Articles for tag: Evangelism

November 17, 2010

Christian Standard

The World at Our Doorstep

By Greg Swinney I sat expectantly in the worship service as the song leader read loud and clear, “May the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4). My friend seated next to me must have noticed the puzzled look on my face. “How can the nations be glad, Rich?” I asked. “How can they be glad if we don”t tell them?” I felt deep regret over my negligence in reaching out to those of other nations. They are searching for truth and grace, but I”ve been preoccupied and distracted. I have good excuses. At least I thought I

November 17, 2010

Christian Standard

The 10/40 Window Is Open to You

By Greg Swinney Mission agencies continue to direct our focus at sharing the gospel in the 10/40 window. This geographical region sandwiched between 10 degrees north latitude and 40 degrees north latitude stretches from Africa to the Philippines and represents the majority of the unreached people groups of the world. More than 65 percent of international students come from nations within the 10/40 window. Prayers for unreached people groups are being answered. The 10/40 window is no longer 8,000 miles away; in some cases it is minutes from your home. Though you may not be able to speak a foreign language,

November 13, 2010

Christian Standard

My Journey to Journey

By Darin Brown I can still remember taking notes from a breakout session at the Eastern Christian Convention more than 10 years ago. Gene Appel was describing the transformation that had occurred at the church he was leading in Las Vegas and was presenting a simple yet profound formula for change. I wrote down “Dissatisfaction + Vision + Next Steps = Change.” As I listened to Appel explain these concepts, I had no idea my life and ministry would be heading down the same path. It should not have happened so quickly. I was the senior minister of a new

October 2, 2010

Christian Standard

Interview with Byron Davis

By Brad Dupray Dream of Destiny is casting a vision for Christian churches and churches of Christ across America to increase their evangelistic outreach through ethnic diversity in ministry. Dudley Rutherford, senior pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, California, challenged Byron Davis to spearhead the venture as a member of the staff at Shepherd. Byron left a career in pharmaceutical sales to join the church staff. He was a member of the U.S. National Swim Team from 1994 to 1996, was an eight-time All-American swimmer at UCLA, and was a U.S. Olympic team alternate in the

August 23, 2010

Christian Standard

Lesson for August 29, 2010: Upheld by God (Acts 28:16-25, 28-31)

This week”s treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson (for August 29) is written by Jonathan Feathers who serves as senior minister with West Waynesboro Church of Christ in Waynesboro, Virginia. Upheld by God (Acts 28:16-25, 28-31) By Jonathan Feathers (Note: The italicized words in this lesson may be used as discussion questions.) Several years ago, I traveled to Mexico on a short-term mission trip. I had no idea what to expect when I got there. I found myself living in a foreign country where I was unable to read or speak the language, or understand the culture, but I knew I would be there for about

August 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Safe, to Lost, to Saved? (A Response)

This article is a response to John Mark Hicks’s “Safe, to Lost, to Saved?” __________ By Jeff Faull John Mark Hicks”s thought-provoking article in this week”s “Reflections” column leads me to sympathize with him about the ambiguity that appears to exist in regard to the process of our children coming to Christ and the timing of their baptisms. His line of reasoning questions our historically accepted assertions about the entrance of children into the kingdom of God. He questions “the theological underpinnings of the notion that our children move from safe to lost to saved (once baptized).” I respect and admire brother Hicks,

July 18, 2010

Christian Standard

NACC “˜Beyond”: A Sermon Series and BEYOND

By Ethan Magness In our own congregation, the BEYOND theme has been a channel for change. When we see what has happened here, we have great hope for what God will do through our convention. All of us want to be a part of churches that are moving beyond. We want to be always following Jesus to a place we have never been before. Certainly this desire to move beyond is a central value of Mountain Christian Church, where I serve on staff and where NACC President Ben Cachiaras is senior minister. One of the reasons we are excited to be

June 27, 2010

Christian Standard

Evangelize Unreached Teenagers? (It Can Be Dangerous)

By Rick Bundschuh Call me naive, call me ignorant, call me idealistic””but I honestly believed the church”s search committee members when they said one of the goals they had for the new middle school youth ministry position they were creating was to have evangelism take place among young people. Perhaps we were talking past each other and agreeing to very different things when they hired me for my first youth ministry job outside my home church. Perhaps they were envisioning a small trickle of smartly dressed honor students entering the kingdom of God and finding its way to the front

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Interview with Arron Chambers

Arron Chambers By Brad Dupray Arron Chambers is a pastor, husband, father, writer, triathlete, and he loves to eat . . . with sinners. Arron”s latest book, Eats with Sinners: Reaching Hungry People Like Jesus Did, examines Jesus” approach to creating conversations with people over a meal and how to apply that approach today. Each chapter of Eats with Sinners deals with a character trait of Jesus that made eating with sinners an effective means of sharing his message. Arron is lead minister of Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado, and a contributing editor to Christian Standard. Arron maintains the

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Lessons We”ve Learned from Eating with Sinners

By Brandon Smith The ministry I serve, the Christian Campus House at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, does not necessarily operate under what I would call a “written budget.” This mostly is because we rarely have money with which to budget. And while I am only half joking, my serious half supposes one of the biggest line items, if we did have a written budget, would be “food.” College students like to eat. A lot. And we like to feed them. We place such an emphasis on food in our ministry, not because we are gluttons, but because something

