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.

June 11, 2013

Christian Standard

From Fad to Phenomenon

By Mark A. Taylor Is “missional” just a fad? Will church leaders and seminar speakers still be talking about “missional” a decade from now? We can hope the answer to both questions is no. As churches everywhere begin to believe the missional approach is basic, natural, necessary, and biblical, the need to define and discuss it may fade away. Maybe someday church leaders everywhere will see “missional”””just like “evangelistic” or “loving” or “Christ-centered”””as central to the very definition of church. Matt Smay and Alan Hirsch express some concern about overuse and misuse of the word. Just like “externally focused” or

June 10, 2013

Christian Standard

The Power of One

By Todd Bussey Simple, humble people emboldened with great faith and strong conviction give each of us a hint about what we could accomplish. They demonstrate the power of one to make the world a better place. And they have four traits in common. “¢ A young man starts a shoe company. For every pair purchased, a second pair is given to a child in need. The idea explodes into a global phenomenon. “¢ A mother of four puts her young children to bed and spends the evening on her laptop as an “online” missionary to another mother living in a

June 9, 2013

Christian Standard

Our Missional Experiment

By Greg Hubbard It was shared life with a purpose. We laughed together. We cried together. We prayed together. We ate together. When somebody around us had a need, we spontaneously served them together. Meaningful spiritual conversations were frequent. We caught a glimpse of kingdom life as we had rarely experienced it before. In the early 2000s, a church known as Apex came to experience all of this in Las Vegas, Nevada. Quite a journey had brought us to that place. Apex began as an outreach of Canyon Ridge Christian Church as a means to reach young adults. At first

June 8, 2013

Christian Standard

Is Missional Working?

By Stephen Sams At Axis Church in Mason, Ohio, we don”t use the word missional. It”s not that we are opposed to the word, it”s just that we try to use words that people understand. When you are trying to reach people who don”t know Jesus, you must use words that communicate and create mental pictures. If people can”t define it or explain it, then they can”t carry it out or act on it. Nearly everyone in America has a concept of church. They think they understand it. They have predetermined definitions of concepts like discipleship, evangelism, and worship, largely

June 7, 2013

Christian Standard

Beyond Missional

By Jonathan Williams Clara thought she would die. The water from the East River traveled inland to her house on Wolcott Street. It started in her basement and kept rising. Clara and her husband went into their attic and stayed there throughout the night, praying that the water level in their home would subside. When they came down in the morning, their house was ruined. The water had receded and taken everything with it. Most of her possessions were washed right out of the house, stolen by Superstorm Sandy. And that”s where we met Clara, standing outside on a muddy

June 3, 2013

Christian Standard

Missional Blessing

By Jon Ferguson God”s approach for changing the world is a “bless” strategy. And for members of Community Christian Church in and around Chicago, change is happening as they apply the strategy day by day.  For as long as I can remember, Community Christian Church”s mission has been “helping people find their way back to God.” And we believe that mission is accomplished as we: REACH people who are far from God, RESTORE God”s dream for the world, and REPRODUCE the mission in others. If you were to survey the people of Community on any given weekend, the majority could

June 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Missional Trip

By Jennifer Johnson In 2005, the leadership team at Southland Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, read The Externally Focused Church and believed God was calling them to more intentionally move their ministry into the community. The church began hiring new staff, starting new initiatives, and beginning the long-term process of changing the church culture. Since then, in many places missional has become a buzzword for everything from the occasional community service day to a total rethinking of the church”s purpose. At Southland, however, the mission is clear; over the last eight years it has developed significant goals, determined specific geographic and

June 1, 2013

Christian Standard

Missional Revolution

By Darrel Rowland RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, has not tried to become just a little more missional. Led by visionary minister Greg Nettle, more than three years ago the church made a revolutionary commitment to a missional strategy for all its ministry. The result is breeding influence and disciple-building in a way Nettle believes is vital for the very survival of the church in America. Just a few minutes after Greg Nettle”s message and the closing song, a man with an idea pulls him aside in the hallway. “You know what? I know all these remodelers,” the contractor

May 31, 2013

Christian Standard

What”s Next for the Missional Church?

By Brian Mavis Alan Hirsch is the founding director of Forge Mission Training Network. He also coleads Future Travelers, an innovative learning program helping megachurches become missional movements. Hirsch is known for his innovative approach to mission, and is considered to be a thought leader and key mission strategist for churches across the Western world. He is not only gifted in understanding the origin of movements, he is able to envision how to create new movements within Christianity.  Hirsch is the author of The Forgotten Ways, and is coauthor of The Shaping of Things to Come, ReJesus, and The Faith

May 30, 2013

Christian Standard

Where Missional Is Moving

By Matt Smay Missionaries””they were the devout adventurers who traveled the world helping people from other cultures learn about God. As a boy I admired their pictures posted on the bulletin board of our church lobby, and followed the strings that connected their faces to pins on a map that identified their mission fields. I was impressed. I grew up in church. It was a small, traditional, suburban congregation in Southern California started in the 1940s that ministered to a sprawling city. Like many in the postwar industrial boom, my paternal grandparents relocated with their four young kids from middle

