Series: Columns

June 10, 2018

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Monthly Attendance: The New Norm?

By Kent E. Fillinger “Is monthly attendance the new norm?” asked the headline of a recent article by Warren Bird, director of research at Leadership Network. The trend for several years is that regular churchgoers attend less frequently. Bird said his research shows the typical church reaches 1.8 times its average weekly attendance in a month. He said the average doesn’t change much regardless of the size of the church, age of the church, or age of the lead pastor. Therefore, a typical church can determine how many different people attend each month by multiplying the average weekend worship attendance

June 9, 2018

David Roadcup

Elders Leading through Prayer

By David Roadcup  An elder’s job description includes numerous responsibilities. Teaching, managing, leading a small group, attending meetings, listening, and making decisions fill an elder’s time. Two of the most important responsibilities an elder can fulfill are in modeling a life of prayer and leading his church in a powerful, impacting, and continuing prayer experience. Prayer is the greatest untapped source of power in the life of the church today. God calls his leaders to prayer. It is important that the church leadership team—paid staff and elders—be in constant contact with our Father. In warfare, every military battlefield commander knows

June 6, 2018

Christian Standard

Alexander Campbell Announced as a 2018 NACC Speaker

By Caleb Kaltenbach INDIANAPOLIS—Church leaders around the world were shocked to learn that Alexander Campbell will be speaking at the yearly convention. 2018 North American Christian Convention President Drew Sherman reportedly hired a Transylvanian scientist—a mad one, no doubt—to fly in and reanimate Campbell, the leading thinker of the early Restoration Movement and longtime editor of the Millennial Harbinger. The process took longer than initially thought, due to good weather. Eventually, however, a thunderstorm passed through the area and made the impossible possible. “We just want to empower leaders and give them an NACC they’ll never forget,” Sherman said. “It’s

May 31, 2018

Jerry Harris

A New Critical Juncture in the Restoration Movement

By Jerry Harris The Restoration Movement has faced critical junctures at least twice in its history. The first time was after the Civil War. Deep wounds remained as the nation endeavored to reconstruct itself. Death had silenced the great leaders of our movement: Barton Stone in 1844, Thomas Campbell in 1854, John T. Johnson in 1856, Walter Scott in 1861, Alexander Campbell in 1866, and “Raccoon” John Smith in 1868. Division came from many voices that tore at the fabric of the simple principles of unity based in the restoration of the church of the New Testament. It was into

May 30, 2018

Christian Standard

New ‘Hunger Games’ VBS Theme Fails Miserably

By Caleb Kaltenbach ASHLAND, MN—Back in January, the family ministry team of First Christian Church gathered to discuss possible VBS themes before finally settling on The Hunger Games. “It seemed like a good idea,” said student pastor Francis Jenson. “I like the Hunger Games  movies, and kids play a significant role in the films. It seemed perfect.” That first night, parents dropped off their kids in the church’s sanctuary. Many parents left immediately, but some paused as the lights dimmed and a sense of foreboding took over.  “They had fake trees all over the room,” reported Andrea Lansberry, mother of

May 27, 2018

Christian Standard

From Hero to Hero Maker: A Game Changer for the Church

By David Dummitt In February I attended the Exponential conference in Orlando. It was a great week of connecting with other church leaders and church planters from all over the world. This year’s conference theme was “Hero Maker,” based on Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird’s new book by the same name. I had the opportunity to facilitate workshops alongside of Dave, Warren, and others as we talked about a shift in practices that we as leaders must make in order to carry out the Great Commission: moving from being heroes to being hero makers. This message is a game changer

May 24, 2018

Michael C. Mack

The Disturbing Truth

By Michael C. Mack “Do Not Disturb.” The unseen sign hung noticeably on Bob and Mary’s heart. The boomer minister had retired and was replaced by a millennial lead pastor. More millennials joined the staff and eldership. The church’s mission statement was reworded and the music updated. The pulpit disappeared as the new guy preached noteless. New signs were added above the doors declaring the vision to reach people “out there.” This month we ask an important question: How can we minister effectively to—and with—multiple generations? Many of our articles this month seek to answer that question. Haydn Shaw  tells

