Tony Johnson has been called to serve as the new senior pastor of 2|42 Community Church, a multisite church of about 10,000 with locations in seven southeast and central Michigan cities and suburban towns.
No Needs Meets Many Needs The first few months of 2020 brought a series of major changes to 2|42 Community Church. First, the church added three new campuses, increasing its total number of locations from four to seven. Next, founding pastor David Dummitt departed after accepting the call to serve as senior pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Then, of course, the pandemic shut down live worship services at all seven of the congregation’s campuses. Despite all of that, executive pastor Eric Rauch said the most significant event of 2020 was “The No Needs Project,” a
By Jim Nieman The Solomon Foundation has begun hosting weekly Zoom meetings to help connect, encourage, and resource ministers across the country during these uncertain times. Doug Crozier, CEO of the church extension fund that works with Christian churches and churches of Christ, said TSF is seeking to be proactive during the COVID-19 outbreak and related financial unease by reminding ministry leaders that God remains in control. To that end, TSF connected with almost 120 ministers and/or ministry team callers during the first weekly Zoom meeting it hosted this past Tuesday morning. Among the speakers were former Christian college president
January 15, 2020
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Kairos Church Planting has named Ron Clark, of Portland, Ore., as its new executive director. Clark brings more than 30 years of ministry experience to the job, including 13 years as a lead church planter. Clark has served as lead minister with Agape Church of Christ since planting it in 2006. He also serves as an adjunct instructor and dissertation adviser for Portland Seminary and co-chairs the New Testament section of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Northwest region. Ron and Lori Clark have been married 32 years. Stan Granberg, founding director of Kairos,
December 25, 2019
Philippians 4:6 is the “2019 Verse of the Year,” as determined by YouVersion. Users of the popular Bible app engaged with that Bible verse—by bookmarking it, highlighting it, and sharing it—more than any other. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). YouVersion also reported increased use of the app during 2019, including 5.6 billion chapters listened to, 35.6 billion chapters read, and 478 million verses shared. Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster’s “word of the year” is they. Searches of that term rose 313 percent during 2019, and
September 11, 2019
By Jim Nieman When Mark McGilvrey’s church provided seed money to help start 2|42 Community Church in 2005, he had no idea of the boomerang effect. McGilvrey, who retires this month after 47 years of ministry in Livonia, Mich., said the church he serves, Compass Christian Church, reached an agreement earlier this summer to be adopted by 2|42, and is slated to become an official 2|42 campus, probably in the fall of 2020. “It’s a beautiful thing,” McGilvrey said. “We started just this past Sunday with live video from [2|42].” Since being planted in Brighton, Mich., 2|42 has been one
February 6, 2019
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman A lot of connections can be made in church, and that is no more apparent than in the story about how the Indianapolis 500 came to find its newest presenting sponsor. It started two years ago at Traders Point Christian Church in Zionsville, Ind., when open-wheel driver Zach Veach, then 22, asked his pastor, Aaron Brockett, for help in finding a race sponsor. Brockett connected Veach with another church member, Dan Towriss, CEO of what soon would become Group 1001, a major insurance holding company based in Indianapolis. One thing led to another
October 24, 2018
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
September 19, 2018
By David Dummitt The U.S. Department of Agriculture quantifies rural areas as the 14 percent of the U.S. population that lives on 72 percent of the land. That 14 percent sounds deceptively small, but in reality it’s 46 million people . . . real people with real lives, real joys, real problems . . . and a real need for the gospel. It’s fanciful to think rural areas are saturated with picturesque, steeple-laden churches where everyone in town gathers for potlucks, prayers, and tight-knit biblical community—Mayberry, if you will. But the realities of modern, rural America are more sinister than such stereotypes.
