Series: News

March 4, 2016

Christian Standard

“˜A Dream in My Heart”

By Jennifer Johnson It all began with a sermon. Several years ago, Josh Howard, director of leadership training at Central India Christian Mission, was listening to a message called “Born to Reproduce” by Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators. “He made a comment that it was possible for us to reach the entire world in 10 years,” Howard says. “I thought, There”s no way that”s true. So I got out my calculator and did the math. I realized that if every person reached one person every six months, in 15 years we could reach all of India”s 1.1 billion people.

February 5, 2016

Christian Standard

Praiseworthy Parable Continues to Inspire

By Jennifer Johnson As a professor of Greek and New Testament at Milligan College in Tennessee, Lee Magness taught about the exegesis and theology of the parable of the prodigal son for decades. But a few years ago he taught a class on “Jesus and the Arts” with his wife, Patricia Magness, and began noticing the great works of art this parable has inspired through the years. “It sparked an idea””to teach a course that approached the parable from both an exegetical and artistic perspective,” he says. “I also added in some work on the sociological background of the story

February 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Grandview Sharpens Focus for Local Missions

By Jennifer Johnson In 2013, the people of Grandview Christian Church (Johnson City, TN) changed the way they thought about local missions””and how they reached out to their community. “In the past we had a “˜community concern committee” that made decisions about which local nonprofits to support,” says Brandon Waite. “But we gave small amounts of money to many different groups and didn”t really build relationships with any of them. We decided to be more intentional about reaching our area and really partnering with a few local organizations.” The new initiative was called JCServe, and Waite was hired to serve

February 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Dear Aspiring Minister . . .

By Jennifer Johnson You may be attending a Bible college, a Christian college, or a Christian university. That school may be affiliated with the Restoration Movement, with a mainline denomination, or with no particular group at all. And you may dream of someday serving as a preacher, a youth pastor, or a worship leader. No matter where you are in school, no matter what your background, and no matter what your dream, consider this letter my virtual attempt to shove all five feet and two inches of myself in your face (or your shoulder) and demand you stop saying things

January 21, 2016

Christian Standard

Obituaries for 2015

The most recently received obituaries are listed first. An alphabetical listing of all 2015 obituaries begins further down. Imogene “Jean” Adams Morgan, 85, died peacefully Aug. 24, 2015, in Harlingen, TX. And then, not quite four months later, on Dec. 14, 2015, her husband, August “Gus” Morgan, 88, also died. The couple were members of Central Christian Church in Brownsville, TX, and served on many mission boards, including Korea Gospel Mission and Colegio Biblico. They regularly attended the National Missionary Convention. The Morgans are survived by their children, Nina Hughston of South Padre Island, TX, Nancy Hon of St. Charles,

January 14, 2016

Christian Standard

An Unlikely First Step at Expansion

By Jennifer Johnson Although Eastside Christian Church“s building in Anaheim, CA, is large””it”s a former Boeing Aerospace facility””the church knows that one location isn”t big enough to accomplish its vision of reaching tens of thousands of people. So when Eastside purchased and renovated the building a few years ago, it designed the site as a “hub” that could support additional campuses. “Four thousand churches close each year,” says Jill Gille, executive project director at Eastside. “I grew up in a small church, and I know the challenge to get past that critical mass to keep growing. There is quite a

January 7, 2016

Christian Standard

Searching for a Sign

By Jennifer Johnson At dinner the other night, Nina asked, “If a deaf person never hears language spoken, does he still think in words?” Interestingly, I had just talked to Chad Entinger earlier that week about these very concepts””which had blown my mind. I proceeded to blow hers, explaining that deaf people aren”t just signing everything we”re saying, the order of the ideas may be signed differently than we would say them, and there are many different sign languages just as there are many spoken ones. “But wait””everybody has trees. Why don”t they all have the same sign for tree?”

January 7, 2016

Christian Standard

ASL Version of Bible Nearing Completion

By Jennifer Johnson Many native English speakers assume all sign language is the same””that it”s all based on English, and it”s simply signing English sentences as they”re spoken. However, American Sign Language is one of more than 400 different sign languages around the world, and it has a unique structure and grammar independent of English. “Sign language is a visual language, not a written or spoken one,” says Chad Entinger, executive director of Deaf Missions, a ministry based in Council Bluffs, IA. “It”s not “˜English with hands.” In fact, you might not sign every word the way you speak or

January 7, 2016

Christian Standard

New Service Date Has Been Gift

By Jennifer Johnson When Suncrest Christian Church (St. John, IN) began to max out its three Sunday services, the church considered a variety of ways to accommodate more people. “Lots of churches do Saturday night services, and some do Sunday night,” says Greg Lee, lead pastor at Suncrest. “I was intrigued by churches like White River Christian in Noblesville, Indiana, that created a Thursday night service. We are a multisite with some video teaching, so the idea of doing something on Thursday was a great gift””we can record the message and have two days to send it to the other

December 14, 2015

Christian Standard

For the Girls

By Jennifer Johnson Our church recently spent a Sunday afternoon distributing fliers to thousands of homes in our area, inviting community members to a cookout, and announcing the launch of our second worship service. I was pleased to see half a dozen teen girls from our youth group show up to join the teams tromping through the suburbs of Levittown. I was less pleased when, just an hour into the experience, several of them wilted onto the curb of the neighborhood with complaints about tiredness and “oh my gosh it”s so hot” and “I have a blister” and “when are

