Steve Childers

10/09/2026

What in the world is God doing—and how can you join him?

Many Christians understand missions primarily as something missionaries do overseas. But the mission of God is far greater.

It is the unfolding biblical story of what God is doing to redeem and restore all things through Jesus Christ, and every Christian has been called to find his or her place within that story.

Dr. Steve Childers recently taught the complete Mission of God course live at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church PCA. Now the entire six-lesson course and all its study resources are available free online.

Explore the biblical story from creation and fall through redemption and restoration, and consider what God’s mission means for your life, work, church, relationships, and calling.

Explore the complete course free:
https://www.pathwaylearning.org/mission-of-god-course

10/02/2026

What does it really mean to make disciples?

Jesus’ command is clear: “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). But Christians often have very different ideas about what discipleship actually means.

In Foundations of Discipleship, the first lesson in our six-part Discipleship Series, we return to Jesus’ Great Commission to answer two foundational questions:

What is a disciple?

How do we make disciples?

Jesus gives one central command—make disciples—and shows us how through going, baptizing, and teaching.

And the goal is more than biblical information. Jesus calls us to teach people to obey everything he commanded. Biblical discipleship is about Spirit-empowered transformation as followers of Christ learn to love God and love others deeply and well.

Explore the full resource: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/pathway-blog/discipleship-lesson-one

What is a disciple, and how do we make disciples? Jesus’ Great Commission gives us the answer: make disciples by going in evangelism, baptizing believers into the church, and teaching them to obey Christ. Biblical discipleship moves beyond information toward Spirit-empowered transformation.

09/25/2026

A bipartisan group of 10 U.S. senators is urging President Donald Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping over the persecution and detention of Christians and other religious minorities in China. Their letter specifically calls attention to pastors and church members who remain imprisoned because of their faith.

Earlier this year, Pastor Ezra Jin of Beijing’s Zion Church was released following U.S.-China diplomatic engagement. Now these senators are asking the administration to continue advocating for other detained Christian leaders and believers, including members of Zion Church and Light of Zion Church.

For those of us who care deeply about the persecuted church, this is an important reminder to keep praying for our brothers and sisters in China—for courage, endurance, protection, and faithfulness to Christ.

A bipartisan group of 10 U S senators sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Tuesday urging him to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on Beijing s persecution of Christian pastors and other

09/25/2026

What will we actually do forever?

Many Christians imagine eternity as an endless worship service in the clouds. But Scripture paints a richer picture: resurrected bodies, a renewed earth, and restored humanity reigning with Christ and cultivating God's new world.

When Christ returns, God's redemptive mission will be complete: no more lost sinners to reach, no curse to reverse, no death to defeat. But God's original creation mission will continue forever.

That means your work, gifts, and calling aren't temporary. They're a preview.

In the final lesson of our Missions Course, we explore how the Spirit will fully restore God's people, God's world, and God's mission, and why that calling begins today.

👉 Read the full article: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/pathway-blog/mission-of-god-lesson-six

When Christ returns, the Spirit will fully restore God's people, God's world, and God's mission. Discover why our hope isn't a bodiless heaven but resurrection life on a renewed earth, and why God's redemptive mission ends while his creation mission, and your calling, continues forever.

09/22/2026

“They are trying to crush Christianity.” That was the sobering warning from Pastor Ding Shuqi of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, during a September 16 event in Washington, D.C.

Ding described police raids, detention, surveillance, and continuing pressure on Christians who worship outside China’s state-controlled church system. He pointed to recent arrests of believers who had gathered simply to read a book together. (ChinaAid)

His warning comes amid a broader, well-documented crackdown on China’s underground churches.

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch reported new arrests of Early Rain leaders and members, describing them as part of a series of actions against prominent unofficial Protestant churches across China. (Human Rights Watch)

The Guardian likewise reported the detention of Early Rain leaders as Chinese authorities intensified pressure on unregistered churches. (The Guardian)

And the pressure continues. On September 14, ChinaAid reported that police had recently detained 11 Christians—most over age 60—during a small Early Rain reading gathering in Chengdu. (ChinaAid)

For us at Pathway Learning, these reports are deeply personal.

Just weeks ago, more than 30 hours of intensive Pathway Learning training were completed with underground church leaders in China.

Amid growing persecution, these brothers and sisters are being strengthened in the gospel while a new generation of indigenous trainers is being equipped to multiply this training among church leaders throughout China. (Pathway Learning)

Please pray for the underground church in China—for courage, endurance, protection, and faithfulness to Christ.

And please read our recent report to learn what Pathway Learning is doing to equip these courageous church leaders—and how you can help us continue providing biblical training where it is desperately needed:

👉 A Remarkable Week of Training with China’s Underground Church: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/pathway-blog/2026-remarkable-week-of-training-chinese-underground-church?rq=persecution

“Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them.” — Hebrews 13:3 (ESV)

Sources: Human Rights Watch, The Guardian, ChinaAid, and Pathway Learning.

