November 6, 2025
To focus outward means that the church’s primary concern is the people outside its walls and influence. It means that the church’s assets—its money, its talent, its time, and its facility—are focused toward reaching into that group.
May 9, 2022
David Faust traveled to Romania with Remember the Children’s Andy Baker and others the last week of April. The group sought to encourage Romanian Christians who have been assisting the thousands of Ukrainian refugees who have flooded into their country since the war began in late February.
December 18, 2019
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
June 22, 2019
By Kent Fillinger This is the second installment of a three-part series sharing research findings from our annual church survey. This month, we turn our attention to 88 large churches (average weekly worship attendance of 500 to 999 during 2018) and 86 medium churches (average attendance of 250 to 499). Growth Flip-Flop The medium churches on average grew at almost twice the rate of large churches in 2018 (3.7 percent compared to 1.9 percent, respectively). This was the first-time since 2009 that medium churches we surveyed grew faster than large churches. This flip-flop partially resulted from medium churches having their
September 21, 2018
E2: Effective Elders Blog Editor’s Note: Each Friday we publish a new blog post from our partners in ministry, E2: Effective Elders. We publish it here simultaneous to E2’s posting on their site. The leaders of E2 write an article for our print and online magazine every month as well. Those articles are full of wisdom and practical help for elders. Please check them out! _____ By Jim Estep Putting it simply: Change is hard. We try to change our diet, exercise more, adapt to new technology, change our routines . . . but it’s hard to take the risk of
June 19, 2017
By Jim Estep It”s easy to understand why small towns have small churches. We can visit a town of 3,500 and find several congregations with fewer than 100 people in each. In fact, some would say that small towns like small churches. Bristow, Iowa, for example (population 160), boasts of having “The Smallest Church in Iowa.” One can readily explain a large church being in a large city. Finding a church of 1,000 in a city of 200,000 people””that”s reasonable. Most megachurches are in “mega” cities. But, what happens when we encounter a church of 1,200 in a town with
May 5, 2017
By Kent E. Fillinger Leading a church is a complex undertaking. The challenges can seem to mount more quickly than answers or resources become available. However, asking good questions is helpful. And asking the right questions as a leader is a game changer. One question I always ask is, “What can we learn from our annual survey data to apply to life and ministry?” Here are some important findings from key survey questions, and I”ve included some application questions for you and your team to discuss. One of this year”s survey questions was, “What questions or issues is your church
January 21, 2017
By Andy Daniell How a small, struggling local church found new vitality by simply meeting the need across the street. Almost all church growth and leadership models are built around these main factors: “¢ being true to your church”s DNA and finding your role in the kingdom; “¢ being willing to test and employ various approaches related to the vision that fulfills that role; “¢ being willing to change and/or shut down ministries and initiatives based on the first two factors; “¢ allowing room for God to bless the activities and use them in ways that are beyond what”s humanly
By Dave Ferguson Church leaders are being more creative than ever before in measuring ministry and stats that are significant for accomplishing the mission. Here is a long list of just some of the stats that are now being incorporated into churches” scoreboards. These came from dozens of churches just like yours who are trying to figure out how to make sure they are winning: “¢ The number of people who attend a worship service “¢ The number of people who are in a small group “¢ The number of people who are serving both within the church and outside
March 5, 2015
Jesus Is for Everyone By Melissa Sandel, director of ministries, West Side Christian Church, Springfield, Illinois In early 2014, West Side”s leaders began to sense our community needed a refreshing message from the church””that Jesus is, in fact, for EVERYONE””without qualifiers. We launched a six-week emphasis entitled “EVERYONE,” based on Jesus” words in John 11:25, 26, with renewed conviction that Jesus offers new life and hope to everyone who chooses to follow him. The first step was a Sunday morning message describing what it would mean to extend the hope of Jesus to everyone in our community. Next, we equipped
October 25, 2012
By Mark A. Taylor Ben Cachiaras”s “Let Me Tell You How You Should Vote” continues to challenge readers to place their hope in God, not in the promises of politicians. It has garnered much positive response at our site and in personal correspondence to him and to our office. One preacher wrote to say he was making 800 copies of it to distribute as widely as he could. But one reader wrote Ben to debate a couple of his arguments. Ben”s response was so helpful I felt compelled to share at least one of his points here. He has given
August 23, 2009
by TJ George Several years ago, the Christians at Capital Area Christian Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, worshiped in a very little building we had completely outgrown. We had used up every inch of life that building had to offer, and something had to be done. Through a miraculous series of events, God dropped a 53-acre property into our laps selling for well below market price. Fifty-three acres, do you know big that is? Under the wise guidance of our eldership and after much prayer, we bought the property. From the start, our leadership”s intention was to develop the property in a
July 5, 2006
A child’s lemonade stand on an empty street becomes a reminder for churches: outreach requires more than enthusiasm. To reach a culture with Christ’s message, we must go where people are and meet real needs.
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April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok
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David Faust
April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok