Jesus focused on a small group of twelve disciples, and the rest is history. By Larry Kreider Jesus took twelve young untrained men (Mark 3:14) and fathered them for three and a half years. His model worked, and is one we can follow today. Jesus focused most of His time on this small group [...]
When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion by Larry Kreider Kimberly led a women’s Bible study group at Good Shepherd Church which met in the church basement every Thursday evening. An inner-city church, Good Shepherd was intent on reaching out to the many low-income people in their neighborhood. Kimberly was a seasoned church [...]
Revivals are birthed in prayerby Larry KreiderI was born an American. In times past, Christian values were part of the American social and political fabric. Not so anymore. Today’s society is often hostile to Christian values. The percentage of Bible-based believers has significantly decreased in America, according to recent statistics:Builders (born 1927-1945): 65% Bible-based believersBoomers [...]
By Larry Kreider The findings on the causes for church growth led to a conclusion for Christian A. Schwarz and a team from the “Institute for Church Development” in Germany. They discovered that just as crops grow all by themselves if the obstacles are taken out of the way, churches grow when obstacles to growth [...]
Dealing with doubt, depression and discouragement? By Larry Kreider The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 Why do some Christians fall into deception and choose destructive paths? Deception, according to God’s Word, does not happen unexpectedly [...]
The DOVE International story book excerptby Larry and LaVerne KreiderDuring the mid-1970s, we took new believers to local churches in our community on Sunday evenings. These youth had come to faith in Christ through a youth ministry called Lost But Found that a group of us started in northern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We wanted to [...]
By Larry Kreider One of the most important roles a spiritual leader has is to become a spiritual father or mother. Let me explain. My friend Don Finto, who served for many years as the senior pastor of Belmont Church in Nashville, Tennessee, has a life-long passion to father younger men in ministry. His [...]
A thread found in every story is that the church planter took a step of faith By Larry Kreider There are many articles on this website of churches being planted worldwide by ordinary people trusting in an extraordinary God. These are only a few of the stories from the DOVE family that could be told [...]
Starting a new church was not even on my radar By Larry and LaVerne Kreider Let me share the story of the very first DOVE church plant, which became the seed for many others around the world. When I was in my mid-twenties, starting a new church was not even on my radar. Had you told [...]
We cannot fulfill the Great Commission without planting churches. We need new churches! By Larry Kreider I have heard it said hundreds of times: “We do not need more churches in our community. We have enough churches already.” I disagree. We cannot fulfill the Great Commission without planting churches. We need new churches! Jesus, when [...]
