Springwells Church

09/06/2026

08/25/2026

They Say I'm Soft?

People have called it "soft" to love, serve, befriend, and share the Gospel with Muslims instead of joining the protests, waving signs, or marching against Islamification.

Let’s talk about that.

The political battle matters.
The cultural battle matters.
The battle for religious freedom matters.
The battle for souls is the primary battle.
And choosing the Great Commission over political outrage isn't retreating from the others—it means putting them in their proper order.

When political anger begins to displace the mission, we don't just get our priorities out of order; we actively hinder the work. When the people we are trying to reach see Christians treating them primarily as a political threat or an enemy camp rather than as individuals made in the image of God who need Jesus, we build a wall of hostility that the Gospel then has to cross.

Look at Jesus.
He lived under Roman occupation. He interacted with Samaritans. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He engaged people who disagreed with Him and people considered outsiders. He didn't ignore truth, and He never softened the Gospel. But He didn't make political opposition the center of His ministry.

He made disciples.

Paul understood governments, citizenship, law, persecution, and public controversy. He wasn't apolitical, and he used his rights when appropriate. But when he described his assignment, he didn't say, “I've been commissioned to preserve Roman religious liberty.” His assignment was to preach Christ and make disciples.

And Jesus' final commission wasn't, “Go therefore and influence the political structures of every nation.”

It is: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” — Matthew 28:19

That is the distinction. I'm not saying the political battle doesn't matter. I'm saying we cannot confuse the political battle with the Kingdom of God.

A political campaign can change a law.
A protest can change public pressure.
An election can change leadership.
A policy can protect religious liberty.

But only the Gospel can change a human heart.

If I am a pastor charged with advancing the Kingdom of God, I have to ask myself: Where is the Kingdom actually advanced? It advances when people encounter Jesus, repent, believe the Gospel, become disciples, and begin making disciples themselves.

So no, I don't think loving Muslims, serving Muslims, eating with Muslims, befriending Muslims, and sharing the Gospel with Muslims is the "soft" response.

Choosing the slow, messy work of real-life ministry isn't easy. It requires far more spiritual stamina to love our actual neighbors day in and day out than it does to react to a headline.

Standing for truth doesn't require treating people as less than people. Refusing to join a shouting match isn't softness—it's staying focused on the mandate.

The political battle matters. But the battle for souls matters more.

Pastor Luke Halford

08/18/2026

There is a lot of tension and noise in Dearborn today ahead of the City Council meeting. As a 15-year resident and pastor in East Dearborn, I want to offer a different path—one rooted not in political anger or protest, but in the Great Commission.

Here is my full statement:

Dearborn as a Great Commission Opportunity

As tensions rise around community discussions and planned demonstrations surrounding Dearborn City Council meetings, I want to invite Christians toward a different response: not retreat, not hostility, but the joyful pursuit of the Great Commission.

My wife—a Fordson High School graduate—and I moved to Dearborn 15 years ago to live and minister in East Dearborn. Rather than viewing our city's large immigrant and Muslim population primarily as a political or cultural challenge, I see it as an extraordinary opportunity to participate in Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations.

I honestly feel incredibly thankful that God has brought the nations to us. Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. That's the mission of the Church. And sometimes God opens a door for you to go to the nations. Other times, He brings the nations right to your neighborhood.

For me, Dearborn represents a unique missionary opportunity. It's hard to go into Yemen as a missionary or get into some of these countries and build genuine relationships. But God has brought people from these nations to our doorstep. Why would I see that as something to run from? I see it as something to thank God for.

At the center of that opportunity is a message everyone needs to hear. Every one of us has sinned and turned away from God. That's the problem. But God loved us enough to send Jesus Christ, who lived without sin and died in our place. He took what we deserved so that we could be reconciled to God. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, defeating sin and death. And now Jesus calls every person to turn from their sin, put their trust in Him, and follow Him. That's the Gospel.

This conviction changes how I see my Muslim neighbors. If I really believe that Jesus is the answer, then I can't look at my Muslim neighbor as the problem. He's a person made in the image of God who needs to hear the Gospel. I don't need to hate him. I need to love him enough to tell him about Jesus.

My charge is to advance the Kingdom of God here by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and making disciples of all nations. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Rather than joining political demonstrations or confrontational evangelism, I believe Christians should move toward the people they are concerned about. I haven't seen a lot of success from public confrontational approaches or protest-style evangelism. But I have seen Arab people come to know Jesus because of the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and not loving their lives even unto death.

