Articles for tag: Compassion International

March 18, 2020

Christian Standard

Stadia Honors Tom, Debbie Jones with Award Named for Them (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Tom and Debbie Jones recently received a new award from Stadia Church Planting that is named in their honor. The Dr. Thomas and Debbie Jones Church Planting Impact Award was presented to the Joneses at Stadia’s annual Celebration and Dessert Party at Exponential in Orlando, Fla., on March 3. In the future, the award will be presented to leaders like the Joneses who champion the cause of church planting. Together, the Joneses planted two churches, before Tom joined Stadia in 2003. He soon became executive director of the nationwide church planting organization. His

December 18, 2019

Christian Standard

Stadia’s Generosity to Church Planters Pays Off in First Year

By Jim Nieman Stadia Church Planting’s decision to give away the majority of its services starting last January had little noticeable effect on its financial bottom line in 2019, but the change helped Stadia to double the number of U.S. churches it helped plant last year. In 2018, Stadia assisted in planting 34 churches in the United States; that figure jumped to 68 in 2019, said Matt Murphy, strategic services and marketing executive with Stadia. How is that possible, when Stadia provides, on average, about $74,000 in services to help each new church get off the ground? It has a

October 1, 2019

Christian Standard

BELIEVABLE LIVES: How YOU Can Make a Kingdom Difference in This World

By Dan Crum INDIA: I visited north India earlier this year and was honored to sit among leaders of one of the largest movements to Christ I’ve ever known. While there, a woman stood up and shared about her work among the transgender community. Prisha (not her real name) had approached the transgender community and requested to teach them about Christ. She was rejected initially, but soon one of the people in that community became ill and medical treatment was not helping. Some folks reached out to Prisha and told her she could come and pray for their friend. If

January 3, 2018

Christian Standard

Get Creative with your Fund-Raising!

By David Girdwood Each summer, as temperatures rise and the daylight expands, our children begin dreaming of a commercial enterprise: “Mom, Dad, can we pleeease do a lemonade stand?” Personally, spending hours in the blazing sun selling just enough lemonade to cover the cost of the Crystal Light isn’t very appealing. We allow our kids to do it anyway. Why? Is it a rite of passage, a way to kill a few hours, an opportunity to teach an economics lesson? Or is it ultimately a chance for them to be creative, resourceful, and even to experience the generosity of others?

October 24, 2017

Christian Standard

The Increasing Challenge for Evangelism in India

Persecution is increasing in India. How will our churches respond?   By John Caldwell  The year was 1950 and colonial India was debating its constitution as a new, independent nation. Drafters of the constitution had written an article on freedom of religion that “each individual has the right to profess, practice and propagate his faith.” The constitutional convention engaged in much debate over that word, propagate. The Hindu majority feared that word would be used by a small Christian minority as an excuse to proselytize.   Ironically it was a Hindu delegate who stood to his feet and said the word propagate

April 4, 2016

Christian Standard

We”ve Become Leaders in Church Planting

By Justin Horey Innovation is at the heart of new church planting. Spend any amount of time talking to the leaders of the church planting ministries in the Restoration Movement, and it quickly becomes clear this is a group that prizes newness: new places, new churches, new believers, new ideas, and new strategies. It”s not easy to say when this attitude began to take hold””perhaps in the 1980s or 1990s. Today new Christian churches are often established by organizations that profess to “do things no one else does.” Lance Hurley, executive director of Ignite Church Planting in Chicago, recalls how

November 2, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Missions Ministry Toolbox

Interview by Mark A. Taylor We spoke with four local church missions ministers about best practices for missions ministry. Their answers were as inspiring as they were practical. Here are approaches to the local church”s global outreach that build up the church and nourish the workers on foreign fields.  We think every congregation will appreciate the insights and ideas these four shared: PAT CREECH, global outreach pastor for Crossroads Christian Church, Newburgh, Indiana; DREW DEPLER, global outreach pastor at LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, Colorado; TYLER HARI, pastor of outreach, Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois; and DAVID THORESEN, director of local and international outreach,

July 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Thomas F. Jones Jr.’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Thomas F. Jones Jr., executive director of Stadia, Irvine, California. ________ Wess Stafford, president emeritus of Compassion International: Wess is an extraordinary leader who grew Compassion International, a child advocacy organization that works only through the local church, to one of the world”s leading nonprofits. Most important, he has helped shape the world”s thinking about the importance of giving hope to

July 10, 2014

Christian Standard

Experiences, Relationships

By Greg Nettle (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) Best advice: Wess Stafford, then president of Compassion International, was mentoring me on how to disciple my own children. He advised, “Give your children experiences, not things.” Worst advice: One of my Bible college professors advised, “Never be close friends with people in the church you lead.” Greg Nettle serves as president with Stadia, Irvine, California.

May 14, 2013

Christian Standard

Pondering a Digital Future

By Mark A. Taylor “Misery loves company,” the old saying goes. And, while attendees at the annual Evangelical Press Association conference, May 1-3 in Nashville, seemed to relish each other”s company, their mood was everything but misery. This group of magazine editors, writers, marketers, and designers clearly enjoyed the chance to talk shop together. Workshop sessions covered most aspects of Christian journalism””everything from interviewing skills to photography techniques. The digital revolution was in the background of many conversations. And, while most of these editors are extending an online presence, all are working as if print isn”t going away anytime soon.

