Joy in Generations: The Story of Racine Christian Church, Racine, Missouri
Racine Christian Church has grown to become a significant force drawing people to the Lord in their community and beyond
Articles for tag: Celebrate Recovery
May 1, 2023
SPOTLIGHT: ‘Pretty Feisty’ River Christian Church Embraces Big Growth
River Christian Church has seen God work in some interesting places—including the three years they met at a local funeral home and cemetery. The church also has seen God work at some interesting times—like during the COVID-19 pandemic when they have grown weekend attendance from 950 to nearly 1,500. . . .
April 17, 2023
April 23 | The Hurting Are Invited
After feeding the 5,000 in the wilderness, Jesus retreated to the far northern country to gain some margin in his life. While there, he encountered a desperate mother . . .
GLCC Presidential Search Committee Formed (Plus News Briefs)
Great Lakes Christian College has formed a presidential search committee to begin the process of selecting the school’s next president. In early February, Larry Carter announced he intended to retire as president on June 30, 2022, after 22 years of service.
October 23, 2019
News Briefs from Virginia, Nebraska, and Indiana
Belmont Christian Church, Christiansburg, Va., recently was part of a demonstration for a first-of-its-kind drone delivery service in the United States. The Roanoke Times reports that Wing Aviation, a sister company of Google, is launching the delivery zone that will drop off merchandise from several retailers, as well as FedEx packages up to 3.3 pounds. Wing has similar delivery zones in Australia and Finland. Wing spokesman Jonathan Bass said the company chose Christiansburg because of its ties with Virginia Tech and its drone division, Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. _ _ _ The number of people who describe themselves as Christian in
September 18, 2019
Kelly Clarkson Announces Food Pantry Moving to Oregon Church (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Beaverton Christian Church in Oregon is the new home for a significant local food pantry—and it made quite a splash in becoming so. The announcement that Sunshine Pantry is relocating to the church was made Sept. 9 on the inaugural episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, a syndicated talk show. On the show, Clarkson interviewed Sharon Straus, the founder of the Sunshine Pantry—which started as a Cub Scout canned food drive that continued for years in Straus’s garage before moving into its own warehouse more than a decade ago. Straus told how her
May 22, 2019
A Desert Oasis
By Mel McGowan “We did not come to Las Vegas to reshuffle the deck,” says Mike Breaux, the original lead church planter of Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas. The heartbeat of the church remains the same as when it was planted back in 1993. Canyon Ridge doesn’t seek to take from other churches, but instead goes after the unchurched. When major construction was needed on their 40-acre campus, church leaders originally worked with commercial firms rather than hiring an architect. Their intention was to develop a campus devoid of religious symbolism. The resulting unadorned concrete block and tilt-concrete
September 25, 2018
3 Keys to Effective Ministry in a Small Town
By Richard M. Crabtree Jesus has commissioned the church to “go into all the world” and make disciples, and all the world certainly includes small towns. According to the 2000 Census, a population of 1,000 to 10,000 constitutes a “small town.” The majority of us in Christian ministry will spend a lifetime investing in small towns, so the question is: How can we allow God to make the most of our time in small-town America? Of my 47 years of ministry, all but five have been in the small-town, rural setting. I have found the following keys most effective while
February 15, 2018
In Search of a Happy Ending
By Michael C. Mack and Jim Nieman It was intended as a feel-good story for the October 2017 issue. Managing editor Jim Nieman reported on a son turning his life around, through God’s grace, and returning to his hometown to minister to those who are “down on their luck.” It was a story with a stern warning and a storybook ending. And then everything utterly collapsed. The preacher’s son who had battled years of addiction to opiates during and immediately after high school, and then managed to turn his life around and graduate from Christian college and return to his
November 7, 2017
When You Can See the World from Your BackyardÂ
By James C. Book The church I serve is located near Walt Disney World in Florida. We encounter people from all walks of life””it”s almost like having the United Nations in our backyard! Because of this, we realized we had a golden opportunity to reach people of many different cultures with the love of Jesus. As David Hesselgrave notes in his book Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) contains a “single imperative” . . . to “make disciples of all nations.” It”s awesome to be able to do that in our own community and to have those folks
October 13, 2017
The Church that Does the Recovery Program
