Having led services for thousands of churchgoers in more than 100 congregations throughout the world, Pastor John Wagner serves his congregation as lead pastor of EPIC Church International in Sayreville, NJ. Before accepting his current position at Turning Point, he was an Executive Pastor at Faith Church, which reaches more than 1,500 members in New Milford, Connecticut; and at Discovery Church, which ministers to more than 4,000 people in the Orlando, Florida, area. His first position in the ministry was that of Youth Pastor at Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center, where he spent four years. As a pastor, John Wagner aims to use his God-given leadership skills in order to help others live full lives in the abundant grace of Jesus Christ. Graduating from J.P. Stevens High School in 1982, John Wagner began his undergraduate education at Golden State University in Los Angeles. Soon after earning his Bachelor of Arts in General Education, he enrolled in graduate school at Honolulu University, where he earned his Master of Arts in Theology and Religion in 1989. While pursuing his studies, John Wagner became an Ordained Minister and began his work with Faith Fellowship Ministries World Outreach Center. In addition to his main duties as a pastor, John Wagner has written ministry school course curricula such as “Life of Jesus,” "The Love of God," and “The Life of David,” and has authored and self-published an inspirational book entitled "Arise." As a youth minister, he also directed a cable television advertisement for a teen suicide hotline. He is also an annual speaker for the International Pastors & Ministers Conference held in New Jersey. In his spare time, Pastor John Wagner enjoys coaching, playing, and watching sports, reading, traveling, watching movies, and, above all, spending time with his wife and their five children.
Some churches, like Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock, Texas, have taken the advice to emphasize sin, salvation, and service to others to engage today’s young evangelicals. Under the guidance of Pastor John Wagner, the church concentrates its mission into three short statements: “Love God. Serve Others. Change Your World.” Pastor John Wagner places a strong emphasis on service to the community. The church community participates in ministry to prisoners and to the poor in their community and in the developing world. While Wagner does not dilute the truth when he preaches, he creates a culture of welcoming and helps to build strong relationships among church members.
According to experts, this might be just the approach to appeal to the young generation of evangelical Christians. According to some pastors, young adults want to be healers, not warriors. They want to fix the culture through an ethic of service and love, not by haranguing or condemning people. Part of this tendency might be related to young adults’ desire to be liked and to fit in with their peers, and part may come from the current emphasis on compassion as a virtue. However, these perceived weaknesses can become strengths when young adults turn their knowledge of God’s love and their desire to serve others into the fuel that drives them to address injustice and change the world. For pastors like John Wagner, evangelical Christianity is not in remotely decline; it is simply and powerfully prepared to reach out to a hurting world.
If a church cannot raise its young people in the faith, it will die. Church leaders like Pastor John Wagner of Turning Point Christian Community understand this essential truth. At his Lubbock, Texas, church, Pastor John Wagner has set up a network of support and service for young adults, both single and married. Many other churches have failed to address the needs of this vulnerable group and, according to recent surveys, they may be losing the youth because of their neglect.
According to the studies, between 44% and 80% of single evangelicals between the ages of 18 and 29 have been sexually active; 44% support gay marriage. Many resent the politicization of worship and feel that Christians should be concerned with poverty and the environment in addition to abortion and marriage.
Pastors are divided about the meaning of these surveys. More than 80% believe that evangelicalism has entered a period of declining influence and relevance among the youth. But other church leaders insist that the issue is not one of theology, but simply emphasis. They say that if pastors emphasize the reality of sin, the possibility of redemption, and the need for service to neighbors, the upcoming generation will re-engage with Scriptural truth.
Pastor John Wagner of Turning Point Community Church Explains the Mission of Charity: Water
A nonprofit organization dedicated to providing access to clean water, Charity: Water directly funds water security projects throughout the world. Moreover, the organization raises awareness of the drastically under-reported global water crisis that affects approximately 800 million people, or one out of every nine people on Earth. People living in water-starved areas undergo great hardships to secure this precious resource, sometimes hauling 80-pound containers of water long distances, or standing in line at wells for upwards of eight hours.
The organization, which applies 100 percent of its public donations to water relief initiatives, marks the communities served by such initiatives on Google Maps. Charity: Water hopes to attract donations as small as $20, an amount that goes a long way in communities affected by water scarcity.
To contribute, please visit CharityWater.org.
Guided by Lead Pastor John Wagner, Turning Point Community Church of Lubbock, Texas, donated funds to Charity: Water for the construction of a well that will support hundreds of people. View sermons by Pastor Wagner at http://goo.gl/q6LJa.
