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I’m Tom Nicholas — a pastor, teacher, and community builder living in Billings, Montana. My life and ministry flow from one heartbeat: to see the Church alive — Spirit-filled, rooted in Scripture, and moving with Jesus into the world. I serve as a pastor, chaplain, and mentor, helping people grow in faith, leadership, and everyday discipleship. Whether around a campfire, in a coffee shop, or through digital spaces, I believe the gospel belongs where life happens — in the field, among the people, and around the table. Through The Church Alive, I write about biblical leadership, spiritual formation, and building vibrant, missional communities that reflect the love and courage of Christ.

🌿 1. The Church Alive: Reimagining Ministry in the Way of Jesus

Something remarkable happens when the Church rediscovers who she really is—not an organization trying to survive, but a living body, animated by the Spirit of Christ. Church Alive is a call back to that heartbeat—a vision of ministry that is not defined by programs, positions, or pews, but by people fully alive in Jesus.

A Living Vision

When we speak of the Church being alive, we mean more than activity. We mean vitality—spiritual pulse. A living church breathes prayer, moves with compassion, and speaks the truth in love. It is a community that lives in the way of Jesus—not just talking about Him, but walking as He walked: close to the Father, filled with the Spirit, and poured out for others.

Reimagining Ministry

To reimagine ministry is not to reinvent the gospel, but to return to its roots. Jesus never planted a program; He formed disciples. He didn’t build structures first; He built relationships that became the structure. The early Church didn’t ask, “What can we do?” but, “Who can we become together?”

This is the heartbeat of Church Alive:

  • Reconnecting with the Holy Spirit as the true leader of ministry.
  • Re-centering on people over programs.
  • Reframing success—not as attendance or budget, but as transformation and mission.

The Way of Jesus

Jesus lived the ministry we’re called to embody. His way was incarnational—He entered people’s lives, listened to their stories, and brought healing in ordinary places. His way was Spirit-led—He moved when the Father said move and rested when the Father said rest. His way was sacrificial—He poured Himself out for the world’s redemption.

To follow the way of Jesus is to let His life become our pattern. It’s to shape ministry not around what is easiest or most familiar, but around what most resembles Him.

The Invitation

Church Alive isn’t a new idea—it’s a new surrender. It’s the call for each of us, as pastors, leaders, and members, to open our hands again and say, “Holy Spirit, breathe on us.”

When we do, the church stops simply doing ministry and starts being ministry—the living presence of Jesus in our neighborhoods, our schools, our homes, and our hearts.

đŸŒ± Living It Out: Becoming a Church That Breathes

This vision begins not with new programs, but with a return to spiritual rhythm. A Church Alive moves with the life of the Spirit—drawing near to Christ in worship, being changed by His presence, and carrying His love into the world.

Here are ways to begin living in that rhythm:

đŸ•Šïž 1. Return to Dependence on the Holy Spirit

  • Begin every meeting, ministry, and conversation with prayer that asks, “Holy Spirit, lead us.”
  • Take time to listen for God’s direction before deciding what to do next. The Spirit still guides His Church as clearly as in Acts.
  • End your ministry times by asking, “Where did we see God at work today?”

This isn’t about slowing down—it’s about letting God lead the pace.

đŸȘŽ 2. Watch for Signs of Life

  • Look across your ministries and relationships: where is there genuine spiritual energy, curiosity, or compassion? That’s usually where God is breathing new life.
  • Celebrate moments of transformation—testimonies, reconciliations, small acts of service—more than numbers or attendance.
  • When life begins to stir somewhere new, protect it. Give it space to grow before you try to organize it.

🏡 3. Let Everyday Life Become Ministry

  • See your dinner table, workplace, and neighborhood as ministry spaces.
  • Invite others into conversation and friendship before you invite them to a program.
  • Encourage families, small groups, and classrooms to ask, “How can our everyday rhythms make room for Jesus?”

When we stop separating “church work” from “real life,” discipleship begins to happen everywhere.

đŸ”„ 4. Create Space for New Wineskins

  • When God stirs something fresh, resist the urge to force it into old structures.
  • Allow new leaders, new methods, and new rhythms to emerge where there is clear spiritual fruit.
  • Keep asking: Is this structure helping life to flow—or holding it back?

The wineskin isn’t sacred—the wine is. Structures must always serve the movement of God’s Spirit.

🌍 5. Live in the Rhythm of Grace and Mission

  • A living church moves like the heart of God: drawing people in with grace, then sending them out with purpose.
  • Build ministries that mirror that rhythm—worship that inspires service, study that leads to action, fellowship that overflows into compassion.
  • Let every inward experience of grace result in outward expression of love.

This is what it means to be a Church Alive: not just attending church, but becoming the living evidence that Christ still works through His people.

🙏 Prayer for the Church Alive

“Lord Jesus, make Your Church alive again.
Teach us to move in step with Your Spirit.
Help us to hold Your truth firmly and Your structures lightly.
Fill us so completely that Your love flows naturally into every place we go.”

👣 Coming Next:

Mingling for the Kingdom: The Ministry of Presence
Before Jesus preached or healed, He mingled—He entered the ordinary spaces of life with divine compassion. In Part 2, we’ll explore how presence is the beginning of every transformation and why proximity to people matters more than perfection in programs.

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