Series: News

November 21, 2018

Christian Standard

Wally Rendel Honored for 58 Years in Ministry (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Wally Rendel was honored for 58 years of ministry at a “Celebration of Faithfulness” on Sunday at Jessamine Christian Church, Nicholasville, Ky. Rendel enters retirement after serving with JCC the past six years. Sharing messages Sunday were his son, Bart Rendel, cofounder and president of Intentional Churches in Las Vegas, and son-in-law, Bart Stone, lead pastor of Momentum Christian Church in Atlanta. Wally Rendel grew up in Miami, Ok., and was active with First Christian Church there. He started preaching while a 17-year-old student at Cincinnati Christian University. He preached on weekends for

November 14, 2018

Christian Standard

Acclaimed Church Building Copes with Aging

By Jim Nieman If you’ve been to Columbus, Indiana, you’ve seen First Christian Church—or at least its iconic 166-foot, brick-and-mortar tower. “You don’t see many pictures of Columbus that you don’t see First Christian Church’s tower,” says Steve Yeaton, senior minister of the church. The church’s building is possibly the most architecturally significant among Christian churches and churches of Christ. The 1942 structure is the product of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (assisted by his son, Eero, who later designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis). It is the first contemporary church in Columbus, and it is one of the first

November 14, 2018

Christian Standard

First Christian: A ‘Modern’ Masterwork

(This article is a sidebar to “Acclaimed Church Building Copes with Aging.”)   By Jim Nieman “Our church is our people.” Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen honed in on that church member’s statement as he designed a new house of worship for Tabernacle Church of Christ—now known as First Christian Church—in Columbus, Ind. Saarinen and his son, Eero, stressed that point in 1940 in their “response to the building committee’s charge.” The Saarinens also wrote: In accordance with the wishes of the building committee, our endeavor has been to design not a mere church but a church expressing the religious aims

November 14, 2018

Christian Standard

First Christian’s Skylight Project

(This photo essay is a sidebar to two articles about First Christian Church in Columbus, Ind.: “Acclaimed Church Building Copes with Aging” and “First Christian: A ‘Modern’ Masterwork.”)   Steve Yeaton, senior minister of First Christian Church, Columbus, Ind., shared a PowerPoint file of the evolution of a Skylight repair project at the church. The skylight is positioned above the sanctuary—the baptistery, specifically—and provides that room with natural light; it is an original part of the 1942 church, known internationally for its Modern architectural design. Unfortunately, the skylight had serious water damage and was leaking. The skylight ultimately was repaired for $166,000—more than

November 14, 2018

Christian Standard

Lilly Grant to Help Launch Ministry Resource Center at Emmanuel (Plus News Briefs)

Milligan College’s Emmanuel Christian Seminary will establish a Ministry Resource Center thanks to a $999,863 grant from Lilly Endowment’s Thriving in Ministry initiative, which supports religious organizations as they create or strengthen programs that help pastors build relationships with more experienced ministers. The goal is for the experienced ministers to serve as mentors and guide their counterparts through key leadership challenges in congregational ministry. Emmanuel’s Ministry Resource Center will have state-of-the-art tools for placing and supporting its graduates in ministry positions. A placement program is planned that will work with congregations to ensure that an incoming pastor’s gifts and skills

November 7, 2018

Christian Standard

Simple Steps for Improving Security at Your Church

IDES offers a “Safe Worship” training program to help churches increase their safety and security. By Jim Nieman Shootings at houses of worship are becoming more common in the United States. But there are simple, straightforward, low-cost steps churches can take that minimize the potential for such incidents. “The very first thing to do is address building access,” said Ed Sanow, a 30-year police veteran who serves as director of training with International Disaster Emergency Service, Noblesville, Ind. In his role with IDES over the past two years, Sanow has conducted 50 “Safe Worship” training programs at churches across the

November 7, 2018

Christian Standard

Community Bank Donates Building to Church (Plus News Briefs)

A Christian church in Illinois recently was given a former bank building as a place to expand its food pantry. The Longview Bank and Trust donated its former branch building in Chrisman, Ill., to Chrisman Christian Church. The building is adjacent to the church facility. Larry Henson, chairman of the church, told the Independent News that the church planned “to convert the old bank into a new food bank.” According to its website, Chrisman Christian Church has a “Gather Round the Table” ministry that includes the food pantry and a backpack program that provides food to children each weekend during the

