How to Collaborate with Those You Lead
The job of a leader is not to do all the work of the team. In fact, one of the primary jobs of leaders is to serve those they lead by equipping them to be more effective and fruitful. The job of a leader is not to do all the work of the team. It is to serve those...
Training New Leaders: Why Bother?
There is a common leadership maxim that is especially true for ministry leadership: “It is only as we develop others around us that we permanently succeed.” Local church ministry must involve more than seeing people saved and baptized. We must be engaged in a...
Ten Practical Ways to Advance the Gospel
Declaring the gospel is not just an idea, nor is it simply a desire; it’s an action. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He stated it as a command: “Go ye.” So how can we actively declare the gospel? Here are ten practical ways: 1. Pray for a burden for souls. Do...
Seven Qualities of a Synergistic Ministry Staff
This week, our ministry staff will meet for two days of off-site training. I look forward to this annual staff orientation. During these days, I share our church theme for the following year (which gives each area of ministry staff time to creatively develop it for...
5 Choices that Bring Joy in Difficult Circumstances
If there is any Christian who exemplified experiencing joy in difficult circumstances, it was the apostle Paul. Any of us who are familiar with the New Testament know that Paul experienced great suffering and that he both practiced and taught living with the joy of...
Why We Must Teach a Biblical Worldview to Generation Z
According to Barna research group, Generation Z is the first truly post-Christian generation. That’s because these teens and young adults (born from 1999–2015) are the first generation to be raised in fully post-Christian, secularized society. And it shows. These...
The Role of a Bible College in Training the Next Generation of Servant Leaders
I’ll never forget a visit to the Italian Alps several years ago during which we were taken to a cave that functioned as a secret Waldensian Bible college. (Here are a few pictures and a video.) When you look back over church history, one thing that becomes clear is...
Count the Cost: Religious Persecution Is Happening
As I write, Pastor Tim Stephens of the Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta, sits in jail—the third pastor from Alberta to be arrested and jailed for holding church services that do not meet the state’s coronavirus guidelines. A heart-wrenching video posted on...
Ministry Moment: The Joy of Sustained Outreach
When Terrie and I first came to Lancaster in the summer of 1986, we immediately began reaching into our community with the gospel of Christ. For the first eighteen months, I knocked on at least five hundred doors every week—giving invitations to church and sharing the...
The Resilient Life
Overcome the Crises and Anxieties of Life through Christ
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Pastor Paul Chappell
Dr. Paul Chappell is the senior pastor of the Lancaster Baptist Church and president of West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California. His biblical vision has led the church to become one of the most dynamic independent Baptist churches in the nation. He has been married to his wife, Terrie, for over forty years and is the father of four married children all serving in Christian ministry.
