When God Feels Silent for Churches
Could This Conversation Help Your Church?
What happens when someone has been in church for years and knows all the right answers, but still wonders why they don't feel close to God?
When God Feels Silent is an in-person biblical seminar where we can look together at questions about identity, prayer, Scripture, discernment, and how God works in everyday life.
Ask Nate About the SeminarSee What the Seminar CoversA Brief Message for Pastors and Church Leaders
If you are thinking about the spiritual health of your church family, I would like to take a few minutes to tell you why I created this seminar and what I hope it can offer the people you serve.
Email Nate About the SeminarA sample from the seminar
Would You Like to See Some of What We Will Explore?
This short handout looks at several things that can make it difficult to recognize God’s voice and some of the ways He may already be speaking. It will give you a taste of the questions and biblical ideas we work through together during the seminar.
Download the Sample HandoutIs It Possible That Some Of Your Members May Be Asking These Questions?
They may attend church regularly and be involved in ministry, but privately they still pray and wonder if God is listening.
They hear someone talk about a time when God led them, and it leaves them wondering, “Why don’t I have stories like that?”
The When God Feels Silent seminar creates room for people to wrestle with those questions without making them feel embarrassed or spiritually inadequate. Instead of telling them they need to try harder, we begin looking at what may be keeping them from recognizing how God is already at work in their lives.
What Will Nate Teach?
These seven messages build on one another. We begin with who God is and who we are in Jesus, because what we believe about that shapes the way we pray, read Scripture, and understand His leading.
Session 1: When You Forget Who You Are
We look at God’s character and what Jesus has done for us. If we believe we have to get everything right before God will welcome us, how might that affect the way we come to Him?
Session 2: Blockers From Hearing God
I share some of my own struggles with prayer and Bible reading as we consider the beliefs, shame, and distractions that may make it difficult to recognize how God is speaking.
Session 3: Reading the Bible the Way God Intended
We consider how we are to relate to the Scriptures and how we can read a passage in its context. We look at ways to listen to what God is saying through the text without forcing it to say what we want it to say.
Session 4: How God Speaks to Us
We explore ways God may speak through Scripture, people, nature, and the events of ordinary life. We also talk about why everything we sense needs to be tested against Scripture.
Session 5: The Voice You Were Created to Hear
When prayer feels one-sided, what might it look like to make room to listen? We consider the noise and competing voices that can make that difficult.
Session 6: When God Speaks Along the Way
Through stories from everyday life, we consider how God may guide us during our work, errands, and conversations, and how we can respond with discernment.
Session 7: The Voice That Leads You Home
In the closing message during your church’s worship service, we return to Jesus’ words about the Good Shepherd in John 10. What does it mean to know His voice and follow Him?
What Will the Seminar Be Like?
In each message, I teach through personal stories, Scripture, practical illustrations, and questions that give people room to examine their walk with God, why they do what they do, and what they believe. No one is put on the spot or asked to share a personal struggle with the group.
How Will the Seven-Session Series Work?
The first six sessions are approximately 75 minutes each. The final message is shared during your church’s worship service. When we talk, we can look at your calendar and work through a schedule that will serve your congregation and visitors well.
How Will This Support Your Church?
Scripture is the authority throughout the series. We talk about testing what we sense and seeking wise counsel, rather than treating every thought or circumstance as a message from God.
My hope is to serve alongside your pastor and the ministry already happening in your church. I will not use the event to promote a paid program. If people would like to keep learning afterward, I can point them toward additional teaching.
How Do We Work Out the Details?
Every church has a different calendar, location, and set of needs. In our first conversation, we can talk openly about dates, travel, lodging, meals, printed materials, promotion, costs, and what the church would need to provide.
Nothing is finalized until we both understand the plan and believe it will serve your congregation well.
How do we begin?
- Tell me a little about your church and what caused you to consider this seminar.
- Then we can talk through possible dates, the schedule, the costs, and what each of us would be responsible for.
- After that conversation, you and your leadership can decide whether the seminar is a good fit.
If you are a church member
Would You Like to Share This With Your Pastor?
You do not need to answer every question about the seminar. You can share this page with your pastor or another church leader and tell them what made you think it might help your church. They can review the teaching approach and contact me directly.
Share This Page With a Church Leader