May 17, 2013

Christian Standard

Former Attorney Makes a Case for Christ

By Kent E. Fillinger Brian Kruckenberg didn”t grow up in a Christian home, but he attended church several times as a senior in high school. A teacher shared the gospel with him, and he began to understand it. But he finished high school, college, graduate school, and law school without giving faith in God much thought. After a friend invited the young attorney to church, Kruckenberg soon committed his life to Christ and started studying the Bible and serving in several ministries. Kruckenberg”s passion for volunteering in his church continued to grow over the next four years, and in 2004

March 7, 2013

Christian Standard

Institute a Chance to Match “˜Passion and Gift Mix”

By Jennifer Johnson For more than 35 years, Pioneer Bible Translators has offered opportunities for people from the Christian churches and churches of Christ to gain an in-depth understanding of taking God”s Word into new contexts through translation, church planting, and community development. The Pioneer Mission Institute began on the campus of Lincoln (IL) Christian College (now Lincoln Christian University) and is now held at the International Linguistics Center near Pioneer Bible”s main stateside office in Dallas, TX. This year”s weeklong event is scheduled June 9-14. In addition to the discovery program that introduces people to the ministries of Pioneer

December 30, 2012

Christian Standard

Great Open Doors

By Brian Mavis Where do you think God is asking us to join him? What great doors of effective work has God opened in the United States? It”s a question based on a biblical concept. In John 5, Jesus said the Father is always at work, and he, Jesus, looks to see where God is working and joins him in that work. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul said he would stay longer at Ephesus because a great door of effective work had opened up (16:9). In Jesus” instructions to the church in Philadelphia, he said he had

December 8, 2012

Christian Standard

God”s Love on Display at Sex Show

By Jennifer Johnson Building wheelchair ramps for the disabled . . . leading VBS sessions in South America . . . digging wells in Third World countries . . . all of these are popular short-term mission trips. But volunteering at a trade show for the sex industry? Although this type of mission experience is far less common, it was the focus of a four-day trip for several women from SouthBrook Christian Church (Miamisburg, OH) last month. “For the last four years we have partnered strategically with XXX Church, an organization that offers resources and support to fight porn addiction,”

November 19, 2012

Christian Standard

From Missionary Kids to Mission Veterans

By Paul Boatman David Filbeck, a second-generation missionary to Thailand, is president of Christian Mission to the Orient. Tim Doggett, a second-generation missionary to the Republic of the Congo, is executive director of the Alliance of Christian Missions International (ACM International).   Tell us about your early life as a missionary kid (MK). DAVID FILBECK: I was born in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1961, just before my family moved to a remote tribal village in northern Thailand. Dad was a linguist doing Bible translation. Most of my memories up through eighth grade were about my childhood on the mission field. In

November 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Urban Ministry in Lansing

By Kendi Howells Douglas Lansing, Michigan, is a city of about 115,000 with a median income of $35,000. The population is 61.2 percent white, 23.7 percent black, 12.5 percent Hispanic, and 3.7 percent Asian1. The car industry town has seen economic hardships the past few years, with increasing unemployment, crime, domestic violence, single-parent homes, school closings, and many health care and education issues, among others. As in most towns, there are areas that seemingly are ignored, forgotten, or plain invisible. Delta Community Christian Church decided to go to one of those forgotten neighborhoods. Delta is a house church of about

November 17, 2012

Christian Standard

Urban Ministry: Not Just an Academic Concern

By Kendi Howells Douglas In January 2012, an academic society was formed and met for the first time in Bangkok, Thailand. The International Society of Urban Mission is a gathering of like-minded Christians, teachers, missionaries, and urban practitioners from around the world. Its members focus on the issues of urban life, specifically serving those who live in poverty-stricken conditions in the growing slums around the world. Officially, “The International Society For Urban Mission exists, therefore, to be a fellowship of urban missiologists committed to seeking God”s Shalom in cities, especially majority world cities, through active reflection, solidarity and leadership development.”1

November 16, 2012

Christian Standard

Signs of Hope Amid Urban Suffering

By Ash Barker Suffering and despair can easily overwhelm us, strangling any last tinges of hope we have for something better. This is often the case in our neighborhood, the Klong Toey slum in Bangkok, Thailand. Here we are confronted with HIV-AIDS, child malnutrition, and premature death as daily realities. The fragility of life and lack of control often cause us to cry out to God, who promises that a better world is possible. However, sometimes we can only pray, “How long do we have to sing this song? When will things get better?” Biblical hope is more than just

November 13, 2012

Christian Standard

For the Love of a Child

Child sponsorship programs are changing lives””in distant lands and right here in the United States. Discover the facts. Listen to the testimonies. And realize how this is happening. By Doug Priest “Our people sponsor nearly 400 children, and congregational giving continues to grow. In fact, the more we give to others outside our walls, the more our general fund has grown.” “”Steve Reeves, Connection Pointe Christian Church (Brownsburg, Indiana) Alice was conceived out of wedlock. She never knew her father. After the birth, her mother entrusted Alice to her grandmother and moved to another country. Alice lived in the Mathare

November 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Celebrating 200 Years of Mission

By Bill Weber This year is the bicentennial of the first foreign missionaries being sent out under a mission board from the United States. The first missionaries commissioned and sent included Adoniram and Ann Judson. During the subsequent 200 years, the work of taking the gospel to thousands of people groups throughout the world has been hugely successful. The modern mission movement dates back to 1792 and to William Carey, a motivator and apologist for missions in his native England. His writings and teaching were influential in bringing missions to the forefront of the church. Later, as a missionary in

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link