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.

April 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Your Vision”“and Ours

By Mark A. Taylor One sentence stands out in Kent Fillinger”s introduction to this week”s special issue. “If you copy someone else”s vision, who will accomplish yours?” Kent quotes the book Church Unique to remind us that we must do the particular work God has for us in our communities, not copy the strategies working for someone else somewhere else. So why does CHRISTIAN STANDARD devote a whole issue to megachurches every year? “¢ Megachurches are news, and our goal is to tell you news about Christian churches and churches of Christ you won”t find anywhere else. “¢ Megachurches are

April 8, 2009

Christian Standard

Exciting Times, Hopeful Times, Times to Be a Blessing

By Mark A. Taylor I was visiting with a seasoned minister at a leadership meeting not long ago. As is usual these days, talk went to the difficult economy. But he quickly said, “This is really a time of great opportunity for the church,” squelching any negative comment I might have made. “Oh, yes, of course,” I answered. And then I thought about our Get Your Hands Dirty emphasis this year and all the stories we”re running about churches making a difference in their communities and with those in need around the world. I was a little sheepish he had

April 5, 2009

Christian Standard

Half-Pure Religion and the Unpopularity of the Poor

  By Mark E. Moore Jesus” half-brother asserted, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). A cursory glance at the Gospels suggests that Jesus would agree with his sibling. After all, he spent as much time doing good as he did teaching us about being good.  So why do our churches seem so reticent about compassionate ministries? Why have we allowed social awareness to be hijacked by secular liberals such as Oprah and Extreme

March 25, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Jeff Vines

By Brad Dupray On a weekend in January, with a gospel message and three baptisteries filled and ready to go, Jeff Vines, senior pastor of Christ”s Church of the Valley (CCV) in San Dimas, California, challenged people to follow Christ”s call to be baptized. Right then, in the clothes they were wearing, 482 people responded and were immersed into Christ. The church saw another 119 baptisms the following weekend. Jeff calls himself “a missionary at heart,” having served on mission fields in Zimbabwe and New Zealand. He and his wife, Robin, moved from a teaching ministry at Savannah (Georgia) Christian

March 22, 2009

Christian Standard

Hard Times for Healthy Churches

  By Darrel Rowland   On Long Island, fledgling True North Community Church is readily shelling out more than $2 million for a three-year-old building on four acres.  In northeast Ohio, historic First Christian Church in Canton is meeting the payments for a $25 million relocation project from three years ago””for now. Along Florida”s Gulf Coast, rechristened New Day Christian Church faces an uncertain future because of its struggle to pay for a $5.5 million facility built about four years ago. While America”s economic woes are unquestionably hitting churches across the country, the varying experiences of this trio of growing

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Spiritual Formation as Leadership Development

By Bill Weber Bible colleges and seminaries are charged with preparing leaders for the church in an increasingly sophisticated and complex world. An institution”s value is determined by the success or failure of its graduates. A school”s visibility may be enhanced by special programs or presentations, new buildings, faculty publications, or successful sports teams, but the effectiveness of the graduates indicates whether or not a school is fulfilling its mission. These schools are expected to serve the educational and developmental needs of students. The first goal is to provide a knowledge base in important areas: Scripture, theological concepts, leadership theories,

March 8, 2009

Christian Standard

WEB EXTRA: A Time of Cutbacks, But a Season of Opportunities

By Ben Cachiaras EDITOR’S NOTE: Contributing editor Ben Cachiaras wrote late in February to say Mountain Christian Church, where he ministers in Joppa, Maryland, was forced by the economy to initiate some cutbacks. “They were pervasive and widely felt,” he said. When he met with the church staff to explain the cuts, he challenged them by saying this crossroads was actually an exciting time for the church. “Matthew 28 does not say, “˜Go, and make disciples . . . as long as the Dow is up,”” he said. “While I would never wish economic disaster on anyone, I do know that

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