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

“˜Likeitis”

By Phillip Murdock It was September of 2000 when I discovered I was infected. In 1998, I moved to a small town in southwest Virginia to begin work as the youth minister of a thriving congregation. Looking back, I can see I was already showing symptoms of this condition, but I had no idea at the time. I liked the feel of this small town, but it was nothing like the big city where I had grown up. The first few months were tough. I was 24 years old and most of the people in my congregation were older. I

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Some of My Best Friends Are Lost

By Arron Chambers This is an excerpt from the book “Eats With Sinners” by Arron Chambers. To some, Lost is a highly addictive TV show about the survivors of a plane wreck who find themselves on a deserted island””in the middle of the ocean””where nothing makes sense and they are not alone. Lost might be a zone where single socks, class rings, your favorite hat, sunglasses, my brother”s car keys, the Watergate tapes, and my six-toed cat (Sasquatch) dwell while waiting to be found . . . or not. Lost is how I feel listening to my daughter as she tries to

June 6, 2010

Christian Standard

The Priority of Preaching

By Wayne Shaw Preaching has always been important in the culture and curriculum of our Bible colleges and seminaries. Earl C. Hargrove championed a theme that has been echoed in the charters of schools across the brotherhood when he launched Lincoln (Illinois) Bible Institute in his inaugural sermon with the promise, “The Preachers Are Coming.” For 45 years I have taught preaching, mainly at what is now called Lincoln Christian University, but also in special courses throughout North America and around the world. I speak with the confidence of experience when I assert that preaching is in the DNA of

March 10, 2010

Christian Standard

We Want to Help You Extend Your Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor Here”s one thing we”ve learned about recessions and local churches. Local churches may be slow to feel the impact of an economic downturn, but they”re also slow to acknowledge a recovery from one. This means even if the economy is picking up (and the experts don”t agree on that point), budgets at your church are likely still tight. Here”s one thing we know about ministry during recessions: It never slows down. In fact, needs usually multiply when finances fail. We want to help. We”ve come up with a plan that allows you to extend your ministry

February 3, 2010

Christian Standard

What Will Make My Next Decade Different?

By Mark A. Taylor Her question has stayed with me for weeks. At a family gathering between Christmas and New Year”s, she challenged the group at the table, “Think back to the beginning of the decade that”s about to end. What would the person you were then think of the person you are today?” A day or two later I read a Facebook update from a friend anticipating a family meeting with her husband and two school-age daughters. The agenda: to discuss individual and family goals and dreams for the coming year. As simple as this is, it strikes me

January 10, 2010

Christian Standard

We Call It Kids Camp

By Dave Smith “I like you Mr. Dave.” I looked down at 6-year-old Max, son of Polish parents, and one of the children at Northshore Christian Church”s Kids” Camp, and replied, “I like you too, Max.” And after a week of shepherding some 15 second-graders, I decided I also liked kids” camp. Many of our new churches throughout the Northeast have a summer kid”s camp. In other places, we call them Vacation Bible Schools. This year I spent a week helping Northshore with its fifth kids” camp. Northshore Christian Church began in the fall of 2005 in Riverhead, New York,

November 29, 2009

Christian Standard

The Burning Need

  by Greg Pruett From my house I could see the column of flame and cinders rising like a superheated tornado threatening to devour the whole village of grass huts. Two homes already blazed white-hot””competing with the intensity of the West African sun as the whole community stood helplessly wailing in distress. Men desperately dismantled nearby structures to contain the inferno and keep the rest of the village from burning. I gaped at the sight of my terrified friends weeping, but my mind kept wandering over to the tanks of water I had been storing up at my house less

November 29, 2009

Christian Standard

INTO AFRICA: Ray and Effie Giles

  by Kathy Harless “We left a church in Ethiopia.” Ray Giles wrote in tears in late 1977, yet a quiet victory filled his heart. His family and other Christian Missionary Fellowship missionaries had been hastily evacuated in the spring with the advent of a strong Marxist government.  For nine years before that, Ray and Effie Giles worked alongside teammates in evangelizing, educating, and planting churches among the unreached Oromo and Gumuz peoples. Ray”s greatest concern was whether they had prepared the new and maturing Christians for the persecution that lay ahead. Yet, a church was being forged in Ethiopia

November 29, 2009

Christian Standard

Best Mission Practices in the 21st Century

  by Robert Reese “¢ As Americans, we must view non-Western Christians as our equals. The attitude of looking down on people because they are not as “developed” as we are comes from the period of Christendom when the West ruled the world. In the early church, the apostle Paul did not look down on people of other nationalities, but saw them as new creatures in Christ and heirs to all God”s promises (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:19). This allowed him to accept such people as coworkers. “¢ The rank and file of global Christians must be equipped to share

November 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Can We Become Better Discipling Churches?

By Derek Duncan One of the challenges of living the corporate Christian life is discovering how to connect individual principles with organizational behavior. How do we make disciples outside the realm of interpersonal relationships? Or should we? What kinds of programs help in the conversion, training, and equipping of people to become reproducing disciples? How do we use the current church model to make as many disciples as we can? Can we be more effective in helping people become like Jesus Christ, transform their own hearts and their neighbors with the love of Christ, and courageously proclaim the hope of

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