Jon Ritner, Author at 5Q Central

Many years ago, in our former suburban congregation, the Elder Board and pastoral leadership spent weeks discussing our preaching philosophy. At that time we were using what might be called an “attractional” model of ministry. We had an ambitious goal to reach people far from God and bring 500 unchurched people into church each year. So we decided to align our preaching calendar with the cultural rhythms of our people and focus our efforts on series that would speak to seekers.

Knowing the foundational roots and history of an organization helps to bring clarity to culture. In 2013 we had to make a move from the church building we...

This week in our 5Q in 52 series, we follow up on Alan Hirsch’s article “A More Primitive Faith” by looking at 5Q in relation to the church as Family. Jon Ritner is our guest contributor. Jon has served in pastoral ministry for over 15 years in both large suburban church and urban church planting contexts. In 2010 he moved his family to Brussels, Belgium to serve as the Lead Pastor of The International Church of Brussels. There he learned how to live as a missionary in a post-Christian culture...