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.

January 24, 2010

Christian Standard

Holloway Named Executive Director of World Convention

By Staff Gary Holloway has been appointed executive director of World Convention, President B. J. Mpofu announced. Holloway succeeds Jeff Weston, who returned to Australia in 2009 after serving as executive director since 2004, and Bill McDonald, who has served on an interim basis for several months. Holloway currently is Ijams Professor of Spirituality at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN, and ministers with Natchez Trace Church of Christ in Nashville. He was a member of the planning committee for the 17th World Convention, conducted in Nashville, July 30 through Aug. 3, 2008. The World Convention is a quadrennial global gathering

January 3, 2010

Christian Standard

Provoking Change: A Review of Catalyst Atlanta

By Brandon Smith ________ Read the Sidebar: “Three Incentives for Joining the Movement” ________ When thousands of vehicles converge on a single four-lane road, movement is bound to slow. This was the case driving north on Sugarloaf Parkway outside Atlanta the first week of October. But the occupants of these vehicles were gathering for a conference, and, contrary to the traffic, the passengers were preparing for a great movement. The conference is called Catalyst. A catalyst, by definition, is a force that provokes or speeds up significant change or action. While I don”t remember a lot from my science classes

November 22, 2009

Christian Standard

Eternal Threads: Weaving Hope and Justice

  by Katie Noah Gibson “Giving a woman sustainable income changes her life and that of her entire family,” says Linda Egle of Abilene, Texas, founder of Eternal Threads. And, as the Eternal Threads Web site notes, “Wherever women gather is a great place to tell the Eternal Threads story.” Since 2000, Eternal Threads has worked with female artisans in developing countries to provide them an income by using indigenous craft skills and raw materials. The results are breathtaking: hand-loomed silk shawls from Madagascar, exquisitely crafted jewelry from Thailand, intricate bracelets and delicate beaded earrings from Afghanistan, colorful crocheted lace

November 1, 2009

Christian Standard

The Diploma of Biblical Studies

  by Gayle L. Gresham Summit Theological Seminary in Peru, Indiana, has one purpose””Teaching God”s Word to God”s world. Summit recognizes that people with college degrees are not the only people who teach God”s Word in churches and evangelize the lost; therefore, in addition to offering both bachelor”s degree and master”s degree programs in sacred literature or theology, Summit also offers the Diploma of Biblical Studies, a home study program concentrating on the Bible and theology for those who desire in-depth Bible knowledge, but don”t necessarily want to earn a degree. The program of study for the Diploma of Biblical

October 4, 2009

Christian Standard

Preparing for Ministry, Preparing for Community, Preparing for Change

  by S. J. Dahlman Emmanuel School of Religion President Robert Wetzel retired in May, succeeded by Michael Sweeney. A few days before the transition, the two men sat down to talk about the once and future seminary.       In his 15 years as president of Emmanuel School of Religion, Robert Wetzel saw how seminary education must include more than simply learning theology, history, and ministry methods in a classroom. Intellectual rigor and academic discipline are crucial to Wetzel, but the education must “make it more than that. It must be head and heart.” Wetzel retired at the

September 27, 2009

Christian Standard

A Look at This Year”s NACC: Grace Week

  by Steve Reeves See D. Clay Perkins”s assessment of the 2009 NACC See Thomas F. Jones”s assessment of the 2009 NACC       The North American Convention has been a part of my summers for more than four decades. The first decade, as a child and student, I was inspired and mentored by church leaders. For the last 33 years, I have enjoyed being with former classmates, coleaders, and family. Honestly, those connections alone have been worth my time. Now that I have become one of the veterans, I find myself learning even more than I did as an

September 27, 2009

Christian Standard

A Look at This Year’s NACC: I”m Glad I Was There!

  by Clay D. Perkins See Steve Reeves’s assessment of the 2009 NACC   See Thomas F. Jones”s assessment of the 2009 NACC           As a new college president, with my wife I attended the North American Christian Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, this summer. And I”m glad I was there!   I Attended Meetings Meetings. I attended a lot of meetings. And they were great! The Bible College/Christian Uni-versity President”s Association is a wonderful group. The spirit of cooperation among our colleges and universities is strong. We shared openly about the future of higher biblical education;

September 27, 2009

Christian Standard

A Look at This Year”s NACC: Going Home

by Thomas F. Jones Jr. See Steve Reeves’s assessment of the 2009 NACC See D. Clay Perkins”s assessment of the 2009 NACC       My hometown is Follansbee, West Virginia. It is located in the northern panhandle of the state about 20 miles north of Wheeling and 40 miles west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It”s a steel mill town located on the Ohio River and has fewer than 3,000 residents. I don”t go there often these days but when I do, everything seems to fall into place. Going to the North American Christian Convention is like going home once a

September 23, 2009

Christian Standard

What We Do, Why It Matters

By Mark A. Taylor Actually what we do at the North American Christian Convention is not dramatic. We talk. We eat. We laugh. We sing. We pray. We listen to sermons, some of them excellent. Some of us go to meetings. Often we encounter people with names we recognize, but we”ve never actually met them before. How could we, when we live across the country from each other and they”re busy with their ministries while we”re occupied with our own? This is how it has been through the decades. The beauty of the NACC is its simplicity, its predictability, its

September 6, 2009

Christian Standard

Exponential “09: What”s the Buzz?

  by Dick Alexander So what”s all the buzz about Exponential? What exactly is drawing more than 3,000 mostly young leaders to Orlando, Florida, each spring for three intense days? What was known a few years ago as the National New Church Conference, drawing a few hundred church-planting zealots, has reinvented itself as Exponential and now attracts thousands. Its growth has been, well, exponential, and it”s attracting a lot of attention for good reasons.   FOCUS AND ENERGY Exponential exists to facilitate church planting. It bills itself as the largest church-planting gathering in North America, with participants coming from dozens

