The Next Step Community

The Next Step Community is a group of people, like you, who need other people to help them take a next step following Jesus. You won’t find any preconceived notions or quick fixes here; just real people trying to follow Jesus in real life. You are welcome to join in!

About

As The Next Step Community, we are sold out on helping each other delight in taking a next step following Jesus. Not everyone is going to resonate with our values or our basic vibe, and that’s OK; we believe having a variety of options is the best way to sustain…Continue reading “About”

Fun for Fun’s Sake

20 Nov 202419 Nov 2024

By Deanna Rossow I recently attended a seminar on “Play as a Spiritual Practice.” Heidi Goehmann helped us explore the definition of play as something that we do by our…

Exegetical Study

Law and Gospel

15 Oct 202415 Oct 2024

By Justin Rossow The phrase, “Law and Gospel” is common enough that we need to be careful with it. The words Law and Gospel don’t always mean what you think…

Cultural Studies…

What is the Word of God?

By Justin Rossow Quick: if I say the phrase, “The Word of God,” what do you think of first? I suspect most people in our current church culture, and maybe…

Discipleship Tools…

Praying for God’s Delight

7 Oct 20247 Oct 2024

By Justin Rossow How many times have you prayed the Lord’s Prayer in your life? How many times have you paid attention as you prayed the Lord’s Prayer in your…

I Believe and We Believe

24 Sep 202415 Oct 2024

By Justin Rossow The Apostles' Creed, which started out as a series of questions and answers for people who were about to get baptized, appropriately starts out, "I believe ..."…

Cultural Studies

Thou with a capital T

24 Jul 202424 Jul 2024

By Conrad Gempf I don’t think it’s all in my head; I think some of the language of worship has changed since I was little. I feel like we say Holy…

What’s the Forecast?

9 Jul 20249 Jul 2024

By Deanna Rossow Today is our HUGE Family Celebration of the Fourth of July at the lake! Most every outdoor activity imaginable is planned for today: Swimming, Bean Bag Toss,…

Discipling Leaders…

Faith and Works in Paul and James

4 Jun 20244 Jun 2024

By Conrad Gempf One of the most common arguments against the trustworthiness of the Bible is that it contains contradictions. Perhaps, like me, you have had skeptics tell you that…

Patience Is Kindness Is Love

23 May 202422 May 2024

By Jamie Wiechman Two years ago the following scenario played out in my mind during my prayer time. I was on one side of a chasm and the Father was…

Cultural Studies…

Defining “Discipleship”

21 May 202429 Jan 2025

By Justin Rossow In my work for Next Step Press, I get to talk about “discipleship” with different people from across the country and, sometimes, even around the world. I’ve…

For My Friends…

Scarred Perfection

15 May 202415 May 2024

From a Fellow Traveler This week marks the end of my wife’s chemo treatment. Four months and eight cycles in total. The last couple rounds were tough on her. It…

Exegetical Study

Nathanael and Nothin’

13 May 202413 May 2024

By Conrad Gempf The Gospels have a lot of stories about disciples who were called when they were out fishing. Another was in the middle of collecting taxes. But John…

Cultural Studies…

On Being Human

10 May 202413 Nov 2024

By Jamie Wiechman I have really been wrestling with my humanness lately. Do you know what it means to be human? According to Merriam-Webster, “human” means “representative of or susceptible…

Exegetical Study

Partial Eclipse of the Heart

3 Apr 20248 Jul 2024

By Justin Rossow The last time a solar eclipse was visible in North America, my son Caleb and I were down in south Texas, and therefore right in the shadow's…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

A Difficult Holy Week

27 Mar 202427 Mar 2024

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 10 (40 min)Date: 20 March 2024Guest: Jamie Wiechman, Breathe Life Ministries, www.breathelifetoday.com Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora,…

For My Friends…

It’s Getting Dark

27 Mar 202427 Mar 2024

From a Fellow Traveler It's starting to get dark. The light through my window isn’t enough to work by so I flip on the desk lamp. My wife is resting…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Experimenting With Small Steps

20 Mar 202420 Mar 2024

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 09 (41 min)Date: 20 March 2024Guest: Jamie Wiechman, Breathe Life Ministries, www.breathelifetoday.com Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora,…

Cultural Studies…

Strangers on the Beach

14 Mar 202418 Mar 2024

By Elizabeth Rossow You would think that sitting by the ocean would make me feel insignificant. I mean, we hear stories all the time of how, when faced with that…