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.

July 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Casey Tygrett’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Casey Tygrett, spiritual formation pastor with Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, Illinois. ________ Neal Windham, professor of spiritual formation at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University and Seminary, is a mentor, friend, and a true gift to know. Neal has a way of speaking about spiritual formation that is biblically thorough and paired with a deep sensitivity to what it means to be

July 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Rick Grover’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Rick Grover, senior pastor of East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana. ________ Wayne Smith, retired minister from Lexington, Kentucky: Wayne is a lifelong friend who taught me that our commission to love and serve people always trumps my own agenda or strategic plan. Leonard Wymore, retired NACC executive director, Johnson City, Tennessee: Leonard and my grandfather were best friends,

July 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Thomas F. Jones Jr.’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Thomas F. Jones Jr., executive director of Stadia, Irvine, California. ________ Wess Stafford, president emeritus of Compassion International: Wess is an extraordinary leader who grew Compassion International, a child advocacy organization that works only through the local church, to one of the world”s leading nonprofits. Most important, he has helped shape the world”s thinking about the importance of giving hope to

July 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Ian DiOrio’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Ian DiOrio, lead pastor of Yucaipa (California) Christian Church. ________ Doug Parks and Bart Rendel started Intentional Churches in 2013 after lengthy stints on the leadership teams at Canyon Ridge Christian Church and Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their vision is to create a movement of like-minded churches who learn, use, and collaborate about the best practices of growing

July 14, 2015

Christian Standard

Liz Curtis Higgs’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Liz Curtis Higgs, conference speaker and best-selling author of Bad Girls of the Bible. ________ Three remarkable leaders quickly come to mind: Christine Caine thinks globally, speaks passionately, and states her mission clearly: “to make Jesus” last command our first priority: “˜Therefore go and make disciples of all nations”” (Matthew 28:19). Along with her husband, Nick, Christine is deeply involved in

July 14, 2015

Christian Standard

John Derry’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from John Derry, president of Hope International University, Fullerton, California. ________ There are almost 100 books about leadership on the shelves in my office and on my e-reader, representing 40 years worth of reading and studying the subject. Among them are several by Jim Collins, John Maxwell, and Peter Drucker. I have learned much from these prolific writers about what is necessary

July 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Randy Harris’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Randy Harris, spiritual director with the College of Biblical Studies, Abilene (Texas) Christian University. ________ If I confine myself to largely contemporary figures, the list might look something like this . . . Non-Christian: Thich Nhat Hanh is, in my opinion, the greatest living Zen master, whose very presence brings peace. He is an example of what one can become if one

July 13, 2015

Christian Standard

A Conversation with Chris Seidman

Chris Seidman, senior minister of The Branch Church, Dallas, Texas, speaks with CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor Jennifer Johnson about “serving as a missionary in the land of religion” and how being debt-free has allowed his church to be “spontaneously generous.” Seidman was a main-session speaker at the 2015 North American Christian Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. See the exclusive interview.

July 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Glen Elliott’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Glen Elliott, lead pastor with Pantano Christian Church, Tucson, Arizona. ________ God has used a long list of people to influence me in different seasons of my life, but Henri J.M. Nouwen“”a man I never met””may have had the greatest impact. Nouwen was a Catholic priest, but a reader might rarely sense that; perhaps it”s why he was read by non-Catholics

July 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Laura Buffington’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Laura Buffington, teaching pastor with SouthBrook Christian Church, Miamisburg, Ohio. ________ Wendell Berry: His poetry, stories, and essays on knowing our place and living in place reshape the world for me every time I read him. Christena Cleveland: Her work on loving through differences is truthful and painful in all the correct ways. Lee Magness: I”m indebted to many teachers

July 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Group for Women Grows Online

By Jennifer Johnson It started as a regular small group. In October 2013, Hasandra Heyward, a member at Burnt Hickory Church of Christ in Marietta, GA, began talking to women experiencing marital issues, job struggles, and parenting problems. “It burdened my heart,” she says. “I prayed and fasted about it and decided I was going to start a group for women in my home. But it was difficult to find a time that worked, and here in Atlanta the traffic is so terrible I knew some women wouldn”t be able to participate. I thought, what about trying this online?” Heyward