09/18/2026

What is the Holy Spirit doing in the world today?

The risen Christ is continuing his mission through his church by the power of his Spirit.

Beginning at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit applies Christ’s accomplished redemption, forms a new humanity in the church, and sends ordinary believers into the world to proclaim the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and carry Christ’s mission to the nations.

This is the “Already” of God’s kingdom: Christ reigns, the Spirit is at work, and God’s redemptive mission is advancing as we await the day when Christ returns to make all things new.

And it raises a searching question: What would change if our time, resources, ambitions, and deepest loves were increasingly aligned with the mission Christ is carrying forward in the world?

Explore the resources: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/pathway-blog/mission-of-god-lesson-five

The risen Christ continues his mission through the Holy Spirit, forming and sending the church to make disciples of all nations. From Pentecost onward, God restores believers for faithful life and mission, calling them to proclaim Christ, strengthen churches, and align their lives with the One they

09/11/2026

Jesus did not redeem us through his death alone. His entire saving mission matters: his perfect life, sacrificial death, resurrection, ascension, and present reign as Lord. This lesson traces how Christ fulfills God’s promise to rescue fallen humanity and defeat the powers of darkness.

Read the lesson: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/pathway-blog/mission-of-god-lesson-four

Steve Childers traces the eternal Son’s redemptive work from the Old Testament to Christ’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. His decisive victory over sin, death, Satan, and this fallen world secures redemption now, while pointing ahead to the day he returns to complete that...

09/11/2026

Twenty-five years ago today, America was still reeling from the horror of September 11. Just days after the attacks, Tim Keller stood before thousands of people in New York City—many of them searching desperately for hope—and preached one of his most memorable sermons.

It was called “Truth, Tears, Anger, and Grace.”

Keller did not offer easy answers to suffering. Instead, he pointed people to Jesus—the Savior who enters our grief, weeps with us, suffers for us, and offers us something far greater than consolation: resurrection.

Twenty-five years later, this message still speaks powerfully into a world marked by grief, fear, anger, and uncertainty.

On this anniversary of 9/11, we encourage you to take time to listen to this remarkable sermon and be reminded again of the hope we have in Christ.

“Truth, Tears, Anger, and Grace” — Tim Keller

Today’s sermon comes from the passage in John 11 that describes Jesus’ miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha looked at the tragedy of their brother’s death and were saying, “What is this about? Where were you, Lord, in all this?”

09/05/2026

What if the Fall did more than make us guilty?

Scripture’s diagnosis goes deeper: our hearts became idolatrous, our world fell under the curse, and humanity’s mission bent toward self-glory.

See why understanding the Fall changes how we understand salvation itself.
Read the lesson: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/pathway-blog/mission-of-god-lesson-three

Why are things not the way they’re supposed to be? This article explores how humanity’s rebellion against God brought guilt, corruption, brokenness, and distorted mission into the world—and why understanding the depth of the Fall is essential for grasping the greatness of God’s salvation and...

09/01/2026

One of Tim Keller’s deepest and most practical insights in The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness ($4.99!) is that Christian humility is not thinking less of yourself—it is thinking of yourself less.

Our natural ego is insecure and constantly putting itself on trial: How am I doing? What do people think of me? Am I succeeding? Am I significant?

The normal pattern of life is Performance → Verdict: we perform, compare, achieve, and seek approval, then wait to discover whether we are accepted or worthwhile.

But the gospel radically reverses that order: Verdict → Performance.

Through justification, God’s gracious verdict over us in Christ comes first. We are accepted because of Christ, not because we have successfully proved ourselves. That means we are increasingly free to stop managing our image, monitoring our performance, and making ourselves the reference point for everything.

True Christian self-forgetfulness is neither low self-esteem nor passivity. It is becoming so secure in God’s verdict in Christ that we can receive criticism without being crushed, praise without needing it, and success without building our identity on it. We become increasingly free from self-preoccupation and increasingly free to turn outward—to love God, love others, and participate joyfully in God’s mission.

That is a profound dimension of spiritual maturity: not merely learning to feel better about ourselves, but becoming so secure in Christ that we simply don’t have to think about ourselves so much.

https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Self-Forgetfulness-Path-Christian/dp/1906173419/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UZH7E7RKNLFD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UE_aI6V63Q1sS4EQ45_UPhLhu4bsirOA_fsybpE58CbEIIotcz7BmzIgIK_HCUHYzfqyvtn5HdVjqxC6ywblhX-64E5RNcnEKRNPnB-H1noIZmRih943ZGTE3G-UCR8xBTrt6VmN_duu37HqMMuySQ.VNqOMFnzaNIcXOzjIelj-b3j3ljzVF0k3dEtlrruegM&dib_tag=se&keywords=The+Freedom+of+Self-Forgetfulness+by+Tim+Keller&qid=1788271470&s=books&sprefix=the+freedom+of+self-forgetfulness+by+tim+keller%2Cstripbooks%2C159&sr=1-1

The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy