Podcasts about youversion bible

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by John Plake, Chief Innovation Officer and Editor-in-Chief of the State of the Bible research at the American Bible Society. With decades of experience as a pastor, missionary, professor, and researcher, John brings a unique perspective on how people are actually engaging with Scripture and what we should do about it. The “movable middle” is growing. // One of the most significant insights from recent research is the rise of what John calls the “movable middle”—millions of people who are open to the Bible but not yet engaged with it. This group has grown by approximately nine million people in recent years. They are curious, interested, and even positive toward Scripture, but they lack the tools, confidence, or guidance to engage it meaningfully. This represents a massive opportunity for churches willing to step in and help. People want a guide. // Through focus groups and research, John discovered that many people in the movable middle feel intimidated by the Bible. They struggle with language, context, and navigation. But perhaps most striking is they want help. Contrary to what some leaders might assume, they are not rejecting the church as a guide. In fact, many say, “If we can't trust the church to help us understand the Bible, what good is it?” This creates a clear invitation for churches to step into a more relational, guiding role in discipleship. A surprising discipleship gap. // One of the most sobering findings is that nearly half of weekly church attenders are not regularly engaging Scripture on their own. While churches invest heavily in preaching and programming, many people are not developing personal habits of Bible engagement. John suggests that churches often focus on delivering content rather than equipping people to engage Scripture themselves. The result is a gap between what happens on Sunday and what happens in everyday life. From teaching to equipping. // If churches want to close that gap, they must shift from being primarily content providers to equipping environments. This means helping people develop the skills, habits, and confidence to read and apply Scripture on their own. It also requires understanding the real barriers people face, like time constraints, confusion, or lack of community support, and addressing those barriers with practical solutions. A new tool for churches. // To help leaders take action, the American Bible Society has developed the “Next Step for Church” assessment. This free tool allows churches to measure spiritual health, Bible engagement, and key leadership behaviors within their congregation. Within a few weeks, leaders receive a detailed, data-driven report highlighting strengths, challenges, and suggested next steps. Data that leads to discipleship. // John emphasizes that data is not an end in itself; it's a tool for better shepherding. By listening to their congregation at scale, leaders can identify patterns, confirm instincts, and prioritize what matters most. The assessment surfaces both what's working and where growth is needed, giving churches a clear path forward. It also connects individuals to personalized Scripture engagement resources, helping them take their next step spiritually. Why Scripture engagement matters most. // Nothing has a greater impact on spiritual growth than a person's relationship with the Bible. In fact, Scripture engagement accounts for a significant portion of overall spiritual health. When people consistently engage with God's Word, transformation follows—affecting beliefs, behaviors, and relationships. Signs of hope for the future. // Despite broader cultural challenges, John sees encouraging trends, especially among younger generations. Millennials and Gen Z show increasing openness to Scripture, even if they are still exploring. While overall trends may appear flat, meaningful change is happening beneath the surface. For churches willing to engage this moment, there is real opportunity for impact. To explore the research further or access the free church assessment, visit church.nextstep.bible and begin discovering how your church can better equip people to engage Scripture every day. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Risepointe Do you feel like your church’s or school's facility could be preventing growth? Are you frustrated or possibly overwhelmed at the thought of a complicated or costly building project? Are the limitations of your building becoming obstacles in the path of expanding your ministry? Have you ever felt that you could reach more people if only the facility was better suited to the community’s needs? Well, the team over at Risepointe can help! As former ministry staff and church leaders, they understand how to prioritize and help lead you to a place where the building is a ministry multiplier. Your mission should not be held back by your building. Their team of architects, interior designers and project managers have the professional experience to incorporate creative design solutions to help move YOUR mission forward. Check them out at risepointe.com and while you’re there, schedule a FREE call to explore possibilities for your needs, vision and future…Risepointe believes that God still uses spaces…and they're here to help. Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. I am so glad that you have decided to tune in today. This is one of those episodes that there’s a great resource in it that going to want to make sure you engage with. There’s super helpful content. Plus it’s about an area that I know so many of us are thinking about, we’re wondering about, we’re asking questions about. Rich Birch — So super excited to have John Plake with us today. He is the chief innovator ah innovation officer and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible Research Series, which comes from the American Bible Society. And they’re on a mission to make the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford so that all may experience its life-changing message. ABS has really a whole bunch of different tools and approaches, and we’re excited kind of expose a little bit more about that today. John has been in ministry over 30 years. We’ll just call it over 30 years. And it served as a pastor, missionary, professor, researcher. John, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.John Plake — Thanks so much for having me today. It’s great to be with you.Rich Birch — Why don’t you fill in the picture a little bit? Tell us a little bit about your background. You know, what brings you to your current work?John Plake — Yeah. Closer to 40 years now. Rich Birch — Nice. Yeah, yeah. That’s great.John Plake — It’s a little uncomfortable to talk about that.Rich Birch — That’s great.John Plake — Yeah. You know, I start out like a lot of people in ministry. I grew up in a home that ministry was central. Actually, both my grandfathers were ministers. My father was a minister. Ministry is kind of the family business in a way, but I really did sense a direction from God when I was about 15 years old to to pursue full-time ministry.John Plake — There was some detail around that. Ended up going to Bible college and and then started what turned out to be about nine years of full-time pastoral service. And I hadn’t been in that for very long before I realized that everything I learned in Bible College was preparing me to serve a generation that no longer existed in a culture that was gone. John Plake — And I thought, my goodness, I know God’s word pretty well. And mean, I’m a lifelong learner of God’s word. I love the Bible. And yet, didn’t really know culture very well. And I didn’t develop those tools until just years and years of practice, some missionary service, wonderful teachers at at Wheaton College and graduate school and and just a lifelong journey of learning.John Plake — So at American Bible Society, when I got here, the State of the Bible, program or this research project was already underway. And we’d been helped out by the Barna Group, which does some wonderful foundational work. And eventually it just kind of grew up and it got to a place where we had an internal team that was running it ourselves, now in collaboration with the National Opinion Research Council or NORC at the University of Chicago. We just do, I think, what is the largest ongoing study of Americans’ relationship with the Bible and faith and the church. And we get to talk about it all the time. Rich Birch — Yeah, I love it.John Plake — So, I mean, this is the best job in the world.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. It’s it’s great research, something that I think should be on the kind of list of things that we need to be paying attention to. It’s been a gift to the church for so long and something that we should continue to to pay attention through. Now, let’s talk about you specifically. You spent three plus decades. I didn’t want to say almost 40. You know, I’m not saying that. I’m not saying that. I could say that, you know, a couple years ago, I clicked across one of those numbers with a zero on the end as my birthday. And ever since then, I’m a little sensitive about the the age thing. Rich Birch — So anyways, As a ministry, missionary professor, researcher, you’ve done a lot. How does wearing all of those hats, what do you what does that bring to you as you come to the data? How does that impact you as you think about really the state of the Bible research?John Plake — Yeah, you know, I think research can be dull. You know, it can sound like it’s all about writing questions or it’s all statistics and numbers. But for me, the research is all about the people. Rich Birch — So true.John Plake — It’s all about the people in our communities and in our churches that we’re trying to understand better so we can serve them well with the gospel. I, for years, I’ve used the analogy that that being in gospel ministry is like being a human bridge across a river. I grew up not very far from the Mississippi River in the St. Louis area, and there was a big 100-year flood when I was early on in ministry. And I mean, none of the bridges worked anymore. You couldn’t get from one side to the other.John Plake — And I thought, you know, that’s a tragedy that I encountered sometimes in ministry where maybe I was deeply rooted in one bank of the river, the text, but I wasn’t necessarily deeply rooted in the other bank of the river, which was the context.John Plake — And it’s this lived experience of the people that I was I was serving. And that I wanted to serve in my community, but I needed to understand them better. So I wasn’t just spouting you know Aristotelian logic to them. Or I wasn’t just coming at them with the pat answers that I’d learned. Like I’d never heard anybody in my life walk into my office and say, Pastor John, you got to tell me, what can you describe hamartiology to me from. You know like I had to learn that in school, but that’s not what people struggle with. Rich Birch — That’s so true. Yeah. John Plake — They had totally different questions and I needed to love them and honor them enough to understand their questions and answer them responsibly and reliably from the pages of scripture.Rich Birch — Yeah, love it. Okay, well, we’re going to dig into a little bit of just a couple of the findings just to kind of, we’re trying to whet your appetite, friends, to take steps towards this. So the 2025 data showed, and we’ve seen this, a real bump in Bible engagement, particularly among millennials and men. If I’m reading it correctly, though, we saw 2026, a shift happen, maybe back down. And so what’s going on? Actually, I heard another sociologist in a kind of a related field that was about church attendance talked about the dead cat bounce, that it was like, you know, which I thought, oh, that’s a, but there’s a similarity going on here. Pull this, this finding apart. Help us understand this.John Plake — Yeah, apologies to cat lovers out there.Rich Birch — Yes, exactly.John Plake — We were we were hoping, you know, I think we were really hoping. We looked at 2025. We saw that men in particular were leaning into the Bible in ways we hadn’t seen recently. Millennials doing the same thing. There there were some interesting numbers in 2025. And so when the 2026 numbers came to my desk in late January, I thought, I hope we’re extending I hope it’s going to be a trend. But it wasn’t. It was a blip.John Plake — And there’s more to it, though, than just the fact that scripture engagement didn’t go up. It also didn’t go down. And the level of people in America who are Bible disengaged, meaning they never pick up the Bible on purpose at all, that actually didn’t go up either. What grew was this kind of curious explorer group in the middle that we call the movable middle. And over the last two years, it’s grown by 9 million American adults. Rich Birch — Wow.John Plake — And so what we do see is there’s there’s openness to the Bible. There’s experimentation with the Bible. But people are jumping in and they’re trying it and they’re not being able to get hold of it. And I think that’s largely because of us.John Plake — Because Bible people who are around them aren’t saying, please come do this with me. Let me help you. Let me honor you enough to to respect your questions, to ask what you’re dealing with, and help you explore those issues through the pages of Scripture.Rich Birch — I love that movable middle, man, that feels like the kind of group we want to connect with and reach out to in our community. Any other, when you, when you’ve been thinking about this movable middle, what are some other kind of characteristics of those people or other things that, you know, are kind of telltale signs of this group as we’re thinking about them as it, as it pertains to Bible engagement?John Plake — Yeah, they’re an amazing group, and we’re going talking more about them all year, but they are probably my favorite subject in America. There are 74 million American adults that are in the movable middle.Rich Birch — Wow.John Plake — 74 million of our neighbors who are like…Rich Birch — Wow.John Plake — …and here’s what they tend to say: They love the Bible. They think it’s a great idea. But if you handed them a Bible, they don’t know how to find what they’re looking for. They don’t know how to navigate it. They get confused by the language in in Scripture.John Plake — I remember doing a a focus group with a bunch of people in the movable middle. I was in Chicago. it was an area I was really familiar with. I used to pastor in that area. And we got them talking about their experience with the Bible. And we said, hey, does anything ever stop you or kind of you know make you check out because you’re struggling with what’s going on? John Plake — And one young lady at the table said, yeah, you know the language of the Bible is really really hard for me to understand. It’s it’s a really old book. It uses expressions I don’t understand. And a gentleman sitting across the table from her just kind of chuckled and said, yeah, what the hell’s a mustard seed? And everybody laughed.John Plake — I was behind the glass and I just about fell out of my chair because they didn’t teach me to talk like that in a Assemblies of God seminary.Rich Birch — Yes.John Plake —Things like that, you know, that’s just not the way we roll.Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah. Yes.John Plake — But it was so authentic and he wasn’t being mean.Rich Birch — No.John Plake — He was just saying, boy, I don’t I don’t get it. And then they said, you know, we really want a guide. Rich Birch — That’s good.John Plake — And so we pushed on that a little bit. At the time, there were some clergy abuse scandals that actually there were billboards up in Chicago about clergy abuse scandals that all of us lamented. And so we’re like, OK, listen, do you trust the church to be your guide? Because ee saw these billboards, you know, and it’s your city. And so what what do you think?John Plake — And they said, well, of course we do. I mean, it’s terrible when people in the church abuse their position and abuse others. And that’s not what they’re supposed to do. But if we can’t trust the church to help us understand the Bible, what good are they, really? And so, yes, we’re looking to you, church, to help us connect more deeply with the Bible, understand what it meant to the original hearers and readers and how we apply it to our lives today.Rich Birch — Okay, that’s yeah, that’s really cool. I look forward to hearing more about the movable middle in this coming year. Another thing that jumped out to me, which I feel like, man, I’ve seen this in my church. This is like you you named a group that I see, but it’s surprising, at least it’s surprising on its face. So nearly half of weekly church attenders, weekly church attenders, which is, that’s like really engaged, you know, are not regularly engaging, engaging scripture on their own.Rich Birch — Man, what, so what should we do about that? That’s an interesting, how does, how should that impact our discipleship strategy? What are you encouraging us to be thinking about? And these people that are with us all the time, but they’re not engaged with scripture.John Plake — Well, I think the first thing to do is to just recognize it. Rich Birch — Right.John Plake — You know, a lot of pastors that I’ve talked to, when we talk about scripture engagement, they tell me things like this: Everything we do is scripture engagement. I spend my whole week preparing a scriptural message. I’m, you know, we’re preparing small group curriculum and Sunday school curriculum and all of this stuff. It’s all about the, everything we do is about the Bible. John Plake — Well, okay. But I had a I had a young youth pastor come to me not that long ago and he said, John, look, you were me once a few years ago. If you knew then what you know now, what would you do differently?John Plake — And the answer is I would do everything differently, than the way I ought to do it. Because what, in my tradition, there was a lot of emphasis on the preaching event, and I put a lot of effort into those communication events, but what I didn’t put as much effort into is empowering people in my church to do what I was doing, which was dig into scripture, understand it for themselves, giving them the tools to do that.John Plake — And then in May, we’re going to be releasing a chapter, just in a few few days now, we’re going to be releasing a chapter all about parents. And one of the startling things is the time pressure that moms are under. I mean, it’s incredible. And so we need to understand where they’re coming from and where they have barriers, but also have some compassion on them and help to support them when they’re really facing struggles. Like they don’t have enough time. They don’t have the resources or the community coming around them to help them to engage God’s word ah more fulsomely, more transformatively.John Plake — We know how to do this stuff, but we’re not connecting the dots to everybody that’s coming to hear us talk every…Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s good. I know I’ve in my seat as an XP, um you know, I’ve overseen a lot of what we do on the programming side and what we do on the weekends. And I’ve, you know, it’s like, that i don’t think I’ve ever said this publicly. It’s like the kind of behind the scenes conversation. I’ve sometimes wondered, I’ve said, you know, like, what we do on the weekend to try to make the Bible understandable is so completely different than Tuesday morning in someone’s life. Rich Birch — Like, we pull out all the stops to make it interesting. We get like world class communicators, incredible graphics, you know, emotional music, all of this to try to… But then the question is, okay, so now on Tuesday morning when you’re tired and you haven’t had your coffee yet and you’re just about to go read scripture, man, like that feels like a long ways away. There’s like a gap there that I sometimes wonder maybe we’re making it worse. You know. Maybe we’re making it harder. I said that. You didn’t say that. Rich Birch — So maybe there’s pastors that are listening here and they read this kind of report. They read this kind of finding and they’re like, hey, that’s interesting. But like, how what do I do in my church specifically? So you know we want we don’t want to just leave people with a tough stat.Rich Birch — I think we see that in our church. There’s people in our church that are here all the time. They’re not that engaged. But you’ve actually developed a new tool or ABS has developed a new tool to help us think through that. Why don’t you walk us through it? Tell us a little bit about it. How’s it work? Talk us how it can help us.John Plake — Yeah, so recently we developed two tools that kind of work together. One of them you can find on the internet at nextstep.bible. And it’s just for anybody who’s like, hey, I’m on a spiritual journey. I’m kind of stuck. I don’t really know what to do next. Maybe you’re just getting started exploring what it means to be a Christian. Maybe you’re Jesus’ little brother or sister. Wherever you are in that journey, there’s always a next step for us.John Plake — And so what we’ve done is analyzed along about a million spiritual life surveys. Rich Birch — Wow.John Plake — And from this huge quantity of data, we’ve learned that people are at different places in that journey. They’re at different points on the map. And we want to make sure that they’re equipped to have the right thing at the right time. I think currently there are 21,000 scripture engagement resources available there.Rich Birch — Wow.John Plake — They’re absolutely free. They’re in English, Spanish, and French. So go check it out, nextstep.bible.John Plake — But if you’re a pastor or you’re a church leader, you’re probably wondering, well, what’s going on in my church, right? So I see all the national data, but I think our tendency is to say, well, we’re the exception, right?Rich Birch — So true. Well, that’s not our people. John Plake — I know I know everybody else is struggling, but we’re doing okay.Rich Birch — Yes.John Plake — And and so it’s good to check our assumptions a little bit. They used to say a really sad statistic that 10 o’clock on Sunday morning was the most segregated hour in America, which makes me sad. What makes me sad also is that 12 o’clock noon in America is the most dishonest hour in America. That’s the hour when pastors tend to start greeting their people after the church service closes and they hear all these comments: oh, Pastor, that was the best sermon I’ve ever heard. And it wasn’t. It just wasn’t. All right, let’s face it.John Plake — There’s somebody out there who preaches better than you do and better than I do. They’re available on YouTube. People don’t need you to be the best Bible teacher in the world. They need you to be the best pastor for them. Rich Birch — That’s good.John Plake — And the tools that are all about focusing on their relationship with the Bible, their holistic spiritual formation, and our leadership behaviors. And so for that, we built the Next Step for Church Assessment.John Plake — It’s actually standing on the foundation or built on the engine block, if you want a different metaphor, of the old reveal research that the Willow Creek Association had come out with. It’s no longer available. And we were able to acquire all of their historical learnings, but also add in things like human flourishing and e-pastoral leadership behaviors that lead to churches really being missionally effective and strong. Excellent stuff on Bible engagement and spiritual formation. John Plake — So the the big challenge we had, I was talking with Dr. Ed Stetzer about this because he was at LifeWay Research when the Transformational Church Assessment was being built. And it was always hard because analyzing this kind of data required a lot of human intervention. It’s very expensive to do. It’s very complicated to deliver. And even a small cost can be a barrier for churches that have strained budgets. It doesn’t matter if you’re a church of, you know, 2,500 25,000 or 250. There’s always more places to put your money than there are dollars that are available to do it.John Plake — And so at American Bible Society, we said, you know what, as a gift to the church, because we love the church, we need to make it completely free. And so you can go to church.nextstep.bible and you could sign up today. Literally, we’re recording this on a on a Thursday. You could go there today and by Sunday, you could be launching your survey. Two weeks later, you’d automatically have results in your own online dashboard. You’d get key highlights emailed to you. There’s a place for custom questions. There’s just all kinds of really, really rich information.Rich Birch — So good.John Plake — And it it doesn’t take the place of the kind of learning that you have as a pastor. You learn deeply in relationship with others. You’re observing what’s going on. You have a team that’s around you. But what it does is it provides this valid, reliable sift and sort function. It’s based on well, I don’t know even know how many, well over 3000 churches, well over half a million survey responses went into building this and making it a tool that that is a good benchmark for you to say, you know what, if we want to move from where we are today to where God is calling us, here are the things we need to focus on.Rich Birch — It’s so good. And friends, I want to encourage you to to go there. Just church.nextstep.bible. I know many of us have a heart for saying, listen, we want to measure more than just nickels and noses. The number of people that show up and revenue that comes in. And this a great way to kind of inject at something that’s at the core of what we’re supposed to be doing as a church. So why don’t we just give a little bit more detail?Rich Birch — What is it? You know, what’s it actually measuring? How is it? You know, how could it be helpful? How how could it kind of dovetail with some of the things we’re already tracking? Maybe give us, you know, what kind of insights are we going to gain from this if we if we put our people through this?John Plake — Yeah, maybe it’s worthwhile to just back up and say it’s based on a congregational assessment. So really this kind of work is all about just listening to your congregation at scale. So if you have 25 people coming to church, you can probably have this conversation with them if you know how to ask the right questions. Rich Birch — Right.John Plake — You can go to the website. You’re like, what’s in the survey? There’s a button you can click. You can read the whole survey. It’s fine. We’re not going to try and surprise you with anything. But really simple stuff. How’s your relationship with Jesus? How often are you interacting with Scripture? What difference is that making in your life? We ask the standard Harvard human flourishing questions. We ask about um how the pastoral team or the senior pastor, him or herself, is doing at actually modeling Christlike leadership for you. Rich Birch — It’s so good.John Plake — And all of that reporting then gets brought into a database. It’s all anonymous. So individuals don’t, they don’t have to tell you who they are. They can’t tell you who they are other than by characteristics. And you’re going to get this really good, robust picture of what’s going on at the church. John Plake — Now, what does it take for somebody to do that? It takes about 20 minutes of their time, and time is expensive, right? People always have too much to do. So in return for that investment, at the end of their survey experience, they will have already told us everything we need to know to match them to great resources at nextstep.bible.John Plake — And with their permission, not without it, they can click a button, pass that data over to the individual nextstep.bible platform. They can create an account and right away, they’re going to be finding things like YouVersion Bible reading plans that are just for them.John Plake — If you’ve got people in your church and they’re outliers, they’re they’re way more spiritually advanced than everybody else, or they’re just getting started and everybody else is way ahead of them, these kinds of tools create bespoke pathways for them so they know what to do next. All the while, the church leadership can sit back and say, okay, here’s our results. And as a team, now what do we need to do to serve the whole congregation well?Rich Birch — I love this. You know, this is what incredible tool that you’ve put together here for our churches to wrestle through and to, you know, not only help us as a church as we’re thinking about these issues, but then help individuals in our church. What what would be some of the ways that churches might use the data that’s generated to impact what we’re doing in our programming? How how could we use this to improve what we’re doing?John Plake — Sure. There are really three things we want everybody to do. First, just discover what’s going on. Just just check your assumptions at the door and and say, okay, what do the data tell us about what’s going on in our church life and in our people’s lives? That’s the first thing.John Plake — Second thing is it’s going to surface for you the top three things that you’re doing great. And it’s going to give them to you in the report. And you need to throw a party. Like there are people who make these things happen for you. No pastor is doing this all by themselves. And so plan a party, celebrate what’s going well.John Plake — The third thing it’s going to do is it’s going to give you suggestions about, okay, here’s where your congregation is today. It won’t surprise you, but it might inform you. I’ve never seen a pastor look at the report and go, ah you guys got it wrong. Rich Birch — Sure, right.John Plake — Usually they they see the report and they go, yeah, okay, yeah, you got me.Rich Birch — Yeah. Confirmed some hunches I’ve had. Yeah. Yeah.John Plake — Right? But we don’t we don’t have time. We don’t have the resources. We don’t have the expertise to be able to sit down and and kind of scientifically walk through this process. So we do that for you. We deliver the report. And then we’re going to give you two key action items that we think churches like yours in a similar place have done that have helped move them toward spiritual health and missional effectiveness.John Plake — And that’s really what it’s all about. We want your congregation to be spiritually healthy. We want your your church as a whole to be missionally effective. And when that happens, often there’s numerical growth. Often there’s financial growth. But there’s certainly more missional impact that’s coming through your congregation and its work.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool. So if I’m like a church of a thousand people, let’s say, and just round number to picking out of the sky, how how what kind of percentage of my congregation would I need to take this to give me a reasonable, you know, statistical, you know, feeling good about the data for it? What what kind of number um should I be thinking about?John Plake — Well, the first thing is we’ve built in a tool that will tell you how to get to a margin of error of plus or minus 3%. Rich Birch — Love it.John Plake — And that does vary depending on the adult attendance that you have. So let’s say you’ve a thousand adults. And by adults, I mean anybody in high school or older can probably take this survey. Rich Birch — Yep.John Plake — And you can cut the data like by gender or by age. All of that live filtering is in the online platform. Rich Birch — Oh, that’s so good.John Plake — So if you’re the you’re the youth pastor and you’re like, well, wait, tell me about the young people that took the survey. You can just look right at them and compare them to the rest of the congregation, which I bet will be enlightening. But nevertheless, how many do you need if you’re a church of 1,000, it’s about 275.Rich Birch — Okay.John Plake — If it’s a smaller church than that, then you’re still going to need a pretty significant percentage. So if I roll that all the way down to a church of 100, you need 80.Rich Birch — Okay.John Plake — And if you roll that up to a church of 5,000, well, you don’t need that many more than 275.Rich Birch — Interesting.John Plake — So you’re going to report that out to you. It’s very, very doable. And, you know, I’ve pastored at large churches and I pastored a small church. And I’ll tell you, when I pastored a church of under 100, I could have gotten a census of the people, like everybody, to do a survey like this. They would have been glad to tell me these things. Rich Birch — Right.John Plake — And it’s not that I couldn’t have had a conversation one-on-one with most of the adults in the congregation. It was something different in that case. I actually didn’t know what to ask. I used to run into this when I was a campus pastor at a Christian university. And I would have young people walk into my office and I was like, I know I should be able to help them, but the challenge they’re facing is different than anything I’m familiar with. I don’t have any analog for this in my personal experience. And so this sort of takes the mystery away. We don’t ask fluffy questions. We ask research proven questions that are going to give you the information you really need so you can take action.Rich Birch — That’s amazing. That’s think this is such a great tool for people. I can see how, you know, it’d be so helpful for folks that are listening in to, you know, might be be able to plug in grab this experience for their people, help their church, help the folks that are attending. That’s, that’s incredible.Rich Birch — So, you know, you’ve picked an interesting vocation to be connected with the American Bible Society. And because, you know, this is such a critical and important part of developing people’s relationship, obviously, with Jesus; its core to all of it. And we have seen a long historical downward trend, and you’re pushing against that, which is amazing. But what gives you hope in the middle of all of that? What would it when you look at the church around you know, the country, where do you see flashes of just good things going on that are like, you know, when it comes to the relationship with scripture that even, you know, even when we see maybe the overall numbers are not as great as we want them to be, what are some kind of flashes of hope we should, that we could encourage folks with today?John Plake — Well, I’d like to maybe point to just three things that leap to mind. Rich Birch — Yep.John Plake — The first of them is I never talk to anybody in the church who says the Bible is a bad idea. Rich Birch — Sure.John Plake — Everybody likes the Bible. We’re all trying to figure out how to communicate its message better, to understand it more deeply. It’s transforming our lives, and we want to be able to share it with others. John Plake — And that’s great because, number two, there’s nothing that makes a bigger difference in somebody’s spiritual life than their relationship with the Bible. I mean, absolutely nothing. And I’m saying this as a researcher. I’ve tested it. I can’t find anything that makes a bigger difference. John Plake — In fact, when we looked at Christian college and university students, 60% of their overall spiritual health across lots of domains—beliefs, practice, putting faith into action, loving God, loving others, all these things, 60% of the variance in their spiritual health is solely accounted for by their relationship with the Bible.John Plake — So if we can help people have a dynamic relationship with scripture, we win. That’s all there is to it. It’s just that simple. And so that is really encouraging.John Plake — And then the third thing, ah the third thing is how I say this nicely? I'm I’m from Gen X and so to my Baby Boomer friends, I’m sorry, but you guys don’t have the influence that you once did.Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s true.John Plake — And that’s a good thing because there’s new openness among Millennials, and Gen Z and even younger Gen X um that we just don’t see among Baby Boomers. It’s like Baby Boomers made up their minds in the 60s and early 70s and said, this is what I believe and I’m not changing. And they haven’t. John Plake — That’s not to say that someone who’s a Baby Boomer can’t have a a spiritual experience and transformational experience. It does happen. But on the population level, like when we looked at the Bay Area of San Francisco, if you look at the scripture engagement, church engagement, love God, love others data in the Bay Area, it looks like what you’d expect, until you strip out the Baby Boomers. And then suddenly it looks better than every place else in America.John Plake — You’re like, what’s going on? Well, looks like all the unreconstructed hippies that moved to the Bay Area are actually holding a lid on the population numbers. And when you remove that and you go, oh, wait a minute, let me look under the headline and say what’s happening. There’s more going on than is easy to see. And I think this happens in big national trends.John Plake — Oh, is Scripture engagement up or down? Is you know church attendance up or down? Whats what’s going… big national trends. Yeah, okay, those are helpful, and we want those to change. But what’s changing first is below the fold. Things in Gen Z, things among Millennials, things in young men, those things are starting to change, and I think those are the first glimmerings that God is at work in a new way in America, and I can’t wait to see it.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s that’s a great word. And that lines up with what we’re seeing, even just experientially talking to churches across the country. You know we’re so we’re seeing there is something going on with younger generations, which is great to see. I was I was born in 1974, the lowest birth rate year of the 20th century. I am classic Gen X. Like you know I am like statistic I’m the statistical average Gen X and has spent a lot of my time trying to hand stuff from the Boomers to the Millennials. And, yeah, there’s lots of encouraging news there, particularly with the younger generations. Rich Birch — I also want to speak to on the the work I’ve done in the church growth stuff that I’ve done and coaching I’ve done with churches, one of the things that’s just undeniable is churches that have a high view of scripture, that is, they’re trying to get people engaged with scripture. They they talk about it like it’s actually true. How do we say don’t know what’s the best way to talk about that? Those are the churches that are prevailing, and that actually works out statistically. You see that time and again. Talk to us about that dynamic, which is kind of co-related to the things we’re talking about today. From your perspective in the stats and all that, how how have you seen that work out as you’ve looked at churches across the country?John Plake — Yeah, I think you’re exactly right. The churches that are the healthiest in America, that are growing, that where where people are spiritually healthy, have a really dynamic relationship with Scripture. And it kind of it cuts across tradition. Rich Birch — Yep.John Plake — There are some traditional things going on. I was listening to Justin Brierley and his surprising Rebirth of Belief in God podcast, and it was from last season, and he he had someone on, he was interviewing, and what she was saying was there are the parts of the church that seem to be thriving are kind of the, the the older, the ancientness traditions, whether it’s Catholic or Orthodox, that what she called somewhat irreverently, the smells and bells side of of the church.Rich Birch — Sure, sure.John Plake — And on the other side, kind of my end of the swimming pool, I’m, from the Assemblies of God, so the Pentecostal and Charismatic side. And she said, what’s going on is that both ends of that spectrum are totalizing. John Plake — They’re saying, you know what, the the Bible places certain expectations and demands on people. Christ places certain expectations and demands on people. And these parts of the church aren’t sort of shy about talking about that from a biblical perspective. She said, what’s what’s dying is that part in the middle where we’ve reduced church to a PowerPoint and you know an Excel spreadsheet. And she said, that part of the church seems to be dying and no one’s coming to the funeral. Rich Birch — That’s good. John Plake — And I thought, you know okay, right?Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, that’s good.John Plake — So if we revitalize our relationship with God through scripture, there’s a next step for every church. It doesn’t matter what, you know whether you’re mainline or evangelical or, you know, Pentecostal or Orthodox or whatever it is, but but reviving our relationship with God through Scripture is really where it’s at.Rich Birch — That’s so good. i Yeah, I call that middle group the just because it rhymes doesn’t mean it’s true group. You know, like the, you know, were just like, it’s all my thoughts. No one wants to come and find us. They want to find God ultimately. Well, I don’t want to pick any fights with anybody that’s listening in, but I really appreciate today’s conversation, John. This has been great. So we want to send people to church.nextstep.bible.Rich Birch — The the promise of in two weeks, your church could have a comprehensive report on spiritual health, on where your church is, spiritual health is at, that’s a huge promise. And so again, this is go to church.nextstep.bible. Any kind of final words as we wrap up today’s episode?John Plake — You know, you might be familiar with Cally Parkinson. Cally was the co-author of all of the Reveal books, every single one of them. She was head of communications for the Willow Creek Association when they were running this. She’s probably had more conversations with pastors and church leaders about survey results like this than anybody I know, maybe than anybody alive. And Cally likes this so much. She said, John, I want to have a personal consultation with the first hundred churches that go through this.John Plake — And so if you want to be in that group, she’s going to offer to spend an hour with you and just walk through your results and help explain it. There are videos throughout the platform that will explain it as well. And you can’t beat talking to Cally. She loves pastors. She says you’re the salt of the earth. And she just really wants to serve you because the work that you do to save people is just so valuable to her. So anyway, just wanted to offer that. And I know you’d probably love to meet Cally.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s fantastic. Well, appreciate you being here today. Thanks for the great work you do at the American Bible Society. John, appreciate you being on today. Thank you.John Plake — Thank you.

Help Persecuted Christians TODAY: https://csi-usa.org/quickstart/ Christian Solidarity International On today's Quick Start podcast: NEWS: Trump vows renewed strikes on Iran after accusing Tehran of dragging out negotiations, while tensions flare again across the Middle East. Plus, unrest in Northern Ireland after a Sudanese asylum seeker is charged in a brutal stabbing attack. FOCUS: Apologist Mike Winger deleted the YouVersion Bible app over concerns surrounding The Passion Translation, sparking debate over Bible translations and discernment. MAIN THING: BBC host Jeremy Vine says he believes Christ is who He claimed to be, but admits he rarely talks about his faith inside the BBC. Raj Nair and Stephen Briggs break down what his comments reveal about Christianity and culture in Britain. LAST THING: Deuteronomy 4:2 — “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” SHOW LINKS Radical Revelations with Raj Nair https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radical-revelations/id1888511250 Faith in Culture: https://cbn.com/news/faith-culture Heaven Meets Earth PODCAST: https://cbn.com/lp/heaven-meets-earth NEWSMAKERS POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newsmakers/id1724061454

This week we are starting our new campaign 'Send Me'. Pastor Mike will be bringing our first message. Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://bible.com/events/49617462Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

Welcome to Calvary! We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. Sermon Notes - Available via the YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/events/49619489 To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GPrEUfT8Tc  Our Campus Locations: AUSTRALIA, QLD Calvary Cairns 108 Grafton St Cairns City QLD 4870   Calvary Townsville 569 Bayswater Rd Mount Louisa QLD 4814   Calvary Emerald 11 Gladstone St Emerald QLD 4720   Calvary Blackwater 22a Littlefield St Blackwater QLD 4717   Calvary Rockhampton 189 East St Rockhampton QLD 4700   Calvary Yeppoon 2 Burnett Street Yeppoon QLD 4703   Calvary Sunshine Coast 212 Crosby Hill Rd Tanawha QLD 4556   Calvary Caloundra Sunshine Coast Function Centre (Caloundra RSL) 19 West Terrace Caloundra QLD 4551   Calvary Brisbane 97 Castlemaine Street Milton QLD 4064   SOUTH AFRICA Calvary East London 70 Tennyson St Quigney, East London, 5201   PAPUA NEW GUINEA Calvary Port Moresby PNG Institute of Banking & Business Management (IBBM) Vanama Crescent, Lawes Road

Welcome to Calvary! We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. Sermon Notes - Available via the YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/events/49619484 To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aGhM7FUlC0  Our Campus Locations: AUSTRALIA, QLD Calvary Cairns 108 Grafton St Cairns City QLD 4870   Calvary Townsville 569 Bayswater Rd Mount Louisa QLD 4814   Calvary Emerald 11 Gladstone St Emerald QLD 4720   Calvary Blackwater 22a Littlefield St Blackwater QLD 4717   Calvary Rockhampton 189 East St Rockhampton QLD 4700   Calvary Yeppoon 2 Burnett Street Yeppoon QLD 4703   Calvary Sunshine Coast 212 Crosby Hill Rd Tanawha QLD 4556   Calvary Caloundra Sunshine Coast Function Centre (Caloundra RSL) 19 West Terrace Caloundra QLD 4551   Calvary Brisbane 97 Castlemaine Street Milton QLD 4064   SOUTH AFRICA Calvary East London 70 Tennyson St Quigney, East London, 5201   PAPUA NEW GUINEA Calvary Port Moresby PNG Institute of Banking & Business Management (IBBM) Vanama Crescent, Lawes Road

Welcome to Calvary! We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. Sermon Notes - Available via the YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/events/49614965 To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eN6HdJ94mM  Our Campus Locations: AUSTRALIA, QLD Calvary Cairns 108 Grafton St Cairns City QLD 4870   Calvary Townsville 569 Bayswater Rd Mount Louisa QLD 4814   Calvary Emerald 11 Gladstone St Emerald QLD 4720   Calvary Blackwater 22a Littlefield St Blackwater QLD 4717   Calvary Rockhampton 189 East St Rockhampton QLD 4700   Calvary Yeppoon 2 Burnett Street Yeppoon QLD 4703   Calvary Sunshine Coast 212 Crosby Hill Rd Tanawha QLD 4556   Calvary Caloundra Sunshine Coast Function Centre (Caloundra RSL) 19 West Terrace Caloundra QLD 4551   Calvary Brisbane 97 Castlemaine Street Milton QLD 4064   SOUTH AFRICA Calvary East London 70 Tennyson St Quigney, East London, 5201   PAPUA NEW GUINEA Calvary Port Moresby PNG Institute of Banking & Business Management (IBBM) Vanama Crescent, Lawes Road

This Sunday, we are joined by Missionaries Pastor Jordan & Nitasha Christian. Pastor Jordan brings us a message titled 'Five Reasons why the goodness of God is critical for missions'.  This sermon is part of our Mission May Campaign.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://www.bible.com/events/49614280 You can also watch the entire service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjfGktmjrgY Click ⁠http://bcc.life/whats-on⁠ to find out about all our events and activities. Click ⁠http://bcc.life/give⁠ to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation! If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen." If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you!Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit ⁠https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

Welcome to Calvary! We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. Sermon Notes - Available via the YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/events/49613732 To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOpHQhPzd68  Our Campus Locations: AUSTRALIA, QLD Calvary Cairns 108 Grafton St Cairns City QLD 4870   Calvary Townsville 569 Bayswater Rd Mount Louisa QLD 4814   Calvary Emerald 11 Gladstone St Emerald QLD 4720   Calvary Blackwater 22a Littlefield St Blackwater QLD 4717   Calvary Rockhampton 189 East St Rockhampton QLD 4700   Calvary Yeppoon 2 Burnett Street Yeppoon QLD 4703   Calvary Sunshine Coast 212 Crosby Hill Rd Tanawha QLD 4556   Calvary Caloundra Sunshine Coast Function Centre (Caloundra RSL) 19 West Terrace Caloundra QLD 4551   Calvary Brisbane 97 Castlemaine Street Milton QLD 4064   SOUTH AFRICA Calvary East London 70 Tennyson St Quigney, East London, 5201   PAPUA NEW GUINEA Calvary Port Moresby PNG Institute of Banking & Business Management (IBBM) Vanama Crescent, Lawes Road

This Sunday, Pastor Mike brings us a Pentecost Sunday message titled ‘Highly Flammable and Extremely Contagious'.  This sermon is part of our Mission May Campaign.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://www.bible.com/events/49611045You can also watch the entire service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvunWbHQC5oClick http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities. Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation! If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen." If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you!Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

Welcome to Calvary! We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. Sermon Notes - Available via the YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/events/49609666 To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsJBIF5lf9g  Our Campus Locations: AUSTRALIA, QLD Calvary Cairns 108 Grafton St Cairns City QLD 4870   Calvary Townsville 569 Bayswater Rd Mount Louisa QLD 4814   Calvary Emerald 11 Gladstone St Emerald QLD 4720   Calvary Blackwater 22a Littlefield St Blackwater QLD 4717   Calvary Rockhampton 189 East St Rockhampton QLD 4700   Calvary Yeppoon 2 Burnett Street Yeppoon QLD 4703   Calvary Sunshine Coast 212 Crosby Hill Rd Tanawha QLD 4556   Calvary Caloundra Sunshine Coast Function Centre (Caloundra RSL) 19 West Terrace Caloundra QLD 4551   Calvary Brisbane 97 Castlemaine Street Milton QLD 4064   SOUTH AFRICA Calvary East London 70 Tennyson St Quigney, East London, 5201   PAPUA NEW GUINEA Calvary Port Moresby PNG Institute of Banking & Business Management (IBBM) Vanama Crescent, Lawes Road

This Sunday, guest speaker Bart Gee brings us an inspiring message titled ‘Turning Disability Into Possibility ‘.Please followalong with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://www.bible.com/events/49607832You can also watch the entire service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw1DW80eY0gClick http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities. Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation! If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take awaymy sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and withme now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen." If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you!Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

Welcome to Calvary! We are a growing church, meeting in many locations around the world, helping people to know Jesus, find community and make a difference. Sermon Notes - Available via the YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/events/49606449 To learn more about Calvary Church, visit our website: https://calvarycc.global Watch this message on our Calvary Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umG2buWQC_0  Our Campus Locations: AUSTRALIA, QLD Calvary Cairns 108 Grafton St Cairns City QLD 4870   Calvary Townsville 569 Bayswater Rd Mount Louisa QLD 4814   Calvary Emerald 11 Gladstone St Emerald QLD 4720   Calvary Blackwater 22a Littlefield St Blackwater QLD 4717   Calvary Rockhampton 189 East St Rockhampton QLD 4700   Calvary Yeppoon 2 Burnett Street Yeppoon QLD 4703   Calvary Sunshine Coast 212 Crosby Hill Rd Tanawha QLD 4556   Calvary Caloundra Sunshine Coast Function Centre (Caloundra RSL) 19 West Terrace Caloundra QLD 4551   Calvary Brisbane 97 Castlemaine Street Milton QLD 4064   SOUTH AFRICA Calvary East London 70 Tennyson St Quigney, East London, 5201   PAPUA NEW GUINEA Calvary Port Moresby PNG Institute of Banking & Business Management (IBBM) Vanama Crescent, Lawes Road

This Sunday, Pastor Beki brings us the second message as part of the Mission May Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49604557You can also watch the entire service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6XtWqvNXXIClick http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our eventsand activities. Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where youcan return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation! If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take awaymy sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and withme now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank youfor your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen." If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, andwe would love to celebrate that with you!Please email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

We've probably all walked into a room and felt unseen, out of place, or excluded. Those experiences can cut deep and leave us feeling alone in the very place where everyone else seems connected with friends. In this episode, Jennifer talks with Dr. Heather Holleman to explore how powerful truths in Ephesians helps us reframes those painful experiences and related insecurities. Together, they unpack what it means to be chosen, included, and seated with Christ and how those realities speak directly into anxiety, comparison, and loneliness. Drawing from Scripture and personal story, this conversation invites listeners to move from striving for belonging to resting in the secure place they already occupy with Jesus. They also discuss the impact of the narratives we carry, what Dr. Holleman calls “shadow stories”, and how replacing those with God’s biblical truth fosters healing and transformation. Through practices like expressive writing and sharing personal “Savior stories,” listeners will discover practical ways to process pain, renew their thinking, and step into their God-given purpose. This episode ultimately shifts the focus from isolation to mission, reminding us that we are not only included in Christ but also sent to reflect Him in a world longing for connection. Resources referenced: Included in Christ: Living A New Story from Ephesians (A Bible Study) by Dr. Heather Holleman "Embracing Your True Self: Living in Your Christ-Centered Identity" Bible reading plan (on the YouVersion Bible app) Connect with Dr. Heather Holleman: On her website On Instagram On Facebook Find Jennifer Slattery: On her website Instagram Facebook Amazon Subscribe to her free newsletter Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This Sunday, Pastor Mike brings us the first message as part of the Mission May Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://www.bible.com/events/49600952 You can also watch the entire service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fy3J4XHxw&Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

Worship Director Kevin Levingston will be bringing us a message entitled, 'Worship 101'.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49597774Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

Elder Dami will be bringing us a message entitled, 'Spectator or Participant in our Faith Journey'.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49594376Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus

Welcome to BCC! We'd love to see you this Sunday, 12th April 2026, at either our 9am or 11.30am morning services. If you can't make it in person, you can still join us online—our 11.30am service will be livestreamed on YouTube. Pastor Mike will be bringing us a message entitled, 'Back To The Boat'.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49591155Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!

Welcome to BCC! We'd love to see you this Easter Sunday, 5th April 2026, at either our 9am or 11.30am morning services. If you can't make it in person, you can still join us online—our 11.130am service will be livestreamed on YouTube. Pastor Mike will be bringing us a message.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49584025Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:

Pastor Beki will be bringing us a message, and we will be sharing communion together as a central part of the service as we reflect on the cross. Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49584024Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!

Welcome to BCC! Pastor Mike brings us a message entitled, 'Palm Sunday'Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://bible.com/events/49583448Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

Pastor Mike brings us a message entitled, 'Zacchaeus'.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://bible.com/events/49580287Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

It's Thursday, March 19th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Chine Communists continue to harass the church China's National People's Congress passed the innocuously named “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” last week.  The new law requires the enforcement of a strong sense of Chinese identity across society. This would continue China's suppression of religious and ethnic minorities. It would also affect social organizations and churches.  International Christian Concern noted, “Christian home churches are an attempt to escape government scrutiny, but even they are often raided and their members arrested on charges of working against the interests of the state.” China is ranked 17th on the Open Doors' World Watch List of the most oppressive countries to be a Christian.  Trump postpones trip to meet with Chinese President China will have to reschedule a meeting with the United States as the war in Iran continues. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will postpone his trip to Beijing. The trip was scheduled for the end of the month. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to discuss trade tariffs. The trade war between the two countries has been on pause since last October.  Commenting on the postponement, President Trump said, “Because of the [Iran] war, I want to be here. I have to be here.” Israel killed Iran's top security official on Monday Israel killed Iran's top security official, Ali Larijani, in a strike on Monday. Larijani was likely running the country since U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader last month. The recent war has lasted nearly three weeks so far. President Trump told reporters yesterday that America's involvement in the war may be ending soon.  Listen. TRUMP: “We're not ready to leave yet, but we'll be leaving in the near future. We'll be leaving in pretty much the very near future. But, right now, they've been decimated from every standpoint. We've had great support from countries in the Middle East. Great support. But we've had essentially no support from NATO.” Paul Ehrlich, father of population control, died Paul Ehrlich, known as the father of population control, died last Friday at the age of 93. The biology professor and population scientist wrote the 1968 book, The Population Bomb. Ehrlich falsely claimed population growth would cause widespread starvation. He promoted the murder of unborn babies and mass sterilization to stem the alleged tide of overpopulation.  His work inspired governments and organizations to push contraception, abortion, and sterilization on the world.  Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Scotland Parliament votes against legalized assisted suicide Scotland's Parliament voted Tuesday against a bill to legalize assisted suicide. The vote ends two years of national debate on the issue. Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, Chief Executive of Right To Life UK, said, “This is a great victory for the most vulnerable in our society. They deserve protection and care, not a pathway to suicide. If this legislation had passed, countless vulnerable people would have been pressured or coerced into ending their lives.”  Moody Bible victorious in religious liberty case In the United States, a Christian college won its religious freedom case against the Chicago Board of Education. Previously, the city's public schools blocked The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago from participating in its student-teaching program. The college could only participate if it compromised its Christian hiring practices. The public schools backed down after the lawsuit.  Jeremiah Galus with Alliance Defending Freedom commented, “We're hopeful other public officials will take note that they can't inject themselves illegally and unconstitutionally into a religious non-profit's hiring practices.” YouVersion: No AI chatbots to answer theological questions And finally, a leading digital Bible platform is not implementing artificial intelligence chatbots for answering theological questions. The YouVersion Bible platform has over one billion downloads around the world.  YouVersion CEO Bobby Gruenewald told Christian Daily International that AI models are inaccurate. He said, “The best model with the best performance, with the most popular versions of the Bible that are most indexed, misquotes Scripture at least 15% of the time. Some of them as much as 60% of the time.” Unlike chatbots, God's Word is always accurate. Psalm 12:6 says, “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of Earth, purified seven times.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Thursday, March 19th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

In this week's episode, I talk with Cara Ray, who has recently published her first book, “The Pursuit of Holy Leisure: Enjoying God in Everyday Places”. We talk about the different ways that she grew her platform, including through publishing Bible reading plans on the YouVersion Bible app. She also shared about her publishing journey and what that looked like as a first time author without having the huge platform numbers that some publishers are looking for. Cara Ray is a writer, Bible teacher, and founder of The Writers' Bloc community and podcast. As a former quiet time checkbox checker, she now writes to help others slow down, savor Scripture, and pursue holy leisure. Her work has been featured on Desiring God, Challies.com, Gospel Centered Discipleship, and the YouVersion Bible App. Cara's online community, The Writers' Bloc, equips women to grow in the art and heart of writing. Her weekly podcast by the same name features conversations with Christian writers who desire to encourage others in the craft of writing and write for God's glory. She also owns and operates her own copywriting and marketing business, where she helps entrepreneurs and creatives communicate their message with clarity and conviction. Cara lives in Gilbert, Arizona, with her husband, four kids, and two obnoxious dogs.Resources:From Stuck to Steady: The 5 Pillars of a Consistent Writing Rhythm for Christian Writers (free 30-minute recorded workshop)Schedule a free discovery call to see how coaching can help you get unstuck.Sign up for Pen Points, a weekly email to encourage you in your writing. Watch the podcast on YouTube.The Purposeful Pen is a weekly podcast for Christian writers designed to help you build a writing life with eternal impact. Each week you'll hear practical tips and Biblical truth on topics such as improving your writing, honing your message, and managing your time. I always respond to listener emails and I'd love to hear from you! Amysimon@amylynnsimon.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amylynnsimon.substack.com

Pastor Beki will be bringing us a message this Mother's Day service.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49573324Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

Welcome to BCC! Pastors Mike & Beki will be bringing us a message entitled, 'Where Has All The Fire Gone?'.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49573323Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

It's Wednesday, March 4th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark and Timothy Reed Pray for the Middle East Please pray for Christians in the Middle East as tensions rise in the region. Christian communities, like those in Iran, are especially vulnerable during times of escalating violence. Regina Lynch with Aid to the Church in Need warned, “The longing for freedom and dignity among peoples in the region is legitimate. But the price of renewed war could be extremely high. Civilians always suffer most, and Christians are often among the most defenseless.”  U.S.-Iranian conflict might last four weeks U.S. President Donald Trump recently said the conflict with Iran may continue over the next four weeks. The United States and Israel carried out sweeping airstrikes against the country over the weekend. The American death toll in the conflict reached six troops as of Monday.  The U.S. State Department is urging Americans to leave over a dozen countries in the Middle East. Those include Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel.   Supreme Court rules against radical transgender policy The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against California's pro-transgender school policy on Monday. The policy allowed public school officials to keep the gender confusion of students from their parents. Worse than that, school officials even helped students “transition” without their parents knowledge.  Paul Jonna, Special Counsel at Thomas More Society, commented, “The Court's landmark . . . vindication of religious liberty . . . [sets] an historic precedent that will dismantle secret gender transition policies across the country.” The State of the Unborn: GOP should not leave fight to states The pro-life movement is continuing strong, but not without its challenges. That's according to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser in her “State of the Unborn” address.  Listen to her thoughts on why the fight for life must continue. DANNENFELSER: “Now consider the great battles the pro-life movement has won after over a half a century of struggle:  electing a pro-life president, confirming the Supreme Court justices who would reverse Roe v Wade with the Dobbs decision, and restore the right to uphold the 14th Amendment's equal protection promise in the law.  "The handcuffs are off. We are free to protect the human rights of people. We live in a fresh moment filled with hope for our children, and yet, there are now more abortions than before Dobbs -- at least 1.1 million a year.  "More than 60% of those deaths are caused by abortion drugs, and that's more than fentanyl, cocaine and heroin related deaths combined. Abortion is the number one cause of death in the United States of America.” Dannenfelser went on to challenge the Republican Party. She said, “The current GOP strategy of leaving this issue to the states clearly does not work. Twenty pro-life states can't even enforce their laws because of mail-order abortion drugs.” Proverbs 31:9 says, “Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” Trump's Transportation Dept: No illegals allowed commercial licenses Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is imposing new rules in order for truckers to obtain a Commercial Driver's License. This comes as the Trump administration continues to fight illegal immigration, including within the trucking industry, where illegal drivers have killed a number of Americans. Duffy laid out his expectations for U.S. commercial drivers. DUFFY: “This is not politics that we're playing here. We can have a debate about whether Joe Biden had an open border or Donald Trump shut down and secured the border. That's a different debate. “The debate really is, ‘Do you want well-trained, well-qualified drivers behind the wheel of a big rig driving on American roads?' It's very simple. I think the answer is: Every single American, no matter what your political stripes are, doesn't are, that's exactly what you want. “That's what you would expect from the federal government and the state government. To a greater extent, I think we need our states to say, ‘Listen, we can be good partners.'” Truckers will now be required to take their Commercial Driver's License test in English. Plus, many states have worked hard with the federal government to take reckless truck drivers off the roads. YouVersion Bible app sees high engagement in Kenya, Nigeria, & South Africa And finally, the Bible app YouVersion launched its latest regional hub in Kenya last week.  The Bible app is seeing strong growth across countries in Africa. Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa rank among the top countries for daily Bible engagement, not just in Africa but also the world.  YouVersion CEO and founder Bobby Gruenewald told Christian Daily International, “Some people have predicted that Africa would become the center of global Christianity. From what we're seeing, I think it already is.” Isaiah 11:9 says, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, March 4th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Welcome to BCC! Pastor Mike will be bringing us a message entitled, 'The Captain'.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49569575Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

If you've been wanting to get started with reading your Bible and prayer journaling, but you don't know where to even start, or how you're supposed to do it, this episode is for you. Incorporating practices like prayer journaling can help you focus your thoughts and see God's fingerprints all over your story. Today, I'm sharing some tips and the recipe I use to journal t help you get started. Feel free to make it your own and ask any questions you have along the way! Resources mentioned in this episode: YouVersion Bible app - https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/ Streetlights Bible app - https://www.streetlightsbible.com/ The Bible Recap Podcast by Tara-Leigh Cobble - https://www.thebiblerecap.com/podcast Connect with us! Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.pzazzonline.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/pzazzartstudio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/pzazzartstudio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Text us: 1-334-249-1818

This Sunday, Pastor Mike brings us a message titled The Lord is My ShepherdYou can follow the message along in the YouVersion Bible app at https://www.bible.com/events/49566381 and add your own notes!You can also watch the entire service on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTU8WiYcmX8

