If you will do these things in 2017 your life will be enriched greatly
Check them off as you do them!

1. Daily Devotions
2. Family Devotions
3. De-Stress through planning and organization
4. Take a Media Fast
5. Guard your eyes
6. Confess your faults immediately
7. Set up a specific prayer list
8. Take time to memorize some scripture
9. Contact with missionaries to encourage them
10.  Show concern for those that are absent from church
11. Bring someone to church
 12. (Purge Day) Get rid of clutter
13. Day of Fasting
 14. Remove any idols in your life
15. Give to missions
 16. Tithe faithfully
17.  Be sure  your language is godly
 18.Don’t be a slave to your flesh
 19. Make it a point to serve others
 20. Say yes to anything the Lord asks
 21. List 50 blessing you have received from the Lord
22.  Carry Tracts
23. No Gossip
 24. Forgive anyone that hurts you 
25. Manage your debt
 26. Improve your marriage (Date Night)
 27. Sit toward the front of the church.
28. Visit shut-ins.
 29. Read Biographies.
 30. Study a Biblical topic you know nothing about.
 31. Determine an area where you are limiting God.
32. Show your parents your love.
 33. Do something special for those in need.
 34. Remove all rebellion toward authority in your life.
 35. Disciple someone that has been recently saved.
 36. Encourage your pastor, his wife and children.
37.  Do a special project for your church.
38.  Go soul-winning.
 39. Be at church on time.
 40.Break any bad habits.
 41. Contact those that have been a blessing to you down through the years.
42.  Learn to defend your faith
 43.Encourage someone that is down
 44. Do something to make a difference in our nation
 45. Do something to make a difference in your community
46. Visit a mission field
 47.Spend time with your family
 48. Don’t allow anyone to cause division
49. Smile and be happy in Jesus
50. Stay single focused
51.  Be balanced
 52.Expect great things to happen in your life
​"Lord, Please send Revival in our life time"

Why don't Independent Baptist work in Teams
Ecclesiastes 2:9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour. For if the one fall the other shall lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth for he hath not another to help him up.
Acts 13: 2 The church at Antioch, Separate me Barnabas and Paul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Acts 13:43 Paul and Barnabas persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Acts 13:47 Paul and Barnabas waxed bold.

Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Silas, Barnabas and John Mark  Two by Two. When a Man of God starts a church he often goes on deputation and raises support and heads to a City or Town to start a church. He is alone. there is no encouragement  but from people who are not there and don't know what they are going thru. He often is not motivated and there is not organization and accountability. There is a way to accomplish the work of God much quicker if there are two helping each other than one doing it alone. A man of God who is called of God must start asking the Lord to call a couple to work with him in starting a church. We call him the second man, Assistant, a laborer to help and there are many great things that advance growth quickly
1. Two families beginning verses one
2. Young families with children encourage families with children
3. The Assistant can be the treasurer, song leader, usher, help clean, help visit etc.
4. They can visit together, Pray together, Each knows his place and they ask God for a unified spirit.
God help us to get back to Bible principles of Church starting and growth!
Think of...
D.L. Moody - Ira Sankey
R.A. Torrey - Alexander
Billy Sunday - Rodeheaver 
Some of the most long term preachers have started with help!

Pick your Choice for the future of the Next Generation Missionary
Plan A
1. Send your students off to Bible College for 4 years for Bachelors and 1 year for Masters
2. Send them to work in local church  for 1 year to gain experience
3. Send them out on Deputation for 3 years to get their support
4. Send them to Language school for 1 year to learn the language
5. Now they can begin being a missionary and starting a church
         Total years till they become a missionary 10 years

Plan B ...that almost does not exist.
1. Send them on Missions trips while in High school. God may call them.
2. Have them raise support in their Senior year and leave right after graduation.  
3. Send them to work with a recommended Missionary or College in the country where they feel called.
4. They can learn the language in the summer of their first year.
5. Begin their first semester and on weekends be missionaries and help start churches immediately.

Total years till they become a missionary  (immediately)
​
I know this would not apply to some but to serious students that have had local church experience throughout their high school years could fit into this kind of setting.

Dear Friends,

What is happening to this generation?

So many of this generation are wanting to do as they please and excuse themselves from the way in which they were raised .
1. Some leave the church all together. Marry lost people, get tattoos and piercings, live just like the lost.No evidence of Salvation in their lives.
2. Some go to churches that are progressive with rock style music, no Sunday school program, no commitment to tithes and offering, it appears they just want to be entertained.
3. Some want to start churches that allow about everything and do not stand for anything.
4. Some have eliminated Sunday evenings, even Sunday school, allowing anyone to join from any church that claims they are Born again and have been baptized in any church. Not protecting their doctrinal position on clear teaching.
5. Some, it appears, want to prove to their parents generation that they can do what they want and still accomplish maybe even more than their parents did.
6. Some give up Soul-winning and passing out tract 
7. Some give up their standards of:  modesty in dress , Christ honoring music, and the Bible version they were raised with and accepting new doctrine.
8. Some say their parents and pastors are legalist.  ( not in relation to Salvation but standards)
9. Some have started attending movies, drinking, dancing, gambling, missing church when it is not convenient.
10. Very critical of those that take a stand and have no problem belittling their old- fashioned standards.