May 23, 2018

Christian Standard

The Lead Pastor: XP Edition Pairs a Lead Pastor with an Executive Pastor

By Caleb Kaltenbach MALIBU, CA—Pastor Paul Porgman needed an executive pastor, so he went on The Lead Pastor: XP Edition. The show is patterned after the hit series The Bachelor, which features a single man who spends weeks with many attractive women until he chooses his future wife. In The Lead Pastor: XP Edition, Porgman spent weeks with many unattractive, out-of-shape, type A personality men until he chose one to be his executive pastor. “It was . . . bizarre,” Porgman said. “We never got in a hot tub, but I walked on the beach with each one of them. I also had to take them out

May 20, 2018

Christian Standard

Grace City Church: Building a Seven-Day-a-Week Community

By Mel McGowan Imagine if, instead of building a church campus, a church developed the new town center for its community—a place that would serve people both inside and outside the church seven days a week, drawing the community together for generations to come. This is the vision of Grace City Church in Wenatchee, Washington, a church in the heart of an agricultural community more than two hours east of Seattle. Located just east of the majestic Cascade Range, Wenatchee sits on the shore of the Columbia River and is home to a unique, entrepreneurial-minded community. Lead pastor Josh McPherson

May 17, 2018

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Special Church Report Part 2: Large and Medium Churches

By Kent Fillinger This month, the focus is on large churches (average worship attendance of 500 to 999) and medium churches (250 to 499 weekly) from our annual church survey. If you missed the May issue on megachurches and emerging megachurches, you can read it online to get caught up. Next month, I’ll conclude this series with a report on small churches (averaging 100 to 249 weekly) and very small churches (fewer than 100) and share the first-ever recorded data on these two church sizes. Here are some stats and stories that show the major themes that emerged for large

May 16, 2018

Christian Standard

Beyond Building Concepts and Renovations

LifePointe Christian Church in Elk Grove, California, develops a new space to reflect what they already have—deep relationships.   By Mel McGowan “Imagine the church being the community of people that it’s supposed to be, where we are choosing to connect in deep, meaningful ways with others through relationship so we can pursue life to the fullest in Jesus,” says Chris Delfs, senior pastor of LifePointe Christian Church in Elk Grove, California. Delfs is talking about something that goes beyond building concepts and renovations. He desires to re-create his congregation’s current space into something that is warm and welcoming—a beautiful

May 9, 2018

Christian Standard

The ‘Family of Churches’ Model of Church Planting

By David Dummitt In the last several decades, Western churches grew big. Very big. Megachurches swelled. The multisite movement allowed churches to grow wide. Last fall, minister and church planter Matt Chandler created a stir when he announced his plan to release all of his campuses to be autonomous churches. Pastors across the United States are beginning to ask, “What if we are boxing ourselves in? And what is next?” I believe we are on the cusp of a shift in church-planting methodology, and I’m dreaming of new things. What if we could be more effective in raising and releasing

May 3, 2018

Christian Standard

Church Member Recovering after Pastor Throws Captain America Shield into the Congregation

By Caleb Kaltenbach DALLAS—“I’m not sure what happened,” said pastor Billy Yates. “I guess I just got too excited.” Yates was visibly shaken, head downcast, rubbing at the temples of his mask, after ill-advisedly hurling a Captain America shield into a crowd of people attending Open Door Church’s 11 a.m. worship service. In an effort to connect with culture, the staff of Open Door Church plotted out an Avengers sermon series. This past Sunday, Yates preached in a spandex Captain America costume while throwing his shield up and down. Eventually, as Yates grew bolder, he sailed the metal shield into

