Joel Varner

Joel Varner serves with Forge America, a network of practitioners cultivating practitioners who join in the everyday mission of God. In Albany, Oregon, he trains and encourages local missional practitioners as they seek the good of their neighborhoods and city. He also helps build a growing local network of neighbors, leaders, nonprofits, and organizations who work together to strengthen relationships and support good works throughout the community. Joel lives in Albany with his wife, Brenna, and their two adult children.

Latest Articles

Featured image for “What’s the Point?”
Joel Varner

What’s the Point?

Featured image for “A Nuanced and Complicated Relationship”
Sherene Joseph

A Nuanced and Complicated Relationship

Featured image for “What’s Your Model of Church?”
Ericka Henry

What’s Your Model of Church?

Featured image for “Remembrance and Solidarity”
Dennis R. Edwards

Remembrance and Solidarity

Featured image for “We Abandoned Our Mothering God: Recovering Collective Trust”
Amber H. Jones

We Abandoned Our Mothering God: Recovering Collective Trust

Featured image for “If Revival Is Real, the Vulnerable Will Tell Us”
Daniel Yang

If Revival Is Real, the Vulnerable Will Tell Us

Featured image for “Green Pastures of Refuge”
Cheryl You

Green Pastures of Refuge

Featured image for “Unanswered Prayer”
Catherine McNiel

Jason Hague

Unanswered Prayer

Featured image for “We Must Rethink the Role of the Pastor”
Benjamin Park

We Must Rethink the Role of the Pastor

Featured image for “A Few Solutions For Compassion Fatigue”
Jeremy and Monica Chambers

A Few Solutions For Compassion Fatigue

Featured image for “Abusing Power In God’s Name”
Dorothy Littell Greco

Abusing Power In God’s Name

Featured image for “Reclaiming the Tent”
Amanda Hecht

Reclaiming the Tent

Featured image for “Communities of Wisdom in a World Drowning from Information Overload”
David Swanson

Communities of Wisdom in a World Drowning from Information Overload

Featured image for “Hospitality Involves Welcoming Restoration and Repair”
Laura Murray

Hospitality Involves Welcoming Restoration and Repair

Featured image for “A Crisis of Control: On Letting Go of Power”
Emily Beth Hill

A Crisis of Control: On Letting Go of Power

Featured image for “A Lifetime of Letters to the Church”
Mandy Smith

A Lifetime of Letters to the Church

Featured image for “A (Needed) Conversation On Pastoral Longevity”
Kris Beckert

Missio Alliance

A (Needed) Conversation On Pastoral Longevity

Featured image for “The Secret Sauce For Pastoral Longevity”
Kris Beckert

The Secret Sauce For Pastoral Longevity

Featured image for “The Bill For Our Recklessness Has Come Due”
Amber H. Jones

The Bill For Our Recklessness Has Come Due

Featured image for “How We Treat Immigrants”
Jamie Cowen

How We Treat Immigrants

Featured image for “Aren’t You Tired of Attempting to Dominate? (You Are Loved)”
Oneya Okuwobi

Aren’t You Tired of Attempting to Dominate? (You Are Loved)

Featured image for “Letters to the Church: An Invitation to Listen”
Chris Kamalski

Letters to the Church: An Invitation to Listen

Featured image for “Gen Z Christians: Understanding Instead of Degrading”
Tanita Maddox

Gen Z Christians: Understanding Instead of Degrading

Featured image for “Saved?: What Will You Do?”
Julius Shumpert

Saved?: What Will You Do?

Featured image for “When Are You Going to Rest?”
Lisa Rodriguez-Watson

When Are You Going to Rest?

Featured image for “There’s A Different Way To Fight”
Dennis R. Edwards

There’s A Different Way To Fight

Featured image for “Love Your Neighborhood”
Austin Maxheimer

Love Your Neighborhood

Featured image for “An Invitation to Racial Healing as Spiritual Formation”
Afrika Afeni Mills

An Invitation to Racial Healing as Spiritual Formation

Featured image for “Who Are Our Marginalized Neighbors Today?”
Austin Maxheimer

Who Are Our Marginalized Neighbors Today?

