Your long-term perseverance isn’t grounded in your own ability to persevere. Jesus Keeps You
October 31, 2026
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Welcome to our weekly roundup of articles, podcasts, videos, and links curated by pastors, for pastors—to equip and encourage you in your ministry. You don’t have to shepherd alone. Let’s go.
WORD OF THE WEEK

Keep Trusting the One Who Keeps You Trusting

What truth does Mark Vroegop cling to amid suffering? In this Pastor to Pastor video, Vrogop shares a statement that John Piper sent to him after the death of his daughter in 2004: “Keep trusting the One who keeps you trusting.” Vroegop says that statement has become a pillar in his life: “I love that statement because it unpacks a twofold reality of how discouragement or difficulty is overcome in pastoral ministry.”

First, we persevere by a deep commitment to keep trusting Jesus. We may not know what’s happening in a giffen situation. We may not be able to figure every ministry trial out, but we got into ministry by trusting Christ as our Savior, and so we must keep trusting that he’ll work through us in others’  lives.

Second, we must believe that God is the One who keeps us trusting. Our long term perseverance isn’t based on our ability to make it on our own. Jesus is the One who will keep us trusting him. Vroegop says, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered scenarios in church ministry when I thought, I have no idea how I’m going to make it through this. I’m not sure how this is even sustainable, and yet somehow, by God’s sovereign grace, he keeps helping me to trust him.” Christ sustains our faith all the way to the end.

Hear more of Mark’s testimony and reflections on ministry in this video, and consider joining him and other TGC Council members for our Expositional Preaching cohort, which begins this Wednesday.
Mark Vroegop: How to Persevere in Ministry

Resource Roundup

Experiences Shape Beliefs. They Shouldn’t Determine Them.

What makes Christians different from our secular neighbors? One subtle, but crucial difference, says Samuel James, is that Christians care about what’s objectively true.
A Struggling Pastor’s Journey to Joy

“I was a joyless, powerless, struggling pastor,” writes Dennis Cahill. “However, late in life and ministry, God opened my eyes to his glory, the depth of my pride, and the joyful wonder of the gospel.” His testimony will encourage you.
Reading as Rebellion

Trevin Wax invites us to swim upstream against the currents that make it easy to settle for superficiality. He invites us to take up a book and read.

Around the Web

Here are links to other great resources worth your time:

  • David Kaywood offers a comprehensive checklist of probing questions across spiritual, practical, family, physical, and vocational areas to help pastors identify burnout warning signs before they become overwhelming.

  • Adriel Sanchez provides essential questions and biblical principles to help pastors navigate social media faithfully, emphasizing the need to platform Christ rather than themselves while avoiding the pitfalls of online discourse.

  • Dave Strunk and Ben Ruyack reveal why traditional “medium-ask” church programs are failing post-pandemic and propose a strategic framework that pushes ministry toward either high-commitment/high-risk (“Platoon”) or low-commitment/low-risk (“Consumer”) approaches.

Find more resources for pastors at tgc.org/pastors.