By Jim Nieman
Central Christian Church in Lancaster, Calif., is mobilizing to send Military Christmas Care Boxes to a troop of U.S. Army soldiers stationed overseas.
The mobilization to fill approximately 350 shoeboxes with letters, snacks, and various necessities is in response to a request from a CCC member who serves as a U.S. Army chaplain for those male and female soldiers.
“We have always done [Samaritan Purse’s] Operation Christmas Child boxes in the past,” said Autumn Rutledge, who serves with Central’s women’s ministry. “This year we were asked . . . if we would consider sending care packages to his unit oversees.”
The Central family has been asked to provide letters of encouragement and thanks, snacks and non-melting candy, single-serve drink mixes, necessities like sunblock and lip balm, hygiene products (liquid soap, hand sanitizer, razors, toothpaste, floss, etc.), socks, Christian literature, and other such material as will fit in a shoebox.
CCC also requests participants provide $10 with each donation to help cover half the cost of shipping each shoebox. The church is providing the other half of the shipping cost and all of the necessary shoeboxes, Rutledge said. Church staff will be packing the boxes.
This extra “Season of Giving” project is stretching the church a little thin, Rutledge admits, but many are praying and giving to satisfy the chaplain’s request and to bless the soldiers. “We have a large military presence in our community and congregation,” Rutledge said. Two U.S. Air Force bases are located nearby.
“We are thrilled to be able to pray for and encourage members of our military this way, and to celebrate with them the good news of Christ.”
Jim Nieman serves as managing editor of Christian Standard.
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News Briefs
Compiled by Jim Nieman
People from around Louisville made their way to Southeast Christian Church Saturday morning to honor men and women who have served in the U.S. military. The coronavirus prompted a unique approach to honoring the veterans.
Veterans from World War II on up through recent conflicts stood by military displays while a parade of cars, vans, and pickups filled with well-wishers drove past to offer thanks.
“It brings back memories. Some good, some bad,” Pedro Carillo, a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, told WDRB.com. “But that’s the way it goes. All I know is that I’m here, I’m glad to be here, and I appreciate every bit of this.”
The parade was part of Jefferson County’s annual Week of Valor celebration. Today is Veteran’s Day.
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We’ve added a number of new job postings to our “Help Wanted” section this past week, including listings for a new senior pastor at 2|42 Community Church in Michigan; a director of development needed for Hope for Haiti’s Children; a search for two new faculty members (theology and ministry) underway at Lincoln (Ill.) Christian University; and Minier (Ill.) Christian Church’s search for a new associate/executive minister. Click here to view all of our job listings.
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Crossroads Christian Church in Texas celebrated its 50th anniversary over the weekend. The church originally was known as Arlington Christian Church and met in a school building its first seven-plus years. The church broke ground for its original building in December 1977 and grew in that location. About 20 years later, the church bought 100 obscure acres, writes Barry Cameron, who joined the church as senior minister in 1992.
“In 2002, we began construction on our first facility at our new location,” Cameron writes. “Many continued to question the wisdom of building this new facility out in the middle of nowhere. In hindsight, it appeared to be genius. But that would be incorrect—it was God and we knew it. . . . We didn’t have a master plan, but our MASTER had a plan.”
The acreage was at the edges of four different communities—Arlington, Mansfield, Grand Prairie, and Cedar Hill—inspired the name Crossroads. In 2018, the church averaged 6,785 in weekly attendance.
Read Cameron’s blog post for more about the church’s history.
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EnterMission, the new disciple training school of the International Conference On Missions, has been traveling and working at different missions for the past month: Pinehaven Christian Ranch, St. Ignatius, Mont.; American Indian Christian Mission in Show Low, Ariz.; Vida Nueva Ministries on the Texas-Mexico border; and Mid-South Christian College in Memphis, Tenn. This is the inaugural year for EnterMission as students near completion of their stateside mission tour and prepare for their international service next semester. The students completed 10 weeks of study and community building at Johnson University prior to their work with the stateside missions. Learn more by reading our article from last year, visiting EnterMission’s website, or participating in ICOM Nov. 20-21 in Indianapolis.
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Shirley Wigginton, 85, of Johnson City, Tenn., a former editor with Standard Publishing, Christian Standard’s longtime parent company (1872–2015), died Nov. 1. Mrs. Wigginton is survived by her husband of 60 years, Gene Wigginton, who served as president of Standard Publishing for many years. She was active with First Christian Church in Johnson City. In 2000, the Eugene and Shirley Wigginton Scholarship Fund was established at Milligan University, and in 2013 Milligan dedicated the Wigginton Residence Hall in honor of the couple. Services and burial have already taken place. An obituary is available here.
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Bella Sailors, a high school senior and a member of Owensboro (Ky.) Christian Church, has created a small business that benefits her church’s mission partners in El Salvador and Guatemala. The business is focused on selling handmade accessories such as drawstring bags, hair scrunchies, watchbands, keychain Chapstick holders, and more, according to an article in the Owensboro Times.
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Rick Atchley, senior minister with The Hills Church, Fort Worth, Texas, preached from home this past weekend due to his COVID-19 diagnosis. His wife, Jamie, also has the virus. Atchley said via Twitter last Thursday that their symptoms have been “relatively mild.” He thanked the church for their prayers.
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