Series: Featured

September 29, 2018

Christian Standard

No Small Measure

The statistics from four small-town churches stood out in our 2017 Christian Standard survey. But numbers never tell the whole story. What were the real reasons for their growth in baptisms, attendance, and giving?   By Kelly Carr “Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes—how do you measure, measure a year?” These are lyrics from “Seasons of Love,” a song from the Broadway show Rent. Church leaders may find themselves asking the same question when they reflect back on a year of ministry at their church: How do you measure a year or season of ministry? You often measure ministry

September 25, 2018

Christian Standard

3 Keys to Effective Ministry in a Small Town

By Richard M. Crabtree Jesus has commissioned the church to “go into all the world” and make disciples, and all the world certainly includes small towns. According to the 2000 Census, a population of 1,000 to 10,000 constitutes a “small town.” The majority of us in Christian ministry will spend a lifetime investing in small towns, so the question is: How can we allow God to make the most of our time in small-town America? Of my 47 years of ministry, all but five have been in the small-town, rural setting. I have found the following keys most effective while

September 22, 2018

Christian Standard

The Phenomenon of Disciple-Making Movements

Rural areas in the U.S. may be the best places for rapid multiplication of disciples and churches!   By Doug Lucas Over the past two decades, God has been working mightily through an approach commonly referred to as disciple-making movements (or DMMs. Some use the term CPM, short for church-planting movements, while others use T4T, meaning Training for Trainers. These three acronyms are, in many ways, synonymous, with only slight differences between them.) David Garrison was the first to write a book about this phenomenon, and his definition has become somewhat of the standard. In Church Planting Movements (2004), he

September 19, 2018

Jerry Harris

Raiders of the (Almost) Lost Artifacts

History preserved at new Christian Standard Media Library in Quincy, Illinois By Jerry Harris I lacked only a fedora and bullwhip as I channeled Indiana Jones during the excavation of a deep, dark storage-facility locker in a suburb of Cincinnati. Three others joined this expedition: Mike Mack, Shawn McMullen, and Jim Nieman. And no, we didn’t discover the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail that day. In fact, upon first glance, the room seemed filled only with stacks of boxes on pallets, along with totes and other various objects, some wrapped in paper. But we soon began to

September 19, 2018

Jerry Harris

Rural and Small-Church Best Practices: Pastoral Networking

How several smaller churches and congregations in rural or small-town areas are overcoming isolation through intentional interaction and working together with other area ministers By Rick Lowry Pastors who minister in rural areas or smaller towns can sometimes feel isolated. Most have good friends who are members of their church, but it often takes a pastor to understand a pastor. Interaction with other ministers can be a source of encouragement, a place to discuss problems, and a great way to hear new ideas. Many pastors of smaller churches have found creative ways to get together with one another for support

August 29, 2018

Christian Standard

5 Keys (and 3 Crucial Attitudes) for a Successful Food Ministry

By Troy M. Borst A food ministry can be an effective way for an urban church to engage the congregation, serve its neighbors, and share Christ’s love. But such a ministry isn’t without challenges. New Beginnings Christian Church in Tampa, Florida (www.newbeginningscctampa.org), operates a successful food pantry that serves 80 to 90 people on a regular basis as a means of reaching out to South Tampa. For more than a decade, we have provided food staples for the homeless, poor, and working poor in Tampa. It is an essential part of how we love our immediate neighbors. Matthew 25:34-46 guides

August 27, 2018

Christian Standard

How to Debate Debatable Issues: The Art of Godly Disagreement

See the end of this article for web-only content: practical next steps you can take in response and helpful resources you can use to dig deeper into this issue.   By Jon Weatherly I have the spiritual gift of opinions. I have opinions on everything, including things I know nothing about. I think my role in life is to help people agree with my right opinions. If you hold an opinion that’s different from mine, or even if you hold no opinion at all, get ready to be enlightened. Some say that I think I’m always right. That’s not true!

August 27, 2018

Christian Standard

Encounter Church, Washington D.C.—An Urban Mission Field

By Steve Carr A stretch of the famed Massachusetts Avenue in the District of Columbia is known as Embassy Row. This portion of the street is lined with more than 175 foreign embassies and diplomatic missions. Here in our country’s capital is a road representing the nations of the world coming together. A mere two miles from Embassy Row, a community of believers is dedicated to bringing the nations together for Christ. Nestled in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Encounter Church was planted last year by Joel Pazmino and his wife, Meghan. On a recent trip through D.C.,

August 13, 2018

Shawn McMullen

The Lookout’s New Scope and Sequence: A Systematic Plan for Studying Through the Bible