The answer is not retreating from communities experiencing significant cultural and religious change, but entering those communities with courage, compassion, and the Gospel.

If you want to see change in your community, tell them what Jesus did for you today. Live with them, break bread with them, and let them see the light inside of you. You don't have to be a religious scholar. Actually, it's better that you aren't—Jesus used fishermen. You just need to love your neighbor, let them see the fruit of the Spirit in your life, and be bold enough to share the gospel.

This approach is not passive or an attempt to avoid difficult questions. The Gospel isn't that we're all basically good people who believe different things. The Gospel is that we've all sinned, Jesus died for our sins, Jesus rose from the dead, and He calls every one of us to repent and believe in Him. I believe that message is worth sharing with courage and worth sharing with love.

Dearborn itself can become an example of what happens when Christians embrace rather than fear the missionary opportunity in front of them. We don't need Christians standing outside the community yelling at people they don't know. We need Christians willing to know their neighbors, serve their neighbors, eat with their neighbors, and tell their neighbors about Jesus.

My challenge to Christians concerned about cultural change is simple: don't move away. Move closer. If you really want to see positive change in the West, stop moving away from Dearborn—and come here and live a life out loud that reflects the love of Christ in you.

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” I'm grateful that God has given us an opportunity to do that right here. The nations are here. The harvest is here. And I want to be faithful with the opportunity God has put in front of us.

— Pastor Luke Halford

Springwells Church, Dearborn, Michigan

08/17/2026

READY TO FIGHT: How to Tear Down Spiritual Strongholds | 2 Corinthians 10
What if the battle you're fighting isn't actually the battle you think you're fighting?

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul gives us a radically different picture of spiritual warfare. Our battle isn't against flesh and blood. The weapons God gives us are powerful enough to destroy strongholds—arguments, lies, and ways of thinking that have established themselves against the knowledge of God.

A stronghold can begin with a thought.
A thought can become a belief.
A belief can become an agreement.
An agreement can become a pattern.
And a pattern can become a fortress.

But the fortress can come down.

In this message, we walk through six R's for tearing down spiritual strongholds and rebuilding our lives under Christ:

Recognize. Repent. Replace. Resist. Renew. Rebuild.

We'll look at the reality of demonic influence, the battle for the mind, the danger of “personal truth,” the power of God's Word, the importance of repentance and resistance, and why freedom isn't simply about what we tear down—but what we build in its place.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 10:5

The enemy doesn't get the final word.
Your past doesn't get the final word.
Your wounds don't get the final word.
Your thoughts don't get the final word.

Jesus does.

08/17/2026

READY TO FIGHT: How to Tear Down Spiritual Strongholds | 2 Corinthians 10

What if the battle you're fighting isn't actually the battle you think you're fighting?

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul gives us a radically different picture of spiritual warfare. Our battle isn't against flesh and blood. The weapons God gives us are powerful enough to destroy strongholds—arguments, lies, and ways of thinking that have established themselves against the knowledge of God.

A stronghold can begin with a thought.
A thought can become a belief.
A belief can become an agreement.
An agreement can become a pattern.
And a pattern can become a fortress.

But the fortress can come down.

In this message, we walk through six R's for tearing down spiritual strongholds and rebuilding our lives under Christ:

Recognize. Repent. Replace. Resist. Renew. Rebuild.

We'll look at the reality of demonic influence, the battle for the mind, the danger of “personal truth,” the power of God's Word, the importance of repentance and resistance, and why freedom isn't simply about what we tear down—but what we build in its place.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 10:5

The enemy doesn't get the final word.
Your past doesn't get the final word.
Your wounds don't get the final word.
Your thoughts don't get the final word.

Jesus does.

What if the battle you're fighting isn't actually the battle you th...

08/13/2026

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08/11/2026

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08/09/2026

READY TO GIVE | The Four Miracles of Grace
What is the clearest place that grace becomes visible in your life?

Is it Bible knowledge? Prayer? Church attendance? Spiritual gifts?

What if one of the clearest places grace becomes visible is how you hold what you have?

In 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul doesn't present generosity as a fundraising strategy. He presents it as evidence of grace at work.

Grace creates a giver.
Grace changes the motive.
Grace changes the harvest.
Grace changes the glory.

The grace of God doesn't just forgive us. It changes us—and what God does in us eventually becomes visible through us.

Grace never pools. Grace flows.

Join us for READY TO GIVE: The Four Miracles of Grace as we walk through 2 Corinthians 8–9 and discover what happens when grace gets all the way in.