March 4, 2022
NewThing is launching a digital church-planting effort it hopes will spark hundreds of new churches during the next year. Jeff Reed said the initiative already has drawn interest from 200 prospective church planters.
March 1, 2022
By Kent E. Fillinger Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Since the pandemic started two years ago, there have been an endless number of “experts” making countless predictions about the future of everything—including the church. Plenty of churches offered an online campus or church online on various platforms before COVID-19. Broadcast methods varied by church; the main options were livestreaming, on-demand full service (worship and message), on-demand message only, and rebroadcast (simulated live). A 2018 survey by Vanderbloeman and Jay Kranda revealed the top three broadcast platforms were Churchonlineplatform.com, Facebook Live, and YouTube.
February 17, 2021
By Chris Moon First Capital Christian Church in Corydon, Ind., has produced its first feature-length film. The movie, called Fight, premieres in March in theaters in Indiana and will be available for streaming after that. The film is about a boxer who falls into addiction, jeopardizing his family in the process. “We geared this movie toward dads, to teach them there’s a lot of stuff in life worth fighting for,” said the film’s director, Tyler Sansom, who also serves as lead digital pastor for First Capital. The film was produced by the church, which has been investing heavily in its
September 22, 2020
By Randy Frazee Before I share my perspective on what the church will look like after the coronavirus, let me offer a couple of disclaimers. First, I missed the “Pastoring through Pandemics” class in seminary. Who would have thought we would ever need that? Second, I do not claim to be a prophet. (As a matter of fact, I lead a non-“prophet” organization.) And besides, if I were a prophet, I would have bought more toilet paper! The coronavirus has created the single greatest disruptive inflection point for American society in our lifetime. It has called us to a critical
February 22, 2020
By Michael C. Mack Most of us know the value of using modern technology for both personal and church use, but some of us—especially those of us over a certain age (and I’m uncertain what that certain age is anymore)—simply don’t have the expertise to use it well. Truth is, we’re afraid we’ll bumble the technological language well before we bumble the technology itself. I’ve experienced this while trying to talk to a 20-something wisenheimer at Best Buy. I stand there with a blank look on my face as he lays down some impressive technobabble. Just tell me which watch
February 22, 2020
By Jim Estep I recall Dave Stone once saying something like, “You can’t reach an MP4 generation with 8-track methods. The problem is that half of you are asking, “What’s an MP4?” and the others are asking, “What’s an 8-track?'” It is not just that technological innovation continues at an unprecedented rateI actually think Dave said, “MP3 generation”or that its presence within our culture and our lives grows more pervasive daily, but that technology has changed how we perceive our lives, society, and especially the church. The simple lesson is this: We either will learn to leverage technology in our
February 22, 2020
Three Churches Share Stories from the “Wild West”of Worship on the World Wide Web By Justin Horey From smartphones to social media, Facebook to FaceTime, the Internet and the tools we use to access it are often advertised as ways to help people relate to one another. Dating apps and websites aim to bring people together in person, while social media platforms and videoconferencing were created to help people stay in touch when they can’t be together in the same room. Technology experts and ordinary people alike love to debate the effectiveness of relating with online tools, but these tools
February 19, 2020
Three Churches Share Stories from the “Wild West” of Worship on the World Wide Web By Justin Horey From smartphones to social media, Facebook to FaceTime, the Internet and the tools we use to access it are often advertised as ways to help people relate to one another. Dating apps and websites aim to bring people together in person, while social media platforms and videoconferencing were created to help people stay in touch when they can’t be together in the same room. Technology experts and ordinary people alike love to debate the effectiveness of relating with online tools, but these
August 11, 2018
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 and Barry Cameron (click here to read his article). These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you
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