Organizations & Events

Organizations & Events covers the ministries, institutions, and gatherings that shape church life and the Restoration Movement. Explore articles on conferences, training opportunities, church networks, and the work of organizations serving local congregations. You’ll find news, highlights, interviews, and event coverage—along with updates that help leaders stay connected and informed. Whether you’re looking for what’s happening across the movement or learning about trusted partners and key initiatives, this hub brings together stories and information related to organizations and events that support the mission of the church.

July 3, 2013

Christian Standard

Johnson University Merges with Florida Christian College

On Monday, Johnson University (Knoxville, TN) and Florida Christian College (Kissimmee, FL) officially merged and became part of the newly established Johnson University System. Florida Christian College is now Johnson University Florida. “This merger will advance the Florida campus by as much as half a century, which is the time it would have otherwise taken to build the degree options and opportunities that Johnson University has in place today,” said Kenny Funk, who served as most recent chairman of the former Florida Christian College Board of Trustees. “Within a few years, Johnson University Florida will have the expanded bachelor”s degree

July 1, 2013

Christian Standard

Students Need Practical Skills Along with Big Ideas

By Jennifer Johnson Higher education is not known for its pragmatism. For every course in biology basics there”s another in “The Science of Superheroes” (University of California, Irvine). For every Spanish 101 there”s “Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond” (University of Texas at Austin). For every fundamentals of accounting, there”s “Street-Fighting Mathematics” (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). And that”s OK. As the cliché goes, part of being educated is “learning how to learn.” There”s value in interacting with ideas simply for the sake of enrichment, even without any immediate vocational payoff. But Dave Miller at Nebraska Christian College also makes a good

June 30, 2013

Christian Standard

An Honors Program Focusing on Leadership and Community Service

By Jennifer Johnson “There”s a lot of discussion about the cost of investing in a college education,” says Dave Miller, vice president of advancement at Nebraska Christian College. “We want to talk about what the college is investing in the student.” At NCC in Papillion, NE, part of the investment is The Institute, a new program that rolled out in January and launches officially this fall. “The Institute is like an honors program, but focused on leadership potential and community service,” Miller says. Students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average to participate, but academic aptitude is just

June 23, 2013

Christian Standard

Interview with Paul Blowers

By Paul Boatman Paul Blowers is in his 24th year as Dean E. Walker Professor of Church History at Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Johnson City, Tennessee. He chairs the committee of faculty chairpersons overseeing faculty advancement, tenure, and other handbook issues.   Why teach church history in a seminary? Church history as taught in a seminary is definitely a theological discipline. My aim is to help students interpret their own faith and ministry in light of the historical Christian faith, as tempered by the refiner”s fire of history.   Can you put that in context of this point in history and

March 21, 2013

Christian Standard

Scholar Professors and Our Schools: Thoughts for the Future

By William R. Baker Higher education in the colleges, universities, and seminaries supported by Christian churches has come to a critical juncture. Efforts to improve service to the church and students have led to hiring highly qualified professors with terminal degrees in their fields (PhD, ThD, DMin). This corps of bright, young scholars feels a personal responsibility not only to become excellent teachers but also to address the larger academy in their fields of expertise. This is not for ego or fame, but is just recognized as part of what God has called them to do. They have the talent

March 18, 2013

Christian Standard

An Angel Sent to China

By Gary Weedman In the summer of 1999, Mary Lou Martin, a Johnson alumna, veteran elementary school teacher, and wife of Professor Bob Martin, led a group of 10 students to China to teach in the English Language Institute of China (ELIC). Little could that intrepid band know what would ensue from their pioneering work. The following year Martin and nine students returned to China, this time to the city of Zhengzhou, Henan Province. This former ancient capital, one of 13 emerging megacities in China, has a population of 8.6 million. These Americans worked with Zhengzhou No. 47 Middle and

March 17, 2013

Christian Standard

A Global Partnership

By Keith Keeran Commonwealth International University was conceived in 1992 as a partnership between Kentucky Christian University and Crimean College in Simferopol, Ukraine. Under the leadership of its current president, Dr. Georges P. Carillet, and its original founder, Dr. Keith P. Keeran, CIU continues to serve the purposes of God for the benefit of the Ukrainian people and other least-reached and underserved people groups throughout the world. Since the beginning, CIU has been faithful to its mission to educate students for meaningful careers while introducing them to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, equipping them to be servant-leaders in the

March 16, 2013

Christian Standard

A China Institute in the Midwest

By Gordon D. Venturella Lincoln, Illinois, is both culturally and geographically distant from China”s megacities. But Lincoln Christian University”s historic commitment to global mission connects these disparate parts of the world. LCU currently has alumni in more than 160 countries, so it came naturally for LCU President Keith H. Ray to think missionally about the world”s largest country.   The Introduction The China Institute story began when LCU alumnus (and former U.S. Representative from New Mexico) Bill Redmond introduced Ray to Jian Zhu, executive director of the American China Civic Exchange (ACCE). The three began to dream about how to

March 15, 2013

Christian Standard

A Decades-Long Korean Connection

By John Derry When 100 international students arrive on a small college campus, it can present an interesting challenge as well as a wonderful opportunity. That”s what happens each fall at Hope International University (HIU) when we welcome study abroad students from Dongseo University (DSU), one of the top 10 universities in Korea. The students are accompanied by two visiting professors and study at HIU for two semesters. More than 500 students apply, and 100 are selected by DSU to attend the English as a Second Language program and experience living in the United States. The students are fully engaged

