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”

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…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Come, Sacrificing Often

6 Mar 20246 Mar 2024

By Jamie Wiechman and Justin Rossow Jamie: My January and February were a bit intense this year. That’s on top of last year’s intensity. Now that I’m counting, I guess…

For My Friends…

The Valley of Lent

23 Feb 202420 Mar 2024

From a Fellow Traveler I am no fan of Lent. The songs are depressing. The message is grim. It’s so bad, even the word Alleluia doesn’t want to go to…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Expanding Your Discipleship Culture

31 Jan 20241 Feb 2024

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 08 (39 min)Date: 31 January 2024Guests: Katie and Bob, lay leaders from Heart of the Shepherd, Howell, MI Also available…

Discipling Leaders…

You are Not God; Go Take a Nap.

30 Jan 202418 Mar 2024

By Liz Rossow It is really easy to get caught up in everything you have to do in a day. You wake earlier than you want, and the day never…

C is for Cookie

19 Jan 202412 Feb 2024

From a Fellow Traveler As a kid of the 80s, I watched my fair share of Sesame Street. Without a doubt, my favorite character was Cookie Monster. I found him…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

How are You Today?

18 Jan 202418 Jan 2024

By Katie Helmreich “Hey! How are you today?” “Good, good. How are you?” How many times do we ask or hear that question in a day? How many times do we…

Grateful for the Lightkeepers

7 Jan 202415 Mar 2024

From a Fellow Traveler As a kid at summer camp, This Little Light of Mine always seemed like a happy song to me. It was a song of strength and…

Christmas Traditions

30 Dec 202330 Dec 2023

By Kim Longden During one of our Advent family devotions, we were prompted to shout out our favorite Christmas traditions on the count of three. I smiled at the things…

Top Blogs from 2023

28 Dec 202328 Dec 2023

The Next Step Community blog continues to help people take a small next step following Jesus. In 2023, around 7,000 visitors viewed our discipling content over 12,000 times over the…

The With of Christmas

23 Dec 202312 Feb 2024

From a Fellow Traveler “Let me know what we can do for you.” When you have cancer, you hear that a lot. You hear it from coworkers and family members,…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Advent Enemies

21 Dec 202331 Jan 2024

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 07 (49 min)Date: 20 December 2023Guests: Rev. Dr. Ted Hopkins, Concordia University--Ann Arbor, MI Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google…

Discipleship Tools…

That Time I Lost My Christmas Planner

20 Dec 202320 Dec 2023

By Katie Helmreich Being organized and on top of all the details has never really been my thing. I try to dance on the line of enough but not too…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Noticing Your Non-Judgmental Noticing

14 Dec 202314 Dec 2023

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 06 (45 min)Date: 14 December 2023Guests: Pastor Sam Fink Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pandora, Vurbl, and Amazon…

Isometric Spirituality

12 Dec 202314 Dec 2023

By Jamie Wiechman, Breathe Life Ministries Over the last three months, I have felt the Lord’s invitation to slow down and push less. I feel like this down time was…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Information, Imitation, and Innovation

6 Dec 202312 Dec 2023

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 05 (36 min)Date: 6 December 2023Guests: Daniel, David, Ryan, and Pastor Nathan Wendorf Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,…

From Complaint, to Battle Cry, to Quiet Whisper

5 Dec 202315 Mar 2024

By Liz Rossow Romans 8:38-39 has come to mean a lot to me over the last few years. This verse demonstrates that nothing can come between me and my Lord.…

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Lowering the Bar for Your Next Step

29 Nov 202315 Mar 2024

The Next Step PodcastSeason 7: Wednesdays are for Walking WithEpisode 04 (42 min)Date: 29 November 2023Guests: Katie Helmreich, Kim Longden, and Jamie Wiechman Also available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,…