I understand that we may have given them reason by our inconsistency , critical spirit, gossip, do as I  say not as I do, over eating, allowing debt,  not living by faith, not seeing miracles of God's power in our generation.
I thought the next Generation should learn from our mistakes and be better Christians than their parent but it is the opposite.

What we are seeing
1st Generation fights the good fight of Faith
2nd Generation enjoys the spoil
3rd Generation Sells out to the enemy

I appreciated the stand my father took against sin and compromise! However, at first I chafed against it. I justified compromising preachers and it really bothered my Mom and Dad. They said, "We did not raise you that way." I thought well look at the good their doing and the crowds etc. The more I researched the compromise the more I realized my dad was right I had drifted a bit and My Dad made it clear to me that if I  continued justifying compromise they would not fellowship with me till I got right ( I must say, I guess my Dad knew which buttons to push and I'm glad he had the nerve to do it.  It made me a better Christian and Pastor and I hope Father.


Concerned about the direction this generation is taking,

Dan Knickerbocker

Pastors have been getting away from  Revival meetings.
Years ago,  a meeting was planned to go as long as it took. Some times they would go for weeks.
Billy Sunday had  meetings in Boston and New York City  that lasted  up to 10-12 weeks.
Then came One month then Two-Week meetings
Then the One -Week,  Sunday to Sunday meetings
Then the Sunday thru Friday meetings
Then the Sunday thru Wednesday meetings
Then the Friday-Sunday meetings  ( The Weak-end Revival)
Then Revival  Sunday
Then no Revival meeting all year long.
And we wonder where God’s power went?
 Ask the Lord to help you have a Revival.
If you can’t afford it you need to have one. Take offerings on Wednesdays to prepare financially for it.
Have cottage prayer meeting a month before the meeting!
Work at inviting  the lost and backsliders as well.
Any Evangelist should be willing to come without the promise of a Love offering! Do what you can to take care of the Evangelist expenses but never let the cost keep you from having revival! Some Evangelist are supported by churches to make it possible to go to the churches that are struggling!

One Pastor said, “I can’t get a good attendance on week nights.” 
“We can’t afford it!”
“I couldn’t  give you a good love offering.”
“My people might not come.”
All perfect reasons to have a Revival!
Attendance will grow, love offerings on the none church nights is more than enough, your people that are hungry will come and we don’t stop having revivals for those that don’t want them but for those that would come!

1. Visit every business in your town giving them a pamphlet of your church and let them know if they need any spiritual help or council you are available. You might be surprise how few businesses know you are there.
2. Have your church books audited by an independent auditor, post financial reports in your church so there is no question where the money is going. When I did this our offerings increased!
3. Visit your missionaries, and be a help to them. Let your church pay  your expenses. The missionaries are a big part of your overall  ministry
4. Have an Annual “give it all” Pay check Sunday for capital improvements on your church properties or for debt retirement.
5. Ask visiting speakers to critique  your ministry. Often pastors over look things that need to be dealt with.
6. De-Clutter your facilities
7. You and your wife need to stay in your missionary apartment or Motel where you put guest speakers for a few nights to see if it is suitable. Motels change and usually not for the better.
8. Make sure your website is easy to find things. Picture of your (CHURCH BUILDING FROM THE STREET) the pastor and family,  address with zip code, phone numbers and Staff etc.
9. Church ought to have great curb appeal!
10. Pastor needs to have a window in his office door. So his good is never evil spoken of and it will help him to abstain from all appearance of evil .
11. Have a simple map of your facilities so as to direct where the different Sunday School classes are located. Door ushers can give them out or a floor  display can show them like you see in a mall.
12. Begin your service with folks coming to the altar for prayer before the service begins! God will honor it!

1. You are born tired, so you must live to rest.
2. Love your bed as you love yourself.
3. If you find someone resting, help him.
4. Rest in the daytime so that you can sleep at night.
5. Work is sacred; don’t touch it.
6. There is no need to do today what you can do tomorrow.
7. Work as little as you can; let someone else do your chores.
8. Calm down! No one has ever died because of resting too much.
9. When you feel the desire to work, lie down and wait for it to pass.
10. If working truly makes you healthy, let the sick people do it.

