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”

Disciple LIke You Mean It…

Followers First

22 Jun 202315 Nov 2023

By Justin Rossow A friend recently sent me a link to a sermon he found online—from me! I preached at the Day of Homiletical Reflection in 2011, over a decade…

Discipling Leaders…

Secure Humility

18 Apr 202315 Nov 2023

By Sam Fink Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he…

Discipleship Tools

A Print-at-Home Key Concept Calendar

17 Apr 202315 Nov 2023

By Justin Rossow The Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log, especially designed for the season between Easter and Pentecost, includes a Key Concept Calendar in the back. The idea…

Faith Experiment…

Continue

11 Apr 202315 Nov 2023

By Alli Bauck It is finished. Lent/Holy Week/Easter 2023 ended with an exclamation mark of joyous singing and enthusiastic high-fiving (by my 2.5 year old). But it’s not over. (Alleluia, it’s not…

Faith Experiment…

Adding Color

6 Apr 20236 Apr 2023

By Kristeen A. Bruun I have fallen victim to the adult coloring craze. I have heard that it was discovered to be a soothing activity for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients,…

Faith Experiment…

#Lenten Walk, Week 5

30 Mar 202311 Apr 2023

By Alli Bauck “Hi, friends!” A familiar voice enthusiastically welcomes me. It belongs to Annie F. Downs, a woman I have never met; but she and I have been on…

Lent

Either FROM or THROUGH

29 Mar 202329 Mar 2023

By Jamie Wiechman I begrudgingly made my way to the front of the church that Wednesday evening. It was Ash Wednesday. My church family joins many believers in marking this…

Faith Experiment…

#Lenten Walk, Week 4

22 Mar 202322 Mar 2023

By Alli Bauck If anyone is keeping track, we are over halfway through the Lenten season. (Resurrection Sunday is getting closer!!!) For me, personally, the last eleven days have been…

You Go; and I’ll Walk with You

17 Mar 202317 Mar 2023

By Justin Rossow Our mailbox is 0.7 miles from our front door. It used to be 7 feet. Since our last move, getting the mail has become more than a…

Faith Experiment…

#Lenten Walk, Week … What?

16 Mar 202317 Apr 2023

By Alli Bauck This week felt like one step forward, two steps back. As Spring makes its anticipated arrival to the Kansas City area, the forecast last week was a…

Discipling Leaders

Needing Jesus, Every Day

13 Mar 202313 Mar 2023

Desperately Needing Jesus, Every Day A sermon preached at the installation of Pastor Sam Fink at Heart of the Shepherd Lutheran Church, Howell, Michigan, 12 March 2023. By Justin Rossow…

Faith Experiment…

#Lenten Walk, Week 2

By Alli Bauck Wow. Podcasts are e-v-e-r-y-where! I started out my #Lentenwalk with a varied list of podcasts (see my first Lenten Walk blog); however, my Spotify library has doubled…

Faith Experiment…

My CEF Faith Calendar

4 Mar 20234 Mar 2023

By Justin Rossow I wrote this article for the March, 2023 Michigan In Touch insert to the Lutheran Witness magazine. Thanks to the good people at Michigan Church Extension Fund…

Living With the Laughing God

3 Mar 20231 Mar 2023

By Kristeen Bruun On my wall hangs a plaque that a friend engraved for me. It says, “Want to make God laugh? Tell God your plans!” I certainly must believe…

Faith Experiment…

#Lenten Walk, Week 1

1 Mar 20231 Mar 2023

By Alli Bauck While visiting with a friend on the phone last night, she asked me how my Lenten walk practice was going. I laughed and reported that on the…

Cultural Studies…

Ozymandias

By Kim Longden Ozymandias is one of my favorite poems to use as an interpretive reading exercise with the kids. In it, a traveler describes the ruins of a statue…

Faith Experiment…

Lenten Walk

23 Feb 202323 Feb 2023

By Alli Bauck I placed the rectangular box on the table and ceremoniously lifted the lid. A brand new pair of tennis shoes was waiting inside. Peeling back the packing…

For My Friends…

Lord, to whom shall we go?

22 Feb 202322 Feb 2023

By Rachel Hinz “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter says this to Jesus after hearing some really difficult stuff. Confusing, hard stuff.…