Mission & Evangelism

Mission & Evangelism equips Christians and churches to share the gospel and make disciples locally and globally. Explore Bible-based articles on evangelism, outreach, disciple-making, missions strategy, church planting partnerships, and engaging your community with compassion and clarity. You’ll find practical guidance for building a missional culture, telling the story of Jesus well, and reaching people across cultures and generations. Whether you’re serving in your neighborhood, supporting missionaries, or leading a church on mission, these resources help you live sent and invite others to follow Christ.

September 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Paralysis, Condescension, or Love?

By Jim Tune How do you view the world? Too often I think our churches tend to see the world only as a mess””caught up in mindless trivialization, bereft of moral values, anti-church, and anti-Christian. Indeed, it is common today for many churches to see the world as the enemy. Unfortunately, rather than feeling heartbroken about it, we feel smug and righteous as we gleefully witness its downfall. Godlessness is its own punishment! The world is only getting what it deserves! That”s what it gets for not listening to us! In this, our attitude is the antithesis of Jesus” attitude

May 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Catch “Em Like a Salmon

By Cathy Mogus When I married Allen, fishing came with the territory. Not only would I enjoy the thrill of hooking salmon off Canada”s west coast, but I would also experience “fishing for people” in ways I never expected. After a dramatic conversion to Christ in 1993, my fisherman husband had a new passion: “catching people” for Jesus. Together we discovered similar rules held true for both kinds of fishing. Here they are. Rule 1: Go Where the Fish Are Allen and his buddies fished for salmon in one area for more than 20 years. But as the fish became

May 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Evangelism for Introverts

By T.R. Robertson Believers want to share their faith. According to a 2013 study by the Barna Group, 73 percent of born-again Christians say it is their personal duty to share their faith. The bad news is, only 52 percent said they had actually done so at least once in the past year.1 Experience tells me many of those Christians don”t share their faith frequently or regularly. That same study breaks down the results by age group, socioeconomic group, and denominational affiliation. I”ve yet to see a study, though, of the frequency of evangelism as it breaks down by personality

May 14, 2015

Jerry Harris

Evangelism Today

By Kent E. Fillinger To learn more about the state of evangelism in our churches, we asked questions of a dozen ministers from churches of all sizes: “¢ David Clark, lead pastor, Central Christian Church, Beloit, Wisconsin “¢ Scott Clevenger, lead pastor, Christ”s Church Camden, Kingsland, Georgia “¢ Doug Dykstra, lead minister, Adventure Christian Church, Tavares, Florida “¢ Tim Harlow, senior pastor, Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, Illinois “¢ Jerry Harris, senior pastor, The Crossing, Quincy, Illinois “¢ Nathan Head, executive pastor of ministries, Southland Christian Church, Nicholasville, Kentucky “¢ Cal Jernigan, senior pastor, Central Christian Church, Mesa, Arizona “¢

May 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Call Centered

By Jennifer Johnson Eighteen months ago it was my extreme privilege to be invited to visit the work of Central India Christian Mission. During our 10 days there, Matt and I were struck by the incredible range of ministries CICM has started. In addition to planting more than 1,100 churches, CICM has recruited sponsors for 5,000 children, published dozens of books, started Bible colleges, created a college of nursing, built hospitals and clinics, and more. Through the work of CICM”s many initiatives, a quarter-million (!) people in India have come to know Jesus””all on a yearly budget that”s one-sixth the

May 8, 2015

Christian Standard

Training, Empowering Workers in India

By Jennifer Johnson When Greg Matney talked with Ajai Lall about the biggest ministry needs at Central India Christian Mission, Lall, director and CEO of CICM, mentioned his desire for their newly trained church planters and pastors to be more financially independent. The idea struck a chord with Greg, who had previously worked with Business as Mission initiatives, and his wife Abhineeta (Ajai”s daughter), who had gone to law school in India. In 2011 they held an advocacy and empowerment conference for 500 local leaders, and in 2012 they began offering a variety of vocational training opportunities to help pastors

April 29, 2015

Christian Standard

You Can Help Nepal

By Jennifer Johnson Many mission agencies and international ministries are working to provide relief, support, and financial resources to those affected by Saturday”s devastating earthquake in Nepal. Central India Christian Mission, which has worked in Nepal the last 15 years, writes, “On a typical Saturday morning, many Nepalese churches meet for weekly worship services. On Saturday, April 25th, at 11:56 am when many Nepalese brothers and sisters in Christ were worshipping, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurred. It destroyed almost everything in the country. From Saturday until now, approximately 45 earthquakes have happened in the country. It has brought huge destruction.

April 19, 2015

Christian Standard

God Had Other Plans

By T.R. Robertson In the summer of 2012, Nathan and Amy Tuley publicly announced they felt God was calling them to full-time ministry. Over the preceding months, all the details had begun falling into place for Nathan to put his information technology training to work for Pioneer Bible Translators. And then, that September, they heard the words that rearranged their lives, “Your son has a brain tumor.” The Tuleys were taking back-to-school pictures, with all four of their kids lined up. Looking at the photos, they noticed 10-month-old Josiah was always tilting his head slightly and looking up at an

April 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Risen Indeed

By David Faust I once had the opportunity to share the gospel with a young Hindu woman. A native of India, she was a university medical student preparing to become a physician. She was unfamiliar with the Bible and curious about what Christians believe. In response to her questions, I explained about Jesus” life and teachings, and how he was crucified. “A few days after that,” I continued, “Jesus came back to life again.” Stunned, she stopped me and said, “You know, that”s medically impossible.” I don”t remember my exact response. I wish I had said, “Yes, but without God,

March 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Safety or Security?

