Series: News

September 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Stone Announces Retirement from Southeast

(Updated Sept. 24) Dave Stone, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., has announced he will retire sometime in the next six to nine months. Teaching pastor Kyle Idleman will replace Stone in the lead role at the church. “This is a process that has been in the works for a number of years,” Stone said in a story published on the Southeast Christian Church website. “My wife, Beth, and I decided on this timing about five years ago. We felt that 2019 would be the wisest time for the transition to take place.” Stone made the announcement

September 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Salty Church Rescue Station a ‘Symbol of Hope’ (Plus News Briefs)

Salty Church in Ormond Beach, Fla., has opened a “rescue station” in the historic Ormond Beach firehouse that is a place where people in the community can receive a helping hand. “Ultimately, this place is a symbol of hope and help for the city,” said lead pastor Robbie O’Brien during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the rescue station, the Ormond Beach Observer reported. The church is hoping the rescue station will help prevent people from becoming homeless, entering the foster system, or landing in jail. The ministry helps people connect with governmental services and local ministries. The church renovated an old

September 17, 2018

Christian Standard

Carolina Churches Cope with Hurricane

Hurricane Florence made landfall in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., on Friday and it continues to drop a massive amount of rain in the Eastern United States. Millions of people and thousands of churches have been affected. We encourage church leaders to share news about their churches and how they are coping with the effects of the hurricane. Most importantly, please share how Christian churches and churches of Christ across the county can help. Comment below or send the information to **@********************ia.com. _ _ _ Two Rivers Church of Christ in New Bern, N.C., offers folks a way to contribute to hurricane

September 13, 2018

Christian Standard

Rusaw Announces Plans to Step Down from LifeBridge

Rick Rusaw has announced plans to step down as lead pastor of LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, Colo., by September 2019, and transition to serving with the Spire network, formerly known as the North American Christian Convention. Rusaw and his wife, Diane, have served in Longmont for 28 years. LifeBridge averaged 3,264 in weekly worship attendance last year. “We knew there would be a time when we would pass the leadership privilege to someone new,” Rusaw wrote in a letter to the church posted at lbcc.org. “Now, as I look to the future of our church’s opportunities and needs, it has

September 12, 2018

Mark A. Taylor

A California Hindu Discovers Christ Online

By Mark A. Taylor It all started on an airplane. Rajiv Badha was flying home to Fremont, California, sitting beside Nic Chumney who lives in Ohio. Chumney is a member of Christ’s Church in Mason, Ohio. As their conversation continued, talk turned to spiritual matters, and Chumney told Badha about the online campus of Christ’s Church, ccmasonlive.churchonline.org. Badha, who grew up in a Hindu family, decided to check out the congregation’s worship services broadcast live over the Internet every Sunday. But he didn’t log on the first time on a Sunday; instead, he viewed a Sunday service on a Tuesday (Christ’s

September 12, 2018

Christian Standard

Race Studies Center at ACU to Open (Plus News Briefs)

The Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action at Moody Coliseum on the campus of Abilene (Texas) Christian University will open next Tuesday (Sept. 18) with a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m., a luncheon at noon, and sessions throughout the day. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Jerry Taylor will speak on “God Imagines Our Future: Being Filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:1-21).” There will also be a 6 p.m. reception in the Williams Performing Arts Center, followed at 7 p.m. by a performance of The Mountaintop, depicting the last night of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life. Carl Spain Center

September 5, 2018

Christian Standard

Louisville Bible College Rebounds after Rough Patch

By Jim Nieman Contrary to what you might have heard, Louisville Bible College continues to train preachers and ministers for church ministry. “Some people think we closed,” said Jason Anderson, registrar and assistant professor of Bible at LBC. “We never closed, but for one school year we didn’t offer classes.” The college went through a rough patch in 2015-16, and decided to forgo classroom instruction after “we let our debt get out of hand,” Anderson said. The next school year, LBC resumed offering classes under the guidance of Tom Mobley—who returned as president in 2016, after previously serving LBC in

September 5, 2018

Christian Standard

Ozark Switches to Full Week of Classes (Plus News Briefs)

Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., has departed from a longstanding tradition of not holding classes on Monday. Starting this semester, the Bible college is holding classes five days per week. “As an OCC student, I learned a proverb, ‘Methods are many, principles are few. Methods always change, principles never do,’” Ozark President Matt Proctor said in a post on the OCC website. “For over 75 years, Ozark has stayed true to one unchanging mission—training men and women for Christian service—but our methods have often changed.” Proctor said 98 percent of Ozark’s students are involved in some kind of ministry.

August 30, 2018

Christian Standard

Christian Standard Interview with Francis Nash

On August 12, Sugar Grove Christian Church, a country church between Owingsville and Mount Sterling, Kentucky, honored Francis Nash, 70, of Grayson, for 50 years of service as minister (see photo of Francis and Pam Nash, above). Nash started at Sugar Grove in 1968 while still a student at Kentucky Christian College (now Kentucky Christian University). He has since earned three postgraduate degrees and authored three regional history books. Simultaneously, he served 50 years in broadcasting, retiring in 2016. Nash is the son of the late Donald Nash, a longtime professor of Greek and New Testament at KCU. He married

August 29, 2018

Christian Standard

Hazel Dell Christian Church Changing Name to Venture (Plus News Briefs)