Pastor John Wagner Ministers to Ukrainian Christians
Recently, Pastor John Wagner of Turning Point Community Church in Lubbock, Texas, returned from a mission trip to the Ukraine. While there, Pastor John Wagner had the opportunity to see firsthand the challenges faced by evangelical Christians in the country, which spent decades under communist rule. While 90% of Ukrainians identify themselves as Christian, only about 75% say they believe in God, and a little more than half attend church regularly. The discrepancies are partially a result of generations who grew up under a political regime that was hostile to Christianity.
Protestants are a minority group in the Ukraine, and most people who attend church are Ukrainian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, or Ukrainian Catholic. Government restrictions make it difficult for foreign ministers and students to enter the country, except on short-term tourist visas, and Protestant ministers complain that the government frequently abridges their freedom of religion. Meanwhile, cynical politicians attempt to manipulate the Protestant churches. On the other hand, the Ukraine remains fertile ground for evangelical missionaries. With so much of the population un-churched, there is a great need for Biblically based instruction and spiritual support. Ministers like Pastor John Wagner encourage Christian leaders to travel to the Ukraine to help bring the Word of God to the people there.
Pastor John Wagner's 25-year ministry career includes numerous leadership positions ranging from youth pastor to executive pastor to senior pastor. He currently serves as lead pastor at Turning Point Community Church in Texas.
Modern thinker Robert K. Greenleaf first described servant leadership in his seminal essay The Servant as Leader, published in 1970. In the years that followed, he wrote two more essays on the subject, and all three works were combined in his 1976 book Servant Leadership.
According to Greenleaf, servant-leaders are servants first, focusing on the needs of others instead of personal gain. Good servant-leaders help the people they serve grow healthier, wiser, and more autonomous. Effective servant-leaders ultimately seek to guide individuals to achieve their full potential. Rather than seeking to acquire power, servant-leaders share power by putting the needs of others first. They begin with a desire to serve, and from that desire, they are called to lead.
Hillsong Church is a Pentecostal church that was founded in 1983 in Australia by New Zealanders Brian and Bobbie Houston. The church seeks to be a "large Christ-centered, Bible-based church, changing mindsets and empowering people to lead and impact in every sphere of life."
Hillsong Church distinguishes itself from other churches by primarily working in city areas. The church uses established networks and creates new ones to achieve its goals. In addition, it uses modern and innovative methods of communication to spread its message. The church has modernized itself by adapting its modes of communication and encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset among its ranks. It promotes social justice and "broad definitions of theology" to form extension services and groups.
Hillsong Church also spreads its message by building connections with other churches. It hosts an inter-denominational conference each year where churches from multiple denominations can congregate to exchange thoughts and share resources. This is a departure from the common practice of churches tapping fellow churches within their own denomination for help. In this model, Hillsong acts as the big brother to other inter-denominational churches within its fold.
About the Author: Pastor John Wagner has many years of experience building church congregations. He has led services in more than 100 churches all over the world.
In recent times, two models for building church congregations have become extremely popular: the Willow Creek Church model and the Saddleback Church model.
The Willow Creek Church model relies on the seeker-sensitive method of gathering feedback from respondents to design church programs. Bill Hybels, the church's founder, conducted extensive surveys before starting the church. In his surveys, he asked church attendees about their expectations and problems with churches, in general. Subsequently, he condensed their responses into four main points that encapsulated the reasons why people were staying away from churches. These four points formed Hybels’ basis for reinventing the church-going experience at Willow Creek.
Quite often, the Willow Creek Church model involves the use of experimental methods and techniques to make the church experience relevant and useful to attendees. For example, alternate communication mediums and contemporary references are used to create a connection with attendees.
The Saddleback model of church building emphasizes and clarifies a church's purpose in a community, and all activities exist to serve that purpose. This model was developed by Rick Warren, founder and senior pastor at the California-based church. According to Warren, a church exists to fulfill five unique purposes: fellowship, discipleship, worship, ministry, and evangelism. All activities at a church must be directed at achieving these purposes. Nearly 200,000 pastors have been trained in the Saddleback model since 1980.
About the Author: Pastor John Wagner is a Texas-based pastor with many years of experience building church communities.
Church leaders interested in inspiring their congregations or small groups to excel and thrive should have an understanding of vision casting and why it is essential to church leadership. First, a brief definition: vision casting is the art of sharing one’s vision with those whom it will affect. Naturally, sharing a vision requires working out the specifics of that vision beforehand.
In church contexts, leaders can expect the best results from vision casting when they take the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions into consideration. In other words, leaders should be able to tell congregants what the larger plans are for their church, why these plans exist, when various milestones can be reached, and how congregants can actively participate.
About Pastor John Wagner
Recognized as a visionary pastor, John Wagner strives to connect church members and visitors through teachings that make the gospels relevant to the modern world.
Pastor John Wagner from Turning Point Community Church and Apostolic Team Leader of CMI (Covenant Ministries International) ministering in the former USSR.
pixelskylines
gummygunk
amandla