Church Planter Reflects on Life, Ministry a Year after Nashville Tornado

Just six months after the launch of Alive Nashville, a tornado swept through East Nashville and destroyed the building the church had been meeting in. The tornado struck March 3, 2020. "About 24 hours after [that], we were at an impromptu meeting with several area churches," lead pastor Brandon Jacobs said. "An hour later, my wife and I were standing in the middle of rubble coordinating volunteers and relief workers."

News Briefs for Feb. 24

An online learning community event for senior leaders of Christian churches is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (CT) March 11. The virtual event—presented by Renew.org and sponsored by The Solomon Foundation—will explore the book Disciple Making Culture by Brandon Guindon. Go to renew.org for more information and to register. _ _ _ Lyndon Haines, 33, pastor of Weiser (Idaho) Christian Church, is the newest member of Washington County Board of Commissioners. The Independent Enterprise recently sat down for a Q&A with the Boise Bible College graduate. _ _ _ A Spire Huddle on Effective Digital Church is set

Indiana Church’s First Feature Film Encourages Fathers to ‘Fight’

By Chris Moon First Capital Christian Church in Corydon, Ind., has produced its first feature-length film. The movie, called Fight, premieres in March in theaters in Indiana and will be available for streaming after that. The film is about a boxer who falls into addiction, jeopardizing his family in the process. “We geared this movie toward dads, to teach them there’s a lot of stuff in life worth fighting for,” said the film’s director, Tyler Sansom, who also serves as lead digital pastor for First Capital. The film was produced by the church, which has been investing heavily in its

SCJ Conference Goes Virtual Again This Year (Plus News Briefs)

Registration is open for the 20th annual Stone-Campbell Journal Conference, slated for April 16-17. Due to uncertainties related to COVID-19, the event recently was switched to virtual for the second consecutive year. Lincoln Christian University, which was to have hosted, will provide technical staff to facilitate the online-only event. The theme “Violence of God in the Old Testament” will be developed by featured speakers Eric Seibert, professor of Old Testament at Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Michelle Knight, assistant professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Ill.; and Mark Hamilton, Onstead Professor of Biblical Studies

Churches Honor Those with Special Needs on ‘Night to Shine’

About 25 Christian churches and churches of Christ were among the more than 700 serving as virtual experience host churches for “Night to Shine,” an event for people with special needs. On Friday at a “Shine-Thru” celebration hosted by The Crossing in Las Vegas, guests were greeted in-person by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, whose foundation sponsors “Night to Shine.” “The secret is out!” The Crossing wrote on its Facebook page. “All of our guests are being welcomed by Tim Tebow himself! We are so honored that he chose to attend our Night to Shine event.” This is the seventh

NewThing Planted Nearly 1,000 New Churches in 2020

By Chris Moon Even in a pandemic, the work of church planting continues. Chicago-based church-planting organization NewThing reports it planted 982 churches in 2020, an increase from 855 in 2019. Most of those church plants occurred outside the United States—many of them in Africa and Asia. “COVID hasn’t slowed it down,” said Patrick O’Connell, global director for NewThing. NewThing is the church-planting mission of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Ill., which was founded by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson. The organization has been around for about 15 years and has planted a total of 6,373 churches in 26 countries so

Church Supports Family of Guard Killed in Transit Shooting (Plus News Briefs)

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who attended Sullivan (Mo.) Christian Church was shot and killed Jan. 31 while serving as a security guard for a firm that contracts with MetroLink, the mass transit system in St. Louis. James Cook, 30, leaves his wife, Kim, and two children, ages 9 and 5. Kim thanked the community for their support and her church for helping strengthen her family, Fox 2 Now reported. On Tuesday, SCC livestreamed a memorial service it hosted for Cook. Nathaniel M. Smith III, 36, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death, according to stltoday.com. A

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