Articles for tag: Chris Moon

March 13, 2020

Christian Standard

Church Leaders Make Tough Calls as Coronavirus Spreads

(On Friday, March 13, this article was updated with information from Northshore Christian Church in Everett, Wash.) By Chris Moon The fear of COVID-19, the new coronavirus, has swept the nation during the past week, and Restoration Movement churches and organizations are working through the fallout. An array of announcements about changes at churches and Christian colleges have been rolled out during the past few days. Colleges have begun posting notices on their websites indicating their response to the coronavirus. (Click here to read “Christian Universities Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic,” which offers a rundown of steps many of our colleges

January 15, 2020

Christian Standard

Mission & Evangelism

Four Decades in, GNPI Solar Kits Still a High-Impact Tool for Ministry

By Chris Moon Tom Nutt keeps getting requests. “Right now, I have sent out two so far this year,” he told Christian Standard. “I’ve got four that need to go out in the next few weeks and an additional one that I will ship in March.” He’s talking about the solar kits Good News Productions International, based in Joplin, Mo., has been sending around the world for the past 39 years. Nutt, vice president of operations for GNPI, says the organization has sent out nearly 800 of them in its historyall in an effort to enable missionaries to show evangelistic

December 18, 2019

Christian Standard

Even after 25 Years, Churches Welcome Thousands for ‘Journey to Bethlehem’

By Chris Moon Another year, another “Journey to Bethlehem.” For some Restoration Movement churches, the “Journey” is a tradition that has spanned decades. Christian Standard found two churches that have been at it for at least 25 years—New Hope Christian Church in Washington, Ind., and Capital City Christian Church in Jefferson City, Mo. “Things kind of gain a life of their own,” said Joe Coquillard, lead pastor of New Hope, which held its 25th annual “Journey to Bethlehem” last weekend. He said 1,791 people participated in the interactive Nativity that guides participants through a series of scenes that tell the

September 4, 2019

Christian Standard

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

Spire: What It Is, What It Isn’t . . . and Why

By Chris Moon New things inevitably generate questions. “What is it?” “Why this?” “Why now?” And “why not this other thing?” It’s been no different for the organizers of Spire Network, a digital platform that has set its sights on uniting and equipping pastors within the independent Christian churches and churches of Christ. The network has been working toward its first conference—set for October 8 to 10 in Orlando—and preparing to roll out its online networking platform this fall. In the middle of all of that, organizers are fielding questions about the nature of Spire and what it hopes to

August 22, 2019

Christian Standard

SPOTLIGHT: Reclaim Christian Church, Ansonia, Conn.

By Chris Moon Reclaim Christian Church in Ansonia, Connecticut, is living up to its name. The church last fall moved into its new sanctuary space after doubling the size of its building. Since then, Reclaim has seen its average attendance grow by more than 25 percent—and that after the church had grown steadily for nearly a decade. It’s God’s reclamation project, which is just how lead pastor Breandan McTighe likes it. “Taking something that is old, which is who we were, and something that is beaten down and tattered and weathered and has the markings of past pains and hurts—and

July 17, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Staff

Executive Pastor Online Aims to Fill a Gap for Smaller Churches

By Chris Moon Kevin Stone wants to be the executive pastor many churches want but simply can’t afford to hire. Years ago, the executive pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Royersford, Pa., began thinking about how he could serve small and midsized churches that simply don’t have the capacity to hire ministers to manage their operations and administration. So in 2006, he founded the first iteration of what has become known as Executive Pastor Online. “The site is your online executive pastor,” Stone said. “The idea is to provide that skill set and those fundamental concepts to the

July 3, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Ministry Training & Education

Merold Institute Assessing Options for Growth

By Chris Moon Four years into its existence, the Merold Institute is looking toward the future. The ministry of Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Mo., began primarily as a place to help mold the church’s key volunteers and existing and incoming staff—to give them the biblical and theological training lacking in many ministry workers who were unable to attend Bible college or seminary. During its short existence, the institute named for Ben Merold, Harvester’s former senior minister (who continues serving as a teaching pastor), has largely accomplished that goal. Many of the church’s staff and volunteers have earned certificates

June 22, 2019

Christian Standard

SPOTLIGHT: Two Rivers Church, New Bern, N.C.

