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.

February 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: Good News Productions International

By Jennifer Taylor Good News Productions International (Founded 1976) P.O. Box 222, Joplin, MO 64802 www.gnpi.org Mike Schrage, Executive Director Many organizations exist to evangelize the world; the mission of Good News Productions International is accelerating the work with relevant, culturally sensitive media strategies. “We offer the church an opportunity to use first-world technology to reach Third World cultures,” says Executive Director Mike Schrage. “Our team in Joplin is just a small part of our ministry””we have regional production centers around the world and we touch a million people each week with our audio, video, and print projects.” These initiatives

February 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: FAME

By Jennifer Taylor FAME (Founded 1970) 4545 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46203 www.FAMEworld.org Rick Wolford, Executive Director “You don”t send ice skates to Honduras.” Rick Wolford, executive director of FAME, smiles as he explains the ministry”s insistence on sending only good quality, usable medical equipment to the field. But the illustration is fitting; FAME understands its role as a leader in medical evangelism and targets its efforts on accomplishing this mission with excellence. “That”s been one of our biggest challenges in responding to the Haitian earthquake,” Wolford says. “We received requests to help with construction projects and other initiatives and

February 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: Christian Missionary Fellowship

By Jennifer Taylor Christian Missionary Fellowship (Founded 1949) P.O. Box 501020, Indianapolis, IN 46250 www.cmfi.org Doug Priest, Executive Director Many people have learned of Christian Missionary Fellowship because of its work in Nairobi, Kenya; since 2006 Executive Director Doug Priest has invited ministers and other Christian church leaders to visit the area and learn about The Hope Partnership. The Hope Partnership offers a strong Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program, teaches HIV/AIDs awareness and other basic health and wellness education, plants churches, and provides hope to the people living in the Mathare slums. “At the Willow Creek Leadership Conference in 2006, Bill

January 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Come with Us to Brazil

By Mark A. Taylor Suppose you could meet for five days with Christians from around the world in fellowship and worship. Suppose you could learn from church leaders you know and from international church leaders whose important work you”d like to know about. Suppose your experience could include exuberant Latin American worship in one of the most progressive and beautiful countries in South America. Suppose you could rub elbows with fellow believers you might not be able to meet anyplace else, all of them members of congregations that identify themselves with the worldwide Stone-Campbell fellowship. Suppose your trip allowed you

January 19, 2012

Christian Standard

Global Gospel Sets Out to Bridge Language Barriers

By Jennifer Taylor  “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:14). Good News Productions, International (Joplin, MO), has created a new way to reach the many people groups who have not yet heard about Christ because they do not have access to the Bible or cannot read. This fall it launched The Global Gospel, a three-disc illustrated DVD storybook and dramatic reading of the Gospels. “The Global Gospel series was created to be easily adapted for use around the world,” shares GNPI. “The project can be shared with people in nearly every tongue,

January 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Dozens Baptized after Bible Seminars at Prisons

By Jennifer Taylor Joe Garman, president of ARM Prison Outreach International (Joplin, MO), writes with news of baptisms and Bible learning: In October we experienced two events that had never happened in our years of prison ministry in the U.S. First, I presented a three-day “See Through the Scriptures” seminar at a prison in Pecos, TX that holds 2,500 male prisoners. Hundreds of men attended, including one who served as my interpreter, and following the seminar 51 prisoners were baptized (including the interpreter!). This is the most baptisms we”ve ever had at the end of a program, and the chap-

December 13, 2011

Christian Standard

A New World for Missions

By Mark A. Taylor “Missionaries are no longer Americans who come to show slides of “˜foreign” countries, but are those who bring the gospel from all over the world,” wrote Gary Holloway, executive director of World Convention, after attending the second Global Christian Forum in Manado, Indonesia October 3-7. His summary reminds us of new opportunities and strategy for missions today. Consider: South Korea sent out 22,000 missionaries to 176 countries last year. Nigeria plans to send 50,000 workers to other nations by 2015. Han Chinese plan to send out 100,000 missionaries to other countries in the next few years.

December 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Tunisia . . . An Unprecedented Opportunity for the Gospel

By Name Withheld A year ago, most Americans had never heard of the small African country of Tunisia. Global awareness changed in January, when a desperate young fruit vendor set himself on fire and Tunisia became the first of a string of Arab nations to revolt against oppressive dictators. Now, in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisians are recovering from the shock of the past, putting the pieces back together, and dreaming about their future. And Christian workers and believers in Tunisia are taking advantage of an unprecedented window of opportunity for the gospel. Christianity is intricately woven throughout Tunisian

December 7, 2011

Christian Standard

KORE””Chicken Coops and More in Haiti

By Dennis Bratton KORE Foundation is a unique ministry that pursues sustainable solutions to extreme poverty within the Christian community of Haiti. One billion people in the world””and half the population of Haiti””exist on $1 a day or less. Extreme poverty is simple to define, but it is hideous to behold. It is debilitating. It does not allow dreams or hopes. It strikes and crushes the most vulnerable on earth. It is time for the church to consider a reasoned Christian response to this destructive burden. Jesus acknowledged economic realities in his ministry (Luke 4:16-30). He offered care for both

December 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Interview with Beth Guckenberger

A mission trip to Mexico in 1996 helped change the lives of Beth and Todd Guckenberger. As Beth tells the story, “We were painting a wall from blue to green and I said, “˜Didn”t we paint this from green to blue last year?”” After that, the Guckenbergers sought out more compelling opportunities of service, and were moved with compassion for the abandoned children of Monterrey, Mexico. One year later, they moved to Monterrey. This was the initial step in founding the international arm of Back2Back Ministries, which provides orphan care in Africa, India, and Latin America. Through this experience, Beth