July 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Better Together

By Jennifer Johnson More than 4,000 churches close every year, many because their dwindling attendance can”t support a senior minister or the rising costs of aging buildings. While simply closing their doors may be the best option for some, Creswell Christian Church made a different decision, choosing instead to initiate a merger with Mountain Christian Church.  Today the majority of Creswell”s families are enthusiastic Mountain members, working together to honor the past and build for the future in new ways that neither could have accomplished alone. This article tells how that happened. Creswell Christian Church a 55-year-old congregation in Bel

July 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Bert Crabbe’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Bert Crabbe, lead pastor of True North Community Church, Bohemia, New York. ________ The biggest influence on my life with regard to leadership is Andy Stanley, North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia. I”m sure I won”t be the only one to mention him. This guy is the walking definition of “thought leader.” His preaching is great, but his leadership podcasts are

July 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Nate Bush’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Nate Bush, lead pastor with New City Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico. ________ Very few communicators can seamlessly weave the biblical text, its psychological implications, and its place in the contemporary world like Tim Keller. Many years ago, while I was at Reformed Theological Seminary and teaching in my first ministry, I discovered Keller”s course “Preaching the Gospel in the Post-Modern World”;

July 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Kerry Allen’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Kerry Allen, an evangelist and executive director with Person to Person Ministries, Hillsboro, Ohio. ________ The greatest blessing in my life is to have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship is not by accident or coincidence. It is the result of numerous individuals God has brought into my life who have taught me, loved me, and

July 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Next Question

By Jennifer Johnson This past weekend Matt and I had the rare chance for a Friday night date and somehow, after cheesesteaks and The Imitation Game and overpriced desserts at a French bistro, our conversation turned to the future of the church in America. Yes, we are nerds. Yes, this is what happens when a blogger and a pastor get married. I predicted that many of the churches enjoying success today will no longer be recognizable in a few generations, since most communities go through cycles of growth and decline. I predicted that churches will continue to franchise, with large

July 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Unpaid but Accountable

By Jennifer Johnson Since its launch in September 2011, Mission Church in Ventura, CA, has grown from a small team of three families to more than 700 people and a large staff. But only six of those staff members are paid. The volunteer culture began with the launch of the church, when several members of the core team agreed to lead without receiving pay. “We have 16 people in our staff meetings, but only a few of them are paid by Mission,” says Jodi Hickerson, herself one of the volunteers. (She serves as programming director and preaches regularly.) “We have

July 5, 2015

Michael C. Mack

7 Lessons Your Team Can Learn from the Tour de France

By Michael C. Mack One of the most remarkable elements in the Tour de France this month is the peloton. Cyclists ride in tight packs to save energy by drafting””up to a 40 percent reduction in drag in a well-formed peloton””but there are many more advantages, including the encouragement from other riders and the teamwork involved. Here are seven principles for developing great teamwork that we can learn from cyclists: 1. Become a group. Before you can build teamwork, you need to know one another. A great cycling team, as in any sport, spends time together, getting to know one

July 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Dave’s Gone–Now What?

By Joe Boyd Popular culture shows us who we are. It”s a mirror that reflects what we are becoming. So what do we make of Fallon”s rise in the wake of Letterman”s departure? Regardless of how we feel about it, popular culture is a dynamic force that shapes the lives of most Americans. Music, sports, and entertainment are power players that inform the worldview of millions of people both inside and outside the church. It”s simply the reality of the world we live in. The job of the Christian, in my opinion, is to know the culture while understanding that

June 28, 2015

Michael C. Mack

Best Practices for Elders Discipling Younger Men

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: We, as elders, are looking at discipling some of the younger men. Can you suggest some of the best programs or curriculum?  ANSWERS: “Start an authentic personal relationship with them. If this doesn”t happen, nothing else will. I work in corporate America, in addition to my roles in the church. I have seen in both entities efforts to “˜assign” mentors, and this just doesn”t work. You have to have a relationship with someone before you can mentor them.” “”Michael Fountain, elder, Minerva (Ohio) First Christian Church “My most fruitful times of discipleship have been very

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