Series: Featured

June 22, 2019

Christian Standard

The 2018 Charts: Large Churches and Medium Churches

Our annual listing of churches is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s most popular features. This year scores of churches participated, including 88 large churches (those with 500 to 999 in weekly attendance during 2018) and 86 medium churches (250 to 499). In May we featured an article and statistics from 55 megachurches (2,000 or more in weekly attendance) and 70 emerging megachurches (1,000 to 1,999). Come back in October for articles and charts from small (100–249) and very small churches (less than 100). Click here to view and download 2018 Charts2, with data from large churches and medium churches . . .

May 22, 2019

Megan Rawlings

THE BOLD MOVEMENT

Training Multiple Generations of Women to Carry Their Swords and Use Them Properly By Megan Rawlings The alarm wakes me early on a Saturday morning. A few minutes later, I grab my Bible and race out the door, headed to a Bob Evans an hour away. I pray as I drive, asking God for boldness and that my millennial heart will be content with him receiving all the glory. I walk into the bustling restaurant and sit down in a booth across from a new disciple of Christ. The waitress brings me my usual, a cup of half coffee, half

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

We Believe the Bible Is True

By Johnny Pressley The B-I-B-L-E Yes, that’s the book for me I stand alone on the Word of God The B-I-B-L-E The apostle Paul encouraged his associate Timothy with a reminder of the strong faith passed on to him by his grandmother Lois and his mother, Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). “From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” (2 Timothy 3:15). Many of us surely appreciate the godly men and women who nurtured us in the faith. They not only taught us Scripture, they inspired us with respect and trust for the Bible as the Word of God, even in

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

The Lookout’s Reading Plan to Improve Biblical Literacy

Christian Standard’s sister publication The Lookout offers a daily Bible reading plan to walk you through the entire Bible in one year. The Daily Reading Plan can be found for free at lookoutmag.com/resources, or you can connect to the plan using the You Version Bible App. In the app, simply go to Plans and search for “The Lookout.” The plan provides a selection of Scripture reading for 6 days per week. Subscribers to The Lookout will find the Bible Reading Plan in the print magazine, with a small accompanying daily devotional. These can also be found in the free digital

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

An Opportunity to Build Biblical Literacy

By Mark E. Moore Biblical illiteracy is not a problem to be solved, it’s an opportunity to be embraced. According to a 2016 survey by Barna, 80 percent of people in the church want to know the Bible better. If the church could develop a quick and comprehensive solution for this, imagine the impact it would make. Furthermore, 60 percent of the people who say they want to know the Bible don’t attend church. So, providing access to biblical training might be one of the most attractional strategies for church growth. Research has repeatedly confirmed that Scripture has the power

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

What Core 52 Is Doing for Us

By Dale Reeves How desperate are you to know God’s Word, what he wants to say to you, and what he wants you to do about it? “I don’t just want to read God’s Word weekly. I am implementing changes in my life—sometimes daily—as a result of reading Core 52.” “When we’re out of town during the week, we love staying on track by reading the same Scriptures many others at Christ’s Church are reading.” “Even in the midst of my busy lifestyle, I am staying committed to a daily reading of God’s Word. The practical action steps each week

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Vested in Our Leaders: Accelerate Group

Vested in Our Leaders: Accelerate Group By Don and Sue Wilson Accelerate Group was born out of a desire to encourage and support ministry couples. Many times, over our years in ministry, we went to conferences that offered resources and encouragement to pastors about how to be more effective in ministry, but rarely did a conference encourage us together as a couple. With Accelerate Group, we wanted to offer couples a way to see what ministry looks like from their spouse’s perspective, while providing an opportunity for each mate and couple to voice their needs—not only in ministry, but in

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Vested in Our Leaders: Center for Church Leadership

Vested in Our Leaders: The Center for Church Leadership By Alan Ahlgrim  Many pastors lead growing ministries and have hundreds or even thousands of social media friends, yet they have no one other than their wife who really understands them and is truly devoted to them. A recent survey found that less than 25 percent of Christian men have a close male friend; for pastors the percentage is even smaller: less than 5 percent. The isolated leader is a vulnerable leader!Isolation is the devil’s tool to discourage and dishearten those in vital roles.We all are weak and vulnerable at times.

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

We Believe Jesus Is Lord

By John Caldwell The first song I ever learned was “Jesus Loves Me.” The first Bible verse I memorized was John 3:16. I preached my first sermon on that same text; it lasted 10 minutes. When I began my ministry with the infant Kingsway Christian Church, my first sermon was simply entitled “Jesus.” When I retired from that ministry 36 years later, my sermon was “It’s Still Jesus.” If you call me a “Jesus freak,” I’ll consider it a badge of honor. But who is this Jesus? The answer to that question is more important than anything else. Jesus raised

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Vested in Our Leaders: The Pastor’s Project

Vested in Our Leaders: The Pastor’s Project By Richard Creek In 1975 I was standing in the lobby of the Veteran’s Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming, waiting to see Dr. Bruce Howar. Howar was the chief physician/administrator of the hospital, but he previously had been my family doctor back in Iowa. He had brought me into the world with the help of his nurse, my grandmother. From that time he had cared for all my broken bones, bumps, and bruises. “So, tell me,” he asked after we had greeted each other with hugs and smiles, “What are you doing with your

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Taking the First Bite Out of Biblical Illiteracy

