Articles for tag: Eastview Christian Church

DeWelt to Lead College Press as Company Turns 60 (Plus News Briefs)

Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman Chris DeWelt, who has served with College Press Publishing for many years, became president and publisher of the company on July 1. DeWelt is the son of Don DeWelt, who started College Press in 1959. The Joplin, Mo.-based company is marking its 60th anniversary providing Bible-based material to Christian leaders and students. Chris DeWelt served eight years on the mission field in Chile before returning to the United States and working with his father until Don DeWelt’s death in 1991. Since that time, Chris DeWelt has served with College Press in various capacities,

River Valley to Merge with Southeast (Plus News Briefs)

River Valley Christian Church, Goshen, Ky., has approved a merger with Southeast Christian Church, Louisville. Leaders from River Valley approached Southeast a few months ago and discussions led to the agreement to merge, pending Sunday’s approval by RVCC’s congregation. “We’re grateful that River Valley and Southeast are like-minded churches who have similar missions, and who are unified under the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:13),” SECC pastors Dave Stone and Kyle Idleman wrote in an email. “Join us as we praise God for this unique opportunity to continue to build His church as we share the hope and love of

Race Studies Center at ACU to Open (Plus News Briefs)

The Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action at Moody Coliseum on the campus of Abilene (Texas) Christian University will open next Tuesday (Sept. 18) with a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m., a luncheon at noon, and sessions throughout the day. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Jerry Taylor will speak on “God Imagines Our Future: Being Filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:1-21).” There will also be a 6 p.m. reception in the Williams Performing Arts Center, followed at 7 p.m. by a performance of The Mountaintop, depicting the last night of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life. Carl Spain Center

Healthy Leaders, Healthy Churches

By Jennifer Johnson Christian leaders often try to “fill the well” by reading, praying, resting, and spending time with God, and they talk about “leading out of the overflow” of a life that”s replenished by these activities. This type of spiritual development is about much more than sermon preparation, and it”s vital to strong leadership at churches of every size.  J.K. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Illinois; Kelly Kastens, worship arts pastor at Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland; and Glen Schneiders, lead pastor at Crossroads Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, each play a

People Like You and Me

By J.K. Jones Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, is a church marked by continual encounters with Jesus. I hope that doesn”t sound boastful or bombastic. We regularly witness genuine life transformation in people of all walks and stripes. That long and incomplete list includes police officers, public school teachers, insurance employees, strippers, bartenders, drug and alcohol abusers, self-righteous religious folk, gay and lesbian, black and white, rich and poor, male and female, coaches and athletes, children and elderly, and outsiders and insiders. Some are as intentional and seeking as the pearl merchant described in Matthew 13:45, 46. Others are as

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,

Mike Baker’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 Mike Baker, senior pastor with Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois. ________ Two men have helped me think both as a Christian and a pastor for nearly 25 years. Both Cal Jernigan, senior pastor at Central Christian Church of Mesa, Arizona, and J.K. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation at Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, have impacted my thinking in great ways. J.K.

A Conversation with J.K. Jones

Lookout Editor Kelly Carr speaks with J.K. Jones, who led morning Bible study sessions throughout the 2015 North American Christian Convention. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation at Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, talks about his love for books and their importance in his spiritual formation. Listen to their conversation.

A Conversation with Mike Baker

North American Christian Convention President Mike Baker interrupted his duties to speak with The Lookout Editor Kelly Carr about his 20-year ministry at Eastview Christian Church and how his perspective on the Restoration Movement has broadened.  

Growing Deeper

By Jennifer Johnson A look at how some growing churches are growing in ways difficult to measure but vital to achieve. ____ Jason Yeatts Executive minister, adults The Creek, Indianapolis, Indiana In our movement, I think the habits of the early 19th century are ingrained””that discipleship means giving people the right material or sermon. At The Creek, we have made an intentional shift from “informational discipleship” to a relational model. Four years ago we started a series of four classes called “Life on Life.” The idea was you”d move through them””from Belong to Grow to Serve to Engage””and be ready

April 14, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Finding Our Place, Claiming Our Heritage