If you've ever wondered whether your past pain disqualifies you from God's purpose, this conversation will breathe hope into your heart.In today's episode, I'm joined by Carla Arges, Christian mental health coach, podcast host of Affirming Truths, and a woman who has walked through bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and childhood trauma. Carla's story is one of redemption: how God met her in the middle of her brokenness, renewed her mind with His truth, and continues to use every piece of her journey for His glory.Together, we talk about:How trauma shapes our core beliefs and how God reshapes them with truthWhat it means to renew your mind daily through ScriptureMoving from shame into restoration and freedomPractical first steps if you feel stuck in old patternsFriend, God can use all of your story. I pray this episode reminds you that you are not disqualified—you are deeply loved and called to walk in freedom.To connect with Carla, head over to https://www.carlaarges.com or @carla.arges on IG!Listen to Carla's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/affirming-truths-podcast-christian-mental-health-encouragement/id1584414334 FREE Renewing Your Mind Workbook: https://carla-arges.myflodesk.com/workbook Carla's plans on YouVersion Bible app: https://www.bible.com/organizations/e772d67b-ac65-45d4-aded-48671892a363?utm_source=yvapp&utm_medium=share&utm_content=partner-pageSubmit a question for “Ask Han” here: https://forms.gle/qWGxyy9M5Q5N2tMz9 SUPPORT BY WORDS: https://buymeacoffee.com/bywordsMy favorite Bible studies + devotionals - HANNAHHUGHES10  for 10% off: https://thedailygraceco.com?dt_id=300773 CONNECT:hello@thehannahhughes.comhttps://www.instagram.com/thehannahhughes

This Sunday, Elim Regional Leader Paul Hudson brings us a message.You can follow the message along in the YouVersion Bible app at https://www.bible.com/events/49562759 and add your own notes!You can also watch the entire service on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPOK33cu07M

It's Thursday, February 12th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Olympics can prompt prayer among Christian viewers (Audio of Olympic theme song) Over 3,500 athletes from 93 countries are competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics Games in Milan, Italy this month. Fourteen of these countries are on the Open Doors' World Watch List of the most oppressive places to be a Christian. Those countries include Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, India, and China.  Open Doors has a message for Christian viewers of the Olympics. They said, “Use the Olympics in a potentially surprising way: to pray.  … Take a moment to think about the situation of your brothers and sisters in that country and pray for it.” You can reference the organization's prayer guide for each country through a link in our transcript today at TheWorldview.com.  Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” Canadian gunman killed 10 people at school Tragically, a transgender shooter opened fire at a Canadian school on Tuesday, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Jesse Strang, a 17-year-old male pretending to be a female while wearing a dress, reportedly killed 10 people including himself.  He also injured 25 people. It's Canada's deadliest school shooting in decades.   The shooting took place at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northeastern British Columbia which has fewer than 200 students enrolled in Grades 7 through 12. Chris Elston, a Canadian pro-family activist, said, “He was a young man who needed serious help for his mental health. Instead, his delusion was affirmed, and the result is murdered innocent children.” Later, Elston added, “Someone needed to tell this kid the truth and help him to be happy as a man, but it's illegal to do so. It's a criminal offense of conversion therapy. So, he never got help and he got worse. Murdered children paid the price for our politicians' stupidity and cowardice. Not even our police can call him a man. A cult has taken over our society. “ Please pray for the families suffering through this unimaginable loss. YouVersion Bible engagement up dramatically in Latin America Online Bible platforms are seeing unprecedented engagement in Latin America so far this year. This trend marks a year since the YouVersion Bible platform established a regional office in Mexico City. On January 1, nearly two million people subscribed to Bible reading plans. And the app saw over 22.2 million active users on the first Sunday of the year. This marks a 20% growth from last year. Countries with record levels of engagement include Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and El Salvador.   Only 31% o Protestants read Bible daily In the United States, new analysis from Lifeway Research found most Protestant churchgoers don't read the Bible on a daily basis. Seventeen percent of churchgoers read the Bible at least monthly. Fourteen percent read weekly. Thirty percent read a few times a week. And only 31% read the Bible daily. However, the percentage of churchgoers who read the Bible daily or at least a few times a week is now 61%. That's up from 36% in 2007. Romans 12:2 reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” GOP to FDA: Abortion Kill Pill is hurting women U.S. Senate Republicans criticized the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday after a closed-door briefing on the abortion kill pill. The FDA is supposed to be conducting a safety review of mifepristone, one of the drugs used in chemical abortions. Republicans are accusing the agency of dragging its feet on the study. Listen to comments from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri in an interview on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. HAWLEY: “Tony. I just think, at this point, this study, it's vital. It should be done. I don't have any confidence that the FDA is actually going to do it. And, in the meantime, abortions in this country are increasing. There are more abortions now than when Roe was the law of the land. And that's because of this chemical abortion.” U.S. homicides down 20% The Major Cities Chiefs Association released its latest report on violent crime in the U.S. The report collects data from 67 of America's biggest police departments. Compared to 2024, reported homicides were down nearly 20% last year. And reported violent crimes are falling after a surge of reports during the COVID-era shutdowns. 130,000 new American jobs The United States added 130,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts expected only 55,000 jobs. It's the biggest job growth in over a year. The gains were led by healthcare, social assistance, and construction.  The unemployment rate remained slightly elevated at 4.3%. 92% of Americans like religious themes in movies & TV And finally, a new survey found most Americans are open to religious themes in movies and TV shows. The 2026 Faith & Entertainment Index found 92% of U.S. adults say faith has a role to play in modern entertainment. And 77% believe it can have broad appeal. Brooke Zaugg, executive director of the Faith & Media Initiative, said, “Religion can feel scary to talk about — like politics — so it creates the illusion that it's a small group. That makes it easy for filmmakers to oversimplify it or not give it much thought, instead of recognizing how valuable faith storytelling can be when it's done well.”  Close And that's The Worldview on this Thursday, February 12th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, our Worship Director brings us a message.You can follow the message along in the YouVersion Bible app at https://www.bible.com/events/49560040 and add your own notes!You can also watch the entire service on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzoAu9RoEgI

This Sunday, our Head of Youth Ministry Linford George Jnr brings us a sermon Over, Under, Through.You can follow the message along in the YouVersion Bible app at https://www.bible.com/events/49556375and add your own notes!You can also watch the entire service on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTFS2_GvT64

This Sunday Regional Leader Paul Hudson will be bringing us a message. Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://bible.com/events/49553220Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!

Pastoral Resident Jordan sits down for a conversation on Rhythms with Bless and Sophia. SHOW NOTES: Rhythms Description from Sanctuary Church 6:34 - 2 Corinthians 10:530:41 - Alpha Details 46:19 - 1 Peter 3:15Looking for an easy Rhythm to add to your walk with Jesus? Try adding City Collective on the YouVersion Bible app!

Have you ever had a “what if” person… and you can't tell if it's God's timing or an emotional trap?In this episode, a listener writes in about a seven-year friendship that keeps circling back into something deeper. They've never kissed, she's been abstinent for five years, and now — for the first time — their timing finally aligns to explore a relationship. But she's torn: he's warm, patient, and makes her feel safe… yet she's afraid she's been living more in fantasy than reality.They're long-distance, both navigating ADHD, and she's trying to rebuild her faith while also wanting a partner who can lead spiritually — without performing faith just to keep her. So the real question becomes: is love and safety enough to take the risk, or is this a distraction that could derail her growth?We talk about how to move forward with wisdom, how to check your “sober mind” when you're already emotionally invested, and why you can't keep someone in your life as a permanent what-if.✨ What You'll Hear Izzy's letter to Glen after Sydney's passing (bring tissues)Release Rest Remain update + the YouVersion Bible reading planListener email: the long-distance “what if” friendship turning seriousADHD, consistency, and what love looks like in real lifeFaith alignment, spiritual leadership, and moving with a sober mindWhy “love is a risk” — and how to take it wiselyParenting + marriage questions: balance, devotionals, and real-life routines

This Sunday Regional Leader Paul Hudson will be bringing us a message. Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49549820Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!

This Sunday Regional Leader Paul Hudson will be bringing us a message.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: https://bible.com/events/49546853Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!

This Sunday Elder Damilola Awosika will be bringing us a message.Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49537207Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!

Nicolas Maduro's downfall impacts a key ally, Iran, where protests intensify; the parents of murdered Israeli Embassy employ Yaron Lischinsky remember his life; YouVersion Bible app changing lives; reading the Bible in a year.

Nicolas Maduro's downfall impacts a key ally, Iran, where protests intensify; the parents of murdered Israeli Embassy employ Yaron Lischinsky remember his life; YouVersion Bible app changing lives; reading the Bible in a year.

Nicolas Maduro's downfall impacts a key ally, Iran, where protests intensify; the parents of murdered Israeli Embassy employ Yaron Lischinsky remember his life; YouVersion Bible app changing lives; reading the Bible in a year.

