January 10, 2010
We Call It Kids Camp
A week at Northshore Christian Church’s Kids’ Camp shows how children’s outreach can welcome families, teach the gospel, and bear lasting fruit in a new congregation.
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 6, 2010
All Work and No Play?
Why Play Matters for Children, Work, and Ministry Mark A. Taylor reflects on research and reporting that connect boredom, play, creativity, and healthier relationships. Drawing from insights about children, engineers, and church leaders, he considers whether playful space may help adults work and serve together better. Boredom can give children room to think, create, and solve problems. Play may strengthen creativity, memory, problem-solving, and workplace relationships. Church staff and leaders may benefit from unstructured time that builds trust. By Mark A. Taylor “The brain in its relaxed state is more creative, makes more nuanced connections and is ripe for eureka
December 30, 2009
Interview with Alan Baumlein
Alan Baumlein explains how Mount Pleasant Christian Church uses a community life center to connect with Greenwood residents through sports, wellness, devotions, student ministry, and relational outreach.
December 20, 2009
Season of Love
Churches across the country share practical ways they are serving their communities at Christmas through gifts, food, local missions, school partnerships, homeless outreach, and community programs.
December 16, 2009
Interview with Jerl Joslin
Forest Hill Christian Church’s “Journey to Bethlehem” invites thousands in Oklahoma City to experience the Christmas story through an immersive outreach built on volunteers, hospitality, and a clear focus on Christ.
December 16, 2009
We Can Be the Gift
Mark A. Taylor reflects on a year of “Get Your Hands Dirty” stories and the churches showing Christ’s love through generous Christmas outreach and ongoing service.
December 6, 2009
Lessons from the Fishin” Hole
Marcus Bigelow reflects on feeling out of place in a small-town restaurant and urges churches to help outsiders feel at home while planting congregations that fit their communities.
December 2, 2009
Interview with David Bycroft
David Bycroft reflects on how Tyro Christian Church grew in a town of 250 through long-term leadership, volunteer ministry, rural outreach, and a steady focus on reaching the lost.
November 18, 2009
Interview with Greg Nettle
Greg Nettle explains how Kingdom Synergy Partnerships brings healthy churches, Christian universities, and church planting organizations together to plant new churches and reach people across Ohio.
November 8, 2009
Three Sides of Community Ministry
By John Sloper It”s the economy . . . well, maybe. At Broadway Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona, three separate ministries to help the economically disadvantaged are in place, and two of them began meeting needs long before the current economic downturn. Each has been responding to real needs on the east side of the Valley of the Sun in Arizona. Food Box Begun in the 1980s (its emphasis at first was clothing exchange), the Food Box Ministry has continued to grow and assisted almost 400 families in July 2009 (almost 1,500 individuals). The need has grown dramatically in the
October 25, 2009
Frankly Speaking
Student Christian Fellowship at Ohio State University serves free frankfurters on High Street, using simple acts of service to build trust and open conversations about Christ.
October 14, 2009
No Laughing Matter
Mark A. Taylor reflects on Jay Leno’s disciplined preparation and asks what might change if Christian servants brought similar passion to teaching, preaching, evangelism, and discipleship.
October 7, 2009
Interview with Matt King
Matt King shares how grief, anger, and church hurt gave way to Christ’s forgiveness, leading him from business sales into church planting and pastoral ministry.
September 20, 2009
Full Circle
Southland Christian Church’s Circles of Influence program serves Lexington through school partnerships, local ministry collaborations, and Refuge Medical Clinics offering care to uninsured neighbors.
September 13, 2009
MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The Elephant in the Room
Kent E. Fillinger compares medium-sized churches with megachurches and emerging megachurches, highlighting growth, baptisms, multisite ministry, church planting, giving, debt, and outreach trends.
September 13, 2009
MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2008 List
Kent Fillinger and Ben Simms introduce Christian Standard’s 2008 Medium-Sized Churches chart, featuring survey data from 66 churches averaging 500-999 in worship attendance.
September 13, 2009
MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Fun Facts
A collection of notable statistics from the 2008 Medium-Sized Church Report, including attendance comparisons, fastest-growing churches, baptism totals, Easter attendance, and senior minister age trends.
September 6, 2009
Why Plant Churches?
Tom Jones reflects on his home church’s lifelong influence and explains why church planting is central to the church’s mission of evangelism, compassion, transformation, and sending.
September 6, 2009
Salt Lake City Church Planting
Douglas J. Crozier shares how leaders came together to pursue church planting on the Wasatch Front, with a vision for new multiplying churches in Salt Lake City and beyond.
August 30, 2009
The Multisite Phenomenom: Here to Stay?
Darrel Rowland explores the rise of multisite and multivenue churches, examining how Community Christian, North Coast, Seacoast, and Southeast Christian expanded through video teaching, varied worship venues, and strong campus leadership.
