Welcome to David Generation Family's Blog

Earlier, we ran an article about receiving the Holy Spirit. In this article, we want to tell you how to do so. Here are steps you will find helpful when you pray to receive the Holy Spirit: First of all, close your eyes, and close out everybody else. Remember that Jesus is right there by you, to baptize you in the Holy Ghost. It's going to be you and God. Lift your face and hands to him; he will bless you. It's not going to come from below; it's going to come from above as you lift your arms in an attitude of worship. When you receive a gift from somebody, you reach out your hands for it. This is the most priceless gift of all. You reach out your arms to Almighty God, and Jesus will baptize you in the Holy Ghost. Start to praise Jesus, first in your own language, and at the moment when hands are laid on you, stop speaking in your own language and start speaking in tongues. You cannot speak two languages at the same time. You cannot speak English and Spanish a...

A Closer Look At A Popular Tradition by Darryl M. Erkel Historically, pastors during the first-century period were normally not paid on a full-time basis. Although they may have periodically received gifts of food, clothing, and even some monetary assistance at times, there is no historical evidence to suggest that such pastors were given a full-time salary sufficient to meet their financial needs and obligations. This is confirmed by the following considerations: 1.  Most of the congregations were too poor to financially support a full-time pastor, not to mention a  plurality  of pastors which is the New Testament pattern (Acts 14:23; 20:17,28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:5; Hebrews 13:17; James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1-4). In some cases, they were even too poor to support an apostle or assist other churches who were suffering (1 Thessalonians 2:9; Philippians 4:10-15). 2.  Even though Paul, as an apostle, had the ...

We’re all familiar with statistics that decry the declining UK Church, but many local churches are bucking the trend. Justin Brierley investigates what has made the difference for those whose churches are bursting at the seams.  "IT’S ALL ABOUT ‘OPENING NEW “FRONT DOORS” TO THE CHURCH"   ...Joel Virgo "THE PULPIT IS THE RUDDER OF THE CHURCH"        ...Clement Okusi "WHENEVER THEY NEED US, THEY CAN TURN UP AT THE DOOR AND THEY WILL ALWAYS BE WELCOMED IN WITH A HUG" ...Linda Maslen "THE FIRST KEY WAS A RENEWED EMPHASIS ON PRAYER" ...Tope Koleoso "YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO BE PURPOSEFULLY PLACED INTO VISIBLE LEADERSHIP ROLES" ...Lee Kricher Let’s be clear: there is no miracle formula for growing your church. If the magic ingredients could be bottled and sold, someone somewhere would be very rich by now. Nor is numerical growth the only mark of success. Discipleship, local engagement and longevity of commitment are also...

  By Craig Thompson I have lost count of how many times I have been warned, “Do not sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry.” I plan to write on that later, but for now, I want to encourage you not to sacrifice your ministry on the altar of your family. I do not deny that many pastors have lost their families because the church became their mistress, but I’ve also seen many pastors lose their ministry because they made their families an idol or simply because they created an unnatural divide between their family life and their ministry life. As a Christian minister you must resist the temptation to separate your family life from your ministry life. You must also resist the temptation to idolize your family. It is true that if you lose your family you will lose your ministry, but what leads you to believe that it is essential for you to spend every waking hour with your wife and kids? The idea of a forty-hour workweek is not necessarily bad, but it is not ...

Can a Divorced Man Pastor a Church? ...by Pastor Philip Ayers Can a divorced man pastor a church? This is a greatly debated issue among conservative believers. Those of you who know me realize I am very conservative in my doctrine and Biblical interpretation. However, I do interpret the Bible differently from other Conservatives when considering the allowing of divorced men to pastor. Most believe that a divorced man cannot serve as a pastor or in a leadership role within the local church. First Timothy 3 lists the qualifications for bishops (pastors, elders). The controversial second verse says, "The husband of one wife." Many believe this means literally one wife or never have been divorced. Others suggest it refers to bigamy or one wife at a time. Some teach it means a man must be married in order to serve, thus removing single men from any opportunity of leadership service.  These interpretations lead to many other problems. What about a man who pr...