Articles for tag: Fellowship

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Madison Park Christian Church, Quincy, IL

Good Friday Prayer Walk By Chuck Sackett, preaching minister, Madison Park Christian Church, Quincy, Illinois A few years ago we decided to do something completely different for Good Friday. Instead of a traditional service, we did a prayer walk. It started in the lobby, moved down the hall to the next large space, into the fellowship hall, through the worship space (we have removable seating), and ended in a large classroom. Each room was a new prayer station. It started with a place for prayer and symbolic washing, then an opportunity to take the Lord”s Supper. The fellowship hall was

January 30, 2015

Christian Standard

When We Partake

By H. Lynn Gardner Partaking of the Lord”s Supper is not a meaningless routine ritual. We must partake thoughtfully, and with our minds engaged. Communion should be one of the richest and most meaningful experiences of our week. 1. We remember Christ”s sacrifice on our behalf. “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24*). Lest we think we deserve God”s favor, lest we forget what Christ did for us, we are regularly reminded of the price paid for our salvation. The cross of Christ is not an insignificant fact from the storeroom of history. We are remembering and savoring

January 16, 2015

Christian Standard

A Healthy Church Nourishes Fellowship

By Barney Wells From the tiniest white-frame rural chapel to the largest of megachurch campuses, church buildings seem to have two rooms in common. One is called the auditorium, sanctuary, or worship center””it is where the gospel message is proclaimed weekly through sermon, song, the Lord”s Supper, and prayer. The other room is the fellowship hall. Whether found in a dank basement room with a low ceiling or a cavernous gymnasium-like structure, the ubiquitous presence of the fellowship hall testifies to the importance of a place for fellowship. Fellowship in the Bible refers to a common task and common concern

January 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Child Sponsorship Made Easy

By Jennifer Johnson Bruce Wydick, a professor of economics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, recently reported that sponsoring a child is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty around the world. Now Christian Missionary Fellowship (Indianapolis, IN) is making it easier than ever for churches to involve their members in child sponsorship with its new Start! program. Families, individuals, and groups can all sponsor a child through CMF, and Start! is specifically created to help churches launch events to introduce the concept and connect members to children in need. CMF provides promotional videos, sermon

November 13, 2014

Christian Standard

One Convention, Seven New Churches

  By Jennifer Johnson “You know, if we”re going to spend all this time and effort in planning a convention, it would be great for it to have a long-term impact,” remarked Tim Cole in a planning meeting for the 2015 International Conference on Missions. Cole, director of church planting at Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship (VEF), says he can”t take credit for what happened next; some members of the team suggested the churches in Virginia plant a church, then some others suggested they plant one on every continent, then someone else mentioned Antarctica might be a challenge. Today the plan is

August 29, 2014

Christian Standard

Gateway to Hope

By Mark S. Krause In Dante Alighieri”s Divine Comedy, he pictures the gateway leading into the Inferno (Hell) as being inscribed with these words: Through me the way to the city of woe, Through me the way to everlasting pain, Through me the way among the lost . . . Abandon all hope, you who enter here.1 When the church gathers, some come who have had their hopes crushed in the last week. A job may have been lost. Perhaps a home or a relationship has been lost. Various ones might have lost a battle for good health, a loved

August 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Revealed in the Breaking of the Bread

By Mark S. Krause In the old Errol Flynn movie The Adventures of Robin Hood, there is a remarkable scene of revelation. Robin Hood has been fighting the injustice of evil Prince John, who was ruling England in the absence of his brother, King Richard the Lionheart. King Richard had gone to the Holy Land for a Crusade, and his whereabouts are uncertain. Some believe him dead. However, Richard returns to England with a few men, incognito, in the dress of monks. Richard realizes his danger and decides to seek out Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. Still clad in monk”s

April 22, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

How Would Jesus Use a Smartphone?

By Mark A. Taylor Scene One: We sit in a restaurant and look across the aisle at a young woman and her husband, out for dinner together. He”s playing with the digital ordering device at the table (it includes games), and she”s intent on her smartphone screen. They”re eating in the same booth, but they”re really not together. Scene Two: We”re at a beautiful time-share at the beginning of a weeklong vacation with Christian friends. After dinner we settle into comfortable chairs and the sofa in the living room, each of us with a laptop or tablet computer in our

March 29, 2014

Christian Standard

A Divine Dessert

By Daniel Schantz “I left you a little treat for breakfast,” my wife says, as she passes my study door, on her way to the grocery store. “Thanks, Hon!” I am doing my morning devotions. When my stomach begins to rumble, I wander into the kitchen and sit at the table. Sharon has set out an odd assortment of items, including a big bowl of white flour, a smaller bowl with three raw eggs in it, two cups of sugar, a cup of cold butter, a glass of lemon juice, and a glass of milk. “Hmm,” I say to myself,

July 16, 2013

Christian Standard

The Best Part for Me

By Mark A. Taylor I have a confession to make about the North American Christian Convention. The preaching hasn”t usually been my favorite part. Oh, I”ve always attended main sessions, and in my three-plus decades of attending NACCs, I know some sermons have moved and taught me. But what I”ve anticipated about each year”s gathering””and what I”ve promoted most when encouraging others to attend it””was not the preaching. I talked, instead, about the fellowship. I”ve always played up the “connecting place” angle of the NACC where we reignite longtime friendships and make new ones. Ministries and missions agencies and all

July 5, 2013

Christian Standard

40 Under 40: Daron Earlewine

DARON EARLEWINE Pub Theology,  Indianapolis, Indiana Daron Earlewine is a remarkable voice in the arena of Christian witness outside the walls of the church. His ministry is called Pub Theology. The very name of his style of gospel presentation is challenging to most all the church people of my age, that being almost 80. His heart was challenged by observing 20- and 30-year-olds in Bosnia who were seeking fellowship and Jesus in a nonformalized setting. Daron has a fertile mind, a free spirit, and an absolute commitment to preaching the gospel. He is and will continue to have a positive influence on

April 26, 2013

Michael C. Mack

How Do We Get Busy People to Show Up?

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: How do you get busy people to show up at small group meetings? ANSWER: This is one of the most frequently asked questions I hear from small group leaders and ministers. People are busy, so what can leaders do to make their small groups a priority?   Value What value does the meeting have for group members? “None of us has time for another meeting,” says Eric Bingaman, minister of discipleship at Batesville (Indiana) Christian Church. “However, I”ll make all the time in the world [for] a group of people who are helping me grow

February 21, 2013

Christian Standard

Cocooning Instead of Congregating?

By Mark A. Taylor Even though I”m an extrovert by nature, I love a weekend evening at home with my wife, sharing the couch and something fun to eat, and watching a program or movie we both enjoy on TV. This is especially nice at the end of a busy week, with several nights away from home, and workdays filled with multiple obligations. It”s great to settle in, put away the to-do lists, and just enjoy good food and good entertainment with my best friend. Several decades ago, trend forecaster Faith Popcorn coined a term for a pastime like this.

July 29, 2012

Christian Standard

The Wisdom in Meat Loaf

By Daniel Schantz Hunger is a great teacher. The lessons I learned as a lad in Sunday school were immediately reinforced by the potluck dinner that followed services. It was at the potluck dinner that I learned just how hard it is to master the virtues of patience, self-control, and acceptance.   Patience Church dinners always started late, and the bowl of corn flakes I had at sunrise would not sustain me till noon. During the morning sermon, the fragrance of coffee and hot rolls would drift up from the church basement, and my stomach would begin to ache. I

December 2, 2011

Christian Standard

The Lord”s Supper as Abstraction

By Jason Bembry I want you to imagine our world in the year 2111, 100 years from now. Imagine it”s a few days before Thanksgiving. The fastest-selling grocery item is “Thanksgiving on the Go,” a package containing a little cube of pressed turkey meat, a congealed cube of stuffing, and a tube of cranberry sauce. People in the 2100s are busy folks. Traveling to see loved ones for the holiday has become too hectic; many have deemed it psychologically stressful. Most people opt to work on the fourth Thursday in November, carrying with them the handy “Thanksgiving on the Go.”

September 26, 2011

Christian Standard

NACC Diversity: “˜A Giant Leap Forward”

By Darrel Rowland Dudley Rutherford admits it”s his biggest fear: That the recent increasing diversity of the NACC will fade away. “We took a giant leap forward. We cannot afford to take a small step backward. We need to keep pressing the issue,” said Rutherford, who has led the drive to bring more minorities as speakers and to fill other key roles on the platform. Rutherford said he already has written letters to future NACC presidents urging them to continue the convention”s blend of races and ethnicities. “Usually we put one African-American on the stage and call it diversity,” he said.

January 27, 2011

Christian Standard

Christian Missionary Fellowship”s Maasai Health Services

By Jennifer Taylor Christian Missionary Fellowship”s Maasai Health Services clinics recently received a grant of $516,000 from the U.S. President”s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to provide HIV/AIDS services in the Maasai area of Kenya. In 2009 these clinics saw 71,000 patients, not including a large number of children who received immunizations and women who received follow-up pregnancy visits. In recent years the clinics have been run completely by Kenyans, many of whom were encouraged in their educational and career pursuits by missionaries from CMF, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The funds will be dispersed to the clinics through September 2011.

November 16, 2008

Christian Standard

What Elders Don”t Understand About Ministers

By Darrel Lowland 1. Most ministers are unequipped for management and economics. 2. Ministers need support to be successful. 3. It is the elder”s role to make the church and minister successful. 4. A minister has a vision for the church, and the elders must support that vision or get it changed lovingly. 5. The minister has problems just like everyone else. 6. Ministers are trained to “be in charge.” 7. A compliment from an elder means more than one from someone else. “”Bob Russell (retired), Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY   Primarily, what elders (probably) don”t understand about ministers

September 21, 2008

Christian Standard

NACC Viewpoints: What Did You Expect?

By Randy Gariss “So how was the North American?” On the surface, that question seems rather innocuous, but somehow over time that simple inquiry has come to prompt a surprisingly complex and emotional set of responses. When it comes to evaluating a North American Christian Convention, you will hear every answer possible: “It was great!” “It was lacking,” “It was very helpful,” or a frustrated, “I can”t figure out where the NACC is headed!” How can there be such diverse reactions to the same experience? It is probably because our personal expectations for the convention are also extremely varied, and

July 6, 2008

Christian Standard

Hope Partnership: A Way to Get Involved in HIV/AIDS Ministry

By Staff Nearly 2.5 million people live in poverty in the slums and urban areas of Nairobi, Kenya. They lack the basic necessities of life, including adequate housing, clean water, and sanitation services. Educational opportunities are negligible. Diseases run rampant throughout the communities. Complicating the problem, there are very few jobs to provide the income needed for families to improve their lives. In addition to these difficulties, the effects of AIDS are devastating the area. There are countless orphans and vulnerable children throughout the slums, where the infection rate approaches 40 percent. For every person who dies of AIDS, another

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