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 14, 2014

Christian Standard

Don”t Touch””Think Straight

By Don Hinkle (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) “Don”t touch the girls. Don”t touch the gold. Don”t touch the glory”””from a retired minister/author to a group of preachers after chapel at San Jose Bible College””was perhaps the most succinct and insightful counsel about ministry I ever heard. I”ve also found that the saying “it all depends on whose ox is being gored” is illustrated every day. When I was a student at Midwest Christian College, Darrell Terry (Project Challenge, I think) told me to never put people in boxes. I only had two obligations

July 13, 2014

Christian Standard

Example, and a Few Words

By Bill Greer (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) Few people have had as much impact on me as my predecessor, friend, and mentor, Dr. Don Jeanes. With Don, it wasn”t so much that he shared advice verbally. Instead, he shared most of his advice through example. As the 14th president of Milligan College, he was consistent in his treatment of people, steadfast in his faith, and persistent in his quest for excellence.  But as he turned the presidency of Milligan over to me, I will always be grateful that he took the time to

July 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Quality First

By Gayla Congdon (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) Some of our best advice came from the late, great Mike Yaconelli (Scott and I received this advice from him when he was a member of the Amor Ministries board): “Focus on quality and quantity will come.”Â  Mike”s advice was based on his belief we were measuring our effectiveness based on the number of participants coming on trips. We took his advice and shifted our mind-set to creating a quality mission trip that was relationship-based versus numbers-based. The result was that growth came in significant numbers.Â

July 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Even Leaders Need Forgiveness

By Ken Idleman (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) The worst leadership advice I ever received was during the second year of my presidency at Ozark Christian College. It was unsolicited, from a member of the teaching faculty. At age 32, I was still just getting oriented to my new role. One day I sent out an impulsive written communication to the staff. After sleeping on it that night, I realized I had made a mistake. The very next day I distributed a follow-up letter, explaining and apologizing in print. My former colleague came rushing

July 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Wayne’s Words

By Jack Cottrell (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) As early as junior high school I had decided I wanted to be a preacher, but well-meaning high school teachers pressured me in other directions. I grew up on a farm and was active in vocational agriculture during high school, and was awarded a nice scholarship by our county farm bureau. Thus, by the time I was a senior, I had changed my mind and decided to enroll in the University of Kentucky to study agriculture. Either in the summer of 1954 or 1955, during senior

July 11, 2014

Christian Standard

Two-Week Trial

  By Lloyd M. Pelfrey (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) H. Lynn Gardner provided advice I have used and given to others. Lynn is a former academic dean at Ozark Christian College and a former teacher at Central Christian College of the Bible. Lynn”s advice concerned a procedure when making a major decision: Make the decision (after careful consideration), and then live with that decision for two weeks to see if you are still comfortable with it. Others involved in the decision may be informed of the two-week time factor. This allows a different

July 9, 2014

Christian Standard

Too Much Preparation?

By Bruce Templeton (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) The worst advice I ever received was from an elder who knew a lot about running a bank, but very little about leading a church. I was “young and dumb,” but I loved the church and was willing to listen to any advice I could get! I was serving a church coming off its best year in the last 25: more baptisms, greater attendance, and a greater spirit of excitement and joy. He believed the real way to build a church was to visit people who

July 8, 2014

Christian Standard

Bad Sermons, Big Vision

By Alan Ahlgrim (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) One of my favorite elders is the source of both the best and worst advice I can think of. Just after we occupied our new building, with a huge debt, and just before a Sunday service, Norm said, “This church is just two bad sermons away from disaster!” That was the worst. The best came from the same man a few years later when we were celebrating our 10th anniversary. He delivered the heartfelt and encouraging reminder, “God”s vision for this church has always been bigger

July 7, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Restoring Biblical Community

By Michael C. Mack People often ask me why I am so fanatical about small groups. I could provide many theological and statistical reasons, but my personal passion comes from one source: my life has been personally, profoundly transformed, many times actually, in the authentic, Christ-centered community of small groups. Beyond that, as a minister and small group coach and consultant, I have the privilege to see God use the community of healthy groups as the environment where discipleship occurs. If you were to compare your group (or church) to the New Testament model of authentic community, how would you

July 1, 2014

Christian Standard

3 Ingredients to Get Men Engaged in the Church

David Morrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church, shares 10 ways to “man up” the church. Here are his top three suggestions: 1. A Manly Senior Minister: Not macho or power-hungry, but someone who projects a healthy masculinity. Men gravitate toward leaders they respect. 2. Excellence: Men will stay away from anything bad, hokey, or half-baked. The church doesn”t need to be perfect, of course, but men do seek out churches that strive for excellence in preaching, music, facilities, and programs. If you can”t do it well, it may be best not to do it at all. 3.

