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My wife and I noticed yesterday the first blush of brown amongst the green soybean fields in our area. Even as the summer heat lingers, the crops are hinting that harvest is on the way. Farmers are aware of the “harvest envelope,” the limited time between the final...

I remember times during my childhood when my father would send me out of the house with the statement, “You are a Kephart, so act like one!” Dad didn’t intend his words to be particularly philosophical, but his comment accurately reflects God’s heart when it comes to...

A Vienna regulator pendulum clock hangs on our living room wall, with “Kephart” and “1989” carved on the access door. It’s the one object of significant value and quality I have ever hand-made—or, more correctly, was coached through hand-making by an extremely patient...

I recently came across this quote from Steven Covey, the noted organizational expert: “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Indeed, trust— “the belief...

As the Ohio corn and soybean planting season draws to a close, I am reminded of the children’s story “The Little Ren Hen”. That’s the one where a hen approaches her fellow farm animals multiple times, seeking help for sowing, reaping, and grinding her wheat crop but...

Women’s ministry leadership team prays together regularly and our planning teams take a significant amount of time to pray before conducting business. Prayer is a vital ingredient in outreach efforts and our women are praying for lost people by name. An emergency...

Relationships are the main tools for ministry. A critical function of church programming is to provide opportunities for developing, cultivating, and maintaining relational connections between church family members. Whether worship services, life groups of Sunday...

As we move into March, thoughts turn to “spring cleaning,” the annual ritual of sprucing up our homes after the dark and dreary winter months. This practice may be historically rooted in the opportunity spring provided to open up windows and doors to allow seasonal...

As we move through February, thoughts often turn to Valentine’s Day and love. Unfortunately, our culture seems a bit perplexed about what love really is. We speak of how we “love our favorite food,” “love our football team,” “love our children,” and “love our spouse,”...

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19) What are you looking forward to in 2023? I ask because our...

Dear Women’s Ministry Leader, Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I would like to start with a short introduction of myself. My name is Betsy Berger and I have begun training under Donna Kephart to fill the position of Director of Regional Women’s...

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Galatians 4:4-5) As December unfolds, we relish the opportunity of sharing another Christmas...

Christians know the “quick take” summary of our calling is to “do what Jesus did.” The challenge is embracing Jesus’ many radical actions. It might be easy to say we want to be like Jesus, but His tendency to push boundaries and take risks in the name of God’s love...

As I write this, autumn has arrived, both on the calendar and in the cooler temperatures. I see the increasing evidence in the changing hue of leaves, the changing landscape of harvested fields, and the changing outfits as more and more jackets make their appearance....

In a culture where “bigger is better” is an unquestioned life principle, it’s easy to understand why many Christians feel a bigger church—more worship attenders, a larger building, more financial resources—is always better than a smaller one. The Biblical truth about...