By Mark A. Taylor Talk to Mike Baker and you”ll discover a guy who”s serious about his work while not taking himself too seriously at all. In fact, in our latest episode of Beyond the Standard, Baker used the word unfortunate to describe the “celebrity culture” in today”s church climate. “There are a lot of great preachers and leaders in churches of 150 and 200 who in their part of the world are really doing great things for God and for his kingdom,” he said. “But they”re just not ever going to get the accolades” that often come to leaders

March 24, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Bookin” It

By Mark A. Taylor I remember a conversation 30 years or more ago about book publishing by writers in the Christian church and church of Christ. “Evangelical publishers won”t publish books by Christian church writers,” a Standard Publishing salesman said. “And if Standard Publishing publishes books by Christian church writers, Christian bookstores won”t sell them.” I don”t know if that was true then, but I can promise you it”s not true today. Last year we published essays about book writing by Mark Atteberry, Arron Chambers, Dave Ferguson, Anne Milam, Daniel Overdorf, and Jamie Snyder. Each of them is a leader among Restoration Movement churches.

February 22, 2015

Christian Standard

Next Gen Preacher Search (Previewing the 2015 NACC)

By Trevor DeVage I never dreamed preaching is what I would be doing. I had my sights set on living out the “American dream.” I was going to be an attorney. I had prepped my entire adolescent life for that path. In high school, I worked for an attorney”s office, was on the mock trial team at our school, and watched Law and Order and Matlock. Preaching was never on my radar””it just couldn”t generate income the way busting criminals would. But something happened during my junior year of high school. I was visiting a friend in the hospital and

February 20, 2015

Christian Standard

PROPEL (Previewing the 2015 NACC)

By Caleb Kaltenbach Maybe you”ve gone to many leadership ministry conferences, and maybe many of them seem like the same conference experience over and over again. You walk away with a lot of good information, but wish there had been the opportunity to ask questions, get feedback, or discuss a speaker”s point a little deeper. What if you could have a more personal experience with seasoned ministry leaders? Now”s your chance! The 2015 NACC”s preconference event, “PROPEL,” will be unlike any such event you have ever attended. “PROPEL” is a one-day conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, June

A Healthy Church Has a Robust Missions Program

By Rob Maupin My wife and I entered the local sub shop and began to order. The young man serving us noticed our tired, but happy faces and asked what we had been doing. We told him our church had packed 500,000 meals for hungry kids in Haiti, and it took us (and more than 1,000 volunteers) well over 11 hours of really hard work. We explained that even though it was tiring, we had a truly wonderful experience. “Why did your church do that?” he asked quietly. As we conversed, he said, “I”d like to be a part of

What We’re Learning on Our Walk (Part 1)

By Jim Probst At Eastview Christian Church (Bloomington, IL), we were searching for a way to convey spiritual formation to our congregation. For many, this would be a new idea. Others would see it as the next step in their journey. For all of us the right metaphor could frame a common experience with a common language. In our church, which has grown well beyond 5,000 on a typical Sunday, this would be a major effort requiring coordination between church leaders and many departments. After months of praying, planning, and writing, we determined to develop a churchwide study through our

Re: Formation — Studying Spiritual Formation in Our Colleges and Universities

By Jennifer Johnson In the last few years, several Christian church and church of Christ colleges and universities have created new degree programs in spiritual formation. It”s representative of a wider movement in the academic world; as Richard Foster wrote in a recent article on TheOoze.com, “Seminary courses in spiritual formation proliferate like baby rabbits.” However, these new programs are purposeful as well as popular””each one is designed to develop mature leaders who are growing in the image of Christ and taking him into the world. Here are several of the degrees and programs we”ve discovered among these schools. Lincoln

Producing the Next Generation of Elders

By John Ashenfelter How long do we want Christ”s churches to last? God built the church to last forever. But local congregations do not last unless Jesus is the cornerstone. To last, the leaders from generation to generation must be committed to and submissive to Jesus, his leadership, and his mission. Local congregations do not last without leaders who are submissive to the Word of God and to his Spirit. One characteristic of such leaders is their devotion to reproducing leaders with this commitment and submission. Churches are always just one generation away from disappearing. With the church”s future in

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