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.

May 20, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Three Options to Save an Endangered Church from Extinction

By Michael C. Mack A cultural and economic storm threatens many small and midsize churches. “Unless we respond to this coming tsunami,” says Karl Vaters, pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California, “churches like mine will soon be as rare as printed newspapers, landline phones, and brick-and-mortar bookstores.” Especially churches in large metropolitan areas with a mortgage and a pastor”™s salary to pay, will start to disappear over the next couple of decades, says Vaters in the fall 2015 issue of Leadership Journal. Cornerstone has experienced a turnaround in attendance, number of volunteers, and ministry over the past

May 19, 2016

Christian Standard

Resources for Succession Planning

By Kent Fillinger Books for Church Leaders and Churches “¢ Next: Pastoral Succession that Works by William Vanderbloemen and Warren Bird (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014) “¢ Passing the Leadership Baton: A Winning Transition Plan for Your Ministry by Tom Mullins (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2015) “¢ The Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken About Pastoral Transitions by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004) “¢ Transition Plan: 7 Secrets Every Leader Needs to Know (for Kindle) by Bob Russell and Bryan Bucher (Minneapolis: Publish Green, 2010) “¢ Before You Move: A Guide to Making Transitions in

May 18, 2016

Christian Standard

The Edge of Fear

By Jim Tune A great power is unleashed when a person confronts her worst fears and steps out in faith anyway. As an example, consider Katharine Graham. She ran the Washington Post during the Watergate era, taking on President Richard Nixon and the White House at considerable professional risk. Long before Watergate, Graham was a 46-year-old housewife when her husband, Phil, committed suicide in 1963. Though grieving, she took control of the family company at a time when there were few women in senior positions anywhere in the corporate world. She was, in a word, terrified. She had no female

May 16, 2016

Christian Standard

Trading Places: Learning from a Unique Staff Transition

By Brian Jennings Dave Dunson and Brian Jennings didn”t exactly exchange places on their church staff. But Dunson gave up the senior ministry to move to another staff ministry position while Jennings moved from youth ministry to become the lead minister. Here”s why and how it happened. Highland Park Christian Church has been ministering to people in the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for almost 60 years. In 2004, we first began talking about a future staff transition. Everything about our situation felt unique; we weren”t planning on anyone leaving or retiring. Dave Dunson came to the church as senior minister

May 15, 2016

Christian Standard

What I”ve Learned about Ministerial Changes

By Ken Idleman I call it “ecclesiastical matchmaking,” playing cupid to help a local church get together with a minister or a minister together with a church. Part of the experience involves coaching leaders and churches through the courting/calling process. And I”ve done quite a bit of it. After decades of church consulting, including 30 years of helping churches and leaders as a Christian college president, I”ve logged some experiences and come to some conclusions about ministerial succession in local churches. Here are my observations. Defining Terms First let”s define some terms. Pastoral transition and pastoral succession are not the same

May 14, 2016

Christian Standard

We Have a Plan

By Steve Reeves For the two weeks leading up to this year”s Super Bowl, the most asked question where I live was, “Will this be Peyton Manning”s last rodeo?” (Will he retire after the Super Bowl?) Truth is, that kind of question is being asked someplace almost every week, whether it concerns the long-tenured coach, college professor, or corporate executive. It”s also a relevant issue for well-known musicians and politicians: “Will this be their last concert, election, or board meeting?” Frankly, I don”t know how long the issue of ministerial retirement and succession has been such a major topic of conversation,

May 11, 2016

Christian Standard

Creating Culture

By Jim Tune Pixar founder Ed Catmull had always dreamed of using computers to create a great animated movie. He achieved this with the release of Toy Story. “We”d been the first to make a movie with computers,” he wrote in his book Creativity, Inc., “and””even better””audiences were touched, and touched deeply by the story we told.” The problem? “Now that this goal had been reached, I had what I can only describe as a hollow, lost feeling.” Running a company didn”t seem to be enough. Catmull began to scratch beneath the surface, and realized things weren”t as healthy at

May 9, 2016

Christian Standard

First Look Inward (Part 2: The Place)

By Jason Yeatts Succession depends on the interior world of everyone involved. If a person”s interior world is out of order, then failure is inevitable. When fear, pride, or indifference take up residence inside a church or parachurch organization, conflict and confusion emerge and grow. A succession process has little hope of overcoming these roadblocks unless another attitude, humility, prevails. Paul said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3, 4). This starts with

May 8, 2016

Christian Standard

First Look Inward (Part 1: The Person)

By Gary Johnson The interior world of the outgoing leader is a key factor to transitions that succeed. While each of us knows about different kinds of journeys, I”m exploring a journey that is unique. This journey involves Christians in a local church or parachurch organization, and it is called succession. It happens when the senior leader leaves and a new leader arrives in his place. Just as every person in the plane, on the train, or in the car travel together, this journey involves everyone in the particular church or parachurch organization. Succession involves more than one minister leaving

May 7, 2016

Christian Standard

Everybody Leaves Sooner or Later

An Interview with Warren Bird, coauthor of Next: Pastoral Succession that Works By Kent Fillinger What are the key points from Next? The first is the sobering reminder that we”re all interims. A reality of life is that whatever our role is, someone is going to come after us unless Jesus comes back before then. We try to unfold that in the book. And there”s a theology behind that. Jesus had a succession plan, so shouldn”t you? Moses had a succession plan. And look at how, from Moses to Joshua, it worked so well. But Joshua didn”t have a successor, and