Please follow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here: http://bible.com/events/49537204Click http://bcc.life/whats-on to find out about all our events and activities.Click http://bcc.life/give to access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God, bring an offering or make a donation!If you ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life and come home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray:"Lord Jesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for being separated from you and from other people. I receive into you my life as Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believe that you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose again on the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept you into my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your gift of eternal life for now and for ever. Amen."If you prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decision you can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Let us know in the chat session of the livestream, email us at admin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesus Comments are closed but we do invite you to email us at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or via our Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of our website at: http://bcc.life/

Welcome tothis Christmas Day, 25th December 2025 service aswe rejoice in the birth of Jesus! Pleasefollow along with our YouVersion Bible app event here:https://bible.com/events/49537199Clickhttp://bcc.life/whats-onto find out about all our events and activities. Clickhttp://bcc.life/giveto access our giving page, where you can return your tithes to God,bring an offering or make a donation! Ifyou ever need to know how to make Jesus the Lord of your life andcome home to Father God, here is a great prayer you can pray: "LordJesus, I am so sorry for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me for beingseparated from you and from other people. I receive into you my lifeas Lord. Please lead me from now on. I surrender to you. I believethat you died on the cross to take away my sins, that you rose againon the third day and that you are alive and with me now. I accept youinto my life. Please help me to live for you. Thank you for your giftof eternal life for now and for ever. Amen." Ifyou prayed this prayer, please let us know! It's the best decisionyou can ever make, and we would love to celebrate that with you! Letus know in the chat session of the livestream, email us atadmin@bcc.life! or visit https://bit.ly/BCC-FollowJesusCommentsare closed on all of our YouTube videos but we do invite you to emailus at admin@bcc.life if you would like to communicate with us or viaour Business WhatsApp which you can access from the home page of ourwebsite at: http://bcc.life/

Christmas activities across generations, plus the story behind the YouVersion Bible app, and overcoming the fear of a better option. Featured musical artist: Covenant Worship Roundtable: How My Family Celebrates Christmas Does your family have Christmas traditions that are non-negotiable? Maybe a special dish or dessert someone makes, a movie you watch every year, or a church service you attend together. Passing traditions down through generations makes the holiday season extra special, so our guests get nostalgic in sharing their own traditions and why they choose to prioritize them in the midst of everything else they could be doing. Send Us Your Show Ideas Leave Us a Voicemail Watch This Segment on YouTube Culture: Billions of Bibles If you have the Bible app on your phone, you can thank Bobby Gruenewald. He birthed the idea in an airport, and what landed in Apple’s app store on day one has now tallied over one billion downloads. Bobby joins us for an insider’s look at the story behind the YouVersion app, what it can do (did you know our host, Lisa Anderson, has a reading plan there?), and how it’s reaching the world. Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are Download the YouVersion App Read The Dating Manifesto Plan Inbox: Overcoming FOBO If you have too many choices and are plagued by indecision, how do you avoid feeling like there’s always a “better” option out there? Counselor Geremy Keeton weighs in. Link to Counseling Services Find us on YouTube

In this special bonus episode of How to Study the Bible, author and podcaster Carol McLeod joins Nicole to talk about falling in love with Scripture, walking with the Holy Spirit, and staying faithful in every season. From early-morning verse memory at her kitchen table, to decades of quiet service before writing her twentieth book, Carol reminds us that small beginnings matter. “His presence is all the preparation you need.” She shares a striking insight from Mark 5/Luke 8—linking a 12-year illness and a 12-year-old girl—and offers a tender word for anyone hurting this Christmas: Jesus came to carry your griefs. "Christmas is especially for you if you’re hurting; Jesus came to carry your griefs.” What We Discuss: Model > mandate: Carol fell in love with Scripture because her dad lived it and invited her into his early-morning Bible time with intentional verse memory. Start small & be faithful: Ministry often begins with a handful of people—dorm devos, a living-room group—long before books and microphones. His presence prepares us: You can plan, but ultimately “His presence is all the preparation you need” when you teach or serve. A double 12: A fresh reading of Mark 5/Luke 8 (woman hemorrhaging 12 years; Jairus’ daughter aged 12) calls us to care for both women with wounds and the next generation of girls who need Jesus. Christmas is for the brokenhearted: Christ came not only to bear our sins but also to carry our griefs—especially good news for a hard holiday season. Bible Verse References (linked) Lamentations 3:22–23 — His mercies are new every morning. Mark 5:21–43 / Luke 8:40–56 — Jairus’ daughter & the woman with the issue of blood (“Talitha koum”). Isaiah 53:4 — He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Want More? Subscribe to How to Study the Bible and leave a rating/review to help others find the show. Connect with Carol: resources, books, and devotionals at CarolMcLeodMinistries.com. Discover Carol’s YouVersion plans: search “Carol McLeod” in the YouVersion Bible app. Holiday help: check out Carol’s Christmas devotional, Let There Be Joy. Check Out Carol's Podcast: The Significant Woman Download Nicole’s free Christmas Eve Family Liturgy: nicoleunice.com/christmas Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

No one can deny that ChatGPT is super helpful in so many ways — but are we starting to turn to it more than we turn to God? For direction, help, or peace? Bobby Gruenewald, Innovation Leader at Life.Church and creator of the YouVersion Bible App, joins Sadie to chat about the app hitting ONE BILLION downloads (yep, billion), how to seek truth in 2025 when it feels like everything needs a fact-check, what it looks like to use AI in our Bible study, and the global revival that's breaking out — not just in North America, but all around the world. Chapters:  01:35 Bobby's best piece of advice 05:06 How the YouVersion Bible app began 20:00 Global revival is happening 28:10 Seeking truth in 2025 35:00 Using AI 42:00 ChatGPT vs Prayer 51:30 1 billion downloads of the YouVersion Bible app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Wednesday, October 29th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Indian authorities arrest 3 Christians for outreach to Hindus Last week, authorities in northern India arrested three Christians, including a pastor, for conducting an evangelistic outreach to Hindus. The arrests were made in the state of Uttar Pradesh under its anti-conversion law. This comes just days after India's top court criticized the state's use of the law to target Christians.  Such anti-conversions laws are used throughout India to persecute Christians. Believers face the harshest treatment in Uttar Pradesh.  India is ranked 11th on the Open Doors' World Watch List of the most difficult countries to be a Christian.  Trump oversaw Cambodia-Thailand Peace Deal U.S. President Donald Trump is visiting countries in Asia this week. On Sunday, he oversaw the signing of a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand. He also signed trade deals with both countries as well as Malaysia.  Listen to comments from President Trump on that Cambodia-Thailand peace deal.  TRUMP: “Today's signing represents just one of eight conflicts that we've ended in eight months of the Trump presidency. I'm very honored to have done it. We saved millions of lives. “I'm here in a mission of friendship and goodwill and to deepen our ties and commerce, to strengthen our common security, and to really promote strongly, stability, prosperity and peace for all of the countries in this room and long beyond this room.” Yesterday, President Trump visited Japan, signing a trade deal with their newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The president also plans on meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea today.  Samaritan's Purse airlifted 100,000 pounds of food/supplies to Gaza Samaritan's Purse airlifted over 100,000 pounds of food and relief supplies for families in Gaza on Saturday.  This marks the 13th flight to the Middle East by the international Christian relief organization. The latest airlift includes 290,000 food packets, 12,000 blankets, and 12,000 solar lights.  Listen to comments from Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse.  GRAHAM: “This has been a terrible war that's taken place, but Samaritan's Purse is going and we're going to go in Jesus' name. We've been helping the people in Israel. We've been helping the people in Gaza, and we're going to continue to help.” Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Yelp spanked for vilifying pro-life pregnancy centers In the United States, a federal appeals court ruled against Yelp, Inc. in a pro-life case. Yelp operates a platform that connects people with local businesses. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the company for placing misleading information on listings for pro-life pregnancy centers.  In a press release, Paxton said, “Yelp tried to play politics and steer users away from pro-life resources, but being based in the criminal-loving state of California will not shield them from accountability. I will continue to defend pro-life organizations that serve Texans and make sure that women and families are receiving accurate information about our state's resources.” Pew Research: 59% of Americans like influence of religion on society Pew Research reports a sharp rise in the share of U.S. adults who say religion is gaining influence in American life over the last year. The study also shows that more Americans express a positive view of religion's role in society.  The survey found 59% of U.S. adults say religion has a good influence on American life, up from 49% in 2022. Twenty percent have a negative view of religion's influence, down from 26% in 2022. And 21% have a neutral or unclear view of religion's influence, down from 25% in 2022. Fifty-eight percent of Americans also believe their religious views are at odds with mainstream culture, up from 42% in 2020. YouVersion Bible app celebrates one billion downloads And finally, the Bible app, YouVersion, is celebrating one billion downloads.  The Bible app began in 2008 as one of the first 200 mobile phone apps. It saw over 80,000 downloads in the first week. Now, YouVersion is available in thousands of languages and has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times around the world.  YouVersion is celebrating the power of the Bible next month with a 30-day Bible reading challenge. Bobby Gruenewald, the founder and CEO of YouVersion, stated, “We're seeing incredible global momentum around Bible engagement . . . Every day we hear stories of lives being changed—someone overcoming addiction, marriages being restored, and people encountering Scripture in their own language for the first time. This milestone is really a celebration of the Bible itself.” In Isaiah 45:22-23, God said, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the Earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By Myself, I have sworn; from My mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, October 29th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.