June 28, 2014

Christian Standard

Practical Advice for Productive Ministry

By LeRoy Lawson   From Midterms to Ministry: Practical Theologians on Pastoral Beginnings Allan Hugh Cole Jr., editor Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008 Leadership Handbook of Management and Administration James D. Berkley, editor Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007 Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action Simon Sinek New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2009 One Size Doesn”t Fit All: Bringing Out the Best in Any Size Church Gary L. McIntosh Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1999   Everybody knows there”s a world of difference between life in the seminary and life in the church. Almost everybody complains that seminaries and Bible colleges

June 24, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

Size May Not Matter

By Mark A. Taylor We”ve been chronicling megachurch success for more than three decades at CHRISTIAN STANDARD. But in spite of encouraging growth, both in size and number of megachurches, an underbelly of suspicion toward them remains. Our Beyond the Standard conversation May 15 with Jud Wilhite, Dave Stone, and Don Wilson, showed this. These ministers with the three largest megachurches among the independent Christian churches shared practical ideas and thoughtful strategies””always with a spirit of humility. But too many questions from listeners contained veiled accusations of compromise to achieve numbers. So when I came across a report from Leadership

June 18, 2014

Christian Standard

Interview with Gary Johnson

By Paul Boatman   Gary Johnson serves as lead pastor/elder with The Creek, formerly Indian Creek Christian Church, in Indianapolis, Indiana.   How has your approach to God been altered over the years? Growing up, I went to church week after week without ever realizing that one could have a personal walk with God through his Son, Jesus Christ. I was following a religion, not pursuing a relationship. Leah”s family introduced me to a relationship with Jesus.   And has your approach to Christian leadership changed too? About 15 years ago I went through a period of deep introspection. We

June 10, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

A Permanent Solution

By Mark A. Taylor “The temporary becomes permanent.” Dale McCann, senior minister at the first church I served full-time, repeated the proverb whenever I was tempted to slap something together till we could “do it right” later. He was observing a tendency of human nature and long experience working with the local church: A cardboard sign announcing a room number might never be replaced with one professionally made. A haphazard approach to ushering or serving Communion will continue for years because no one tackles the task of organizing something more efficient. When the temporary becomes permanent at home, we see

June 2, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Is It Time to Quit or Time to Commit?

By Michael C. Mack June is perhaps the best time of the year to assess the small group(s) under your care and review your own leadership. How are you doing as a steward of the people God has entrusted to you? Over the years, I”ve seen many leaders either call it quits or decide to recommit when June rolled around. Let”s face it. Leading a small group is a big commitment. It”s a calling by God to invest your life into the lives of other people, to allow God to use you to bring about transformation as only he can.

May 30, 2014

Christian Standard

Enlarging the Vision of Rural Preachers

By Jennifer Johnson “Small towns are getting smaller,” says Jim Hardy. “And the churches in these areas are getting smaller, as well.” Hardy founded the Center for Rural Church Advancement at Nebraska Christian College to encourage and equip the leaders of rural churches in Nebraska and beyond. The new initiative includes a series of two-day events in conjunction with The Barjona Company; Chad Hunt founded the company after growing Caveland Church from 150 to 750 people in the small town of Cave City, KY. A four-session series of these “strategic roundtables” is spread over two years, and groups are kept

May 28, 2014

Christian Standard

A Conversation with Ben Cachiaras

Interview by Jennifer Johnson Meet Our Contributing Editors: The senior pastor of Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland, shares his passion about Christian witness in a post-Christian culture, especially how we relate to gays and lesbians. From an ongoing series of interviews with CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors. At our recent meeting of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, you described the 21st-century American church as an exilic community. What did you mean by that? There was a time when Israel was large and in charge, enjoying prominence in the promised land. But the tide turned significantly. Eventually they were chased out of town and

May 22, 2014

Christian Standard

The Other Side of the Table

By David A. Fiensy I”ve served on the ministerial staff of five churches (four of them part-time), and I must say I”ve never had a bad experience with the elders. One hears some horror stories from other ministers, but God has blessed. As a matter of fact, I can remember sitting across the table from elders during meetings and thinking, If I am ever an elder, I hope I can have this guy”s openness to change or that man”s levelheaded understanding of things. Well, now I am sitting on the other side of the table; I am an elder. Things

May 21, 2014

Michael C. Mack

The Eternal Impact of a Small Group Leader

By Michael C. Mack This is the time of year many small groups and group leaders make some vital decisions about their futures. Will we take a break over the summer? Will we continue meeting after this month or are we done as a group? Is it time to change our focus as a group? Over the next two months, I want to encourage you as a leader and as a group. It”s easy to lose sight of what God is doing in and through you, and what plans he has for your future. I thank God for Marcus and

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