“The early church gave a great deal of attention to the second coming—they were looking for Jesus to come back. If they were looking for Jesus to come back [2,000 years ago], how much more should we be looking for Him to return?” Dr. Robert Picirilli discusses the motivation that led him to write his latest book, “Mere Eschatology: A Biblical Study of the Second Coming and the End of the Age.” The book is available from D6 Family: https://bit.ly/3KExHrv/ #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Eschatology #EndTimes #SecondComing

Retired pastor Nelson Henderson reflects on his call to ministry as a young man from Northwest Arkansas, which eventually led to a fruitful pastorate at First Free Will Baptist Church of Pocahontas, Arkansas for 36 ½ years. He discusses the steps he took that led to his longevity in the ministry.   Pastor Nelson is part of the Rekindle Coaching Program for pastors who may be seeking a veteran pastor to help coach them in ministry. Find more at https://nafwb.org/rekindle/. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Ministry #Pastoring #Pastor

After pastoring in the “buckle” of the Bible Belt, Seth Price and Corbin Madden felt led to plan a church in Bozeman, Montana. They share their burden for the area and their progress as they raise support. Mission Montana is a church planting project through Free Will Baptist North American Ministries.  Find out more about the Maddens and Prices: https://fwbnam.com/madden/ and https://fwbnam.com/price/. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #ChurchPlanting #Bozeman #BozemanMT #BozemanMontana

“It has been a dream of ours to include addiction recovery in the ministry of Family Ministries, and God has opened those doors now for that to take place.” Free Will Baptist Family Ministries CEO Jim McComas talks about the new addiction recovery program now available for adult males through Exodus 14 Ministries Inc. Those needing help (or who have a family member who does) can call 423-278-2701 to find out more. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Addiction #Recovery #Rehab

“It is a teaching that is especially attractive to people in areas that are very poor, in places that are hopeless.” Dr. Kenneth Eagleton discusses common tenants of Prosperity Gospel teaching, which has spread like wildfire to many places around the world. Kenneth refutes the philosophies of those that adhere to it. Kenneth is director of global partnerships for IM, Inc. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #ProsperityGospel

Len Scott of Mission Four18 in Jamaica talks about the devastation Hurricane Melissa brought to the island and the way Free Will Baptists (and others) responded with prayer and support. He also shares ways people can continue to help through the recovery process, including a relief trip January 31-February 6. Find more about how you can help with Mission Four18 efforts. Website: www.MissionFour18.org. Giving: www.MissionFour18.org/give. Email: lscott@missionfour18.org. Phone/WhatsApp: 931-249-1027. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #HurricaneMelissa #Jamaica

“Our goal was to see some of the biggest takeaways that we could grasp and attach ourselves to as a church.” Pastor Mitch Wagner describes how Summit Fellowship Church used their Know Your Community report to pinpoint specific needs in the community and found members of the congregation who were equipped to minister to those needs. Find more about Know Your Community at http://nafwb.org/know/. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Church #Community #Outreach #Ministry

“Absolutely, I think Christians grieve, and I think it’s a misnomer to say they don’t.” Tom Jones discusses grief, the various ways it can appear in our lives, and the ways we can process it. Tom is a Licensed Professional Counselor for Keystone Christian Counseling and works with the NAFWB as part of the Refresh Counseling Program. Read his blog, “Grief: One of the Most Dreaded Human Experiences,” from D6 Family: https://bit.ly/3X6Kdm7. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Grief #Emotion #MentalHealth

“To me, intentional discipleship is spending life with the people that you’ve led to the Lord that you are trying to mentor.” Chad Kivette describes how every Christian should be engaged in intentional discipleship. Chad pastor of New Life Church Amory, MS, a partner of Free Will Baptist North American Ministries. Read Chad’s article, “From the Highways to the Hedges” in the October-November issue of ONE Magazine: https://www.onemag.org/hedges.htm. For Armon Jorden’s story on his encounter with Chad, check out this episode of the Better Together Podcast: https://bit.ly/3Xt2KZS. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Discipleship #Life #Mentoring  

“It’s just so unexpected where I’m at right now; that day significantly changed my life.” Armon Jorden talks about a chance encounter twenty years ago that had an eternal impact on his life. Armon and his wife, Yvette, are planting Ho’omana Church in Hilo, Hawaii, with Free Will Baptist North American Ministries (https://fwbnam.com/jorden/). Read Armon’s article, “Ordinary Days,” from the October-November issue of ONE Magazine: https://www.onemag.org/ordinary_days.htm. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #ChurchPlanting #LifeChange #Testimony

“What we like to offer young adults is those experiences on ways to serve, places to serve, and ‘how can I use my talents for the Lord?’, and this kind of activates that.” Caleb and Johnny Saunders of Teamwork Missions discuss the opportunities their organization offers for churches, youth groups, and individuals to take life-changing mission trips to open their eyes to where God may be calling them. Teamwork Missions is a partner of FWB North American Ministries. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Missions #Outreach #Calling #Ministry

“Many of our churches’ greatest battle is they are inwardly focused. You’ve got to focus to the community; you’ve got to focus outwardly.” Dr. Tim York shares about the resources offered by the National Association of Free Will Baptists for churches, equipping them to reach and minister to their communities. Find the resources at https://nafwb.org/resources/. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Church #Ministry #Outreach *We apologize for the technical difficulties with the audio quality.

“If we remove the veil that we think is covering pastoral families, we can understand that they need us just as much as we need them.” Robyn Ezzell of Two Paths Crossing discusses some of the burdens carried by pastors’ wives and the ways congregations can help minister to and care for their pastor’s family. Robyn is part of the Refresh Counseling Program of the NAFWB. Find out how you can support this invaluable program at https://nafwb.org/refreshcounseling/. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Pastors #PastorAppreciation #PastorAppreciationMonth #PastorsWives

“It’s a different time in pastoring, and a lot of guys are struggling with staying in the ministry, staying in the pastorate, they feel like failures, so it’s really important for the church to show love back to them.” Dr. Tim York talks about the critical need for churches to value their pastor and bless him and show him support, both during Pastor Appreciation Month and throughout the year. Dr. York is moderator of the NAFWB and pastors two churches: The Grove Church and Rejoice Church. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Pastors #PastorAppreciation #PastorAppreciationMonth

Dr. Gordon Penfold joins the podcast to discuss his latest book, “Mending Fences,” a biblically grounded and theologically compelling guide for reconciling broken relationships.   Dr. Penfold is one of the founders of the Advanced Pastoral Network. “Mending Fences” is available from Amazon: http://bit.ly/3IUmz8P. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Reconciliation #MendingFences #BrokenRelationships #Book

“When [someone falls], from the Scriptural standpoint, we should be running towards those people, but the tendency is for us to run away from them.” Three men join the podcast to recount the story of one pastor’s fall and the grace and restoration process that followed. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Restoration #Sin

“He understood the position that he held and deliberately made choices to disciple and influence students in a way that would be beneficial for them for life.” Eric Thomsen reflects on the influence his high school teacher, Mr. Trout, had on his life, and the opportunity teachers have to make a lasting impact. Eric is managing editor of ONE Magazine. Read more in “Upstream With Mr. Trout:” https://www.onemag.org/first_glimpse123.htm. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Teachers #Students #Impact

Northwest Community Church in Chicago has 66,127 people that live within 5 minutes of their church. Christine Lewis joins the podcast to discuss how the church has used its results of the Know Your Community report to meet physical needs of their neighbors while having the opportunity to share the Gospel with them. Find out more about the KYC report at https://nafwb.org/know/. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Outreach #Neighbor #Neighborhood #Church