By Shawn McMullen But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Paul wrote these words to his protégé Timothy after warning him to be on guard against false

August 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Next-Door Urban Ministry

By Lancelot Schaubert “I understand that Haiti is hurting: It’s the whipping boy of the world.” My friend winced, and I immediately knew I’d used a poor metaphor. “It’s that,” he said, “but it’s all of these people”—he pointed to fellow Christians leaving a church—“going to Haiti on extravagant mission trips and doing nothing for the Haitian next-door.” We were standing on a street in Manhattan while eating pastrami sandwiches and kettle chips. He offered me the final piece of a puzzle that has slowly formed over the last few years of our bizarre ministry in New York City. It

August 11, 2018

Jerry Harris

Is Online Church Really Church? Absolutely.

IN THE ARENA: In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christ-centered and Christ-honoring debate of nonessential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard. Jon Weatherly’s article “How to Debate Debatable Issues” gives great insight on how to disagree in a godly way. We apply the principles Jon describes in our first debate between Jerry Harris and Barry Cameron (click here to read his article). These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you

August 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Is Online Church Really Church? In a Word, No.

IN THE ARENA: In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christ-centered and Christ-honoring debate of nonessential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard. Jon Weatherly’s article “How to Debate Debatable Issues” gives great insight on how to disagree in a godly way. We apply the principles Jon describes in our first debate between Jerry Harris (click here to read his article) and Barry Cameron. These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you

August 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Andrew J. Hairston: Central to the Struggle

By Jim Nieman Andrew J. Hairston has harnessed an inner drive his entire life. A drive to learn. A drive to serve his community and others. A drive to serve God. And an unwillingness to passively accept injustice. Instead, he has stood up and identified wrongs while working to change them. Hairston’s efforts, and the efforts of many others in the African-American churches of Christ, have helped bring about changes that most everyone would agree are a better reflection of God’s ideal for unity within his church. A Life of Accomplishment Hairston, 86, was born the 13th of 15 children

August 11, 2018

Jerry Harris

Reaching Out to the Homeless and Hurting in Hollywood, Florida

God pulled a neighborhood kid with a rough upbringing out of that life into a new one at Hope Church of Christ By Jerry Harris “Jehovah-jireh means, ‘in the mountain it shall be seen.’ You have to climb the mountain first,” says Alvin Daniels, senior minister of Hope Church of Christ in Hollywood, Florida. “It will take power, effort, and strength to get to the top. But once you’re up there, God will provide the vision for which you had to go up there in the first place. You can’t see it from the foot of the mountain.” Daniels wasn’t

August 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Can You Define Deception?

By Costi Hinn The church’s greatest threat has never been from the outside, but rather, from deception within. The Bible is clear. Satan doesn’t show up at the foot of your bed with red horns and a pitchfork claiming, “Here I am to distract and deceive you!” Neither do his false prophets. They are disguised in light; seeming to be workers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Our adversary’s deceptive strategy is to infiltrate our ranks. Like a Trojan horse entering through the city gates, darkness often hides in plain sight. Satan doesn’t fight fair and false teachers take no prisoners.

August 10, 2018

Christian Standard

The Changing Face of Youth Ministry

4 key transitions over the last 40 years . . . and what the future holds   By Nick Tomeo In 1975, a month after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in ministry, my wife and I filled our Chevy Nova and a U-Haul truck (driven by my brother-in-law) and drove through the mountains of West Virginia to begin our first full-time youth ministry at the First Christian Church of Covington, Virginia. I was armed with a new Bible college degree, two “Ideas” books from Youth Specialties, experience working for Christ in Youth, a background of serving on outreach teams for

August 9, 2018

Christian Standard

A Massive Movement of Kingdom Workers

By Andy Hansen The shockwave of the mass shooting that killed 14 and injured 17 in February at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, rippled through every high school in the United States. Not even small-town Linton, Indiana, was spared from the emotional and psychological trauma. Students felt the effects of the attack and rumors of a walkout circulated. However, a small group of young people who attend a Bible study group during the lunch period at Linton-Stockton High School prayed over and discussed this devastating situation . . . and came up with a unique and very

August 3, 2018

Christian Standard

7 Tried-and-True Strategies That Made Our Youth Ministry (and Students) Flourish

By Matt Cameron In the summer and fall of 2006 our church lost all three of our full-time youth staff members within six months. The ministry was suffering, and we couldn’t find the right person for the job. I was on staff as preaching associate. That October one of my good friends from high school with whom I grew up in church passed away, and I began to reevaluate my own life and ministry. For months during these tough times, the thought kept coming back to me: Is God prompting me to step back into youth ministry? And not just

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