Articles for tag: Church growth

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

Ellsworth’s Farewell Sermon On Hold Until Church Can Gather Again

By Chris Moon Tom Ellsworth jokes that his “crystal ball” must have been broken when he announced last year his plan to retire at the end this month. Ellsworth has put in nearly 40 years of service as pastor of Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, Ind. He’s seen the church grow from an attendance of about 80 people to more than 3,000 on two campuses. But 40 years is a good biblical number, and Ellsworth had his 65th birthday earlier this year. The church began working on a retirement plan a couple of years ago, and Shawn Green was

March 19, 2020

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Preaching

Wayne Smith’s NACC Message to Preachers (Part 2)

Here is the conclusion of Wayne Smith’s keynote sermon “Preach the Word” from the 1977 North American Christian Convention. Smith helped start Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1956 and served as her senior minister until 1995. He died in 2016. Many still list Smith as their all-time favorite preacher. Click here to read the first part of Smith’s sermon, which focuses on “The Summons—Preach.” _ _ _ Preach the Word (Part 2) The President’s message at the 1977 NACC—based on 2 Timothy 4:1-8 By Wayne B. SmithMarch 10, 1985; p. 4 THE SUBJECT—CHRISTChrist said, “And I, if I

March 15, 2020

Doctrinal Issues & Debates Theology & Bible

The Role of Women from the Resurrection to Today

By Kent E. Fillinger The greatest and most important event in the history of the world—Jesus’ resurrection—was announced first to a small group of women who had loved and followed Jesus. These women then communicated the news to the rest of Jesus’ disciples. In subsequent years, as the young church grew, women like Lydia, Phoebe, and Priscilla played notable roles. Fast-forward to today. Where do we find women serving in the church? The short answer is—it depends on the church! Our 2018 annual church survey sought to determine how women are serving in ministry leadership today. Please note: My intent

February 22, 2020

Mark Kitts

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

If You Lead Alone, You're Doing It Wrong

A Cutting-Edge Way to Find New Ministry Partners Online . . . and in Person By Mark Kitts I’m still smarting from the recent closing of my alma mater, once known as “the Flagship College” of the independent Christian churches (ICC). Our schools, publications, and national gatherings have historically been unifying bastions of the Restoration Movement. But these institutions have been losing influence as people have voted with their feet and their wallets. Is it because Restoration ideals have lost their relevance? I don’t think so. I see these ideals being adopted as never before. Denominationalism is declining at an

February 19, 2020

Mark Kitts

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

If You Lead Alone, You're Doing It Wrong

January 8, 2020

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

WHAT MATTERS MOST: Getting Better at the Two Things Jesus Said Are Most Important

By Rick Rusaw I have lived in Boulder County, Colorado, for nearly 29 years and currently work from an office on Pearl Street in the city of Boulder. Some describe Boulder as 20 square miles surrounded by reality. At times, I would agree. I don’t know of any better location for ministry than a place that embraces spirituality but rejects Christianity. Boulder often is listed as the least religious place in America. That would be true, unless you consider naval gazing, pot smoking, hiking, biking, and running to be nonreligious activities. Boulder is also ranked as one of the healthiest

January 8, 2020

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Mission & Evangelism

The Power of Invitation

By Kent E. Fillinger Jesus told the parable of a man who planned a great feast and invited many people to attend (see Luke 14:15-24). When preparations were completed, he sent his servant to tell his invited guests, “Come, for everything is now ready.” Surprisingly, the people on the guest list made multiple excuses for why they couldn’t attend. This angered the master, who told his servant to invite the poor, crippled, blind, and lame to come. After they arrived, there still was room. So, the master told the servant to invite anyone he could find to come to the

January 3, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Recapturing a 'Phenomenal' Vision for Our Churches

By Michael C. Mack January 2020 seems like an excellent time to think about vision. The articles in this issue focus on significant church strategiesfundraising, assessing, training, neighboring, church planting, and reaching men, for examplethat can help churches fulfill Jesus’ vision and carry out his mission. But I want to make sure we don’t confuse strategiesthough they may be biblical and beneficialwith the church’s vision and mission. Strategies must never supplant our mission. I did a quick topical search of the bookshelves in my office: The Five-Star Church, The Seven-Day-a-Week Church, The Emotionally Healthy Church, Becoming a Healthy Church, Building

November 27, 2019

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

Bycroft Serving Oklahoma Church after Long Ministry in Kansas

By Chris Moon Retirement didn’t last long for David Bycroft. “That’s a little bit of a joke,” he told Christian Standard. Bycroft retired from Tyro (Kan.) Christian Church in September 2017 after a long ministry—47 years in all—that saw the church grow in average weekly attendance from 40 people to 950. And that was in a town of just 250 residents. The church attracted people from towns all around the area. Not long after preaching his last sermon in Tyro, Bycroft was contacted by the leadership at East Bartlesville Christian Church, located in Bartlesville, Okla., about 30 miles south