Uniquely Positioned to Help the Community By Chris Moon As Hurricane Florence tore across North Carolina last September, Two Rivers Church in New Bern was at the center of it all. Thousands of homes in the city were severely flooded. People were coping with major damage to their homes. A massive reconstruction effort was about to launch. And Two Rivers Church was in the right place at the right time—at least that’s the way lead minister David McCants views it. “It’s given us an opportunity to be the church we say we are,” McCants said. “If we say we love

May 1, 2019

Christian Standard

Johnson Retires from The Creek but Continuing with e2

By Chris Moon Gary Johnson has decided to have just one full-time job from now on . . . and he’s pretty excited about it. “I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve,” he said last week as he prepared for his last Sunday on the job as pastor of The Creek in Indianapolis. “I’m waiting for 8 a.m. on Monday morning to arrive when I only have to wear one hat.” Johnson retired Sunday from 30 years at the helm of The Creek, which he saw grow from 250 in attendance to more than 4,000 during his tenure—something he attributes

February 27, 2019

Christian Standard

Christian Living

‘Run the Race’ an Exercise in Perseverance for Filmmaker

By Chris Moon Last Friday was more than a decade in the making for Trey Brunson. The communications director at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville watched as a film he helped produce, Run the Race, opened in theaters nationwide. The movie was coproduced by Tim and Robby Tebow and marks their first venture into filmmaking. “It doesn’t even seem real,” Brunson told Christian Standard. Brunson and his friend Jake McEntire were students in 2004 at Dallas Baptist University when McEntire came up with the idea for the movie—about two brothers trying to get out of their hometown and the working

January 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Staff

‘Pastor’s Project’ Offers Help to Struggling Ministers

By Chris Moon Dick Creek has been busy lately—and it’s the result of having knee surgery. A year and a half ago, he launched The Pastor’s Project, an initiative to help struggling pastors. The effort has grown since then to include a “Rapid Response” ministry for pastors who find themselves in crisis and a “Rural Church Initiative” to connect thriving churches with those that might be struggling, in hopes of sparking a revitalization. And all of this emerged from the time Creek was stuck in his chair, healing up from knee replacement surgery. “I had a lot of time on

May 19, 2018

Christian Standard

Headlines: June 2018

By Chris Moon Fire Destroys MOHI School but Not Hope in Its Mission Missions of Hope International suffered a blow to its efforts to spread the gospel in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, when one of its school buildings burned to the ground in February. The building in the Bondeni community housed 18 classrooms that served 694 students. Desks and textbooks were lost in the blaze. MOHI is a partner of Indianapolis-based Christian Missionary Fellowship International, which immediately began fund-raising to replace what was lost. The estimated loss was $300,000. “We thank God there were no injuries,” said Mary Kamau, executive

April 22, 2018

Christian Standard

Local Churches Organizations & Events

SPOTLIGHT: New Hope Christian Church, Thornton, Colorado

“God had a plan” in helping this congregation find a new building in a high-crime hub of metro Denver. By Chris Moon When pastor Jeff Aenk talks about the way his church was able to find its new building, he often uses the word miracle. “It was a total God story,” said Aenk, who leads New Hope Christian Church in Thornton, Colorado. The story started in 2016 when New Hope learned its landlord was planning to double the church’s rent—from $7,550 a month to almost $15,000. The rent would continue to increase for the following five years, up to

