News & Updates

News & Updates delivers timely reporting and important announcements relevant to church leaders and the Restoration Movement community. Explore articles covering ministry developments, events, organizational news, and updates that impact churches, leaders, and readers of The Christian Standard. You’ll find information on conferences, initiatives, partnerships, and significant stories shaping the life of the church today. Check back regularly to stay informed and connected to what’s happening across the movement and within The Christian Standard network.

February 17, 2021

Christian Standard

SCJ Conference Goes Virtual Again This Year (Plus News Briefs)

Registration is open for the 20th annual Stone-Campbell Journal Conference, slated for April 16-17. Due to uncertainties related to COVID-19, the event recently was switched to virtual for the second consecutive year. Lincoln Christian University, which was to have hosted, will provide technical staff to facilitate the online-only event. The theme “Violence of God in the Old Testament” will be developed by featured speakers Eric Seibert, professor of Old Testament at Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Michelle Knight, assistant professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill.; and Mark Hamilton, Onstead Professor of Biblical Studies

February 10, 2021

Christian Standard

Church Supports Family of Guard Killed in Transit Shooting (Plus News Briefs)

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who attended Sullivan (Mo.) Christian Church was shot and killed Jan. 31 while serving as a security guard for a firm that contracts with MetroLink, the mass transit system in St. Louis. James Cook, 30, leaves his wife, Kim, and two children, ages 9 and 5. Kim thanked the community for their support and her church for helping strengthen her family, Fox 2 Now reported. On Tuesday, SCC livestreamed a memorial service it hosted for Cook. Nathaniel M. Smith III, 36, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death, according to stltoday.com. A

February 3, 2021

Christian Standard

‘Best Christian Workplaces’ Selected (Plus News Briefs)

The Best Christian Workplace Institute has honored 157 faith-based organizations as “2020’s Certified Best Christian Workplaces.” Among those churches, mission organizations, and parachurch ministries honored: • 2|42 Community Church, Brighton, Mich. • Canyon Ridge Christian Church, Las Vegas, Nev. • Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Ariz. • Compass Christian Church, Chandler, Ariz. • Kingsway Christian Church, Avon, Ind. • Northridge Christian Church, Milledgeville, Ga. • Southeast Christian Church, Parker, Colo. • StoneBridge Christian Church, Omaha, Neb. • Summit Christian Church, Sparks, Nev. • Traders Point Christian Church, Indianapolis • CDF Capital, Irvine, Calif. • Christian Children’s Home of Ohio, Wooster,

January 27, 2021

Christian Standard

News Briefs for Jan. 27

Stadia Church Planting shared a video highlighting multiple achievements attained during the challenging year of 2020. Among those successes: Stadia planted 98 U.S. churches and 280 global churches (making a total of 1,256 Stadia churches since 2003); 83 new church planters were recommended for church planting; 1,155 women were served through Stadia’s Bloom: Church Planting Women; and 2,000 more children were sponsored through Stadia global partnerships (bringing the total to 48,720 since sponsorships began). View the video at stadiachurchplanting.org. _ _ _ LifeVenture Group, a new ministry devoted to offering people new life in Jesus, is actively engaging with international

January 20, 2021

Christian Standard

Grubert Named CFO/COO of Financial Planning Ministry (Plus News Briefs)

Grace Grubert has been promoted to the new dual positions of chief financial officer and chief operations officer (CFO/COO) of Financial Planning Ministry in Irvine, Calif. Grubert joined FPM in 2008 and has been serving as director of administration during a time of great growth at the organization. FPM is a nonprofit partnership of national charities dedicated to providing a path to sound biblical stewardship through donor estate planning. In her new role, Grubert will be supported by a national team of 35 staff members serving 100 charitable partners. Together they serve 34,000 estate planned families and have helped facilitate

January 13, 2021

Christian Standard

Walls’ Lifelong Service Honored (Plus News Briefs)