May 6, 2016

Christian Standard

6 Pointers for Leaders Getting Ready to Retire

By LeRoy Lawson While admitting there is no sure-fire formula for success in succession, I have learned a few things from retiring and watching others retire. Here”s my advice. “I wanted you to do well. I didn”t want you to do this well.” I had been away from my 20-year ministry with Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona, for more than a year when Cal Jernigan, my successor, invited me back to preach one weekend. It was already evident the church was prospering under his guidance. All I had hoped would happen in that first year after my departure had

May 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Statistical Snippets from Our Survey

By Kent Fillinger AVERAGE SIZE Megachurches: 4,901 Emerging Megachurches: 1,375 Combined average weekly attendance: 386,035 GROWTH RATES Megachurches: 1.3 percent (down from 3.5 percent in 2014); overall, 54 percent of the megachurches grew (down from 68 percent in 2014). Emerging Megachurches: 2 percent (down from 5.4 percent in 2014); overall, 57 percent of emerging megachurches grew (down from 65 percent in 2014). Large churches: 4.1 percent (down from 4.9 percent in 2014). Medium churches: 3.3 percent (up from 3.1 percent in 2014). FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES Worthington (OH) Christian Church, 35.1 percent New City Church, Phoenix, AZ, 33.3 percent New Day Christian

May 2, 2016

Christian Standard

Megachurches and More: The 2015 Charts

Our annual megachurch listing is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s most popular features. This year hundreds of churches participated, including 58 megachurches (those with 2,000 or more in weekly attendance) and 74 emerging megachurches (1,000 to 1,999). This chart also includes listings for scores of large churches (with average attendance of 500 to 999) and medium churches (250-499) Click here to view and download the 2015 Chart, or click on them individually. “¢ 2015 Megachurches “¢ 2015 Emerging Megachurches “¢ 2015 Large Churches “¢ 2015 Medium Churches

May 2, 2016

Christian Standard

Hopes, Fears, & Priorities (2015 Megachurch & Statistics Report)

By Kent Fillinger Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd released a song a few years ago called “Something to Live For.” Churches and individuals could echo the lyrics of the song; we, too, need something we can live for, hold on to, and believe in. Hebrews 6:18, 19 says, “We who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Bill Hybels said, “The church is the hope of the world.” Hopes This year”s survey asked churches to share “one hope or

May 1, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Ministry Synergy

By Michael C. Mack Church ministries often find themselves working as silos, fixating on their own specific objectives and depending on their own resources. Imagine what could be achieved for God”s kingdom if different ministries learned to work together to make a difference in their towns, cities, and the world! For the body of Christ to work effectively to carry out Jesus” mission, ministry leaders must first learn to listen to the Head, that is, Christ, as well as to local church leaders who can coordinate teamwork. They must also see themselves as stewards of the ministry; they refer to

April 29, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (10)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Jeff Miller Jeff Miller is a graduate of Nebraska Christian College in Papillion and Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Johnson City, Tennessee. He has held youth and worship ministries in Nebraska, Colorado, and Tennessee. He lives with his wife, Dana, in eastern Tennessee, where he teaches Bible at Milligan College. They have two adult daughters, Danielle and Cassady, and one granddaughter, Claire. Jeff”s Best Sermon: Sara Barton, chaplain at Pepperdine University, preached the best sermon I”ve heard on pride. The

April 23, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Who”s “IN” At Your Church?

By Michael C. Mack In November 2015, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, reset its membership database to 0.  (All other parts of the database remained intact; only the membership numbers were cleared.) On November 8, senior pastor Dave Stone preached a message titled “I”m In,” asking everyone to commit for the first time or make a recommitment, and providing clear instructions for each category of people. For the five weeks previous to the “I”m In” weekend, Stone, Kyle Idleman, and others provided the five beliefs or core characteristics that describe what Southeast wants to be as a church. Why

April 22, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Five Ways Staff Members Can Work with the Senior Minister

By Michael C. Mack Bob Russell spoke at a regional gathering of small group ministers held in Louisville in 2009 about how staff ministers can work more effectively with their senior ministers. 1. Find ways to communicate with him, especially when working through an edgy or controversial topic or situation. Be sure to run actions by him first. There”s value in many counselors. You can gain his trust by seeking his advice. Maintain harmony. Regularly communicate with him about your plans, problems, and victories. Be ready to admit your mistakes when you make them. If you sense a distancing between

April 21, 2016

Christian Standard

Holy Unintentional

By Jennifer Johnson It all began with a few sandwiches back in 2002. “My wife and I became convicted about whether we really loved poor people,” says Dallas Stamper. “We decided to make sandwiches and give them away to a few people on the beach. We ended up connecting with four homeless men and talking to them for three hours””which surprised them, I think, because they were used to people giving them food and then hurrying away. We asked if we could meet them again the next week, and that was the beginning of People In Need. The second week

April 19, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

All Growth Matters

By Mark A. Taylor Since 1997 CHRISTIAN STANDARD has been publishing annual lists of megachurches among the Christian churches and churches of Christ. In those 19 years, the megachurch phenomenon has exploded, not only in this fellowship but across the whole evangelical world. And with the growth has come criticism, cynicism, and complaint. Two years ago I interviewed Jud Wilhite, Dave Stone, and Don Wilson for our Beyond the Standard program. Each of them led one of the largest megachurches on that year”s list. I still remember what I wrote about that experience. These three “shared practical ideas and thoughtful

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