Featured image for “A (Needed) Conversation on Baptism, Borders, and Belonging”
Missio Alliance

Miranda Zapor Cruz

A (Needed) Conversation on Baptism, Borders, and Belonging

Featured image for “Baptism Without Borders”
Miranda Zapor Cruz

Baptism Without Borders

Featured image for “My So-Called Ordinary Life”
Andrew Arndt

My So-Called Ordinary Life

Featured image for “The Healing Leader: Tending Our Wounds to Serve Others”
Cheryl You

The Healing Leader: Tending Our Wounds to Serve Others

Featured image for “A (Needed) Conversation on Mental Health”
Missio Alliance

Katelyn J. Dixon

Chris Kamalski

A (Needed) Conversation on Mental Health

Featured image for “Kintsugi Kingdom: Forgiveness as Mending”
Katelyn J. Dixon

Kintsugi Kingdom: Forgiveness as Mending

Featured image for “An Action-Reflection Approach to Discipleship unto Jesus”
Rowland Smith

An Action-Reflection Approach to Discipleship unto Jesus

Featured image for “Stones of Remembrance (A Poem for Juneteenth)”
Joylanda Jamison

Stones of Remembrance (A Poem for Juneteenth)

Featured image for “My Grandmothers’ Stuffing Recipes Can Teach Multi-Racial Congregations”
Lamont Hartman

My Grandmothers’ Stuffing Recipes Can Teach Multi-Racial Congregations

Featured image for “The Shibuya Crossing and the Holy Spirit’s Intersections”
Vatreisha Nyemba

The Shibuya Crossing and the Holy Spirit’s Intersections

Featured image for “How Ageism Affects Our Spiritual Formation”
MaryKate Morse

How Ageism Affects Our Spiritual Formation

Featured image for “Beyond Twitch: Incarnational Ministry in Everyday Digital Spaces”
Jesse Carbo

Beyond Twitch: Incarnational Ministry in Everyday Digital Spaces

Featured image for “The Flowering of Wounds: Beauty Will Save The World”
Katelyn J. Dixon

The Flowering of Wounds: Beauty Will Save The World

Featured image for “When The Gears Are Stuck: Navigating Change When Change Feels Impossible”
Josh Hayden

When The Gears Are Stuck: Navigating Change When Change Feels Impossible

Featured image for “Jesus’ Whole Field Mission”
Jon Hietbrink

Jesus’ Whole Field Mission

Featured image for “The Whole Church for the Whole World”
Angie Ward

The Whole Church for the Whole World

Featured image for “Preaching in a New Key: A Preacher’s Holistic Health”
Mark Glanville

Preaching in a New Key: A Preacher’s Holistic Health

Featured image for “Preaching in a New Key: Reversing the Direction of Flow”
Mark Glanville

Preaching in a New Key: Reversing the Direction of Flow

Featured image for “Mission Shapes Us In The Going”
Jacob Hoyer

Mission Shapes Us In The Going

Featured image for “An Invitation to Explore the Mystical Heart of God (Pt. 2)”
Sherene Joseph

An Invitation to Explore the Mystical Heart of God (Pt. 2)

Featured image for “An Invitation to Explore the Mystical Heart of God (Pt. 1)”
Sherene Joseph

An Invitation to Explore the Mystical Heart of God (Pt. 1)

Featured image for “I Set Out to End Racism and Failed”
Oneya Okuwobi

I Set Out to End Racism and Failed

Featured image for “An Unwasted Witness: Depression, Tears, and the Kingdom of God”
Katelyn J. Dixon

An Unwasted Witness: Depression, Tears, and the Kingdom of God

Featured image for “The Mothering Love of God: Our Unacknowledged Longing”
Amber H. Jones

The Mothering Love of God: Our Unacknowledged Longing

Featured image for “The Borderlands: What Will We Do?”
Liliana Reza

The Borderlands: What Will We Do?

Featured image for “More Than A Museum For Saints”
Benjamin Park

More Than A Museum For Saints

Featured image for “Reflections on Awakenings 2025 from The Englewood Review of Books”
Christopher Smith

Lindsey Cornett

Reflections on Awakenings 2025 from The Englewood Review of Books

Featured image for “Embers in the Campfire: Awakenings 2025 Day 3”
Missio Alliance

Embers in the Campfire: Awakenings 2025 Day 3

Featured image for “What If We Gave It All Back?: Awakenings 2025 Day 2”
Missio Alliance

What If We Gave It All Back?: Awakenings 2025 Day 2

Featured image for “Lace Up Your Jordans: Awakenings 2025 Day 1”
Missio Alliance

Lace Up Your Jordans: Awakenings 2025 Day 1

Featured image for “The Great Re-Commission: Awakenings 2025 Day 1”
Missio Alliance

The Great Re-Commission: Awakenings 2025 Day 1