Series: Buzz

December 5, 2014

Christian Standard

Lesson Learned

By Jennifer Johnson As you read this, it”s almost time for Christmas. But as I write it, we”re days away from back to school. One of the things that surprised me about being an adult was the discovery, in September 1998, that I actually like autumn. That year was the first since 1981 that I hadn”t spent catching a bus while it was still dark outside, trudging to a classroom, sitting and doodling at uncomfortable desks, and acclimating to the personality quirks of six different teachers. Suddenly the time of year I used to dread became a fun season of

December 5, 2014

Christian Standard

Transforming Uganda with Christ-based Learning

By Jennifer Johnson Uganda has the youngest population of any nation in the world, but tens of thousands of its young people have been unable to attend college because there aren”t enough schools. An enterprising team of missionaries and native Africans launched the Messiah Theological Institute several years ago to train village pastors. “But they saw an opportunity to look further down the road and begin influencing the culture in a deeper way,” says Craig Smith. “In 2006, leaders from both the Christian churches and the churches of Christ developed a partnership to create a new school in Uganda.” Today

November 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Journeying Together

By Jennifer Johnson I”m really excited about the 2015 International Conference on Missions. One reason is the president, Jim Tune, asked me to speak. My first sermon was to 1,800 Indian teenagers in a building that could seat 600, the second was for a group of jaded New Yorkers, and now my third will be to a convention hall of a few thousand. I like to focus on easy audiences. But I”m especially looking forward to the convention after talking to Tim Cole at the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship and learning more about both the church planting emphasis at next year”s

November 14, 2014

Christian Standard

Church on Mission: Church at the Mission

By Jennifer Johnson “I”ve done church planting, I”ve done megachurch, and I”ve done microchurch,” says Blake Ryan. “I think this is the only thing God could call me to that would fulfill my heart in ministry.” “This” is Church at the Mission Corona, a new congregation that launched in January at the Corona/Norco (CA) Rescue Mission. Ryan serves as lead pastor of the church and director of the mission as well as managing principal at PlainJoe Studios, a design and media company also based in Corona. “We were part of Church at the Mission”s first location in Tustin, CA, and

November 13, 2014

Christian Standard

One Convention, Seven New Churches

  By Jennifer Johnson “You know, if we”re going to spend all this time and effort in planning a convention, it would be great for it to have a long-term impact,” remarked Tim Cole in a planning meeting for the 2015 International Conference on Missions. Cole, director of church planting at Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship (VEF), says he can”t take credit for what happened next; some members of the team suggested the churches in Virginia plant a church, then some others suggested they plant one on every continent, then someone else mentioned Antarctica might be a challenge. Today the plan is

November 5, 2014

Christian Standard

Johnson to Begin Offering Free Online Course on Acts

By Jennifer Johnson Johnson University (Knoxville, TN) has announced it will begin offering its Acts of the Apostles course online to the general public. “This course is intended for church leaders, Sunday school teachers, and other Christians who are motivated to learn about the book of Acts on a deeper, more advanced level,” the school writes. “Course participants will not earn college credit; consequently, Johnson University is providing the course free of charge as a service to the church.” Dr. Gregory Linton, professor of New Testament at Johnson, designed the course. He has taught the book of Acts for 15

October 2, 2014

Christian Standard

A Playground for All Children

By Jennifer Johnson In 2012 Arron Chambers preached a sermon series on Nehemiah at Journey Christian Church and challenged them to do a “great work” in their community of Greeley, CO. At the same time, he and his wife, Rhonda, asked their four kids to pray about a great work they could do as a family. “At the time, our youngest kids were 8 and 10 and loved going to the playgrounds in our neighborhood,” says Chambers, who serves as lead minister at Journey Christian. “They suggested we build a playground that all children could enjoy, including kids with developmental

October 2, 2014

Christian Standard

John”s Gospel””Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

By Jennifer Johnson Many lifelong believers find it difficult to have a fresh perspective on the Bible”s stories, and many seekers and skeptics have never heard them. Joe Boyd”s “The Bible Experiment,” live theatrical retellings of the Bible”s great stories, is designed to reach both groups. Boyd launched the project in April with two shows of the Gospel of John in Cincinnati. More than 1,000 people attended. “The goal was just to tell the story as best we could without leaving anything out and without an agenda,” says Boyd, who served in ministry roles at churches in Las Vegas and

October 2, 2014

Christian Standard

The Greatest Story, Retold

By Jennifer Johnson There are many things I love about living in Philadelphia””the history, the proximity to New York, the water ice (look it up). But this month I”m wishing I still lived in Cincinnati . . . or Orange County, California . . . or even Nashville so I could get to a show or three of Joe Boyd”s Gospel of John and his retelling of both Old and New Testament stories next year. I also wish I could take everyone I know, both my friends who have been Christians forever and the ones who think the rest of us

September 12, 2014

Christian Standard

New President Appointed at Dallas Christian College

The Board of Trustees of Dallas Christian College announced this week its appointment of Dr. Brian D. Smith as the college”s next president. Smith comes to DCC from Johnson University Florida, where he has served most recently as associate provost. Before that, he served as vice president of academics at Florida Christian College, where he had previously held the positions of associate dean of academics and institutional effectiveness, and registrar. The appointment follows a national search that began nearly one year ago after the resignation of President Dusty Rubeck. Smith will begin his tenure as president on Nov. 1. Smith

