January 1, 2026
Leading Through the Hand-Off: Lessons in Pastoral Transition
With careful planning, clear communication, financial foresight, and sensitivity to personalities, churches can not only survive transitions, they can thrive through them.
Articles for tag: Central Christian Church
December 18, 2025
The Best Christmas Ever
Dr. Joe Grana recalls the story of a Christmas that changed everything in his life and was the best Christmas ever.
e2: effective elders Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary (Plus News Briefs)
e2: effective elders is marking 10 years as a nonprofit parachurch ministry. During that time, e2 has trained more than 9,600 elders and church leaders. Also briefs about the Church of Christ on Lewis Street (in Little Rock), Tony Darling, Jack Cottrell, and more.
SPOTLIGHT: Central Christian Church (Toledo, OH)
After 150 Years, Starting Fresh At Central Christian Church in Toledo, Ohio, it’s not uncommon for children to get out of their seats and walk around during sermons. At times, a curious child might even approach the pulpit and strike up a conversation with Dennis Nagy as he preaches. Central Christian is not disorganized, undisciplined, or chaotic. Nor is the church pioneering an interactive approach to teaching the Scriptures. Rather, the congregation is home to a higher-than-average number of families with children who have autism. Nagy is in his second tenure with Central. He first served there around 20 years
November 25, 2020
Every Church Is Now a Church Plant
Three Significant Considerations for Every Church in the Midst of and Post-COVID-19 By Trevor DeVage As every aspect of our daily lives is being reconsidered and refashioned by the pandemic, churches are rethinking their futures, too. Or at least they should be. But I’m afraid some are anticipating the days ahead only with a vision of the years behind. And I’m convinced this just won’t work. My thinking on this was influenced by the recent mentoring retreat I attended with Cal Jernigan, lead pastor with Central Christian Church in Arizona. I get together several times a year with Cal and
November 11, 2020
California Church Mobilizes to Help Chaplain Bless Troops (Plus News Briefs)
By Jim Nieman Central Christian Church in Lancaster, Calif., is mobilizing to send Military Christmas Care Boxes to a troop of U.S. Army soldiers stationed overseas. The mobilization to fill approximately 350 shoeboxes with letters, snacks, and various necessities is in response to a request from a CCC member who serves as a U.S. Army chaplain for those male and female soldiers. “We have always done [Samaritan Purse’s] Operation Christmas Child boxes in the past,” said Autumn Rutledge, who serves with Central’s women’s ministry. “This year we were asked . . . if we would consider sending care packages to
September 22, 2020
Different Environments, Different Approaches (Ministering in the Midst of COVID-19)
Urban, Suburban, and Rural Church Leaders Share Their Experiences of Leading Through a Pandemic By Chris Moon No two churches are the same, even in how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the virus has left a mark on Restoration Movement congregations and pastors across the country. For some churches and pastors, especially in rural, conservative areas of the country, the pandemic seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The major difficulty was figuring out how to get the internet to cooperate during a brief closure. “There’s a lot of things you face like that
September 22, 2020
The Challenge: What Do In-Person Services Look Like Upon Reopening?
By Justin Horey In Manhattan, Kansas—“The Little Apple”—a church of about 1,000 regular attendees has resumed in-person worship with no serious complications. Though the average Sunday attendance is lower than its pre-COVID-19 norm, Crestview Christian Church has found reopening to be a blessing. Elsewhere, three other churches found that resuming in-person worship wasn’t so simple. One church reopened successfully but the state forced it to “reclose,” another church opened partially, and the other reopened but then closed again after a church employee tested positive for the virus. These are their stories. _ _ _ Reopened and Staying Open: Crestview Christian
SPOTLIGHT: Central Christian Church, Richardson, Texas
Texas Church Takes on ‘Guest-Ready’ Initiative—and Grows in the Meantime By Chris Moon Central Christian Church in Richardson, Texas, knew it had its work cut out for it. The 55-year-old congregation had gone through hard times. In 2017, declining attendance had left just 80 people in the pews, down from more than 200. Financially, the church was struggling. It needed a pastor. And its building had some deferred maintenance needs. “They were very demoralized,” said Philip Claycomb, the church’s senior pastor. Claycomb, who also leads Nexus Church Planting & Leader Care, began working with the church quarter-time in June 2018.
February 26, 2020
The Power Room
By Brian Cook Three people gather quietly around a small table. Their bodies hunch forward as their lips move silently. The drone of electrical machinery whirs around them, punctuated only by the soft rustling of Bible pages and the gentle creaking of chairs. The sign on the door says Power Room. It is a cramped electrical closet situated on the far side of the stage in our worship center. Our churchs facilities have been updated significantly over the years, but its sturdy mid-century bones can still be seen amid the bulky circuit breakers and snaking wires that inhabit this secluded
February 22, 2020
The Power Room
By Brian Cook Three people gather quietly around a small table. Their bodies hunch forward as their lips move silently. The drone of electrical machinery whirs around them, punctuated only by the soft rustling of Bible pages and the gentle creaking of chairs. The sign on the door says “Power Room.” It is a cramped electrical closet situated on the far side of the stage in our worship center. Our church’s facilities have been updated significantly over the years, but its sturdy mid-century bones can still be seen amid the bulky circuit breakers and snaking wires that inhabit this secluded
February 5, 2020
More Nexus Church Planters Choosing Bi-Vocational Path
By Chris Moon If you’re going to coach it, it helps to live it. And so Phil Claycomb got another job. That is, he got an additional job. The executive director of Texas-based Nexus Church Planting during the past year and a half also has worked 10 to 12 hours weekly helping out a local church that is trying to resurrect itself after falling on hard times. Central Christian Church in Richardson, Texas, saw its attendance drop in half and its finances lag. The church convinced Claycomb to come serve as its pastor in 2018. Claycomb was happy to help.
