News Briefs for March 2
News from the Preaching-Teaching Convention at Ozark Christian College, CMF International, IDES, Waypoint Church Partners, St. Louis Christian College, and more.
Series: News
UKRAINE: Kharkiv Under Fire; Russians Enter Kherson
Kharkiv has been the target of some of Russia’s fiercest attacks this week. The second-largest city in Ukraine, located about 30 miles from the Russian border, has a population of 1.4 million. Amid destruction, stories of hope have emerged. . . .
UKRAINE: What You Need to Know About Ukrainians and Russians
Our family served as missionaries in Kherson, Ukraine, in the 1990s. CNN has a correspondent in Kherson, so I’ve watched the invasion of “my” city on television. Here’s what I want you to know. Ukrainians are the most peaceful people I know. . . .
February 26, 2022
UKRAINE: Christian Church Ministries Respond to Russian Invasion
The president of a Christian institute in Kherson, Ukraine, along with his family and the college staff, have fled to a seminary in western Ukraine. Meanwhile, a church in Kherson now shelters 300 refugees.
February 25, 2022
Pray for Peace in Ukraine
I met Oksana Kuklinowsky when I was preaching in several churches in Ukraine. Her husband, Valeri, was minister of the church in Zdolbunov, in eastern Ukraine. . . . Several years later, Valeri was killed in a tragic accident, leaving Oksana to raise their five children. . . . I tell you all this because I need to put a face, or faces, on Christian families in Ukraine. . . .
February 24, 2022
Lincoln Christian University Revamping Its Model, May Sell Campus
Lincoln Christian University has announced sweeping changes to its program offerings as it grapples with a difficult economic environment in higher education. The university says it plans to eliminate all its non-ministry degree programs.
February 23, 2022
Ukraine: How Should We Respond?
Christian church ministries played a role in the growth of Christianity and churches in Ukraine starting in the 1990s, writes Doug Lucas of Team Expansion. Now, in light of this week's invasion by Russia, you might be asking, "What can I do?" I propose these key action steps. . . .
February 23, 2022
PrayerFast Partners Needed (Plus News Briefs)
ICOM and TCM International Institute are partnering for a PrayerFast initiative to encourage and equip Christ followers to pray and fast regularly for the Great Commission. Plus briefs about the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference (April 8-9), Team Expansion, MACU, and more.
February 22, 2022
My Heart for Ukraine
"I lived in Ukraine for five years," Laura McKillip Wood writes. "I made some of the best friends of my life there, both American and Ukrainian. I met and married my husband, Andrew, another missionary there. . . . Needless to say, I have watched the events unfolding in Ukraine with anxious interest."
February 22, 2022
Bill Weber Reflects on a Lifetime of Ministry
After 53 years of vocational ministry that included service in church, college, and mission settings, Bill Weber says, "No matter how diverse the ministry activities or the people one works with, the focus must always be on Jesus."
February 20, 2022
Real Friends and Real Transformation
Editor Michael C. Mack shares how God used the first-ever small group he joined to change his life.
February 20, 2022
How You Can Grow in Authentic Community
How do you make your church, group, or class more authentic? Over the years I’ve discovered the following principles, most of which work best in smaller groups . . .
February 16, 2022
ECDC Launches Initiative Aimed at Boosting Churches
The Englewood Community Development Corporation—founded by Englewood Christian Church in Indianapolis—has launched a major initiative aimed at bolstering churches in its own backyard and nationally. The initiative is funded by $2.5 million in grants from the Lilly Endowment Inc.
February 16, 2022
News Briefs for Feb. 16
Briefs about Farragut Christian Church's "Prom with the Stars," Mid-Atlantic Christian University having a naming contest for their new dining hall, Ozark's Preaching-Teaching Convention, and more.
February 10, 2022
Throwback Thursday: Ordained by a Grandmother’s Prayer (1978)
"I cannot remember when I first decided to enter the ministry," James B. North wrote in 1978. "It seems the decision has always been with me." Later in life, he learned the rest of the story. (Dr. North died earlier this week.)
February 9, 2022
Bowling Green Church, IDES Helping Community Recover from Tornado
For the past two months, since a tornado struck its town on Dec. 10, Bowling Green (Ky.) Christian Church has been helping its community with the able assistance of IDES.
February 9, 2022
News Briefs for Feb. 9
Briefs about the National Preaching Summit (March 7-8), Men's Day (March 5) and Ladies' Day (April 2) at St. Louis Christian College, a historic college basketball match-up pitting GLCC's Richard Westerlund coaching against his twin brother, and more.
February 8, 2022
Longtime Professor, Restoration Historian, James B. North Dies
Dr. James B. North, 81, longtime professor of church history at Cincinnati Christian University, frequent lecturer on church history, and a man who wrote extensively on the history of Christian churches and churches of Christ in America, died on Monday after battling cancer.
February 8, 2022
This Year’s ICOM Ending on Saturday, Not Sunday
ICOM has announced the 2022 gathering in Columbus, Ohio, will be one day shorter than in recent years. The conference will officially open on Thursday, Nov. 3, and close at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 (instead of on Sunday morning, as has been the recent practice).
February 2, 2022
Oregon Church Plant Launches with Mission-First Model
Gabe Piechowicz took a circuitous route to becoming a minister—he first spent 15 years as a logger. And now Piechowicz is taking an unconventional route to planting a church in Eugene, Ore.—by first doing mission work rather than holding traditional Sunday services. His immediate focus is serving in the homeless community.