December 14, 2015

Christian Standard

A Place for Teenage Girls to Grow Together with God

By Jennifer Johnson Melanie Moore grew up loving her summertime weeks at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp (Amelia, OH), and today she loves raising her four girls. “But I see what their friends struggle with””cutting, eating disorders, and so much more,” she says. “It breaks my heart. So I thought, what if we started a girls-only week at camp?” Woodland Lakes already offered a week of wilderness camp for boys, and in 2013 agreed to work with Melanie, a member at Ross Christian Church (Hamilton, OH), to create a week for middle school girls. “The first year we had 35 girls

December 12, 2015

Christian Standard

The Art Effect

By Jennifer Johnson Many churches look at summer as a time to coast; attendance is down, staff members are vacationing, and everyone is tempted to take it easy. Not The Crossing Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year the creative arts team developed Art Effect, a seven-week emphasis on the arts tied into senior pastor Shane Philip”s sermon series on the book of Proverbs. From hip-hop music to paintings by children, The Crossing used summer 2015 to stretch its people””and themselves””with new expressions of worship. A Variety of Approaches The Crossing”s creative arts team includes several staff members, including Lee

November 19, 2015

Christian Standard

Race, Unity Topics at Stone-Campbell Dialogue

On Nov. 14 about 90 attended a daylong seminar titled “Addressing Race and Racism Within the Church and Society” at Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, MD. Sponsored by the Stone-Campbell Dialogue, and partnering with the Racial Unity Leadership Summit, the event shared insights on how to develop sustainable steps for greater racial unity and justice. The event was the centerpiece of this year”s annual meeting of the Stone-Campbell Dialogue. The Dialogue continued Nov. 15 with debriefing and planning among 17 members of the Dialogue”s national team, followed by a unity Communion service that evening, hosted by Westside Church of Christ, Baltimore,

November 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Fire Balloons and Fairness

By Jennifer Johnson During World War II, the Japanese were so incensed by America”s brazenness in dropping bombs directly over Tokyo they decided to seek revenge in a creative way. The government transformed many of the country”s schools into factories and employed thousands of children in creating ingenious bomb-carrying balloons with sophisticated temperature sensors that could travel, not via airplane, but on the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean. Their goal with these “fu-go,” or “fire balloons,” was to orchestrate a terror operation and create panic among the American people. They were so angry at the United States they devoted

November 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Christ Redeems Story of Man Who Exposed Rose

By Jennifer Johnson Paul Janszen did not want to have dinner with a pastor. Janszen is the successful owner of a fitness equipment company, a proud Cincinnatian””and the man who told Major League Baseball that Pete Rose had bet on the game. Today he”s also an active member at Whitewater Crossing Christian Church in Cleves, OH. “I was in a dark place when I met Rose and began placing bets for him,” Janszen says. “I was an aggressive guy, always ready for a fight. My girlfriend Danita, who is now my wife, joined me on a trip to Florida with

November 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Pennsylvania Church Leading Public School Assemblies

By Jennifer Johnson Many churches lament their inability to impact the public schools or serve their students. But this fall, Discovery Christian Church is presenting anti-bullying programs in three local elementary and two middle schools in Cranberry Township, PA. “A few years ago we did a summer outreach camp for kids in the community,” says Discovery lead pastor Toney Salva. “We held the event in a park instead of in our church building, and one of the school counselors became aware of us and thought we might be able to help with their anti-bullying initiatives.” Discovery did one very successful assembly in

November 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Evangelizing Associations Merge to Form Waypoint

By Jennifer Johnson The Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship and Envision (North Carolina), two mid-Atlantic evangelizing associations, publicly announced their merger at last week”s International Conference on Missions. The two groups are joining to become Waypoint Church Partners. The two organizations completed a two-year process syncing their legal, financial, and organizational structures to form a new regional alliance. Envision, once known as the Piedmont Evangelizing Association, had been involved with more than 30 new church projects in North Carolina over the past 45 years. VEF, in existence since 1938, planted more than 80 churches in Virginia and more recently in the adjoining

November 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Inclusive Aquatic Center Planned at Christian Camp

Lake Aurora Christian Camp and Retreat Center in Florida (LACC) is partnering with Removing the Barriers Initiative (RTBI) to house Stirring Waters, which will be Florida”s first aquatic adventure center that is intentionally and fully inclusive of people with disabilities. RTBI was formed as a nonprofit organization to come alongside organizations working to remove the barriers to great experiences for people with disabilities. Lake Aurora is doing just that through the various camps it now offers for people with disabilities. RTBI founder and president Bill Redmon, who served as executive director of LACC for 34 years, recognized that the traditional

October 22, 2015

Christian Standard

Tennessee Retirement Village Changes Name

JOHNSON CITY, TN “” Appalachian Christian Village has changed its name to Cornerstone Village. CEO Tom Sexton says the village, which started nearly 50 years ago, will continue to offer its residents a worry-free retirement in a full-service continuing care retirement community. He said the new name will better reflect the active, vibrant community that welcomes people of all faiths. The campuses known as Sherwood, Magnolia Crossing, and Woodlands will now be known as Cornerstone Village North. The campuses previously known as Maple Crest and Pine Oaks will now be called Cornerstone Village South. Cornerstone also is making improvements to the main dining room, along with an updated menu,

October 2, 2015

Christian Standard

Tour of Duties

By Jennifer Johnson Recently, two older ladies in our church began taking Communion to members in the hospital. While this is far from the 24-hour, professionally trained chaplaincy program organized by First Christian Church in Decatur (see related article), for Miss Marilyn and Miss Pat it was a Bigfoot-sized step out of their comfort zones. “I was scared to death,” Pat said the Sunday after her first hospital visit. But she did it, gathering up the portable Communion set and her car keys and setting out on a faith adventure. Now she and Marilyn are old pros, sometimes scheduling their

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