November 7, 2019
“The Sovereignty of Jesus” (Keynote Sermon at the Centennial Convention)
The signature gathering marking the 100th anniversary of Thomas Campbell’s Declaration and Address took place in Pittsburgh in October 1909. It was called the Centennial Convention of the Disciples of Christ. Here is a summary of the keynote sermon from Oct. 11, opening night of the convention. I. J. Spencer, minister with Central Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., preached on “Centralization in Christ; or, The Sovereignty of Jesus.” _ _ _ The Keynote Sermon By I. J. Spencer;Oct. 16, 1909; p. 11 I thought at first of love as a fitting theme for a “keynote sermon,” but Christ is greater
October 2, 2019
Retired Minister Hires Special-Needs Workers for Venture (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman A retired pastor at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., is opening a coffee shop that employs people with special needs. Brewster McLeod served Southland for 40 years before retiring last year. Now he is preparing to open McLeod’s Coffee House early this month at 376 Southland Drive. He has hired 50 employees, all of them with special needs, faithwire.com reports. “If Down syndrome or special needs make you nervous, you probably need to come in here and relax and just treat them like anyone else,” he told WKYT News. McLeod said he
Models of Christian Womanhood
By Jacqueline J. Holness No one told me a queen was coming to Central Christian Church in southwest Atlanta, but that’s what seemed to be happening when a tall, carefully coiffed, gray-haired woman in a flowing pink dress sashayed by me and my friends escorted by her even taller, burly husband one Sunday morning during my childhood. Who is that? I wondered as I eyed her from a back pew. As a preteen, I had begun paying keen attention to adults, other than my parents, who inhabited my world, which consisted primarily of church and school at that time. I
May 8, 2019
Church Finds Time Capsule, Restocks It (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Central Christian Church in Portales, N.M., discovered a 60-year-old time capsule while expanding its building. As contractors removed a plaque that marked the cornerstone of the building, they discovered a Bible, a copy of the local newspaper from 1958, a church bulletin, and a history of the church written by then pastor Glen E. Hull. The Eastern New Mexico News tracked down Hull, 86, who now lives in Florissant, Mo., with his wife of 62 years, Inez. CCC was Hull’s first ministry. “You always go back to your first ministry. It brings back lots of good memories,”
Revisiting Two ‘Epistles from Thistle’
For 45 years, Christian Standard regularly published a feature called “An Epistle from Thistle.” Editor Burris Butler introduced the feature with a brief editorial on page 4 of the May 3, 1952, issue. Beneath the headline, “Do You Like Thistle?” Butler wrote: “Let us introduce you to Thistle (page 14), our lighthearted and lightheaded friend. In his breezy way he corresponds with his unweighty friend, Down, on both light and heavy subjects, generally dealing directly or indirectly with religion. We hope you like him. If you do, we may be able to induce him to share more of his gems
January 2, 2019
Rise City Church Helps Student Buy New Prosthetic Foot (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon As part of its annual Christmas offering, Rise City Church in Lakeside, Calif., is helping a college student struggling with bone cancer to buy a prosthetic foot. According to NBC 7 News, the church—pastored by Brandon and Jamie Grant—presented a gift in person to Sam Bodger, a first-year UCLA student. Bodger had some of her left leg amputated as part of her treatment for osteosarcoma. Insurance, however, wasn’t sufficient to provide a quality prosthetic. Rise City Church takes up a Christmas offering—this year totaling $260,000—that it spreads to worthy causes in the community. Bodger was nominated
December 26, 2018
Ozark Plans Preaching-Teaching Convention (Plus News Briefs)
Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Mo., will host a Preaching-Teaching Convention Feb. 18-20. The theme is “No Matter What: Holy Living in a Hostile Land.” Among the speakers will be Caleb Kaltenbach, Brad Tate, Shan Moyers, Ashley Wooldridge, Daryl Reed, Nathan Rector, and Mark Scott. There also will be pre-convention seminars held during the day Monday, Feb. 18, including “Church Leadership: Conversations for the Smaller Church,” “Children’s Ministry Training,” and others. Click here to learn more and to register. _ _ _ Three conferences have been scheduled by e2: effective elders over the next several weeks. Manhattan (Kan.) Christian College will
December 5, 2018
Megachurch Helping Asylum-Seekers (Plus News Briefs)
Compiled by Chris Moon Central Christian Church in Mesa, Ariz., is one of several nearby churches that have helped house nearly 5,000 asylum-seekers who have crossed the Mexican border into the United States since October. According to the Arizona Mirror, the megachurch has received five large groups of migrants released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The asylum-seekers are brought temporarily to the church’s worship center, where they are fed and clothed and connected with local families who can house them temporarily. Eventually, the migrants go to live with relatives across the United States until their asylum cases can be
