April 6, 2026
On Saturday, August 8, 2026, we will gather at Cane Ridge to mark the 225th anniversary of the Cane Ridge Revival—one of the most significant moments in American religious history and a birthplace for the Stone-Campbell movement. Sign up to receive updates here.
March 1, 2024
What can we learn by reviewing Restoration Movement history? . . .
May 29, 2023
If you ever feel unsure about stepping into a service or leadership role, you are in good company. . . .
March 14, 2023
Kentucky Christian University will present The Cane Ridge Celebration on May 20 at the site of the 1801 Cane Ridge Revival near Paris, Ky. The event will include a special Communion service, guest speakers, and lunch on the grounds.
February 2, 2023
In preparation for the 1931 North American Christian Convention, slated for June 17 to 21 of that year in Lexington, Ky., Christian Standard published a list of important dates in Restoration Movement history. . . .
November 7, 2022
Judging from the reaction of kids and adults last week in Columbus, Ohio, the annual International Conference on Missions is connecting with a new generation to take the gospel to all nations!
May 1, 2022
Can We Restore the Unity of the Restoration Movement?
August 30, 2021
Excerpts from Jerry Harris's devotional thoughts presented on the 220th anniversary of the Cane Ridge Revival earlier this month.
June 9, 2021
Stadia Church Planting and Missions of Hope International have announced a partnership and goal of planting 100 churches, building 100 schools, and sponsoring 100,000 children by 2030. PLUS NEWS BRIEFS . . . including a free retreat for ministers at Great Lakes Christian College.
March 17, 2021
Kentucky Christian University plans to host a celebration at Cane Ridge (near Paris, Ky.) on the 220th anniversary of the Cane Ridge Revival this August.
May 17, 2020
By Austin Gohn In the fall of 2010 on the campus of Lincoln Christian University, my friend Cody began to feel an urgency about prayer. The “prayer rooms” hidden away in the dark corners of our chapel had become little more than a favorite spot for campus couples. Uncertain of what else to do, Cody declared “squatter’s rights” in an unused room at the geographic heart of our campus, despite the amorphous stain on the carpet and a cartoonish illustration of Christ’s ascension. And we started to pray. Just over a year later, a near constant flow of students buzzed
We continue this week with the third installment of Frederick D. Kershner’s biographical study of Restoration Movement father Barton W. Stone from 1940. (Part one and part two are available here.) _ _ _ “Stars” April 27, 1940; p. 7 There was a group of young ministers, of which Stone was probably the center, which reacted against the high Calvinism of their fathers after the Cane Ridge revival. Stone, McNemar, Marshall, and three or four others withdrew and organized the Springfield Presbytery. They published an apology, some part of which was comprehended in the autobiography of Barton W. Stone. The
We continue this week with our second installment of Frederick D. Kershner’s look at Barton W. Stone from 1940. Though Kershner wrote his profile on Stone in three installments, we shared only a portion of part one last week; today we share the rest of the article originally published April 20, 1940. _ _ _ “The Message of Barton Warren Stone” April 20, 1940; p. 7 BARTON WARREN STONE[’s] . . . life may be summarized under the following outline: Early period (1772–1799). Cane Ridge Revival (1799–1801). The Springfield Presbytery (1802–1804). Independent career (1804–1831). Union with the Campbells (1831). Later
April 30, 2020
In 1940, Christian Standard published a lengthy series of articles called “Stars” by Frederick D. Kershner, then serving as dean of the School of Religion at Butler University in Indianapolis. In introducing the series on March 9 of that year, Kershner wrote, “We shall strive to interpret the ongoing of a great movement in the life of the church through the contribution of six of its most significant advocates. . . . We shall be occupied only secondarily with the mere details of biography. . . .” Those six Restoration Movement “advocates” included: • Thomas Campbell . . . “who
June 13, 2019
When the Stone Movement and the Campbell Movement united in 1832, “Raccoon” John Smith helped seal the deal. Barton W. Stone represented his contingent of churches at those meetings in Kentucky, while Smith represented Alexander Campbell’s interests. Here are Smith’s historic words on that occasion: “Let us, then my brethren, be no longer Campbellites or Stoneites, New Lights or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights, but let us come to the Bible, and to the Bible alone, as the only book in the world that can give us all the light we need.” We start this week with
January 10, 2019
– Jan. 9, 1909 – Among the crucial earliest triggers of the Restoration Movement, I typically think of two: The Cane Ridge Revival led by Barton W. Stone (1801) and the Declaration and Address penned by Thomas Campbell (1809). In January 1909, Christian Standard began a year-long series under this banner headline: “CENTENNIAL SPECIAL FOR JANUARY” with the subhead, “After One Hundred Years—A Century of Progress in America’s Greatest Christian Union Movement.” A number of articles in the issue carried that theme forward. In a moment, I will zero in on what probably is the most personable of them (“Reminiscences
September 29, 2018
By Caleb Kaltenbach CANE RIDGE, KY—Several Restoration Movement churches tried out the first “Cane Ridge Revival VBS” this past summer. “There’s really nothing else like it,” said Tim North, who created the program. “The idea is to help children not only encounter Jesus, but also to experience what it was like to attend this August 1801 revival!” “I’ve never seen a VBS like ‘Cane Ridge,’” said Frank Stone, minister with Ebenezer Christian Church. “There were no fancy decorations, take-home trinkets, crafts, or anything. They wanted these kids to have a true Cane Ridge experience, so they didn’t even need microphones.”
June 19, 2017
By Jerry Harris It”s foolish to want all Christians to be in unity if we can”t be unified in our own brotherhood. We need to fight for relationship in all the issues that could potentially divide us. Otherwise, no one should take this Restoration Movement seriously. The first-century church had more difficult challenges that threatened deeper divisions than we do now. We must learn the same lessons of living out the fruit of the Spirit that they did. We can”t allow ourselves the prideful position of proving ourselves right over the greater need of loving each other. If we can
April 8, 2016
We asked several Christian leaders, “What should churches served by CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be or do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Mandy Smith We in the Christian churches have the Cane Ridge Revival in our history, but we”re not comfortable with the Holy Spirit. We”ve seen so many abuses of the Spirit that it”s easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So what would it look like to rediscover a scriptural approach to the Spirit”s work in our lives? I”m still learning this, but let me share two ways I”m stepping into it: 1. Guidance “But
March 5, 2016
Restoration 200“”billed as a revival of unity, liberty, and love””happens May 15, 3:00 p.m., at the Courthouse Square Plaza in Lexington, KY. The gathering will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first Restoration Movement church in Lexington. After the Cane Ridge Revival near Paris, KY, in 1801, Christians across the commonwealth shed their denominations to imitate the church of the New Testament. They said, “We are not the only Christians, but are Christians only.” This revival of the church, often referred to as the Second Great Awakening, brought to light the detriments of separation in the church, and emphasized the
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April 28, 2026
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