October 31, 2018

Christian Standard

Bid of $78,750 Wins Tractor, Benefits Taylorville Church (Plus News Briefs)

By Jim Nieman An auction bid of $78,750 took home the first John Deere GP tractor ever built and will help pay for renovation of a building shared by Taylorville (Ill.) Christian Church and VisionWay Christian School. “It turned out great,” lead minister James Jones said. Some church members thought the tractor might go for a little higher price, others thought it would go for less. “It was great as far as I’m concerned.” Jones did not attend the auction and did not know the name of the winning bidder. The 1928 general purpose tractor was the first of more

October 24, 2018

Christian Standard

Mason Worship Center to Be Named for Sam and Gwen Stone

By Jim Nieman A new worship center being planned at the Christian Village at Mason (CVM) in Ohio will be named for former Christian Standard editor Sam E. Stone and his late wife, Gwen. The Stone Worship Center and Auditorium is necessary, in part, because of increasing attendance at CVM worship services under senior chaplain Tom Moll, who has served four-plus years at the 85-acre senior living community in Mason, located north of Cincinnati. “I don’t know that anyone thought it was possible to have a vibrant church (in a retirement community),” said Larry D. Monroe, president and CEO of

October 24, 2018

Christian Standard

Fastest-Growing Church Listing Includes 8 from Our Fellowship (Plus News Briefs)

Eight churches from our fellowship made Outreach magazine’s listing of 100 fastest-growing churches. Those churches include: No. 11: Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, Calif. (Gene Appel, senior pastor); attendance of 8,665; grew by 21 percent. (Eastside’s logo is pictured above.) No. 12: Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, Calif. (Chuck Booher, senior pastor); 5,617; 24 percent. No. 19: Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Md. (Ben Cachiaras, lead pastor); 6,118; 19 percent. No. 55: Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Ariz. (Ashley Wooldridge, senior pastor); 29,025; 7 percent. No. 56: Traders Point Christian Church, Indianapolis (Aaron Brockett, lead pastor); 8,144; 9 percent. No. 75: 2|42

October 17, 2018

Christian Standard

IDES Helping with Hurricane Recovery on Two Fronts

By Jim Nieman International Disaster Emergency Service has been extremely busy since mid-September responding to hurricanes that made landfall in North Carolina and along Florida’s Panhandle. David Stine, director of operations for IDES, said recovery efforts are well underway in the Carolinas, largely with the help of partner Two Rivers Church in hard-hit New Bern, N.C.. Work is just beginning in Florida, however, with Bayou George Christian Church, located near Panama City, likely to serve as the hub of response. (BGCC is pictured above.) “We are stretched, but God is providing,” said IDES executive director Rick Jett. “We have a

October 17, 2018

Christian Standard

TCM Now Offering Classes for U.S. Students (Plus News Briefs)

TCM, which was founded in 1957 and began offering classes at its TCM International Institute in Austria in 1991, is now offering learning opportunities in the United States. “We are not slowing down our ministry in Eastern Europe or Central Asia in any way,” said David Roadcup, global outreach representative with TCM. “We are just adding the U.S. to our ministry, as well as other countries to which the Lord might be leading us.” Stateside course instruction will consist of three months of online work followed by three days of face-to-face lectures and discussion. The next cohort will begin in

October 17, 2018

Christian Standard

Auction of First John Deere GP Tractor (Circa 1928) to Benefit Church

By Jim Nieman  The first John Deere GP tractor ever built is one of two tractors donated for auction to benefit a building shared by Taylorville (Ill.) Christian Church and VisionWay Christian School. The 1928 general purpose tractor was the first of more than 30,000 John Deere GPs built and sold through the mid-1930s; its distinction as No. 1 was made during an authentication process conducted by Aumann Auctions, Nokomis, Ill. The anonymous benefactor was informed of the tractor’s historic significance, Aumann marketing director Tyson Reed told the Shelbyville Daily Union. Some thought the man might want the tractor back,

October 10, 2018

Christian Standard

Successful Horse Auction to Boost Kentucky Church (Plus News Briefs)