October 10, 2019

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Preaching

An 1800s Preacher Shares His Story

Buried toward the back of the Oct. 12, 1889, issue was a column by an unknown preacher who shared short recollections of his inadequacies and failings as a young evangelist. This column is several things: raw, uneven, humorous, painful, perceptive, and poignant. _ _ _ Reminiscences from a Young Preacher’s Experience By Y. P.Oct. 12, 1889; p. 11 Yes, I remember quite a number of the firstlies in my ministry. My first sermon was in a new, unfinished, country meetinghouse, painted without, but rough within; the studding, joist and rafters were bare. The benches were slabs from the saw-mill, supported

September 20, 2019

Small Churches: Responding to Some Stereotypes

In this repost of a classic article that first appeared in Christian Standard on May 20, 2012, Tom Claibourne responds to some fairly typical stereotypes about small churches. Claibourne is in his 40th year serving with Bethlehem Church of Christ, Winchester, Ohio. He recently was inducted into the Christian Village Communities Hall of Faith; his induction video celebrating his life of ministry is available at the church’s Facebook page. (Read our October 2019 issue for articles about challenges facing rural and small churches . . . and possible solutions.) _ _ _ By Tom Claibourne Small church. What is the

September 13, 2019

Restoration Movement History

An Urban Conversation for the Restoration Movement

Our September 2019 issue focuses on urban ministry, which is something Steve Carr wrote about in this article from 11 years ago. At that time, a few dozen urban ministers came together for an “Urban Conversation” to discuss the situation and consider solutions. Some things have changed over the last decade, but many of the elements of their conversation are still important today. (This article originally appeared online in August 2008.) _ _ _ By Steve Carr By sometime this summer half of the world’s population will live in cities.1 For Restoration Movement churches in America this fact is problematic

August 22, 2019

2018 Fast Facts about Small and Very Small Churches

These statistics from 2018 are gleaned from small and very small church data collected by Kent Fillinger. Be sure to read Fillinger’s article, “2018 Special Church Report, Part 3: Small and Very Small Churches,” and look at the accompanying tables, “The 2018 Charts: Small and Very Small Churches.” _ _ _ AVERAGE ATTENDANCE Small churches: 163 Very Small churches: 54 Combined average weekly attendance (125 churches): 21,701 _ _ _ GROWTH RATES Small churches: 0.03 percent (up from -0.3 percent in 2017); overall, 38 percent of small churches grew (up from 36 percent in 2017) Very Small churches: 1.7 percent

August 22, 2019

Church Leadership

A Little Boy’s Prayer

By Micah Stephen Bedtime is one of my favorite times of the day. Not because of my kids going to sleep, but because I get to wrap up the day with them. On one particular evening, however, as I walked across that squeaky old floor toward the kids’ bedroom, I was hoping bedtime would be easy. The routine includes a story, a quick prayer, kisses goodnight, and saying “I love you” to one another. At bedtime, I can forget my daily stress. No bills. No problem-solving. But, for whatever reason, on this night I just wanted “me” time. Little did

August 22, 2019

Church Life

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

August 12, 2019

California Church Sees a Steady Rise

(We shined a “Spotlight” on four large and medium churches of note in our August print issue. Here’s a bonus article about Rise City Church of Lakeside, Calif., the second-fastest-growing large church [average weekly attendance of 500 to 999] in our most recent survey.) By Chris Moon Rise City Church of Lakeside, Calif., is showing she was aptly named. The church has seen a strong, steady rise in attendance since being planted six years ago. Attendance at Rise City grew by 31.8 percent in 2018. It averaged 837 people each Sunday, making it the second-fastest-growing church in Christian Standard’s list

July 22, 2019

Money & Debt Stewardship & Generosity

The Debt Debate

By Kent E. Fillinger September is a prime time for churches to start planning next year’s budget, as most use a calendar year (January to December) budget cycle. To assist in your church’s budget projections, I’ll share some statistics and summaries on giving and debt from our 2018 church survey. Among church leaders, there are two distinct schools of thought about debt. Some are anti-debt and make being debt-free a primary goal of their church, while others see debt as a strategic tool to help finance the church’s vision. Whatever your thoughts, my hope is this data will help guide

June 22, 2019

2018 Fast Facts about Large and Medium Churches

These statistics from 2018 are gleaned from large and medium church data collected by Kent Fillinger. Be sure to read Fillinger’s article, “2018 Special Church Report, Part 2: Large and Medium Churches,” and look at the accompanying tables, “The 2018 Charts: Large and Medium Churches.” _ _ _ AVERAGE ATTENDANCE Large Churches: 691 Medium Churches: 358 Combined average weekly attendance (174 churches): 91,595 _ _ _ GROWTH RATES Large Churches: 1.9% (down from 2.9% in 2017); overall, 52% of large churches grew (down from 56% in 2017) Medium churches: 3.7% (up from 1.3% in 2017); overall, 60% of medium churches

June 22, 2019