Hazel Dell Christian Church, Carmel, Ind., will become Venture Christian Church on Sept. 9. “God often changes his people’s names when he sends them into a new direction,” the church noted via a Facebook post. “The leadership is sensing a new direction for this congregation. A sense that we need to do more for the community that surrounds us and for people afar,” the post continued. “With this new endeavor and name, we will be encouraged to take risks outside these big safe walls! . . . Venture: To go forward with courage even at great cost!” The church is

August 22, 2018

Christian Standard

Fire Destroys Oklahoma Church (Plus News Briefs)

A fire likely started by lightning destroyed Guthrie (Okla.) Christian Church last week. The blaze started just before midnight on Aug. 14. No one was hurt. “We lost 49 years of books, pictures, sermons, memories and even my college books,” pastor Don Riepe told the Guthrie News Leader. Riepe is an alum of Ozark Christian College. Guthrie Fire Chief Eric Harlow said the building was a “total loss.” The church was still smoldering the next morning—last Wednesday. Later that day, there was a special prayer meeting near the site, with many people offering support. “We want to thank everyone for

August 15, 2018

Christian Standard

Christian Standard Web-Only Interview: Previewing ‘What’s Next’ with Gary Johnson (Plus News Briefs)

Great leaders constantly ask themselves a two-word question: “What’s next?” That’s the name of a new event presented by e2: effective elders and hosted by the Center for Church Leadership at Cincinnati Christian University on Saturday, September 8. The event will focus on helping leaders look into the future, as far ahead as they can, and lead God’s people ahead on their journey. Gary Johnson, along with David Roadcup and Jim Estep, will present at the all-day event. We asked Johnson three questions about what elders will learn at the event. QUESTION: As part of the “Next Step” seminar, you’re

August 9, 2018

Christian Standard

Ozark Christian College Receives $1 Million Gift

Ozark Christian College has received a $1 million gift from Rick Bronson, a longtime friend of the college, that will be used to begin renovation of its oldest residence hall. Bronson, his wife, Kat, and his son, Chad—a 2011 graduate of OCC—believe deeply in Ozark’s mission, and they trust that God will use their gift to inspire others to give. “This is just our five loaves and two fishes,” Bronson said. “Like that little boy with his lunch, we’re putting it in God’s hands to multiply it.” The Bronsons’ gift—the largest from a living donor in the Joplin, Mo., college’s

August 8, 2018

Christian Standard

Madeline Hansen, Bear Creek Team Win at Bible Bowl (Plus News Briefs)

By Jim Nieman There were at least two “firsts” at this year’s Bible Bowl National Tournament: It was the first time the national event was hosted by a college—in this case, Johnson University Tennessee in Knoxville—and the Individual Written Test saw its first three-time winner: Madeline Hansen of Bear Creek Christian Church, Rochester, Minnesota. And the bad news for the other test takers? Madeline has three more years of eligibility. “What she has done is incredible,” said Josiah Gorman, executive director of Bible Bowl. “She is a very knowledgeable young lady.” Madeline has competed on the Individual Written Test for

August 6, 2018

Christian Standard

Pontoon Boat Wedding a First for Minnesota Minister

By Jim Nieman Randy and Michelle Thoennes like to spend as much time as possible on the lake, so when it came time to choose a wedding location, they selected nearby Lake Darling. And not along the shore of Lake Darling in Minnesota, but in a boat on Lake Darling, flanked by about 15 other pontoon boats filled with more than 100 relatives and friends. The wedding party—which included minister John Taplin of New Life Christian Church in Alexandria, Minn.—glided down the middle of the guests’ boats, which were tethered together on either side. It was like they were “coming

August 1, 2018

Shawn McMullen

Hillsboro Family Camp: A Favorite Week of Summer (Plus News Briefs)

Last week the editors of Christian Standard and The Lookout spent several days at the Hillsboro Family Camp in Hillsboro, Ohio. Family Camp is sponsored by Person to Person Ministries and led by executive director Kerry Allen. For 46 years (since 1972) Person to Person Ministries has organized this annual gathering of families for the purposes of instruction, edification, and fellowship. The camp provides programming for adults, teens, and children. Many families bring tents, campers, motor homes, and vans to Restoration Acres, a 158-acre campground owned by the ministry, to participate in Family Camp. This year there were 273 camping

July 30, 2018

Christian Standard

BikeMasters Ministry Takes Show on Road in California

By Jim Nieman Volunteers from CrossCity Christian Church, Fresno, Calif., started repairing bikes as a small part of a big ministry event about 15 years ago, but it wasn’t until three years ago that the church began throwing significant financial resources behind the bike-repair effort and made it a full-fledged ministry. BikeMasters now repairs bikes at about 10 events a year, focusing its efforts and peddling good feelings mainly in poorer neighborhoods. “It’s taken on a life of its own,” says Jim Corrao, CrossCity’s chief financial officer and missions pastor for the past five years (and, before that, executive pastor

July 25, 2018

Christian Standard

Storm Blows Roof Off Church in Tennessee (Plus News Briefs)

By Jim Nieman A storm that rolled through eastern Tennessee late Friday night tore the roof off of part of Love Chapel Christian Church in Erwin, leaving tons of debris and causing extensive water damage. No one was hurt. The integrity of the original 1953 church structure is still being assessed, senior minister Robert Bess said Tuesday, but an adjoining, 1960s-era, rectangular addition that includes classrooms, a nursery, restrooms, and an office is a total loss. In all likelihood, the church will need to relocate for a period of months while repairs are made and new construction occurs, said Bess,

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