April 19, 2018

Christian Standard

HEADLINES: May 2018

By Chris Moon KCU Grad Uses Art for the Kingdom A Kentucky Christian University graduate is putting his art to work for Jesus. Cody Sabol always loved to paint. After his freshman year in college, he asked God how he could use his art for the kingdom. God began to answer that prayer when one of Sabol’s friends asked him to paint during an event where the friend was performing. Sabol initially resisted, but then relented after being offered two Taco Bell tacos. (College students can be bribed.) “The paintings turned out awful. A-W-F-U-L,” Sabol wrote on his website,

March 21, 2018

Christian Standard

HEADLINES: April 2018

By Chris Moon 5-Year-Old Signs Basketball National Letter of Intent Milligan College’s latest basketball recruit is young—very young. The Tennessee school last fall brought 5-year-old Eli Roberts to campus to sign a National Letter of Intent to play on the school’s basketball team. Eli, who was diagnosed with cancer at birth, is the son of a Milligan College graduate. “Eli signed a letter of intent, which means he’s part of our program,” said Milligan basketball coach Bill Robinson in a story published in the college’s alumni magazine. “It’s the coolest signing I’ve been a part of, that’s for sure.”

February 22, 2018

Christian Standard

Headlines: July 2018

By Chris Moon Churches Unite to Carry the Cross Campton (Ky.) Christian Church brought the message of the cross to its region in the lead-up to Easter. The church’s “Cross Across Wolfe County” event brought churches and other believers together to carry a large wooden cross from one end of Wolfe County, Ky., to the other. The event took place on the Saturday before Easter. Churches, youth groups, and families signed up to carry the cross in 2-mile segments. The cross covered a distance of about 20 miles. Local law enforcement provided an escort for participants, and an assist

February 17, 2018

Christian Standard

HEADLINES: March 2018

By Chris Moon Church Responds to Youth Departure Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute, Ind., is revamping its youth ministry to try to help stop the exodus of young people from our nation’s churches. With “Growing Young at MCC,” the church is dropping some staples of traditional youth ministry—like its high school worship service on Sunday morning—and adding more elements that bring parents and students together in church. The theory is that offering age-specific programming twice a week for students overburdens families. MCC wants to encourage high school students to be part of the larger church body in ministry

January 20, 2018

Christian Standard

HEADLINES: February 2018

By Chris Moon Kentucky Church Hosts “Drug House Odyssey” Nicholson Christian Church in Independence, Ky., bypassed the typical church “fall festival” and “trunk-or-treat” event this past Halloween to focus on something scarier. The Northern Kentucky church spent three days in late October hosting what it called “Drug House Odyssey,” an interactive walk through the horrors of drug addiction. According to WLWT Channel 5, the church produced a handful of live-action scenes that played out stories of drug addiction—from a childcare worker suffering an overdose to a teenager finding his mother had overdosed. Kentucky has been particularly hard hit by

December 15, 2017

Christian Standard

HEADLINES: January 2018

By Chris Moon Â Church Planter Helps with Recovery in Dominican Republic Church planter Chris Hornbrook had to weather the storm last fall in his mission work in the Dominican Republic. Hornbrook is working to start a church-planting movement on the Caribbean island and watched as Hurricane Maria spun by, doing significant damage to the region. It generated a lot of work for Hornbrook and his team, according to the Daily Journal in Franklin, Ind., which wrote about Hornbrook”s efforts. “We”re working through our local churches and pastors so that they can help the people in their communities,” Hornbrook told

November 20, 2017

Christian Standard

Headlines: December 2017

By Chris Moon Pastor Shifts Gears to Raise Funds Jeff Greco will go out of his way for a good fund-raiser””literally. The pastor of Crossroads Christian Church in Wintersville, Ohio, in September cycled nearly 900 miles in eight days from Kansas City, Mo., back to Crossroads. The goal was to raise money to buy a new pickup truck for the church”s missionary in Thailand. Greco embarked on the trip hoping people in his congregation and community would be inspired””not just to give money to help the missions effort, but also to step out in their faith. “I want to