Articles for tag: Crossroads Christian Church

Culture & Public Square Race

Churches, Colleges Respond to George Floyd’s Death, National Discord

Christian churches and colleges across the country have called for prayer, dialogue, and reconciliation in response to outrage and demonstrations over George Floyd’s death while in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25. Among the many examples: • Dudley Rutherford, pastor of Shepherd Church, Porter Ranch, Calif., had a conversation with several leaders in the black community, most of whom attend Shepherd regularly, about topics that included Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the current state of our country. (View it at the church’s Facebook page.) • A dozen staff members of Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, Calif., spent about

April 22, 2020

Giving & Fundraising Stewardship & Generosity

Church Giving Seems to Stabilize after Rough Start to COVID-19 Closures

We spoke with ministers of churches large and small in several states about how their church finances have been impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting stay-at-home orders. The sampling size is small—five ministers—but most report improved giving after a rough first couple of weeks. _ _ _ By Chris Moon When asked about church finances during the COVID-19 pandemic, pastor Vince Antonucci had a quick answer. “It’s scary,” he said. The lead pastor of Verve Church in Las Vegas—which averaged 285 people in attendance before the shutdown—is in a city that’s been particularly hard hit because of the outbreak. The

February 11, 2020

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Several Churches Host 'Night to Shine' Proms

Several Restoration Movement churches held “Night to Shine” proms for people with special needs this past weekend. The proms are sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation. More than 700 events were held this year. Here are some of the ones we heard about. In California, Real Life Church in Valencia partnered with the Tim Tebow Foundation for the first time this year—although this was the fifth consecutive year the church has held a prom for people with special needs. “When they walk off the bus, and their eyes light up and their parents burst into tears, that’s coming close to

December 31, 2019

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

How to Establish an Effective, Objective Church-Ministry Evaluation

By Bart Rendel Church leaders need a solid, scriptural, and effective system for discussing and evaluating issues and moving forward as a team. As I have helped church leaders around the country increase their kingdom impact over the last 15 years, I’ve often heard of meetings that descended into scrums and battles over opinions, with arguments based upon anecdotal evidence, and random comments tossed around based on limited perspectives or past successes. To help churches stay on course, leaders should align behind a set of gospel-centered standards. Our hope at Intentional Churches is to establish these standards in every church

December 11, 2019

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Professor Walton Retiring from CCCB (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Jim Nieman and Chris Moon Central Christian College of the Bible will host a retirement reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday for William Walton, professor emeritus of Christian ministries. Walton began his service with CCCB in 1980 and has served the college in various roles, including as dean of students, vice president of student life, and athletic director. CCCB president David Fincher said he was a high schooler competing in a preaching contest when he first met Walton, and that Walton’s comments that day encouraged Fincher to pursue ministry. “A similar story can be told by thousands

November 2, 2019

Church & Ministry Youth & Children's Ministry

Children’s Ministry Best Practices (Megachurch): Crossroads Christian Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

A Passion for Reaching More Children—and Their Families—for Christ By Pam Siddle Dwight L. Moody once said,“If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God.” We have a similar commitment at Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie, Texas, and God is using our children’s ministry to attract families to worship with us and ultimately reach more children for him. Here’s how we’re doing this. Facilities Having a visually appealing, kid-friendly building is very important. Families love seeing areas designed specifically for children, and the kids are excited to be there. Our members

June 22, 2019

Church Life

SPOTLIGHT: Crossroads Christian Church, Largo, Fla.

From Mechanic to Minister By Andy Rector “My wife, Beverly, felt a call from God, which she revealed to me, which made me smile,” said Harold Kellermier, pastor with Crossroads Christian Church in Largo, Florida. “[That] led [me] to a seat in a local Bible college at 44 years old.” Up until then, Kellermier had managed the vehicle-maintenance department for the local school system. In 2010, at 48, he was asked to become part of the staff at Crossroads. “I left the world of mechanics, finished school, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies.” But once again, Kellermier’s

January 16, 2019

First Christian Church in Decatur Marks 185 Years (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman First Christian Church of Decatur, Ill., took a moment between regular services Sunday to mark the 185th anniversary of the congregation and 25th year of service by lead pastor Wayne Kent and his wife, Leslie. “The original home of the congregation was the log courthouse in Decatur, where Abraham Lincoln practiced law,” Morgan Arseneau, the church’s discipleship assistant, told the Herald & Review. Church members had their choice of celebratory cupcakes marked with either “185” for the church anniversary or “25” for the Kents’ silver jubilee. “The word of God never changes,

January 9, 2019

Rapha House’s Freed Graces Magazine Cover (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Stephanie Freed, an Ozark Christian College alum who cofounded Rapha House, was named a “2019 Pathfinder” by J Mag, a lifestyles magazine published by the Joplin Globe. According to the Globe: “The award honors individuals, couples or groups who have accomplished something unique and who have made it possible for others to follow in their footsteps.” The entry for Freed reads: “Stephanie Freed . . . co-founded Rapha House International in 2003, after her father challenged her to research human trafficking. Today, there are safe havens in Cambodia, Thailand and in Haiti, where