September 5, 2014

Christian Standard

A Seven-Day Cycle for Shoes

By Jennifer Johnson A British man living in Dubai rode his bike across the Alps this summer to raise funds for a Missions of Hope International school, part of Christian Missionary Fellowship”s ministry in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Tim Hooker, his American wife, Fiona Petrocelli, and their son, Quinlan, became acquainted with the work of MOHI when they were planning a luxurious safari holiday in the Masaai Mara in 2011. Fiona wanted to add a different perspective to the trip by spending a day doing some type of service for local people. “Some friends of ours put us

September 4, 2014

Christian Standard

Thinking Big

By Jennifer Johnson I looked forward to speaking with Robert Bess because of the similarities between his church and ours. (See Related Article.)  Like Robert”s church in Tennessee, Levittown (PA) Christian Church, where my husband, Matt, serves as pastor, has grown from just a few families to about 100 people. And like Robert, Matt is not content for LCC to stay so small when so many thousands in our community still need Jesus. He spent much of this summer meeting with other local pastors, casting vision with the influencers and leaders in our own congregation, and reading widely to see

September 4, 2014

Christian Standard

Love Repurposed

By Jennifer Johnson When Robert Bess began serving as senior minister at Love Chapel Christian Church (Erwin, TN) in 2008, average attendance had dwindled down to just a few dozen people. Earlier this year, the church averaged 90 people on a weekend. But as we go to press, Love Chapel is seeing almost 150 people each weekend and is getting ready to welcome many more. The church achieved this amazing growth in just four weeks by repurposing a building on its property that usually sat empty, turning it into “The Love Chapel Connection Café.” Lots of churches have coffee shops,

August 3, 2014

Christian Standard

Gut Feelings

By Jennifer Johnson Scientists have told us for years there is a strong link between our feelings and the state of our stomach. The “enteric nervous system,” or ENS, in our digestive system has sometimes been called the “second brain,” and a 2013 study found that introducing different bacteria to the stomach can cause changes to our emotions. Chalk one more up for the ancient Greeks; long before today”s research, they”d coined the word splagna, which roughly translates to “compassion” but literally means one”s guts. They knew that when we feel empathy in our hearts, we can also feel it

August 2, 2014

Christian Standard

Planting Where Sin Abounds

By Jennifer Johnson When Vince Antonucci prepared to plant a church called Verve in Las Vegas, he thought, Of course we”ll be on the Strip. But when he began researching that area, he discovered there were no other churches there. “I wondered if that was unique to Las Vegas,” he says. “I began looking at the most “˜sinful” neighborhoods and streets in the world””places like the Red Light District in Amsterdam, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, The Sunset Strip in L.A. There are no churches there. But Jesus went to the most sinful places and the most sinful people. He

August 1, 2014

Christian Standard

Real Issues, Real Talk

By Jennifer Johnson After Real Life Christian Church (Clermont, FL) began broadcasting its weekend services on a local TV station, it started brainstorming ideas for a second show. “So much Christian TV is so lame, and we didn”t want to create something like that,” says Marc Naugler, creative video director, and Chris Gingrasso, communications pastor at Real Life. “Our church name reflects who we are””real people talking about real issues in a real way and helping people find real faith. Real Talk extends those values in a new format to a new audience.” Justin Miller, Real Life”s lead pastor, hosts

June 30, 2014

Christian Standard

On Fire for Mission in Africa

By Jennifer Johnson Dave Moore didn”t even want to visit Africa. Today he”s the founder and president of Africa Fire Mission. “When our church, LifeSpring Christian in Cincinnati, offered a mission trip to Kenya in 2012, my wife, Nancy, asked me to go with her,” says Moore, who at that time served as the fire chief of a wealthy suburb. “The trip would include working with Missions of Hope International (MOHI), part of Christian Missionary Fellowship“s ministry in the Mathare Valley. I wasn”t excited about it, but I went, and I realized how much the people there needed fire safety

June 29, 2014

Christian Standard

Enough Is Enough

See related article, “A Call to Sacrifice.” ________ By Jennifer Johnson Each time I move I”m keenly aware of how much junk I own. As I prepared to leave Nashville and join Matt in Philadelphia two years ago, my fourth move in 10 years, I was amazed at how much I”d accumulated””14 antique china plates and three matching cups (Grandma was prone to dropping things). Dozens of books I fully intend to read. Half-used hair products. Barbie dolls with complete outfits. The original packaging for Standard Publishing”s 1984 VBS craft kit featuring my smiling face. So, some seriously good stuff.

June 29, 2014

Christian Standard

A Call to Sacrifice

By Jennifer Johnson The 25 Group is only a few months old, but its goal is ambitious: to leverage the wealth of American Christians to fund kingdom work around the world. “It”s crowdsourcing generosity,” says executive director Titus Benton, who also serves as student pastor at Current: A Christian Church in Katy, Texas. “Most people can”t give $20,000 and single-handedly fund an entire project, but a bunch of people each giving $25 a month can make a huge difference.” The challenge to give $25 ties in nicely with the nonprofit”s name, a reference to Matthew 25; the six needs mentioned

June 1, 2014

Christian Standard

Opening Up Missions to Everyone

By Jennifer Johnson More than 1 million American Christians participate in short-term mission trips each year, and many churches build their missions strategy around opportunities to engage members in these experiences. However, not every church has relationships with missionaries who need help, expertise in planning the trip and prepping participants, or enough interested members to create a team. Andy Newton created Ministro Journeys to remove these obstacles and make it easier for churches and individuals to get involved. While serving as associate missions director at Southland Christian Church (Lexington, KY), Newton often received inquiries from professional groups and smaller churches

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