Veteran Kentucky horse breeder Beau Lane, 76, experienced his most successful auction in September and Bedford Acres Christian Church in Paris, Ky., will see a financial boost because of it. Bloodhorse.com reported that Lane, who with his wife, Gail, operates 160-acre Woodline Farm in Bourbon County, Ky., promised God that he would donate $100,000 of his auction proceeds on 12 yearlings to the Lord . . . if God blessed him with $1 million in sales. Lane said he was expecting only about $800,000 during the Keeneland September Yearling Sale that concluded Sept. 23. But those 12 yearlings ended up

October 3, 2018

Christian Standard

Swimming Pool Integral Part of Church’s Fitness Center

By Jim Nieman When First Christian Church of Kernersville, N.C., built its Family Life Center and included a fitness component about 15 years ago, such projects were unusual for churches. Not so much these days. But FCC’s decision to also include a five-lane, Olympic-style swimming pool in its construction plans continues to set the church apart, says Dan Hipply, director and minister of the Family Life Fitness Center at First Christian. And that swimming pool is used pretty much from sunup to sundown—or most every minute the center is open during the week (it closes at noon on Saturday and remains

October 3, 2018

Christian Standard

Foscoe Christian Returns Home 4 Years after Fire (Plus News Briefs)

Foscoe Christian Church, Boone, N.C., held services in their just-completed home for the first time on Sunday, more than four years after a Jan. 7, 2014, fire destroyed their church building after a furnace malfunctioned. “There’s a lot of relief, a lot of gratefulness, a lot of thankfulness and a lot of folks we’re indebted to,” elder Chris Calloway told the Watauga Democrat last week. “It’s been a long process, a difficult process, but a very uplifting process. We’ve had a lot of folks step forward and really step up in a multitude of ways.” The brick building includes a

September 26, 2018

Christian Standard

Golf Tourney Raises $56.6 Million for Mountain Mission School

Ten sports legends got together to play some golf earlier this month and, in the process, helped raise $56.6 million for Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Va. The event, “The American Legends for Mountain Mission Kids” tournament, was the largest single-day PGA Tour-sanctioned fund-raiser ever. The funds raised go the Mountain Mission School’s endowment to ensure the school can cover its annual operating expenses. Jim McGlothlin, chairman and CEO of the United Co., a diversified energy and financial services company—and an MMS board member for 30 years—arranged for the fund-raiser at his course, the Olde Farm Golf Club in Bristol,

September 26, 2018

Christian Standard

Crosspoint Church Opens Worship Center (Plus News Briefs)

Crosspoint Christian Church in Cape Coral, Fla., celebrated the opening of its 18,000-square-foot worship center on Sunday. The church, which started meeting in a high school in 2006, launched the new facility with a special Instagram photo booth (above) and a food drive, asking members to bring canned food to the church service, according to the Cape Coral Daily Breeze. The food will go to the Cape Coral Caring Center, a local food distribution center. “We know that in our community, there are people every day who don’t know how they are going to feed their children,” lead pastor Jeff

September 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Small Church Takes Big Leap, Buys Crossroads College Site

By Jim Nieman A church of 150 in Rochester, Minn., has purchased and relocated to the former Crossroads College property, is renting apartments on the 37-acre site for below-market rates, and is revamping “commercial space” for use by nonprofits. Bear Creek Christian Church lead pastor Aaron Wager and outreach pastor Jeff Urban refer to this undertaking as the church’s “Big Holy Audacious God Goal” (with apologies to Jim Collins, author of Good to Great). So far, it seems to be working—though not without some bumps. From Conversation to Reality When the property was up for sale, Wager and Urban mused

September 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Crossroads College Will Transform into HIU-Minnesota

By Jim Nieman After suspending classroom instruction in August 2016, Crossroads College in Rochester, Minn., seemed to be an educational institution in name only, but work has been going on behind the scenes and two significant steps forward have occurred this summer. The college sold its 37-acre campus to Bear Creek Christian Church at the end of June (click here to read that story), and on Sept. 8, Crossroads’ representatives signed a memorandum of understanding with Hope International University, Fullerton, Calif., to establish HIU–Minnesota. The next goal, according to Curtis McGinnis, chief operating officer of Crossroads College, is to begin

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