By David Ray When Jim Elliot was in high school, he studied architectural drawing, played on the football team, got elected president of his senior class, and was such a talented actor that several of his teachers urged him to consider a professional career in theater. I guess you could say he was on a fast track to “success” in life. Growing up in a religious home, though, Elliot headed off to a Christian college and eventually sensed a calling to work with a remote tribe of Auca Indians in the jungles of Ecuador. They were a people who not

March 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Best Practices for Short-Term Mission Trips

By Michael C. Mack According to some estimations, about 2 million people spend about $1.5 billion each year to go on short-term mission trips. Richard Stearns, president of World Vision U.S. and author of The Hole in Our Gospel: The Answer that Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World, discusses both the pros and cons of such trips. World Vision does not lead short-term mission trips, but it does lead “Vision Trips” designed as educational journeys to expose the participants to World Vision”s work in other countries while building relationships between North American partners and those living in

January 22, 2015

Michael C. Mack

Want to Grow? Decide to Reach the Lost.

Tim Harlow, senior minister at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois (which ranked No. 52 on Outreach magazine”s fastest-growing church list in 2013, and which now ranks as the 66th largest church in America), talked about the turning points for the church, which averaged 150 per weekend when he arrived in 1990 and now averages 7,510. “Since 1998 we have grown an average of 21 percent a year,” he told Outreach. “I firmly believe that the reason Parkview is on any of these lists is because God looked down on a group of dedicated leaders who made one single

January 15, 2015

Christian Standard

A Healthy Church Has a Robust Missions Program

By Rob Maupin My wife and I entered the local sub shop and began to order. The young man serving us noticed our tired, but happy faces and asked what we had been doing. We told him our church had packed 500,000 meals for hungry kids in Haiti, and it took us (and more than 1,000 volunteers) well over 11 hours of really hard work. We explained that even though it was tiring, we had a truly wonderful experience. “Why did your church do that?” he asked quietly. As we conversed, he said, “I”d like to be a part of

January 10, 2015

Christian Standard

A Healthy Church Is Evangelistic

By David Bycroft About 20 years ago during a doctor”s visit, I learned I had some serious health problems. My doctor described my problems and what would happen if I did not address them. Part of me wanted to ignore the situation and go on living like nothing was wrong. After all, everything on the surface seemed just fine. Instead, with the urging of my wife, we began making some lifestyle changes that would improve my quality of life and give me a better chance at quantity of life. It would have been foolish to ignore my doctor”s advice and

January 1, 2015

Michael C. Mack

Reach Retirees for Christ

A popular expression among some churches goes something like, “Grow younger to grow larger.” Yet today, with the rising trend of retiring baby boomers (roughly 10 million per year), that motto may be as out-of-date as Grandpa”s vinyl records. Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, has come up with a successful model for reaching what senior minister Dave Ferguson calls one of the “fastest-growing demographics.” About 12 years ago, the Chicagoland church began partnering with a small, struggling congregation that met in the clubhouse of a nearby 55-plus gated retirement community, and today the weekly attendance of this Community Christian

December 5, 2014

Christian Standard

Lesson Learned

By Jennifer Johnson As you read this, it”s almost time for Christmas. But as I write it, we”re days away from back to school. One of the things that surprised me about being an adult was the discovery, in September 1998, that I actually like autumn. That year was the first since 1981 that I hadn”t spent catching a bus while it was still dark outside, trudging to a classroom, sitting and doodling at uncomfortable desks, and acclimating to the personality quirks of six different teachers. Suddenly the time of year I used to dread became a fun season of

December 5, 2014

Christian Standard

Transforming Uganda with Christ-based Learning

By Jennifer Johnson Uganda has the youngest population of any nation in the world, but tens of thousands of its young people have been unable to attend college because there aren”t enough schools. An enterprising team of missionaries and native Africans launched the Messiah Theological Institute several years ago to train village pastors. “But they saw an opportunity to look further down the road and begin influencing the culture in a deeper way,” says Craig Smith. “In 2006, leaders from both the Christian churches and the churches of Christ developed a partnership to create a new school in Uganda.” Today

November 27, 2014

Christian Standard

It’s Good to Be an Alien

By C. Robert Wetzel “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul”Â (1 Peter 2:11, New International Version ©1984). Many people are convinced of the existence of intelligent life-forms from other planets. Aliens from outer space are a staple in numerous films and television programs. These aliens may take the form of benevolent explorers or, more likely, evil invaders. But according to the apostle Peter, we need not look to outer space for aliens. We can find them in the church. In the summer of 1973, my

November 23, 2014

Christian Standard

Exploring ‘the Call’ to Cross-Cultural Ministry

By Carla Williams Missionaries are normal Christians. They struggle with temptation. Their families are flawed, and they don”t always wake up with a smile on their faces and a song in their hearts. But missionaries are normal Christians who had a moment of faithful obedience. God uses different circumstances and situations to draw his followers into his plans for the nations. He leads his people, but each person chooses how to respond. He calls some who decide to disregard his voice. For others, thankfully, the choice is to step out in trust. Some believers don”t know if they”ve been called

November 22, 2014

Christian Standard

They Are in Prison . . . and We Visited Them

By Gary Armes We trained for five Saturdays to spend four days behind bars with prisoners who discovered new ways to reconnect with God. Seven men from Hickory Valley Christian Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, joined 40 men from other area churches March 6, 2014, all of them seeking to be obedient to Jesus” call in Matthew 25 to visit those in prison. Our ministry was sponsored by Kairos, an ecumenical, faith-based prison ministry.  We trained for five Saturdays, previewing various talks and reviewing practical suggestions about how we should deal with the prisoners (whom we called “residents”). After many hours

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