By Jim Eichenberger A lot has changed in the past 100 years, but biblical illiteracy is still a problem. And at the heart of this problem, in many instances, is society’s lack of respect for the Bible’s authority. Today the challenge to biblical authority comes as radical individualism—what the Bible says to me. How God speaks to my heart. But 100-plus years ago, the challenge came from an academic elite that questioned not only the Bible but also anything supernatural. Today the Bible can mean anything depending upon the reader. Back then the Bible meant nothing because it was seen

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

We Believe in the Supernatural

By David Faust TV sportscaster Al Michaels uttered one of the most memorable lines in broadcasting history during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. As America’s young hockey team skated toward a 4-3 win over the heavily-favored Soviet squad, Michaels blurted out, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” An underdog victory in a sporting event doesn’t compare to parting the Red Sea, but if someone asks, “Do you believe in the miracles described in the Bible?” my answer is a resounding yes! Churches devoted to Restoration Movement ideals such as “where the Bible speaks, we speak,” give that same

May 22, 2019

Christian Standard

Daryl Reed: Building Bridges for the Next Generation

By Melissa Wuske “I’m the grandson of a preacher,” says Daryl Reed, “so I always had it in my mind that it’d be cool one day to be a preacher.” When it came time for college, however, “I really didn’t want to go to any preaching school or seminary, because . . . I thought I was still too cool for that,” he laughs. This isn’t a story about youthful overconfidence, though; Reed was following the example of earlier generations of his family, and now he’s helping subsequent generations of young people live it. “My grandfather was a reluctant preacher,”

May 20, 2019

Christian Standard

Changing the Scorecards

What statistics really count in the church? Baptisms? Attendance? Or something much more vital? By Jim Putman I have been in many meetings over the years with so-called “big dogs” in the American Christian world . . . and I have left these gatherings feeling very dissatisfied. These meetings often sound spiritual and may even come from good hearts, but they often leave me feeling like something big was missed. The purpose of meeting usually is good: How do we win people to Jesus? Most everyone acknowledges our culture is falling apart, that many Americans are leaving the faith and

May 19, 2019

Mark A. Taylor

What Are You Doing Now?

Compiled by Mark A. Taylor _ _ _ Alan Ahlgrim Retired: Founding pastor with Rocky Mountain Christian Church, Niwot, Colorado, March 2013 What are you doing now? Continues to encourage and mentor church leaders. Director of Covenant Groups with the Center for Church Leadership. Thoughts on retirement: “The best is yet to be for every kingdom leader. I jokingly say if I had known this season would be so fulfilling, I would have started with this first and stuck with it! I’ve traded unrelenting responsibility for a soul-enriching opportunity.” _ _ _ Dick Alexander Retired: Senior minister, LifeSpring Christian Church,

May 18, 2019

Mark A. Taylor

“If You Have a Pulse, You Have a Purpose”

Advice from 14 ministers on finding fulfillment in retirement By Mark A. Taylor We asked Mark Taylor, retired editor of Christian Standard, to contact retired ministers in our movement to ask what they are doing now and share their advice. “Retire to, not from.” It’s a popular recommendation, and more than half of the retired megachurch ministers we interviewed for this piece repeated it. As our summary shows [click here], all of them have followed the advice in one way or another. Their accomplishments and activities include filling guest speaker slots, serving in their local congregation, representing a parachurch ministry,

May 17, 2019

Christian Standard

Multisite Comes of Age

“The multisite congregation is the single most profound change in American congregations in the past century.” —Thom Rainer, CEO, LifeWay Christian Resources By Jim Tomberlin When I started down the multisite path as a senior pastor in Colorado in the 1990s, multisite was a radical idea. In the first decade of the 21st century, multisite became the cool idea among large, cutting-edge churches. As it approaches the end of its third decade, multisite has become the mainstream idea for healthy, growing churches of all kinds and sizes. This movement is comprised of more than 5,000 denominational and nondenominational churches that

April 25, 2019

Christian Standard

Kendall Grace Kemerly: Founder, Kendi’s Cows of Grace

This teenager who started a nonprofit ministry at age 8 continues to make a difference in the world By Kelly Carr “God’s teaching me that we’re not promised tomorrow, so we have to put forth our best today, every single chance we get. I need to listen to him and follow through what I’m being called to do, no matter what.” These wise words come from Kendall Grace Kemerly, who has been following the Lord in ministry since she first dreamed of making a difference at age 8. Now 16, she has spent 8 years overseeing Kendi’s Cows of Grace,

April 25, 2019

Christian Standard

UNCONVENTIONAL: The Story of Ekklesia Christian Church—the Church Matt Wilson Didn’t Plan to Plant

“God did it all.” That, in just four words, is how church planter Matt Wilson tells the story of Ekklesia Christian Church since the congregation’s launch in June 2014. In his characteristically self-effacing way, the 37-year-old Wilson says, “I don’t know how other churches grow, but every year, God comes through with some completely off-the-wall way for our church to grow.” In the last five years, Wilson jokes, “God took this little hick from South Carolina and showed him what faith was.” A Desire to Do What God Is Behind Wilson comes from a family of ministers. His father was

April 25, 2019

Christian Standard

Greg Johnson: Shunning Labels and Serving Leaders

By Justin Horey Missionary. Coach. Pastor. Mentor. Influencer. Entrepreneur. Greg Johnson prefers not to be labeled, but he could be described as any of those. “I don’t like titles,” he says. “Even when I was leading a megachurch, I didn’t want to be called ‘Pastor Greg.’ I’m just Greg.” International Beginnings Johnson grew up in Ethiopia, where he attended boarding school while his parents worked as missionaries. His family lived in a very remote area where there were few white people. He remembers Ethiopian nationals traveling for miles to see him and his classmates and touch their white skin. In

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