Series: News

November 29, 2017

Christian Standard

Southern Acres Church Members Sue Lead Pastor

The Lexington Herald-Leader, whose November 22 article provided much of the source material for this post, has written a follow-up. Click here to read, “After lawsuit, more turmoil at Lexington church; Attorney expects pastor to be exonerated,” posted November 29. _________ Two members of Southern Acres Christian Church, Lexington, KY, have sued the lead pastor and his wife to block them from spending church money or making real estate transfers. In their lawsuit, members James Keogh and Chad Martin accuse lead pastor Cameron McDonald of concentrating power and financial authority among himself, his wife, and one staff member, according to

November 20, 2017

Christian Standard

Headlines: December 2017

By Chris Moon   Pastor Shifts Gears to Raise Funds Jeff Greco will go out of his way for a good fund-raiser””literally. The pastor of Crossroads Christian Church in Wintersville, Ohio, in September cycled nearly 900 miles in eight days from Kansas City, Mo., back to Crossroads. The goal was to raise money to buy a new pickup truck for the church”s missionary in Thailand. Greco embarked on the trip hoping people in his congregation and community would be inspired””not just to give money to help the missions effort, but also to step out in their faith. “I want to

October 29, 2017

Christian Standard

Headlines: November 2017

By Chris Moon    App Pays Off Student”s Loan  Jordan Shelton had a very good day this summer.   The staffer at CMF International was chosen in a random drawing to have his $33,407 in student loans paid off by a trivia game app that seeks to eradicate student loan debt.   According to Indianapolis news station Fox 59, Shelton is a graduate of Manhattan (Kan.) Christian College. Shelton had played the free app, Givling, which uses crowdfunding through in-app purchases to enable it to pay off student loans to randomly selected participants.   The app”s mission, according to the news station, is

September 20, 2017

Christian Standard

Florida Church Responds to Irma

As Hurricane Irma spun through the Caribbean, Floridians boarded up houses and businesses, filled sandbags, and prepared for the worst. Some evacuated. Many prayed. New Day Christian Church in Port Charlotte, which is on the Gulf Coast, prepared to serve their community in the name of Jesus. “We have a relationship with the county,” said Rusty Russell, lead pastor at New Day. “They basically took over our building as a shelter for oxygen-dependent patients.” Charlotte County provided a big generator so that the people who require electricity for their lives and well-being could be cared for. Russell said, “We have

September 15, 2017

Christian Standard

Headlines: October 2017

Students Equip Toys for Kids with Disabilities Engineering students at Milligan College aren”t content with figuring out how to make things work. They also want to do good for their local community. And so this summer these students gave away two adapted Power Wheels Jeeps to children who cannot move independently. The project was part of a program called “Go Baby Go Appalachia,” overseen by AdaptoPlay, a local nonprofit organization in Johnson City, Tenn. The Jeeps are modified to allow children to use them despite disabilities that make it difficult for them to move. Steering wheels were replaced with joysticks,

September 13, 2017

Christian Standard

Florida Churches Respond to Hurricane Irma

By Jim Nieman In the end, no one in Florida””and virtually no property””was safe when Hurricane Irma tore through the Sunshine State on Sunday and into Monday, September 10 and 11. Many churches started warning people about the potential dangers of the storm on Tuesday, September 5. Crosspoint Christian Church in Cape Coral, for example, sent out this message via Facebook at 12:32 p.m. that day: “We need help getting Crosspoint ready to ride out the storm ““ moving furniture, playground equipment, securing the campus. . . .” By early the next morning, Crosspoint lead pastor Jeff Swearingen and leaders

September 6, 2017

Christian Standard

Harvey Recovery Efforts Are Ongoing

By Jim Nieman Dale Smith has been very pleased with the Hurricane Harvey flooding-related recovery efforts at Cy-Fair Christian Church, Houston, Texas. “It”s been very, very busy, but it is going fantastic,” the church”s interim lead pastor said. “There are challenges, but God is just showing his favor.” Smith cites some statistics: “157 people in the church have volunteered to help. We have 57 people out serving on 7 teams today.” Some teams are being organized to work evenings, as well. (The church averages 300 to 350 for weekend worship.) Smith said an out-of-state minister told him in recent days