A December blog post by CMF International spotlighted Will and Ruth Walls for their years of service with the global mission organization. Will served as a campus minister at Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., from 1972 to 1995, then he and Ruth served as CMF missionaries in England (pastoral care, team training, and development with the church-planting team). Upon returning to the States in 2005, Will served in CMF’s office in Indianapolis. The couple officially retired in October. “The Walls are examples of lifelong service to the kingdom for all of us,” said CMF executive director Kip Lines. “It is

January 11, 2021

Christian Standard

Leaders Encouraged to Participate in our Annual Church Survey

How do we gauge what exactly happened in our churches during 2020 and what is the best course of action as we endeavor to resume face-to-face community during this new year? A good first step is to share your church’s experience with us via Christian Standard’s annual survey of Christian churches and churches of Christ. “Capturing the stories and statistics from 2020 is vital for us to gauge the true impact of the pandemic on our churches and establish baselines to measure future growth and changes,” said Kent Fillinger, who has been conducting our annual survey for more than a

January 6, 2021

Christian Standard

News Briefs for Jan. 13

Spire Huddles will be resuming at 1 p.m. (EST) Wednesday, Jan. 13. Huddles offer an online, interactive, conversational, and free way to connect with other church leaders and discuss important topics presented by expert speakers. There is a different huddle focus and host/presenter each week. Huddles (and hosts) over the next few weeks include: • Jan. 13, Church Planting (Jeff Reed of Stadia) • Jan. 20, Preaching Teams (Arron Chambers) • Jan. 27, Children, Students, & Families (Keith Parker) The huddles last roughly 90 minutes. An additional 30 minutes are allotted for final questions at the end of the main

December 30, 2020

Christian Standard

COVID-19 Claims Indiana Pastor, 2 Family Members (Plus News Briefs)

Jim Applegate, 54, pastor for 21 years of Westview Christian Church in Campbellsburg, Ind., died of COVID-19 on Dec. 20, followed by virus-related deaths of his mother (12 hours later), and his sister (on Christmas Eve). “The thing that’s keeping me going is . . . hope in Jesus because I know where they’re at,” Nicholas Applegate, the pastor’s son and WCC’s youth pastor, told WHAS11.com. “The first few weeks in December our community had seen a lot of COVID cases, especially here in our church family.” In addition to the death of his father, Nicholas Applegate’s grandmother, Pat Applegate,

December 23, 2020

Christian Standard

News Briefs for Dec. 23

Compiled by Jim Nieman Victor Glover, an astronaut now serving a six-month mission on the International Space Station, recently was chosen as one of 18 members of NASA’s Artemis team, which the space agency said “will help pave the way for the next astronaut missions on and around the moon,” the Christian Chronicle reported. Glover is a member of a noninstrumental church of Christ in the Houston area. In an earlier article, the Chronicle wrote that Glover sent up Communion cups and a Bible to the space station before blasting off on his mission Nov. 15. _ _ _ In

December 16, 2020

Christian Standard

Churches Tweak Christmas Eve Plans as COVID-19 Continues

By Chris Moon Churches are making a variety of changes to their Christmas Eve traditions to accommodate social distancing needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. And pastors are doing so while wondering when life finally will return to normal. “It’s been crazy,” said Ross Frisbie, senior minister at Tonganoxie Christian Church in Kansas. “I never thought by December we still would be dealing with this, and even more so now with cases going up. It’s crazy. I’m looking forward to normal.” Frisbie said his church will have three Christmas Eve services while offering churchgoers three options by which they can attend

December 16, 2020

Christian Standard

News Briefs for Dec. 16

Compiled by Jim Nieman The 26th installment of New Hope Christian Church’s annual outdoor “Journey to Bethlehem” underwent a major change this year due to COVID-19. The interactive Nativity, which traditionally starts in the Washington, Ind., church’s building and then leads participants out to a wooded area for a series of scenes telling the story of Jesus’ birth, was filmed this year for presentation via Facebook and YouTube. “We’ve always done it live but we knew that would not be an option this year,” senior pastor Joe Coquillard told the Tribune-Star. The goal of the video “is not just to

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