About
PLI is devoted to empowering leaders for wider influence for the sake of the gospel in their communities and effective leadership in their ministries. Learn more about our vision and process here.
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Life is better connected. Connect with others to experience life-giving community and build authentic relationships. We have several learning communities. Find the best fit for you.
Resources
We provide a number of resources and materials to educate both our participants and the general public on effective leadership principles.
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Interested in how PLI can impact your ministry? We'd love to get to know you and learn how we can empower your ministry.
Blog
3 Simple Reflections and Pictures!
By: Jock Ficken
1 – JOIN THE 1000YOUNGLEADER TEAM IF YOU’RE IN PHOENIX THIS WEEK! (OR… invite PLI to come share about 1000YL and sending missionaries into the 74.3 million millennial mission field when someone on the PLI team is in your neighborhood.) They’re introducing 1000YoungLeaders at the opening workshop of the Best Practices in Ministry conference at … Continue reading
Grief
By: Jock Ficken
Leaders mostly miss that when a congregation navigates any type of change, people in their congregations experience a sense of loss. Loss of… The familiar What to Expect “I know how to navigate this world.” OR…AND—this is true for many of us as leaders today in our mission field culture—loss of a sense of… Power … Continue reading
The #1 Big Challenge to Change in Your Congregation
By: Jock Ficken
Most churches long to have wider influence—not a shrinking influence—in their communities. But getting there is difficult! It’s even more difficult now than it was 20 years ago when PLI started training leaders to navigate the waters of change for the sake of the Mission of God. Shuffle the Sunday schedule. Drop a program. Add … Continue reading
Look Into the Future
By: Jock Ficken
As a leader…think women and men here…it’s your job to be looking out into the future of your congregation, your ministry, your organization! Seeing the bigger picture Looking at your stated mission. Have we drifted? Are we aligned? Thinking more than most 20 years ago PLI’s founders saw the big picture and started to train … Continue reading
Missionaries are Pouring into the United States…
By: Jock Ficken
Gail and I and the PLI team started 2019 with an incredible group of Ethiopian and Liberian immigrant missionaries. You’ll see a few of their faces, hear a few of their words. (A couple of congregations and an LCMS district had the vision to invest in them.) As PLI celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2019, … Continue reading
PLI’s 20th Anniversary in 2019!
By: Jock Ficken
Last week I noted the obvious…a lot has changed in the last 20 years! I’m not sure any of us really saw it coming. Certainly not coming so abruptly. And, when we don’t know what else to do we either… Give up. Lose hope. Just go through motions. Do what we’ve always done. Faster. Harder…with … Continue reading
20 Years of PLI
By: Jock Ficken
Thanks for being in the PLI family. The 20 year old PLI family. 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of PLI! 20 years since the first pastors and spouses stepped into something they weren’t quite sure about but knew they needed. 20 years since mentoring congregations lined up across the United States to … Continue reading
A Christmas Miracle in Indonesia that You Probably Didn’t Hear About and 3 Simple but Profound Actions
By: Jock Ficken
Gail and I would like to wish you a very blessed Christmas and to express our thanks for your partnership in the Gospel. We thought you might be encouraged by this report. You may remember the deadly tsunami that struck Indonesia the day after Christmas in 2004. You heard that hundreds and hundreds and hundreds … Continue reading
Malcolm Gladwell’s 12 Reasons to “Pull the Goalie” at Your Church
By: Jock Ficken
Malcolm Gladwell’s 12 Rules of Life center around a simple edict: Pull the Goalie! I listened to Gladwell’s podcast. Entertaining, circuitous, provocative. When a hockey team is trailing by a goal with a minute left in the game, all the fans expect the goalie to be pulled. Swapped for extra offense. To even the score. … Continue reading
Giving Thanks for Your Generosity
By: Jock Ficken
We’d like to share with you a few of the comments that were included with gifts on #GivingTuesday. The work PLI is doing is important and meaningful. What is taking place here is something that will have everlasting impact. -Tanner Olson We totally love and support the work of PLI in equipping the saints and … Continue reading
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