Bearing The Standard of The Movement for 160 Years

By Shawn McMullen

The year 2026 marks Christian Standard’s 160^th anniversary, underscoring our long history and deep connection with The Restoration Movement. As a point of reference, the first edition of this journal, published April 7, 1866, included an obituary of Alexander Campbell, who died March 4 of that year. 

Throughout its long history, Christian Standard has maintained its commitment to its founding purpose: “Dedicated to the restoration of New Testament Christianity, its doctrine, its ordinances and its fruits.” 

Of course, to remain viable in our ministry and mission, we remain open to opportunities for meaningful change. You’ll see some of that in this issue. 

A New Look in the New Year 

It may have been the first thing you noticed when you picked up this issue of Christian Standard. We contracted with a new printing company for 2026 and were offered a “soft touch” cover in the process. We hope you like it. 

Additions to Our Team 

The masthead of our publication carries the names of our staff. Most will be familiar to you. But we’ve recently added a couple of team members, and I’d like to introduce them to you. Tyler McKenzie, senior leader of Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, recently joined us as Contributing Editor. Tyler has written our Engage column for several years. His cultural awareness and insightful writing have made him a popular columnist. Tyler will continue to write Engage as he takes on his new role with our planning team, offering guidance as we develop each issue. Lane West, accounting associate for The Solomon Foundation, is now serving Christian Standard in the areas of customer service and finance. Lane brings a solid financial background and sound interpersonal skills to his new position. We’re thrilled to have Tyler and Lane on the team. 

Introducing Ministry Edge 

The Christian Church Leadership Network is a driving force in our movement, providing education, encouragement, mentoring, and ministry support to churches and church leaders across the country. Beginning with this issue of Christian Standard, and in partnership with the CCL Network, we’re including a new resource called Ministry Edge, designed to help leaders stay sharp with practical insights on preaching, church health, children’s ministry, and more. You’ll find Ministry Edge on pages 89-97 of this and subsequent issues. 

Adjustments for Space 

With the addition of Ministry Edge in this issue, we’ve made some adjustments in our use of space. You’ll notice a slight reduction in our regular columns. You’ll see that we’ve shortened our From the Publisher and From the Editor columns to single pages, and that we no longer carry Interact in print. We hope these slight modifications will help us continue to carry out Christian Standard’s long tradition of bearing the standard for the Restoration Movement.