December 12, 2018

Churches Rescue City’s Hoops Program (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon Calvary Christian Church in Winchester, Ky., is ramping up for the little league basketball season one year after the church helped rescue the sports program after the closure of the community’s YMCA. Calvary Christian is one of several churches sponsoring Upward 40391, a Christian-based basketball and cheerleading program. The program came into existence after the Winchester YMCA closed in late 2016. “We were breaking down barriers and coming together for the cause of the kids,” CCC’s lead pastor Mike McCormick told the Winchester Sun. About 940 preschoolers through 12th-graders are signed up for the program this

October 24, 2018

Fastest-Growing Church Listing Includes 8 from Our Fellowship (Plus News Briefs)

Eight churches from our fellowship made Outreach magazine’s listing of 100 fastest-growing churches. Those churches include: No. 11: Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, Calif. (Gene Appel, senior pastor); attendance of 8,665; grew by 21 percent. (Eastside’s logo is pictured above.) No. 12: Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, Calif. (Chuck Booher, senior pastor); 5,617; 24 percent. No. 19: Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Md. (Ben Cachiaras, lead pastor); 6,118; 19 percent. No. 55: Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Ariz. (Ashley Wooldridge, senior pastor); 29,025; 7 percent. No. 56: Traders Point Christian Church, Indianapolis (Aaron Brockett, lead pastor); 8,144; 9 percent. No. 75: 2|42

September 19, 2018

Stone Announces Retirement from Southeast

(Updated Sept. 24) Dave Stone, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., has announced he will retire sometime in the next six to nine months. Teaching pastor Kyle Idleman will replace Stone in the lead role at the church. “This is a process that has been in the works for a number of years,” Stone said in a story published on the Southeast Christian Church website. “My wife, Beth, and I decided on this timing about five years ago. We felt that 2019 would be the wisest time for the transition to take place.” Stone made the announcement

September 14, 2018

Ken Idleman

Christian Living

Legacy

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 Ken Idleman My father lived a very full life of 94 years. He started out as the youngest of four boys—not an enviable place in the “pecking order.” He grew up in a two-bedroom,

September 5, 2018

Ozark Switches to Full Week of Classes (Plus News Briefs)

Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., has departed from a longstanding tradition of not holding classes on Monday. Starting this semester, the Bible college is holding classes five days per week. “As an OCC student, I learned a proverb, ‘Methods are many, principles are few. Methods always change, principles never do,’” Ozark President Matt Proctor said in a post on the OCC website. “For over 75 years, Ozark has stayed true to one unchanging mission—training men and women for Christian service—but our methods have often changed.” Proctor said 98 percent of Ozark’s students are involved in some kind of ministry.

August 22, 2018

Fire Destroys Oklahoma Church (Plus News Briefs)

A fire likely started by lightning destroyed Guthrie (Okla.) Christian Church last week. The blaze started just before midnight on Aug. 14. No one was hurt. “We lost 49 years of books, pictures, sermons, memories and even my college books,” pastor Don Riepe told the Guthrie News Leader. Riepe is an alum of Ozark Christian College. Guthrie Fire Chief Eric Harlow said the building was a “total loss.” The church was still smoldering the next morning—last Wednesday. Later that day, there was a special prayer meeting near the site, with many people offering support. “We want to thank everyone for

August 11, 2018

Culture & Public Square Technology

Is Online Church Really Church? In a Word, No.

IN THE ARENA: In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christ-centered and Christ-honoring debate of nonessential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard. Jon Weatherly’s article “How to Debate Debatable Issues” gives great insight on how to disagree in a godly way. We apply the principles Jon describes in our first debate between Jerry Harris (click here to read his article) and Barry Cameron. These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you

August 3, 2018

Church & Ministry Youth & Children's Ministry

7 Tried-and-True Strategies That Made Our Youth Ministry (and Students) Flourish

By Matt Cameron In the summer and fall of 2006 our church lost all three of our full-time youth staff members within six months. The ministry was suffering, and we couldn’t find the right person for the job. I was on staff as preaching associate. That October one of my good friends from high school with whom I grew up in church passed away, and I began to reevaluate my own life and ministry. For months during these tough times, the thought kept coming back to me: Is God prompting me to step back into youth ministry? And not just

July 25, 2018

Storm Blows Roof Off Church in Tennessee (Plus News Briefs)

By Jim Nieman A storm that rolled through eastern Tennessee late Friday night tore the roof off of part of Love Chapel Christian Church in Erwin, leaving tons of debris and causing extensive water damage. No one was hurt. The integrity of the original 1953 church structure is still being assessed, senior minister Robert Bess said Tuesday, but an adjoining, 1960s-era, rectangular addition that includes classrooms, a nursery, restrooms, and an office is a total loss. In all likelihood, the church will need to relocate for a period of months while repairs are made and new construction occurs, said Bess,

April 18, 2018