December 1, 2011

Christian Standard

Sowing the Seed

By Bob Russell My mother loved the Bible and was determined to pass along her passion for God”s Word to her six children. Some of my fondest memories of early childhood are of my mother prompting me to memorize Scripture so I could get a star on the chart in my Sunday school classroom. She was wise enough to know that Scriptures memorized in youth stay with us and guide us for a lifetime. The second Bible verse I memorized (which was embedded in my mind right behind John 3:16) was Psalm 119:11: “Thy word have I hid in my

November 20, 2011

Christian Standard

“˜Drop in the Bucket” Ladies Ready to Bring Blessings

By Jennifer Taylor Beth Ladd, a teacher and the wife of New Hope Christian Church senior pastor David Ladd (Everett, WA), met each Monday to pray with her friend Debbie Powell. After the 2004 tsunami hit Indonesia, the two friends said, “I wish we could go there and help.” After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, they said, “We can go there and help. Let”s do it.” Like other volunteers around the country, Ladd and Powell organized a group to travel south and help the churches and people of New Orleans. However, their yearly “drops” have continued””to Louisiana, Oklahoma,

October 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Rescuing Children at Risk

By Karen Wingate Infomercials, child sponsorship programs, and stirring stories of missionaries like Amy Carmichael and Gladys Aylward give the impression that needy children mostly exist in third world countries. But this is not so. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the United States foster care system serves more than 740,000 children. Beyond that, more than 3 million children in the United States can be labeled as “children of trauma.” Children without hope line our own city streets and fill our forgotten alleys. Thankfully, Christian church ministries are dedicated to offering the transformational power of Jesus Christ to

October 5, 2011

Christian Standard

RiverTree Providing Tools for Missional Movement

By Jennifer Taylor A number of factors began to converge, and Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), thought God might be up to something. There were partnerships with Stadia (Irvine, CA) and Compassion International; the launch of 18 churches and counting with Kingdom Synergy Partnership, a church planting network; the addition of Alex Absalom, coauthor of Launching Missional Communities, to the RiverTree staff; the launch of Love Canton, an urban church plant; and the transition of RiverTree from megachurch to missional movement. “It started to become clear that God was moving,” Nettle says. The RiverTree team

September 24, 2011

Christian Standard

Battling Slave Trade with Nativity Wrapping Paper

By Jennifer Taylor   It may be August, but for the youth group at Martelle Christian Church (Jones, IA) it”s time to think Christmas. At summer camp in 2009, the MCC youth group learned about human trafficking, the millions of people currently enslaved, and the billions of dollars captors earn from victims. “We were shocked by the horrific practice of kidnapping young girls and forcing them to work as prostitutes until they are so filled with disease they are literally thrown out,” explains Troy Titus, youth minister at the church. “I felt moved by God to do something.” The group

September 8, 2011

Christian Standard

Church Partners with Distillery to Help Haiti Mission

A few weeks ago we shared West Towne Christian Church“s (Knoxville, TN) partnership with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (Zionsville, IN) to frame three buildings for Haitian churches. This week, West Towne is partnering with a less conventional organization””the Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine distillery in Gatlinburg, TN. Church member Stephen Chen came up with the idea during the church building project when NWHCM shared the need for five-gallon buckets with handles. Chen”s son works at the distillery, which gets more than 100 of these buckets each week to ship moonshine-soaked cherries. “So far, West Towne has made three trips to Gatlinburg,”

July 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Innumerable! (Part 2: Jesus Is in Us and for People)

By Greg Nettle If Jesus is now in us, then it follows that, like Jesus, we must be for people. But unless people see our lives reflecting the fact that God is for them, they will continue to believe that God is against them. They”ll continue to be afraid of God. For us to restore the church to the mission of Jesus, we must communicate to people in every way possible that Jesus is for them and, therefore, that we as followers of Jesus are for them.   Letting Others Know We Are for Them How should this Christology be

July 17, 2011

Christian Standard

CIY Teams for Movie with Voice of the Martyrs

By Jennifer Taylor Last-minute trips, amazing “coincidences,” and the consistent witness of faithful believers around the world helped Christ In Youth (Joplin, MO) partner with Voice of the Martyrs to create a new feature-length film, Love Costs Every Thing, about the persecuted church. The CIY team started by recording the testimonies of Christians in India. “Then we waited on God,” says Chris Jefferson, director of organizational advancement. “And through my mom I met a Marine, who had married an Iraqi Christian girl, whose brother fled to France after bombs destroyed his church in Iraq. Bill Carroll, a church planter and

June 30, 2011

Christian Standard

NASCAR Driver Gives Orphan Care a Boost

Standard Publishing author Beth Guckenberger has teamed up with NASCAR driver Michael McDowell to promote orphan care. Guckenberger, director of Back2Back Ministries, is a veteran of efforts to help impoverished children across the globe, with a focus in Mexico, Nigeria, and India. But this is the first time NASCAR has been a part of the solution. McDowell, an up-and-coming NASCAR rookie, wants to do his part to support Guckenberger”s ministry. That includes putting the cover of Guckenberger”s newest book Relentless Hope on his car as he competes in the Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway July 9. He”ll also

June 29, 2011

Christian Standard

Behind Closed Doors

By Mark A. Taylor   He is an Arab Christian with a ministry in the Middle East. And to start he says he could not speak freely with me in his home country. There our conversation would not continue, he said, until he had removed the battery from his cell phone. “Why?” I ask. “Surveillance.” “They would bug your cell phone to listen to your conversations?” I said to him in disbelief. “It happens,” he said calmly. “If I were to openly speak with a Muslim about becoming a Christian, life would become very difficult for me and for him,”

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