November 13, 2012

Christian Standard

For the Love of a Child

Child sponsorship programs are changing lives””in distant lands and right here in the United States. Discover the facts. Listen to the testimonies. And realize how this is happening. By Doug Priest “Our people sponsor nearly 400 children, and congregational giving continues to grow. In fact, the more we give to others outside our walls, the more our general fund has grown.” “”Steve Reeves, Connection Pointe Christian Church (Brownsburg, Indiana) Alice was conceived out of wedlock. She never knew her father. After the birth, her mother entrusted Alice to her grandmother and moved to another country. Alice lived in the Mathare

October 2, 2012

Christian Standard

Planting Churches, Sponsoring Children

By Jennifer Johnson In 2011, church planting organization Stadia (Irvine, CA) partnered with Compassion International and Ecuadorian and U.S. church partners to plant four new churches in Ecuador. In 2012 they”re starting another dozen churches. Compassion offers its child sponsorship program and other initiatives through each church, and Stadia Executive Director Tom Jones estimates more than 4,000 children will be helped through the work by the end of this year. In January, Compassion President Wess Stafford asked Stadia to expand the ministry into other South American countries. While continuing to plant churches in Ecuador, Stadia plans to start two churches in

April 23, 2012

Christian Standard

The Missional Model: “˜Go and Make Disciples”

By Greg Nettle It all boils down to “how well we are doing at making disciples.” After 23 years at the leadership helm of RiverTree Christian Church, I have to take at least some responsibility for the quality of disciples we are producing. Now, don”t get me wrong, I know it is God who brings about the sanctification process and that we, as humans, certainly continue to have the freedom to make good or bad choices. However, surrounding my 20-year anniversary as leader of RiverTree, I spent a lot of time praying and reflecting. And I didn”t like what was

January 22, 2012

Christian Standard

Power Planting

Brent Storms became president of Orchard Group in 2009 and CEO this past July. Greg Nettle joined the Stadia team as president just a few months ago. These two young leaders recently sat down with us for a candid conversation about the future of church planting and the future of the church.   Brent, what is Orchard Group”s niche and overall mission? STORMS: Our mission is to plant growing and reproducing churches in New York, the Northeast, and beyond, which often means strategic urban settings. We began in the New York metro area and in the last 20 years we”ve

October 5, 2011

Christian Standard

RiverTree Providing Tools for Missional Movement

By Jennifer Taylor A number of factors began to converge, and Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), thought God might be up to something. There were partnerships with Stadia (Irvine, CA) and Compassion International; the launch of 18 churches and counting with Kingdom Synergy Partnership, a church planting network; the addition of Alex Absalom, coauthor of Launching Missional Communities, to the RiverTree staff; the launch of Love Canton, an urban church plant; and the transition of RiverTree from megachurch to missional movement. “It started to become clear that God was moving,” Nettle says. The RiverTree team

March 11, 2011

Christian Standard

A Partnership to Plant Churches in Ecuador

By Jennifer Taylor The ministry”s new “glocal” initiative combines global partnerships with local church planting. The project is starting in April with four new churches launching near Manta, Ecuador. Stadia is working with Compassion International, a Christian child advocacy ministry, and Camino de Santidad, a church planting movement that has already started 25 churches. “About 5,000 people live in each of the villages we”ve chosen, but there are no churches of any kind,” Stadia shares. “Several lack wells to provide drinking water; they all lack schools and health care.” Partnership with Camino and Compassion will not only create new churches

January 19, 2011

Christian Standard

Preacher, Crew, to Climb Volcano

Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), is one of nine guys climbing a volcano in the Andes Mountains this month! Nettle and his team leave for Ecuador tomorrow; while there they will climb four mountains including Cotopaxi, the second-highest summit in the country and one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. The last 5,000 feet of the climb will be over the world’s largest equatorial glacier! The nine climbers, all part of RiverTree, are raising $100,000 for ChildReach Ministries and Compassion International. Click here to watch Greg and two teammates discuss the trip and

January 3, 2010

Christian Standard

Provoking Change: A Review of Catalyst Atlanta

By Brandon Smith ________ Read the Sidebar: “Three Incentives for Joining the Movement” ________ When thousands of vehicles converge on a single four-lane road, movement is bound to slow. This was the case driving north on Sugarloaf Parkway outside Atlanta the first week of October. But the occupants of these vehicles were gathering for a conference, and, contrary to the traffic, the passengers were preparing for a great movement. The conference is called Catalyst. A catalyst, by definition, is a force that provokes or speeds up significant change or action. While I don”t remember a lot from my science classes

June 28, 2009

Christian Standard

An Adoption Story

By Sonja White READ THE MAIN ARTICLE: “Embracing the Ministry of Adoption” by Sonja White      Every adoptive family has a story and a journey. For Greg and Julie Nettle, their story began on December 1, 2001. Greg explains, “We had good friends who had decided to adopt [a child] from Kazakhstan. It was a difficult time for our country following the events of September 11th, and our friends had to leave their two biological boys with grandparents to complete their adoption in Kazakhstan, a country just 500 miles north of Afghanistan. At the end of their three-week trip,

February 17, 2008

Christian Standard

The Assassin of Character Creep

By Jud Wilhite Jud Wilhite is senior pastor of Central Christian Church, a pioneering community of faith in the Las Vegas area. More than 12,000 attend Central”s campuses each weekend. Jud is the author of several books including Stripped: Uncensored Grace on the Streets of Vegas, That Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and Deadly Viper Character Assassins. Under Jud”s leadership, Central is dedicated to helping people find their way to God. He is known for his authentic and relevant approach to teaching the Bible, and his passion is to equip people to know God and love him more. Jud and

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