Church & Ministry

Church & Ministry equips leaders and everyday believers to build healthy, gospel-centered congregations. Explore biblically grounded articles on church leadership, preaching and teaching, eldership, staff and volunteer development, discipleship systems, small groups, church planting, church growth, and ministry strategy. You’ll also find practical guidance for navigating transitions, cultivating congregational health, and serving your community with wisdom and compassion. Whether you’re a pastor, elder, ministry staff member, volunteer leader, or church member who wants to help your church thrive, this hub brings together resources to strengthen the local church and advance Christ’s mission.

January 1, 2023

Christian Standard

The Power in Preaching

By Chris Philbeck  In 2001, when I came to my current church, I had to adjust to having a Saturday night service. I had been a pastor for over 20 years, but the weekend service had always been exclusive to Sunday morning, and it took a while to feel comfortable preaching on Saturday night for various reasons. We didn’t have a particularly large crowd, and the people would be pretty spread out in a worship center that could seat around 1,400. The energy level was different on Saturday night, and the service just felt different.   More often than I like

January 1, 2023

Christian Standard

Teaching Truth: The Win for Kids’ Curriculum

We Couldn’t Find Curriculum That Met Our Children’s Ministry Needs . . . So We Created Our Own (and We’ve Made It Available to You)!   By Larry Cramer  My two daughters have grown up in church. Whether it’s on a Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, or any other day and time, my daughters have always attended a church experience built just for them. I am speaking of Next Gen programming . . . specifically, kids’ ministry.   Over the years, we have seen many changes in kids’ ministry, including changes to curriculum. While churches have many great options, as a

December 5, 2022

Christian Standard

The Preaching Elder

e2:effective elders has created a four-part resource designed to empower elders to preach. "The Preaching Elder: Refilling the Preaching Pipeline" was created especially with elders in mind—to offer training through a book and other resources to help with a need that has developed because of a diminishing preaching pipeline.

November 1, 2022

Jerry Harris

Dream a Dream So Big . . .

By Jerry Harris   For almost two decades, Doug Crozier has had big dreams for The Crossing, my Midwestern church home for 25-plus years. And all during that time, Doug has worked with us to remove whatever obstacles stood in the way.   When the idea of a multisite church was still in its infancy, The Crossing decided to reach out into micropolitan and rural communities with a fresh approach to the gospel. Conversations with Doug gave us the confidence to push forward beyond what we ever imagined. Eleven campuses and thousands of baptisms later, the dreams we dared to imagine have

November 1, 2022

Tyler McKenzie

Crucial Questions for Church Leaders

Crucial Questions for Church Leaders

By Tyler McKenzie   I grew up a preacher’s kid in the rural outskirts of a small city. Every time we walked into a restaurant, my dad visited at least two tables to check-in on people we knew from church. Often, someone would pick up our check. The community honored him. Back then, people looked to clergy for care and accepted their moral exhortation.  Gone are those days! Barna president David Kinnaman reported on the clergy credibility crisis in his 2017 book Good Faith. “The public’s respect for pastors, priests, and other faith leaders has significantly declined,” Kinnaman wrote. “Today only

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