July 5, 2009

Christian Standard

A History of Open Forum

  By John Mills  How does a brotherhood of some 5,000 autonomous congregations set goals and plan strategies for growth? Each congregation strives to fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28, but are there ways to work together to accomplish this divine commission? For 26 years the Open Forum has worked to achieve this goal. Although several successes can be noted and great steps forward have been taken, Open Forum as an entity has decided to “fold its tent.” As it does so, it is appropriate to share what this unique effort has accomplished.   ENGAGING IN DIALOGUE At the

June 6, 2009

Christian Standard

One State, Three Bible Colleges

By David Fincher Within our fellowship of churches, people are often surprised to learn Missouri has three Bible colleges. Churches in this state and region have been blessed by the ongoing ministry, Bible teaching, and ministerial training offered by Ozark Christian College (OCC) in Joplin, St. Louis Christian College (SLCC) in Florissant, and Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) in Moberly, Through the years, faculty, staff, and administrators of the three colleges have had cordial relationships and developed many friendships with supporters. But there remains this question, “How could the three Bible colleges in Missouri work together to reflect

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Accessibility, Affordability, and Accountability: A “˜Spellings Report” for Our Schools

By Tom Tanner Consider these three numbers: 184 million; 14,075; 33. Is this some kind of new DaVinci code? No. These are figures that factor into any conversation about the state of Christian higher education among Christian churches and churches of Christ. Based on data from this year”s annual college report (see chart on pp. 16, 17), these churches support 33 different schools scattered from Alberta to Atlanta, and beyond the Atlantic to Austria. Collectively these 33 schools last year enrolled 14,075 students and spent just over $184 million. What do these numbers mean? Are they good numbers or bad?

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Christian College: High Value

    These days everyone is thinking about value received for money spent. In keeping with the times, we asked each of the Christian colleges in our annual survey to write a few paragraphs on this theme: “The High Value of Your Education at Our School.” Their reports follow.     Alberta Bible College Empowered to dream! Equipped to serve! Students join Alberta Bible College at different points on their faith journeys, but each is greeted with the same challenging question, “Where does your deep gladness meet the world”s deep need?”But students who are uncertain about attending ABC should ask

March 11, 2009

Christian Standard

More Than a Matter of Percentage

By Mark A. Taylor Please notice one new bit of information in this year”s Christian college summary“”and tell us what you think about it! We”re speaking of the column headed “% Restoration Movement.” We asked the schools who contribute to this report, “What percentage of your student body has roots in Stone-Campbell congregations typically referred to as the Restoration Movement?” All of them except two, who don”t track this information, gave us a figure. What are we to conclude from the wide range of percentages reported? “¢ The percentage of Restoration Movement students enrolling in these schools is not, in

February 18, 2009

Christian Standard

What”s the Future for the World Convention?

By Mark A. Taylor Amid financial shortfalls and immigration problems, Nashville-based World Convention is anticipating staff cutbacks. As reported by Disciples World in a January 13 article by Ted Parks, World Convention executive director Jeff Weston will end his service with the convention later this year. Clinton Holloway, assistant to the director, concluded his six years of part-time service with the convention at the end of January. The World Convention, which first met in Washington, D.C., in 1930, is a one-of-a-kind ministry seeking to build connections among believers with a shared heritage in what is often called the Stone-Campbell Movement.

February 15, 2009

Christian Standard

The NACC Minister & Spouse Retreat

Maybe the most amazing thing about this summer”s North American Christian Convention isn”t the convention itself, but a convention-sponsored event later in the summer. We”re talking about the 2009 Minister and Spouse Retreat, Tuesday, August 11, through Thursday, August 13, at the Lifeway Conference Center, Ridgecrest, North Carolina. This getaway offers a tranquil setting nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just north of Asheville, North Carolina. It will be the perfect spot for ministry couples who would like to relax together at a program planned just for them. And what a program it is! “¢ Debra and Daniel Smith, authors

February 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Still Amazed! The 2009 North American Christian Convention

By Jeff Stone A few years ago I was returning with a carload of ministers from another minister”s funeral. We stopped for lunch at a Ponderosa. As I opened the back door to climb out of my friend”s car, I accidentally clipped the truck beside it. I surveyed the damage. The door had left a white mark on the gleaming pickup. I winced, in part, because I am a truck lover. I determined I needed to locate the truck”s owner and offer to pay to have it buffed out at a body shop. As we ate, from my window seat,

February 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Why Is the NACC Important? I Go for My Family

by Brent Storms   Our family attended the North American Christian Convention in Louisville in 1981 when I was 8 years old. My brother was 6, and our sister was a baby. My parents wanted to attend the Ozark Bible College reception to reconnect with some of their classmates and friends. They did not want to keep my brother and me up late. So they locked us in our hotel room. Really, they did. They explained to us that they were not leaving the building. They would be right downstairs in one of the hotel ballrooms. We were instructed to

February 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Why Is the NACC Important? Let Me Count the Ways

by Ken Idleman   I have participated in the NACC every year since 1964, with the exception of one. Through the ensuing years, I have transitioned from attending to frequently serving on the continuation committee, on seven executive committees, and as president in 1992. I can answer the question above these articles in a single statement: “The North American Christian Convention is important to me because of the significant influence it has been on me in six areas over the past 45 years.”   Domestically In 1964 the convention was hosted in St. Louis. My family camped at Cahokia Mounds

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