The Church in Action Podcast

In part two of this conversation, Rev. Dr. Rex Keener - founder and Lead Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church outside Troy, NY - shares how we can simply and sustainably pursue the blessings of scripture memorization and meditation, sharing with us how we can address this “hole in the soul of Church” as a collective and individually! To learn more about Grace Fellowship Church, click here !

Memorizing scripture can feel burdensome, and some of the stigma surrounding the word “meditation” can make it difficult for us to understand how God calls us, as Christians, to meditate on His word.  Rev. Dr. Rex Keener, founder and Lead Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, is joining us to share how scripture memorization and meditation has impacted him personally, along with tips to sustainably i...

Many of our churches are filled with people who depend solely on their pastor to be fed, taking the name “Christian” without truly becoming a disciple and following Christ in their daily rhythms. So how do we move past this culture of passive faith and begin intentionally creating disciples who make more disciples? Dr. Greg Ogden, leader of the Global Discipleship Initiative and author of more tha...

When you hear the phrase "spiritual disciplines," what comes to mind? Is it a list of unachievable practices? Another set of standards against which you fall short? We firmly believe God's heart is to give us new life through the spiritual disciplines, to refresh and renew us, to be the sustainer of these habits - not to force us into a place of striving. That's why we're...

When you hear the phrase "spiritual disciplines," what comes to mind? Is it a list of unachievable practices? Another set of standards against which you fall short? We firmly believe God's heart is to give us new life through the spiritual disciplines, to refresh and renew us, to be the sustainer of these habits - not to force us into a place of striving. That's why we're...

Charles Galda, Vision New England president and Church in Action host, shares more on how we, as believers, can form healthy Christ-followers through spiritual habits. Join us as we discuss retraining our bodies, minds, and souls to become the kind of people who naturally follow God's commandments! Click here to learn more!

Charles Galda, VNE president and Church in Action host, shares about a research project our team conducted in the New England Church - all focused on our strengths and weaknesses in forming healthy Christ-followers through spiritual habits. Click here to learn more!

Few Christians haven't heard of C.S. Lewis and his masterful writing - but why? Why has Lewis - among many other talented Christian authors - impacted so many believers in comparison? And what kind of impact has he left behind? Today Jahdiel Perez walks us through some of the reasons why Lewis has proved so influential, even over his own life! Jahdiel is a professor at Villanova University, a...

Happy New Year! As our team takes a break for the holidays, we're sharing a few of our best episodes of the past year, including this episode with Rev. Liz Walker! Mental health was already a crisis before the pandemic - but now, many churches and ministries find themselves inundated with church family members in desperate need of support for their mental health. In this episode we talk with...

Merry Christmas! As our team takes a break for the holidays, we're sharing a few of our best episodes of the past year, including this episode with Pastor Johana Perez! It’s an honor to disciple our own children, but that doesn’t mean training them up in the way they should go is stress-free. That’s why we’re thrilled to have Johana Perez! She's the pastor of Family Ministries at Harvest...

Do you ache to see your local church unify and bless your community? That's what Boston Flourish Day aimed for this past month, successfully gathering people from different backgrounds, races, denominations,  and cultures to help those around them flourish - even in the face of issues like addiction and poverty.  Jua Robinson, Planning Team Leader for Boston Flourish and Executive Director at...

Sharing Jesus with others can be an intimidating endeavor - as we're called to evangelize, it can be difficult to understand how to strengthen our own talents in sharing the gospel. That's why we've invited bestselling author and speaker, Mark Mittelberg to share his experience in exercising and  fortifying our unique strengths in sharing our faith. Mark is the Executive Director of...

In the next six months, 61% of American believers will not have shared Jesus with anyone in their life (according to Lifeway Research). God has clearly called us to evangelize - unfortunately, the American Church is falling short. That's why we've invited bestselling author and speaker, Mark Mittelberg to share his experience in exercising and  fortifying our unique strengths in sharing...

In this mini interview from Life Changing Radio, Pastor Adam DePasquale of Walnut Hill Community Church shares a bit about how Vision New England gathers Executive Pastors (like himself) together, so they can build friendships, support one another, and share best practices for their specific roles in New England. In this interview, Pastor Adam specifically shares a bit about our most recent Execut...

Many of us want to grow in our evangelism as church families, but oftentimes we don't connect growing in evangelism to doing justice. We know doing justice is a clear command, but what exactly happens to our collective witness when we sincerely pursue justice as a Church body? Especially in our post-Covid, cancel-culture context? For Kasey and Wes Dillon (co-founders of Four Rivers Church in...

The US is one of the top three destinations for human trafficking victims (Castla) - at least 100,000 of these victims are American children being exploited for pornography or prostitution every year (Share Hope International). New England isn't unfamiliar with human trafficking either - Massachusetts alone reported 106 cases in 2019 (Human Trafficking Hotline).    Statistics like this can le...

Many of us belong to one local church - yet, Christ calls us to belong to one unified Church body. What does this balance look like practically? How do we commit to our own chosen church family while serving Christ's whole Bride, the greater Church? Ed Gaskin (Executive Director of Greater Grove Hall Main Streets) has some insight on those very questions! While trying to find his new local ch...

If you've been around Vision New England for a while, you've probably heard about THRIVE, a conference where we partner with local churches! THRIVE is a space where Christians can gather new ideas on how to nurture their community and Church family, while collaborating with and being inspired by passionate people, joining fellow believers for worship, hearing keynote speakers, and partic...

As the election season of 2022 draws closer, we're reminded of the fractures running through our communities- fractures so deep that our nation has been pressed to the point of riot, has nurtured a thriving"cancel culture," and has left neighbor staunchly set against neighbor. Unfortunately, those same fractures run through the Church, despite our call to unity. In pursuit of that u...

As the election season of 2022 draws closer, we're reminded of the fractures running through our communities- fractures so deep that our nation has been pressed to the point of riot, has nurtured a thriving"cancel culture," and has left neighbor staunchly set against neighbor. Unfortunately, those same fractures run through the Church, despite our call to unity. In pursuit of that u...

Technology has become increasingly intertwined with our churches, especially with the changes in our routine prompted by Covid. Now that Covid has nearly passed and we find many church members gone, what place does technology have in our churches? Should we continue to grow our technological presence and skillsets? Or should we forego technological growth in favor of fully focusing on in-person ex...

As the election season of 2022 draws closer, we're reminded of the fractures running through our communities- fractures so deep that our nation has been pressed to the point of riot, has nurtured a thriving"cancel culture," and has left neighbor staunchly set against neighbor. Unfortunately, those same fractures run through the Church, despite our call to unity. In pursuit of that u...

As the election season of 2022 draws closer, we're reminded of the fractures running through our communities- fractures so deep that our nation has been pressed to the point of riot, has nurtured a thriving"cancel culture," and has left neighbor staunchly set against neighbor. Unfortunately, those same fractures run through the Church, despite our call to unity.  In pursuit of that...

Political division runs just as deeply inside as it does outside the Church. The word "evangelical" - which originally meant gospel - now speaks more to a political identity than our identity in Christ. In this moment of history, pursuing unity in the Church is difficult, but fully worthwhile and attainable as a consistent habit. Rev. Dr. Paul Hoffman of Evangelical Friends Church of New...

This week we're sharing from our "Best of" series! This is the first of a series of three messages from Tim Keller, when he spoke at Vision New England's 125th anniversary celebration in 2013!  His message is timeless, and is as relevant today as it was in 2013. He talks about the Gospel-Centered church in evangelism, disciple-making, and mission. Today's message is focuse...