September 1, 2017

Christian Standard

Harvey Recovery: News and Notes

We’re getting numerous updates about churches impacted by Hurricane Harvey and its soaking rains that flooded Greater Houston and much of the Gulf Coast area at the end of August, and we’re receiving news from churches and ministries that have launched efforts to help people and churches in those areas. Send updates to **@********************ia.com. (We will also try to share a few photos of recovery efforts; please send the images as attachments, and provide captions, one image per e-mail.) Here are some of the reports we’re receiving, along with some ways to help (we’re placing the newest items at the

August 31, 2017

Christian Standard

Houston-area Churches Coping with Harvey Flooding

Also read “Creekside Fellowship Helping Shelter Storm Victims” and “Church Riding Out Storm in Katy, Texas.” ________ By Jim Nieman Tim Liston, senior pastor of New Hope Church, a multisite megachurch with four locations mainly south of Houston, posted a “Hurricane Harvey Devotional” Sunday based on Matthew 8. In it, Liston says, “The best place to be in a storm is with Jesus.” New Hope, like most churches in the Greater Houston area, were forced to cancel onsite services Sunday because of the storm that has dumped, in some places, more than 50 inches of rain since Friday. When we

August 30, 2017

Christian Standard

Creekside Fellowship Helping Shelter Storm Victims

Read “Houston-area Churches Coping with Harvey Flooding.” ________   By Chris Moon All pastor Greg Garcia could do Tuesday evening was wait. Garcia, founding pastor of Creekside Christian Fellowship in Needville, Texas, and his wife were in a hotel room, having been evacuated from their home in Katy, Texas, as the floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey rose. The last he had heard, hours before, was that the water was at his garage””and it was expected to rise another two feet. Serious damage to the family”s house and the loss of three cars seemed quite possible. “If that happens, we”re down to

August 28, 2017

Christian Standard

Church Riding Out Storm in Katy, Texas

Here are two updates to this story (as of 5 p.m. Tuesday): Current””A Christian Church has set up a relief page on its website where people can make financial donations for relief efforts. Go to www.currentchristian.org/harveyrelief. Of the money collected, 100 percent will go to relief efforts. Also, the church already has teams out doing construction work, and removing damaged carpet and drywall. Other teams are working to meet a variety of community needs, such as helping with supplies at schools and shelters. x x x By Chris Moon Nathan Rymer, executive pastor at Current””A Christian Church in Katy, Texas, was

August 25, 2017

Christian Standard

Headlines: September 2017

Singer Overcomes Major Obstacle, Wins Over Harshest of Critics Mandy Harvey, 29, a singer-songwriter (who happens to be deaf) from St. Cloud, Fla., won over the judges””including notorious critic Simon Cowell””when she auditioned on NBC”s America”s Got Talent on June 6. Mandy”s father, Joe Harvey, an associate professor of ministry with Johnson University Florida in Kissimmee, wrote about his daughter in “Mandy”s Story” in the April 2015 issue of Christian Standard. Mandy became deaf during her first (and only) year studying music education at Colorado State University. Joe Harvey accompanied Mandy to the AGT performance and was interviewed as part

August 11, 2017

Christian Standard

Plans Announced for 2018 SCJ Conference 

For the first time, Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan College will host the 2018 Stone-Campbell Journal (SCJ) Conference on April 6 and 7 on its Johnson City, TN, campus. The theme “Theology of Others: Judaism, Islam, and “˜None-of-the-Aboves,”” will be developed by Ellen Charry, Margaret W. Harmon Professor of Theology, Princeton (NJ) Theological Seminary; Evertt Huffard, dean, Harding School of Theology (Memphis, TN); and Richard Knopp, professor of philosophy and Christian apologetics, Lincoln (IL) Christian University. Charry will present “”˜The Wall of Hostility Has Come Down”: Reconstructing the Theological Relationship Between Judaism and Christianity”; Huffard will present “Allah Is God:

July 21, 2017

Christian Standard

Headlines: August 2017

Baptisms Surge at Kentucky Church Thanks to Jail Ministry A Kentucky church is using a jail ministry to add hundreds of lives to God”s kingdom each year. Jessamine Christian Church baptized 227 people during 2016″”a number that is notable because the church averages 525 in weekly worship attendance. That”s an average of 43 baptisms per 100 people in attendance. Only a handful of churches in Christian Standard“s annual church statistics issue””which was compiled by Kent Fillinger and published in May””reached a baptism ratio of 10 per 100 in attendance. Wally Rendel, senior minister of the church in Nicholasville, a city

July 14, 2017

Christian Standard

Mid-Atlantic Christian University Founder Dies

ELIZABETH CITY, NC “” The founder and first president of Mid-Atlantic Christian University, George W. BonDurant, died July 11 at the age of 101. He grew up in Mt. Rainer, MD, the son of William W. and Helen Lawrence BonDurant, who were committed leaders in the Restoration Movement. He received a four-year scholarship to Columbia University, New York City, but his mother, concerned about his faith in a hostile atmosphere, sent him to Erieside Christian Service Camp. After one year at Columbia, he transferred to the Cincinnati (OH) Bible Seminary. There he met and married Sarah Lou Presley. The couple helped

June 19, 2017

Christian Standard

Church Gives Away 4,000 Copies of Christian Standard

On Sunday, June 18, Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie, Texas, gave 4,000 copies of the July issue of Christian Standard, with its new design and focus, to its members and attenders. Senior pastor Barry Cameron told those in attendance that the magazine is one of the oldest continually published magazines in the United States and is all about our “tribe.” “We told them the emphasis of this publication is to unify and rally all the Christian churches together to have a greater impact for the kingdom and to share the great stories of what God is doing in our

June 3, 2017

Christian Standard

“˜Social” Event

By Jennifer Johnson Gather any group of people over age 40 and you”ll hear frustration about how much time younger people spend on their phones. “I”m at a restaurant watching a couple,” a friend told me recently. “They are obviously on a date, and yet they are both staring at their phones instead of talking to each other.” The friend texted me this information from her own phone. It”s true that smartphone use is out of control for many of us. One study found the average user checks his phone upwards of 150 times a day. Allowing a generous eight

June 2, 2017

Christian Standard

CIY Uses Social Media to Take Message to Teens

By Jennifer Johnson Christ In Youth (CIY) is well known among the Christian churches””and beyond””for high-quality programs specifically geared to teens and preteens. Many of these events take place during the summer months, but last November CIY launched a new program””and it was all online. “We”re constantly trying to keep a pulse on the next generation so we can speak to them with the gospel message,” says Chris Roberts, communications director. “They are digital natives. They don”t know a world without social media or mobile phones. So, we began talking about how we can use those tools to point them

May 29, 2017

Christian Standard

Mountain Riders Have Fun, Do Good

By Jennifer Johnson The Mountain Riders pool funds to buy a new coat or a bag of groceries for a member in need. They visit each other”s friends and family members in the hospital. They build wheelchair ramps and do home improvement projects. In fact, the Riders””a ministry of Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, MD“”function as the church, offering opportunities for motorcycle riders and motorcycle fans to study, serve, and grow together. The Riders launched in 2005, and today more than 70 people participate in the group”s activities. While they enjoy their rides, leader Todd Holmberg talks more about the

May 9, 2017

Christian Standard

Johnson University’s President Planning to Retire

Dr. Gary Weedman, president of Johnson University, has announced he will be retiring, effective June 30, 2018. During Weedman”s tenure as president, Johnson University experienced tremendous growth in enrollment, academic programs, and facilities. Next year will mark his 11th year as president, 18th year at Johnson, 50th year in Christian higher education, and his 75th birthday. “The words “˜thank you” hardly seem adequate for the 11 years Gary and Janis have faithfully served Johnson University, nor do the words “˜you”ve done a great job” convey sufficiently the praise they are due,” wrote L.D. Campbell, chairman of Johnson”s board of trustees.

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