May 27, 2018
By David Dummitt In February I attended the Exponential conference in Orlando. It was a great week of connecting with other church leaders and church planters from all over the world. This year’s conference theme was “Hero Maker,” based on Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird’s new book by the same name. I had the opportunity to facilitate workshops alongside of Dave, Warren, and others as we talked about a shift in practices that we as leaders must make in order to carry out the Great Commission: moving from being heroes to being hero makers. This message is a game changer
By David Dummitt In the last several decades, Western churches grew big. Very big. Megachurches swelled. The multisite movement allowed churches to grow wide. Last fall, minister and church planter Matt Chandler created a stir when he announced his plan to release all of his campuses to be autonomous churches. Pastors across the United States are beginning to ask, “What if we are boxing ourselves in? And what is next?” I believe we are on the cusp of a shift in church-planting methodology, and I’m dreaming of new things. What if we could be more effective in raising and releasing
February 21, 2018
Use these 5 tips to create a church culture that handles conflict in a God-honoring way. By David Dummitt Churches are made up of broken, messy people. That statement won’t shock anyone reading this. Problems in churches are inevitable. Conflict can lead to division. Planning ahead for how to navigate through conflict is important to protecting the unity of our churches. Whether you’re planting a church or have been leading one for years, it is never too early (or late) to create a road map for dealing with conflict within your church in a way that honors God. Here
February 8, 2018
By David and Rachel Dummitt For the last 22 years, my wife, Rachel, has been my partner, best friend, and comrade-in-arms. When I was asked to write about experiencing lasting joy in marriage and ministry, I immediately thought of her and how she has helped to build both our home and our church with strength, grace, and joy. So for this issue, I asked Rachel to share her insights and wisdom. When Dave and I married, neither of us could have imagined the journey God had in store for us. While both of us had grown up in the
December 31, 2017
By David Dummitt Whether you”re raising funds for a personal mission trip, planting a new church, or any number of other ministry endeavors, money is necessary to drive God-given dreams forward. In my experience, God has “come through” most dynamically through finances. I have found myself in a position many times where a vision was sure to fail, and yet God has always come through in huge ways. When it comes to fund-raising, we must pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on us. Pray hard. Work hard. Here are a few practical fund-raising tips I”ve
November 3, 2017
By David Dummitt The church is the hope of the world. The global church is connected like no other generation before us. This should impact the way churches engage internationally. We live in an exciting time in church history, and we have the privilege and responsibility to grow the kingdom of God well. Global engagement isn”t a new idea to American churches. Mission programs, global outreach projects, generosity campaigns, and more have been a part of churches in the United States for centuries. Many methods, strategies, and best practices have come and gone, but like everything else, we need to
September 22, 2017
By David Dummitt Last month I had the opportunity to speak with Eric Metcalf in Chicago about the unique opportunities and challenges of urban church planting. But across America, millions of people live outside of metropolitan areas, and so I wanted to explore similar questions from a rural perspective. As I considered who could speak candidly and with authority on the subject of rural church planting, Jerry Harris, senior pastor of The Crossing, a multisite church located in three states across the Midwest, immediately came to mind. Jerry, how do you measure the health and success of a rural
June 19, 2017
Nontraditional approaches to building use and design From urban artists” colonies in the Southwest to suburban Tennessee, independent Christian churches are challenging””and abandoning””traditional American church design. While every church featured this month is seeking to use its facility to further the gospel, each congregation is taking a unique approach. Click on these links for a sampling of some of the most unconventional church building approaches to be found among Christian churches and churches of Christ. These profiles are written by Justin Horey and Jennifer Johnson: Bayside Church, Roseville, California CrossWinds Church, Pleasanton, California Journey Church, Three Way, Tennessee Crosspointe Church of Cary,
November 1, 2014
By Darrel Rowland We like to tell people that our brotherhood is among the fastest growing in America and contains far more than its share of megachurches. But there”s a unique factor in how God has blessed the Christian churches/churches of Christ that often gets overlooked: a trio of loan funds that now have a combined $1 billion-plus in assets. “I think it”s just a testament to our movement that it has three strong, vibrant funds,” said Doug Crozier, CEO of the Solomon Foundation and former head of the Church Development Fund (CDF). “As far as I know, there”s not
By Kent Fillinger AVERAGE SIZE Megachurches: 4,810 Emerging Megachurches: 1,354 Combined average weekly attendance: 382,144 The three largest megachurches account for more than 20 percent of all megachurch attendees. GROWTH RATES Megachurches: 5.6 percent (up from 3 percent in 2012); overall, 73 percent of megachurches grew. Emerging Megachurches: 2.4 percent (down from 4 percent in 2012); overall, 52 percent of emerging megachurches grew. FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES 2|42 Community Church, Brighton, MI, 112% Third City Christian Church, Grand Island, NE, 31.6% Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, CA, 26.3% Current””A Christian Church, Katy, TX, 22.1% Ten Mile Christian Church, Meridian, ID,
By Kent Fillinger The annual survey of attendance and trends in the fellowship of Christian churches and churches of Christ always yields interesting facts, but our study for calendar year 2013 also identified three notable “firsts”: “¢ For the first time, three churches averaged more than 20,000 in weekly worship attendance. Joining Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, and Central Christian Church, Henderson, Nevada, both of which surpassed 20,000 for the third consecutive year, was Christ”s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona. “¢ For the first time in the 18-year history of this list, Southeast Christian did not have the highest
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