focused on where we are currently. God is fully good, and He does not put us in bad or evil circumstances. However, God is powerful enough to turn whatever the enemy means for bad into something that brings Him glory.
No one wants to go through difficulties in life. However, take comfort in the fact that God is ultimately in control and has already achieved victory. Don’t let your circumstances distract you from what God is doing. Trust that He will bring you through and will do a work that we could never imagine.
God of Unlimited Power
God’s power has no equal. However we are not able to fully comprehend what it means when we say God is omnipotent. God has revealed His power to us throughout history, that we can attempt to define and understand within our human limitations God’s nature.
God has demonstrated through His word the nature of His power. Throughout the Old Testament there are revelations like creation and the flood. He demonstrated His power with His provision for the Israelites, through captivity, wandering, conquering the promised land, and back into captivity. The only times Israel was defeated was when they had turned their back on God. He also demonstrated His power through Christ. He showed His power over creation, over demons, and even over death itself.
The world around us also reveals God’s power to us. He created everything in the world from the blades of grass, to the mighty oceans, and everything in between. Every system and structure in Nature God designed and God maintains.
Ultimately the only limitations that God has are the ones that He has put on Himself. He had the power for Israel to take the promised land when they first entered, however it was the lack of faith in God’s power that drove the Israelites to wander for forty years. Had they been faithful, God proved through Israel’s eventual conquering of the land that He would have delivered it to them.
Ultimately it is up to each of us whether or not we have the faith to believe in God’s unlimited power. Because sin entered the world, creation became corrupted. However through Christ God demonstrated His power providing everyone with an opportunity for victory over death and sin.
Do we believe in God’s power enough to trust that He will see us through any obstacle or valley as long as we are focused on His Kingdom in our personal life as well as our churches and ministries?
Where is Our Focus?
When we are talking about church revitalization, it is important to go back to the key verse that the foundation's mission is built on. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. Matthew 6 is full of wisdom that is key to being able to reach a lost and hurting world. Throughout the chapter it leaves us with directions of where our focus should be. From when we worship, to when we pray, to where we store up our treasures, to our basic needs, everything points back to God and His Kingdom. However, our focus is constantly being fought over in this world.
Church revitalization is not a twelve step program to bring your church out of debt, or some trade secret to grow your congregation. At its core, church revitalization is the conscious and active decision to reset the focus of our churches and ministries onto God’s Kingdom and the communities that he has placed us in. We often place limits on God’s power because we are focusing on our own human limitations. However, if our focus is on His Kingdom we allow Him to do a work that is far greater than anything that we are capable of. Where is your focus?
What are Your Dreams for Ministry?
If money was no object, what would you want to do in your ministry or church? Oftentimes we get focused on why we can’t do something in ministry, and many times that leads to churches shifting more into a maintenance mode than being on fire for Christ. However, dreaming can be scary at times, and God often moves in ways that it is abundantly clear there was no other way for this to be accomplished outside of the provisions of God. That can leave us in an uncomfortable position if we are not rooted in God’s promise to provide what we need.
Don’t let the devil distract you or take your focus off of God’s Kingdom, if God has given you a mission in your ministry, know that it may not look the way you want it to, but God will bring you through any challenge you may face. When you get to the other side you will be amazed at how he brings all the pieces together. Don’t be afraid to dream in your ministry, God just might be using that dream to bring glory to His Kingdom.
We Serve an Unlimited God
We serve an unlimited God! However, due to our human limitations, how can we begin to accurately describe Him to others? We have to acknowledge our human limitations and vocabulary, and rely on what God has revealed about Himself to the world.
Dr. Ken Hemphill shared in Unlimited: God’s Love, Atonement, and Mission, that “We can describe God, but we cannot fully define Him”. However, God continually reveals Himself and His nature to the world both through creation, conscience, and the testimony left in Scripture.
When we remember God’s unlimited power, it should give us both confidence and hope in our churches and ministry. If God has directed your mission then He has promised that He will be faithful to provide what you need. Unfortunately, many times we read that as He will give us what we want, or do it our way. However, when we turn our focus onto His Kingdom and release our problems, roadblocks, and doubts to Him, we allow Him to move our human limitations out of the way where He can receive all the glory. What could your ministry or church accomplish if you met every roadblock and obstacle leaning on the unlimited power of God to get you through.
Taking Time to Reflect on God's call to Generosity.
We all know that God has called us to not only be good stewards with the talents and resources He has given us, but we also know that He has called us to be generous with what He has blessed each of us with. However, generosity has become a difficult topic to discuss in churches.
The National Christian Foundation has developed the Journey of Generosity retreats(or JOGs for short) as a way for believers to step away into a low intensity environment and be able to really discuss what God has said about generosity. Imagine what your church would be able to accomplish for God’s Kingdom if we become just as excited for what we can give back to the Lord as what we have received from Him.
To find out more about JOGs please visit https://www.kingdom-growth.net/national-christian-foundation
Are We Living It?
When you think of brands or businesses, often you connect them to their spokesperson, mascot, or logo. As Christians, we also are representatives of Christ. Often nonbelievers look to the way Christians live their lives to formulate their opinion on who God is and what it means to be one of His followers.
How exciting it is that God has entrusted us to be His ambassadors to a lost world? We often struggle to find the right opportunity or setting to witness to those we know are lost, but God has given us another opportunity to be a reflection of who He is. We are a witness everyday when we are at the grocery store, picking up our kids from school, dealing with our coworker we don’t get along with, or anywhere else God has placed us.
Even if it feels like your ministry is not gaining traction or going through a difficult time, be encouraged and energized that the work you're doing both within the church and even more so in the community is providing people with the opportunity to see who God really is. You are a light in your community that has the power to direct people towards the Father.
If there is any way that we can be praying for your church or ministry specifically please let us know at https://www.kingdom-growth.net/contact.
Your Journey is not Done, Keep Pushing Forward!
It is easy to become complacent in our ministry, especially as we find success in reaching the lost and growing our congregations and ministries. When we are first starting out in ministry, we are fired up to serve God, and our focus is on what we believe He can do through our ministry. As we start to grow and get a little more success, we start trying to wrestle the wheel back from God. What started out as His ministry is now our ministry, and if we're not careful, it becomes my ministry.
Ministry requires dedication, and the hours and efforts that pastors and church leaders dedicate are often overlooked or criticized. We will all reach a point where we start wanting to rely on our own will and direction, because usually our direction wants to rely on what has worked and what is comfortable. However, when we realize everything that God has brought us through, regardless of our current point in ministry, we should be encouraged in our faith. If God has been faithful in bringing us to the point we are today, then we can have hope in the assurance that, regardless of how the path may look, He will work out every detail to bring Himself the most glory, as long as we keep our focus on His Kingdom.
Never lose sight of the critical mission God has placed you on, and when we hit those points where we either want to maintain the level of comfort we currently have, or we hit that point where it just doesn't seem like God is moving in a particular ministry, don't quit or let your focus get shifted. Keep your focus on seeking God's will and His Kingdom, and keep pushing on!
If there is any way that we could be praying for your ministry or you personally, please reach out and let us know at https://www.kingdom-growth.net/contact.