By TR Robertson Walk through the doors of First Christian Church in Belle, Missouri, on a Sunday morning and it seems, at first glance, like a typical rural church. There are farmers and blue-collar workers in semicasual dress, older women settling in to their usual seats, and children burning off energy before Sunday school starts. And then there”s the rest of the congregation. “I”ve been in church my whole life,” says FCC deacon Kevin Brown, “but I”ve never been in a church that had this many tattoos, this many bikes outside, this many leather jackets. We”ve welcomed people who have
May 29, 2017
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 13, 2017
Stepfamilies Are REAL Families
Stepfamilies have real problems too often misunderstood or ignored by the local church. Here”s what stepfamilies around you are facing and feeling and how your congregation can help them. *  *  * By Jeff and Judi Parziale John and Stephanie were married about two years before they started attending a nearby church. Each brought two children into the marriage. Stephanie”s children were with her full time; her former spouse had left the state and had almost no contact with his children. John shared custody with his former spouse, Pam. Every week their two sons transitioned from one house to the other.Â
September 26, 2016
The Case for “˜Authentics”
By Neal Windham I recently took six college students to a state park not far from my home for an afternoon of prayer. It was a dreary spring day. Intermittent rain showers soaked our plans, cooled the air, and beckoned us to drier conditions after we toured the park. So we went to a Dairy Queen””you can always pray at a Dairy Queen””where we celebrated Abbey”s birthday over Blizzards and swapped some great stories. On the drive home, students began to sing. One of them asked if I had a request. “Sure,” I said, “How about something from The Sound
January 1, 2015
Ministry to the Broken Is Central
At Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, ministry to the broken has become a main focus. The church has started ministries such as Celebrate Recovery, God Behind Bars, People of the Second Chance, and an outreach to female strippers in the city. “My philosophy is if you speak to the broken, you”ll always have an audience,” says senior pastor Jud Wilhite. “I want not only to speak to the broken, but have ministries that reach people at their point of pain and brokenness””and we”re all broken at some level.” Since beginning these ministries for broken people in the community,
July 14, 2013
Introducing Prisoners to Christ
By Jennifer Johnson God Behind Bars 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 with Central Christian Church (Henderson, NV) 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
May 5, 2013
A Church for People Who Don”t Go to Church
By Kent E. Fillinger The Crossing is a multisite megachurch. Its original campus is in Quincy, Illinois, a town of 40,000 people. Even though there are 85 churches in Quincy, 80 percent of the people there don”t attend any church, so Jerry Harris, senior pastor of The Crossing, decided to focus on being the church for people who don”t go to church. The Crossing was a small church of 230 people in 1998 when it decided to spend $2.5 million to buy a community college to serve as the church”s new home. As part of the deal, The Crossing shared
May 8, 2012
The Right Framework for a Healthy Body
By Gary L. Johnson We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Our bodies are comprised of systems designed by God that enable us to enjoy the fullness of life. Our skeletal system gives us shape and support, produces life-giving blood cells, and stores necessary nutrients, such as calcium. Without our internal structure, our bodies could not grow and function effectively. Just as God designed the body to grow and function, he designed the church to do the same. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Paul described the church as having many parts, like a human body. An essential part of the body is
February 8, 2011
Jail Call
By Jennifer Taylor You know about multisites. You may even be familiar with online campuses. But how about church planting in a jail? “As a leadership team, we felt a burden to serve the forgotten people in our prison system,” says Kurt Ervin, church expansion leader at Central Christian Church (Henderson, Nevada). “But we didn”t want to start another prison ministry. Instead, we wanted to launch a church in a prison.” Central first created a separate nonprofit organization””God Behind Bars””and met with the chaplain of a local women”s prison. “We realized we could use the “˜video venue” strategy and the
December 12, 2010
Blind Copies
By Mark A. Taylor Maybe you”ve noticed, as I have, the remarkable sameness greeting travelers at each stop along United States Interstates. Parachute a blindfolded visitor before the assortment of franchised restaurants assembled at any random exit, and ask him whether he”s landed in Kansas or Kentucky. He probably won”t be able to tell you. With a few regional exceptions, the same stuff is on the menu just about everywhere. And it”s true in churches too. Every October churches large and small, from California through the Bible Belt, promote Trunk “n” Treat as a Halloween alternative. Soon Christian Standard will
