Series: News

Ministries & Nonprofits Organizations & Events

CIY”s ‘Sons and Daughters’ Focuses on Fatherlessness

By Jennifer Johnson Christ In Youth exists to “amplify Christ”s call,” challenging students to live their faith boldly. So why is this ministry making movies? Over the last several years, CIY has made short films about the AIDS crisis in Africa, sex trafficking in Cambodia, and the need for fresh water in Zambia. Love Costs Everything featured persecuted Christians around the world, and now Becoming Sons and Daughters tackles the issue of fatherlessness in America. “We”ve seen today”s students become a screen generation,” says Chris Jefferson, vice president of organizational advancement at CIY. “So each of these films was developed

September 27, 2013

News & Updates

Images of Colorado Flooding

LifeBridge Christian Church staff member Drew Depler, who is coordinating disaster relief efforts for the Longmont, Colorado, church, provided CHRISTIAN STANDARD with a number of photos of flooding near the church, and recovery efforts in and around the church. The photos were taken in the days after the flooding started. A slow-moving cold front that stalled over the state clashed with warm, humid air from the south, producing heavy rain starting September 9, 2013, and ultimately catastrophic flooding. Disasters have been declared in more than a dozen Colorado counties.

September 18, 2013

Church Life

Colorado Churches Helping Flood Victims

By Jennifer Johnson Several Christian churches in Colorado have been key in helping victims of the floods that damaged more than 18,000 homes and left many other residents without power and running water. “¢ LifeBridge Christian Church (Longmont, CO) has served as one of the primary evacuation centers since last Thursday, assisting thousands of people and working with city and county officials as well as leaders from relief organizations. LBCC says it doesn”t need any immediate donations of food, water, or clothing, but will probably need more as rescue turns to recovery. “The LifeBridge site was almost a study

September 1, 2013

Recalling a “˜Master” Plan for Housing

By Jennifer Johnson Many people know the Ferguson brothers, Dave and Jon, as cofounders of Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL, and as strategic visionaries behind the multisite movement. But many people don”t know the story of the church”s first multisite, or the innovative thinking behind it. A few real estate development professionals were members of a small group with the Fergusons; the group began dreaming about creating neighborhoods designed to intentionally drive strong community life, centered around a church. Eventually the real estate company and CCC partnered to create the Institute For Community and launched a master-planned area in

September 1, 2013

Addiction Ethics & Moral Issues

A Serious Issue That Is a Matter of Conscience

By Jennifer Johnson As I wrote about Daron Earlewine”s Pub Theology ministry, I reread two recent Christian Standard articles on drinking. These pieces, by Tim Harlow and John Caldwell, are both available on the CS website and both worth your time. I loved Tim”s observation that the popular rationalization for Jesus turning water into wine””that the wine was watered down””would simply give it the alcohol content of beer, and I courted whiplash nodding my head vigorously at his comment that “alcohol is not the No. 1 health problem in America””it”s obesity. So it”s a tad confusing to the world when

September 1, 2013

Taking Christ to Patrons of Local Clubs and Bars

By Jennifer Johnson It took a trip to Bosnia for Daron Earlewine to launch a new ministry in America. “The coffee shops become pubs in the evening,” he says. “At midnight they close and all the adults go to dance clubs. It dawned on me the same thing happens in every town in America””adults are gathering at bars and clubs. And if we could find a way to “˜own” those rooms, we could impact thousands of people.” Earlewine, then on staff at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, also played drums in a rock band. He suggested they try

August 4, 2013

Church Goes “˜All-in” to Reach Latinos

By Jennifer Johnson Many congregations start Spanish-language services, but few go “all-in” like Eastside Christian Church in Anaheim, CA. “Our mission is to reach 1 percent of the 5.8 million people within a 20-mile radius of our building,” says communications director Jan Lynn. “A third or more of these people are Latino, so we needed to be intentional about creating new ways to serve them and share Jesus.” For Eastside, that”s “Semilla@Eastside,” a new service held each Sunday at 2 p.m. Hector Hermosillo serves as the new pastor for the initiative, and works closely with the rest of the staff

August 3, 2013

Indianapolis Church Receives Boost to Enrich Garden

By Jennifer Johnson Englewood Christian Church and the Englewood Community Development Corporation (Indianapolis, IN) planted a community garden years before such projects became trendy, but this year State Farm is giving them $25,000 to take it to another level. “A woman in our congregation keeps an eye out for potential grants, and [she] submitted an application to State Farm Neighborhood Assist on our behalf,” says Chris Smith, a member of Englewood Christian Church and editor of The Englewood Review of Books. “The 3,000 entries were eventually narrowed down to 40 winners, chosen in part by voting on Facebook. We were

August 2, 2013

Church-City Revitalization

By Jennifer Johnson When I was 2, my mom was able to finagle free time by setting me in my crib with a pile of books. I”d sit there, chubby hands happily flipping pages I couldn”t yet read, for half an hour or more. To say I”m an introvert is like saying the Kardashians are trashy. But although I tend to prefer solitude and processing the world in my head, I”ve learned the importance of connecting to others. Conversation and discussion remind me my strong opinions aren”t infallible, and my perspective isn”t the only one. Englewood Christian Church“s story is

August 1, 2013

Point University Pursuing Merger with Montreat College

On Monday, July 29,Â Point UniversityÂ (West Point, GA)Â andÂ Montreat CollegeÂ (Montreat, NC)Â announced the two institutions are pursuing a merger. According to a statement atÂ www.pointmontreat.com, “Earlier this year, in a fortuitous meeting, representatives of Point University and Montreat College began discussions about ways the two schools could work together to improve on their current delivery of quality, Christian higher education. As the relationship has grown, they have discovered that their missions are very much the same. They are both committed to equipping college students to transform the world for the Kingdom of God.” The schools continue to work out details, but did confirm that

July 14, 2013

Introducing Prisoners to Christ

By Jennifer Johnson God Behind BarsÂ is a nonprofit organization that holds video campuses inside several women”s prisons. Today, the ministry is pursuing a multifaceted strategy to not only introduce inmates to Christ, but to walk with them as Christ followers. To that end, God Behind Bars partners withÂ Central Christian Church (Henderson, NV)Â and several others church to launch ministries inside prisons. GBB still holds video services, and the first step is for a prisoner to attend. Because 90 percent of inmates have struggled with addiction at some point, step two is participating in a small group or Celebrate Recovery. “After a

July 3, 2013

Johnson University Merges with Florida Christian College

On Monday, Johnson University (Knoxville, TN) and Florida Christian College (Kissimmee, FL) officially merged and became part of the newly established Johnson University System. Florida Christian College is now Johnson University Florida. “This merger will advance the Florida campus by as much as half a century, which is the time it would have otherwise taken to build the degree options and opportunities that Johnson University has in place today,” said Kenny Funk, who served as most recent chairman of the former Florida Christian College Board of Trustees. “Within a few years, Johnson University Florida will have the expanded bachelor”s degree

July 1, 2013

Students Need Practical Skills Along with Big Ideas

By Jennifer Johnson Higher education is not known for its pragmatism. For every course in biology basics there”s another in “The Science of Superheroes” (University of California, Irvine). For every Spanish 101 there”s “Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond” (University of Texas at Austin). For every fundamentals of accounting, there”s “Street-Fighting Mathematics” (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). And that”s OK. As the clichÃ© goes, part of being educated is “learning how to learn.” There”s value in interacting with ideas simply for the sake of enrichment, even without any immediate vocational payoff. But Dave Miller at Nebraska Christian College also makes a good

June 30, 2013

An Honors Program Focusing on Leadership and Community Service

By Jennifer Johnson “There”s a lot of discussion about the cost of investing in a college education,” says Dave Miller, vice president of advancement at Nebraska Christian College. “We want to talk about what the college is investing in the student.” At NCC in Papillion, NE, part of the investment is The Institute, a new program that rolled out in January and launches officially this fall. “The Institute is like an honors program, but focused on leadership potential and community service,” Miller says. Students must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average to participate, but academic aptitude is just

June 15, 2013

Grassroots Group Works to “˜Feed the Street”

By Jennifer Johnson It started slowly. Seven years ago, Jeff Wedge, a member at Churchill Meadows Christian Church in Ontario, Canada, wanted to recruit a team to deliver food and other necessities to the homeless. He approached CMCC senior minister Jim Tune about developing the outreach as a ministry of the church. Tune said no. “Hey, we”re totally supportive of feeding hungry people,” Tune says with a smile. “We encouraged Jeff to start his ministry, but as a church we focus on a few major community projects around the holidays.” Today “Feed the Street” reaches hundreds of homeless people throughout

June 14, 2013

Culture & Public Square Technology

A Lesson in Christian Separation, Engagement

By Jennifer Johnson In 2005, three former PayPal employees launched YouTube. Today more than 800 million people, 70 percent of whom live outside the United States, visit the site each month to watch more than 4 billion hours of its free content. People also upload 72 hours of footage every minute, making YouTube the site for video sharing. In 2007, four investors launched GodTube. It grew quickly to almost 3 million users before dropping to 690,000 in 2009. The site was rebranded as a social network named Tangle, and it was acquired by Salem Communications a year later. In his

June 13, 2013

City on a Hill Producing Films and Filmmakers

By Jennifer Johnson “You could call us “˜media missionaries,”” says Cyndi Moreno, director of development at City on a Hill Productions (Louisville, KY). For more than a decade, the nonprofit organization has used film to share the gospel and support the work of local churches. “We provide Bible study resources like The Easter Experience and Kyle Idleman”s Not a Fan; help churches share their stories, recruit volunteers, or raise funds; and equip local church leaders working in media,” she says. “We want to reach the world with the message of the gospel.” City on a Hill is currently in the

May 24, 2013

Christian Standard Updates News & Updates

Obituaries for 2012

ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF OBITUARIES Martha E. (Taylor) Blackmore, 90, of Tulsa, OK (formerly of Hillsboro, OH), died Feb. 18, 2012. Born in Mitchell, IN, on Aug. 30, 1921, to LaVerne and Martha Taylor, she grew up a preacher”s kid as her father ministered in Hillsboro, OH (1918-21), and then for many years in Springfield, IL. She graduated from Cincinnati (OH) Bible Seminary in 1943, and studied vocal music for four years at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She married Roy C. Blackmore in 1943, and served with him in a ministry in Louisville, KY. They were a singing and preaching

April 29, 2013