April 28, 2018

Christian Standard

Finding Hope in the Numbers

By Emily Drayne In the six-plus years I’ve served with the International Conference on Missions (ICOM), I’ve learned that determining the total number of active missionaries is like trying to hold water in your hands. Both are difficult, slippery, and elusive, but I’ve found it’s possible to count missionaries if you do your research and find credible sources. The biggest challenges we face as we count missionaries include these: some serve in sensitive areas and closed countries (and the sponsoring groups are less apt to publicize information about them); some are transitioning to a new location; some are leaving the

April 26, 2018

Jerry Harris

Seven Reasons Why Reporting Numbers Is Important

By Jerry Harris I’ve asked a few fellow megachurch pastors why they no longer submit numbers to Christian Standard’s annual report. The most common reason I have heard is a concern that either pride or a spirit of competition is connected with reporting average attendance and baptisms. I can understand that, but I would like to share some reasons why I think it’s extremely important for all churches to submit their statistics. 1. No matter our location or size, we are all on the same team. When our numbers go up, the kingdom is growing, and that is worth celebrating.

April 21, 2018

Christian Standard

Pastors Include Drive-Bys in Weekend Attendance Figures

By Caleb Kaltenbach PARKER, CO—Independent Christian church pastors were thrilled to learn they can now count people who drive past their church during a service as part of their weekend attendance. The decision—part of an effort to boost numbers—was made at a meeting of the NACC Board of Stewards and other leaders. The decision included two stipulations: (1) Those driving by may be counted only during the first 30 minutes of the service, and (2) If not everyone in the passing vehicle can be counted, the vehicle counts as only 1 person. Many excited ministers have already acted on the

April 14, 2018

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Special Church Report Part 1: Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches

By Kent E. Fillinger This marks my 14th consecutive year of staying up late for weeks on end crunching numbers, looking for trends, and jotting down insights about our Restoration Movement churches to share with you. This year is special because it’s the first time Christian Standard opened up the annual survey to churches of every size. More than 400 churches from 39 states ranging in size from 12 to 28,216 responded to the survey, and I’m grateful for each one! I’m going to share in-depth results from the survey and analyze the data in my next few monthly articles.

April 12, 2018

Michael C. Mack

Church Statistics: A Healthy Approach

By Michael C. Mack How you view the statistics in this and the next two issues depends on the attitude you decide to take. I suppose you could look at the numbers with a competitive spirit, comparing your figures with those of a nearby church or one in your size category, with envy, suspicion, or snobbery. Some of us might do the same with churches of Bible college friends (and foes), churches where we used to work, or those hip, one-word-name churches—you know, like Vibe, Collage, 24|7, and TheUnpretentiousDeliberatelyIntentionalChurchofAuthenticRelevantChristianCommunity (“Unpretentious” for short). I’d like to suggest two healthier ways to

April 11, 2018

Christian Standard

3 Ways ‘Blade Runner’ Predicted the Future of Church and Why We Should Pay Attention

By Mel McGowan A highlight for me during 2017 was the opportunity to revisit the world of my favorite movie of all time—Blade Runner—with the release of an updated installment called Blade Runner 2049. More people likely would have seen the original Blade Runner in 1982 but for its misfortune of coming out the same summer as E.T. But for me, the original was life-changing. It is the movie God used to drive me to study film and architecture and, ultimately, to instill in me a lifelong passion for creating the future. Sci-fi author William Gibson said, “Blade Runner changed

April 7, 2018

Christian Standard

Incorporating Missions into Your Church Activities

By Emily Drayne From time to time, every church needs to refresh programs and activities, including missions ministry. No matter the church size, budget, or the number of missionaries supported, missions can easily be prioritized and incorporated into your church activities.   A Minute for Missions An easy way to incorporate missions into your Sunday service is to do a “minutes for missions” each week. This can be as simple as showing a few photos of a missionary you support and talking about them for two or three minutes. Show a map of where they serve and talk about the

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