Answering the Challenge for Bible Materials in Spanish

By Jennifer Taylor Good Books When Jon and Kathy Underwood visited Colombian Christian Mission in 2005, missionary Dale Meade asked the couple to outline a course of study for general and graduate-level Bible training. Jon created a sequence including Bible surveys, history, and theology””and received another request from Dale. “The team really wanted more challenging materials and asked us to consider translating and publishing books into Spanish,” Kathy says. “We were concerned about a conflict of interest, since Jon works at Standard Publishing. But we explained the project and received their blessing to move forward.” In 2006 the Underwoods created

September 1, 2010

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Planting

10-10-10 Initiative Focuses Attention on Church Planting

By Jennifer Taylor October 10, 2010, is 10-10-10. It is a Sunday. And it will be the birthday for new churches across the country. The team behind theÂ Exponential Conference, “the largest gathering of church planters on the planet,” developed theÂ 10-10-10 InitiativeÂ to focus attention on church planting. Individuals, congregations, and even entire planting networks can participate by praying, adopting a church plant for encouragement and financial support, planning a sermon series, or even launching a new church. The Web site includes a central repository of sermon content, service ideas, and other materials (for free!), and offers affinity groups to connect participants

August 18, 2010

Christian Standard

Mission & Evangelism

Extending Help, Hope to a Guatemalan Valley

By Jennifer Taylor School “˜Project” Most people in the Ulpan Valley of Guatemala live in poverty. Many can”t read. Surprisingly, a small team of engineers from middle Tennessee is changing the situation. Engineering professors and students from Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tennessee) have volunteered on short-term mission trips to Central America since 2004. They help with disaster relief or by building bridges and water towers. But short-term missions have limited value, according to Kerry Patterson, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Lipscomb, in a recent Tennessean article. “You are there for a week or 10 days, and then you are gone,”

August 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Small Groups

Fulfilling Church Values, Meeting People”s Needs

By Jennifer Taylor From brand-new Christians to brand-new mothers, churches are inviting members to share their experiences, knowledge, and friendship with groups beginning new journeys. Significant Mothers When Evelyn Ritchie became an unwed teenage mother 21 years ago, she benefited from a local hospital program offering support and education. Today, Ritchie works with volunteers from Real Life Christian Church (Clermont, Florida) to provide the same experience for Clermont”s teen moms. In the new “ADAPT” program (Adolescent Development And Parent Training), Ritchie matches each teen””some pregnant and some parenting a new baby””with a mentor who shares parenting skills and provides encouragement.

July 18, 2010

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Dreaming It, Modeling It, and Then Giving It Away

By Jennifer Taylor Day of Fest Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland, began “ServeFest” in 2003 as an event for Mountain members. The church contacted schools and other local organizations and spent a day landscaping, removing trash, and painting. Within a few years three more churches had joined the party, then 17, then 41. In April of this year 77 churches in five counties participated in the one-day event, unleashing thousands of people to serve across the city in 127 projects. “We have disappeared as owners of the event and it truly belongs to churches all over our region, including some

July 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Justice

Making a Difference at the Coffee Center

Although many people have heard the term “fair-trade” coffee, they often don”t understand the term”s meaning or the issues involved in growing and selling coffee beans. Every church has a pot of coffee going on Sunday morning; here are two groups making an international difference with every cup. Trading Up “The fair-trade designation is available only to small cooperative farming ventures, and guarantees the growers and workers receive a fair wage,” says Troy Jackson, senior minister at University Christian Church (Cincinnati, Ohio). “It also requires reinvestment of some of the profits back into the community. Many of the large plantations