March 11, 2013

Christian Standard

Semester in Ministry””a Unique Partnership

By Ethan Magness What is required to train the next generation of leaders for the church? How can you make a difference? Whom will you disciple for leadership? These are questions that drive the Semester in Ministry program partnership between Tennessee”s Milligan College and Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland. Here is what we have seen: “¢ A college sophomore preaches for the very first time to 100 squirming middle school students. She is nervous but she is ready. She has practiced a half-dozen times on her own and twice in front of a team of staff who gave her

March 10, 2013

Christian Standard

The Impact of Our Internships

By Bill Baumgardner “I have to do an internship?” “It is not that you must do an internship,” I say to the student before me. “You get to do an internship.” This is typical of many conversations I have at Cincinnati Christian University. As the director of service learning, I help students with their supervised internship for college credit. The internships are supervised because we feel there is a great value when a student works alongside someone who is in his or her field of study. This is why we match up students studying for the preaching ministry with preaching

March 9, 2013

Christian Standard

Class in the City

By Dave Smith For almost six years, students from Ozark Christian College have attended class in New York City. They have overcome their fear of urban areas, learned from diverse church leaders, and begun to discover their fit in this globalized world. This journey from Joplin, Missouri, to New York City traveled by way of California. In 2000, Ken Idleman, Ozark Christian College”s president at the time, took a one-year sabbatical to help his son, Kyle, plant a church in Southern California. President Idleman experienced firsthand how God uses new churches to reach people far from God. He returned to

March 5, 2013

Christian Standard

“˜Merge” Is Not a Dirty Word

By Mark A. Taylor Last month, two Christian colleges announced their intent to pursue a partnership with each other. Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Florida Christian College, Kissimmee, Florida, hope to become one institution, perhaps as soon as this year, according to Johnson”s president, Gary Weedman. This is the second such possible merger being pursued between schools reporting in Christian Standard. It should not be the last. Last year Milligan College and Emmanuel Christian Seminary announced a similar plan to consider uniting under one administration. According to Milligan”s president, Bill Greer, and Emmanuel”s president, Michael Sweeney, those talks are continuing

March 1, 2013

Christian Standard

Christian Colleges on the Move!

Read these reports from Christian colleges around the world to discover their progress, plans, and creative initiatives to educate Christian leaders for tomorrow.   Boise Bible College Boise Bible College develops well-equipped servant leaders with integrity and a biblical worldview for the global church. Classroom instruction, campus events, and practical ministry opportunities help BBC students grow in knowledge and faith. The college begins the year with a rafting trip and an all-school retreat that allows staff, returning students, and new students to get to know each other while growing spiritually. Students are involved in off-campus service events like “Rake-up Boise”

February 4, 2013

Christian Standard

Re: Formation — Studying Spiritual Formation in Our Colleges and Universities

By Jennifer Johnson In the last few years, several Christian church and church of Christ colleges and universities have created new degree programs in spiritual formation. It”s representative of a wider movement in the academic world; as Richard Foster wrote in a recent article on TheOoze.com, “Seminary courses in spiritual formation proliferate like baby rabbits.” However, these new programs are purposeful as well as popular””each one is designed to develop mature leaders who are growing in the image of Christ and taking him into the world. Here are several of the degrees and programs we”ve discovered among these schools. Lincoln

February 2, 2013

Christian Standard

College Listened to Its Community

“My Take” by Jennifer Johnson I love many things about Lipscomb”s new Spark center, including the school”s willingness to put down roots in a new part of town and its multifaceted approach to professional development. But I think the best part of this new initiative””and the reason it”s been wildly successful even in its opening months””is its attention to the felt needs of a specific demographic. Executive Director John Lowry says the center”s design and its services reflect current research on how adults learn and work together, and the idea for Spark developed after Lipscomb saw the need for more

February 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Lipscomb Goes Extra Mile with Opening of “Spark”

By Jennifer Johnson When the governor of Tennessee talked to Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN) about the need for local workforce development, the church of Christ-affiliated school began brainstorming ways to bring more graduate education opportunities to its community. But the result was far more than a few online classes or one-week seminars; the new “Spark” center in nearby Williamson County offers resources, meeting space, and the newest technology in a creative environment. “Typically an off-site academic facility will be in an office park, with the college investing just enough money to make it operational,” says John Lowry, executive director of

January 1, 2013

Christian Standard

VBS Program Features Back2Back Ministries

“God”s Backyard Bible Camp,” Standard Publishing”s Vacation Bible School program for 2013, features Beth Guckenberger, cofounder of Back2Back Ministries. The “Backyard Bible Camp” includes separate VBS programs for day (“Under the Sun”) or evening (“Under the Stars”), and will carry a mission emphasis, which is where Back2Back Ministries comes in. We asked Beth to share some thoughts about Back2Back Ministries. It was 15 years ago that we started to share with a few friends and family our “whisper calling” to move to Mexico. This was met with mixed reactions. Some thought we were shortsighted or ill-equipped (they were right). Some

December 1, 2012

Christian Standard

ICOM 2012: Radical . . . Again

By Dave Butts “Radical . . . Again.” The theme for the 2012 International Conference on Missions (ICOM) November 15-18, was more than a clever title pulled from a popular Christian book. It was an apt description of a conference committed to challenging Christians to meet the needs of an increasingly desperate world in every way possible. Preaching, workshops, worship, exhibits, and service projects combined to call those thousands who attended to deeper levels of global impacting discipleship. It was appropriate the inaugural meeting of ICOM, formerly the National Missionary Convention, was in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Convention Center is always

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