by Ken Ham on February 26, 2013
Many churches now place a heavy emphasis on praise and worship music in their services. While God loves good music, it’s important to make sure our priorities line up with Scripture. What does God reveal about “true worship” that pleases Him?
To begin this article I need to make something very clear. I love music. In fact, both my wife and I play the piano. I love to listen to Christian music as I travel—and I love to sing praises to our God as I worship in church.
Also, one of my closest friends is Answers in Genesis’s songwriter and singer, Buddy Davis. I have encouraged Buddy over the years to produce CDs of the many songs he has composed and presented at concerts at the Creation Museum and churches around the world.
Having said that, I want to address what I see as a problem—something that troubles me. I realize that when you begin to talk about music, it can evoke very emotional responses. But I actually don’t want to address music styles or content in this article (not that such is not important). I believe something else needs to be addressed.
A New Priority in the Church
I am in a rather interesting position to view what is happening in much of the church. I have traveled for over thirty years across the United States and to other parts of the world speaking at conferences and churches. I get to see patterns from a big-picture perspective. My observation holds true across denominations and national boundaries (with some exceptions, of course).
I would like to suggest that in many instances—particularly from my personal observation in the larger churches—music has become the dominant part of church services, and the teaching of God’s Word has become less of a priority. The same is true in certain Bible conferences, particularly those geared for young people.
Let me share just some of my observations. I encourage you to consider them carefully.
There is what they call a “praise and worship” time with a band usually on stage. The congregation, or audience, is asked to stand and sing for thirty to forty minutes—sometimes for an hour or so.
Now, as I look around the room, I often find that many people are not singing.
Many of the songs are sung over and over and over again.
When people finally sit for a sermon or teaching, this time is often less than the music. And many people seem tired and distracted.
Many times, the band’s words cannot be understood. You can recognize them only if they are shown on the screen.
Let me share a couple of personal experiences that show how this mindset can hinder the teaching of God’s Word. Sometimes a pastor says something like, “We tried to cut the praise and worship time so you could have the fifty minutes you wanted to speak, but I can’t really control what the worship pastor will do.” And so I often end up with less time than what I prepared for and what is needed.
Some worship pastors have said things like, “We’ll let you set your computer up after we’ve finished our practicing. After all, the praise and worship is the most important part of the service.” If I hope to teach God’s Word effectively, as the invited speaker, I need to make sure the computer works well with the church’s A/V systems.
I have seen this pattern in other countries too. Churches have a “praise and worship” time that is more often like a concert to attract people to the church, while the teaching time for God’s Word is secondary.
Now, to be sure, not all churches are like this, and I’m not saying churches should not have a “praise and worship” time. But if young people and adults get the idea that music is more important than the study of God’s Word, then where will they and their churches be spiritually in the coming years?
Biblical teaching and worshipful music do not have to be in competition. When properly done, both are important aspects of true “praise and worship” that glorifies and pleases the Lord.
No More Excuses
I have had many pastors, particularly youth pastors, tell me that music is where the kids “are at” today, and music helps keep them in church and attract others. But when I’ve been given opportunity to speak to these young people, I find they are filled with questions and doubts about God’s Word, and they desperately want answers that can’t be found in a praise chorus.
Let me give a specific example. I was asked to speak at a service for young people. I sat through almost an hour of loud music and couldn’t understand most of the words. Then I was asked to speak for only about twenty minutes because, I was told, “Young people can’t sit for long and listen to talks these days.” Then I could have a question time afterward.
So I did my best in twenty minutes and asked for questions. Those young people bombarded me: Where did Cain get his wife? How do you know the Bible is true? Why doesn’t God show Himself to us? What about carbon dating? How do you explain dinosaurs? How could Noah fit the animals on the Ark? We went on for over an hour.
Afterward, the youth pastor said, “I’ve never seen them so interested. I never knew Billy could even ask a question, let alone the one he asked. What happened?”
What happened? Well, the beliefs of these young people are being challenged at public school. From my experience, I know many of their doubts, and from the research we conducted for the book Already Gone, we know that two-thirds of these young people will leave the church by college age. So I began giving them answers to help them understand how we know God’s Word is true.
MANY CHURCH LEADERS HAVE ADOPTED MUSIC STYLES SIMPLY TO ATTRACT PEOPLE, INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THE THINGS THAT MOST PLEASE GOD.
What’s the point of all this? Again, I’m not against having time for music. But I believe many church leaders have adopted music styles simply to attract people, instead of focusing on the things that most please God: music and vital teaching that most meet the flock’s needs and glorify the Lord. People want to hear solid biblical truth and answers to the skeptical questions of this age. They want to know how to live Christ-honoring lives and proclaim and defend the gospel to people who are thoroughly “evolutionized.”
Now, the Bible does not prescribe how much time should be allotted to teaching and music. But in a world that increasingly attacks the Bible’s authority, I submit that the pastor, more than ever, needs to equip his people with biblical truths so that they can function as true Christ followers (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
Furthermore, many churches tell their adults and young people that they can believe in evolution and history over millions of years, as long as they just trust Jesus. Or they totally ignore this topic. Yet I believe that today’s attack on God’s Word is the same strategy Satan employed in Genesis 3 when he asked Eve, “Did God really say . . . ?” This attack on the Bible’s trustworthiness is destroying the coming generations. Meanwhile, church members get together and have long “praise and worship” times that relegate Bible teaching to a much lesser role than music.
But is God hearing many of these churches? If we are compromising God’s Word and not teaching and obeying His Word as we should, is it possible that God would say to these modern churches what He did to the Israelites of old?
“Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments” (Amos 5:23). “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).
Amen! By God’s grace, may we get our priorities straight and help people to praise and worship Him as He deserves—giving primacy to His Word in all aspects of our personal lives and church services!
Ken Ham is the founder and president of Answers in Genesis–USA. He has edited and authored many books about the authority of God’s Word and the impact of evolutionary thinking on our culture, including Already Compromised and The Lie.