August 23, 2022
Where Jesus Is Needed Most
If Jesus were walking on this earth today, he would be in all the places no one else wants to go. . . .
Articles for tag: Homeless Ministry
February 2, 2022
Oregon Church Plant Launches with Mission-First Model
Gabe Piechowicz took a circuitous route to becoming a minister—he first spent 15 years as a logger. And now Piechowicz is taking an unconventional route to planting a church in Eugene, Ore.—by first doing mission work rather than holding traditional Sunday services. His immediate focus is serving in the homeless community.
January 16, 2019
A ‘Day of Pentecost Every Sunday’
By Jim Nieman In last week’s Christian Standard newsletter, editor Michael C. Mack mentioned a question asked in response to our January issue: “Should church leaders even bother to concern themselves with racial integration and building a multiethnic congregation?” Jim Book, senior minister with Kissimmee (Fla.) Christian Church—located in a cultural melting pot region just south of Orlando and right next door to Walt Disney World—provides an interesting viewpoint on that. “It’s the Day of Pentecost every Sunday at Kissimmee,” Book says. Kissimmee Christian Church provides multiple services every Sunday that go well beyond two “blended/contemporary” and one “traditional.” There
September 19, 2018
Missions and Outreach in a Rural Setting
By Emily Drayne Growing up in a small town, it was easy to look beyond the borders of my community and dream of big cities and far-off places. I never considered my town to be a mission field. Missionaries who came to talk and put up displays at our church were always from a foreign country; I never thought of reaching out to people of my hometown to talk about Christ. But, in reality, there are many outreach opportunities specifically beneficial for rural churches. Here are some ideas for how rural churches can engage in outreach. Look Around You
February 15, 2018
In Search of a Happy Ending
By Michael C. Mack and Jim Nieman It was intended as a feel-good story for the October 2017 issue. Managing editor Jim Nieman reported on a son turning his life around, through God’s grace, and returning to his hometown to minister to those who are “down on their luck.” It was a story with a stern warning and a storybook ending. And then everything utterly collapsed. The preacher’s son who had battled years of addiction to opiates during and immediately after high school, and then managed to turn his life around and graduate from Christian college and return to his
November 12, 2016
When God Brought the Homeless: An Interview with Ed Taylor
By Brian Jennings Ed Taylor took the leap of faith to plant a church in Arlington Heights, an upscale suburb of Chicago, three years ago. My soul was blessed to hear how Quest Church opened her arms to the people God surprisingly sent their way. If I had a nickel for every friend who went from overseeing university standardized testing to planting a church, I guess I”d have one nickel. How did you get from there to here? I”d worked at the University of Iowa for about 10 years when I started leading worship at Iowa City Church of Christ.
July 30, 2016
It Just Keeps Getting Better
By James Book I met Jackie when I began my ministry with First Christian Church of Kissimmee, Florida, in May 2011. Her father was a military man who became very violent and abusive toward her from the time she was 10 years old until she later moved out. Jackie worked full-time while attending high school, graduating in 1975. She married the first man to ask her in 1978. Jackie shared with me that she felt so worthless and unloved that she literally sabotaged her own marriage. She got a job shortly after the wedding and started having an affair with
April 21, 2016
Holy Unintentional
By Jennifer Johnson It all began with a few sandwiches back in 2002. “My wife and I became convicted about whether we really loved poor people,” says Dallas Stamper. “We decided to make sandwiches and give them away to a few people on the beach. We ended up connecting with four homeless men and talking to them for three hours””which surprised them, I think, because they were used to people giving them food and then hurrying away. We asked if we could meet them again the next week, and that was the beginning of People In Need. The second week
November 14, 2014
Church on Mission: Church at the Mission
By Jennifer Johnson “I”ve done church planting, I”ve done megachurch, and I”ve done microchurch,” says Blake Ryan. “I think this is the only thing God could call me to that would fulfill my heart in ministry.” “This” is Church at the Mission Corona, a new congregation that launched in January at the Corona/Norco (CA) Rescue Mission. Ryan serves as lead pastor of the church and director of the mission as well as managing principal at PlainJoe Studios, a design and media company also based in Corona. “We were part of Church at the Mission”s first location in Tustin, CA, and
September 7, 2013
An Urban Kingdom Church Planter Entrepreneur in Los Angeles
By Thomas F. Jones Jr. I met Kevin Haah in a church planting assessment event in Johnson City, Tennessee. I was immediately impressed by this bright, but humble, Korean-American Christian. Haah”s path to church planting was not a simple one. After graduating from Cornell Law School he married Grace (also a lawyer), and they had three kids. He became partner at a prestigious law firm in Los Angeles only to give up law to pursue a master of divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Soon he became a pastor, and then a church planter. And now he is the key
July 4, 2013
40 Under 40: Trevor DeVage
TREVOR DeVAGE Lead minister, Christ”s Church at Mason, Mason, Ohio I was thrilled when I heard my friend Trevor DeVage had been named the new lead pastor at Christ”s Church of Mason. I believe Trevor is going to have a deep impact in the Greater Cincinnati area for many years to come. Trevor is among the most gifted proclaimers of the gospel in our brotherhood today. I served alongside him for nearly a decade and was blessed by his teachable spirit, and was able to see firsthand the countless people Trevor led to the Lord. His commitment to biblical preaching, his contagious
March 25, 2013
A Great Group Is More than a Huddle
By Michael C. Mack The best college football game ever (in my humble opinion) was the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. It pitted the favored Oklahoma Sooners (the winningest football program in the nation since World War II) against my favorite team, the Boise State Broncos. It was touted as David versus Goliath. The game was full of spectacular plays and trick plays, an 18-point comeback by Oklahoma, many dramatic game-on-the-line moments, several unbelievable fourth-down conversions, and a sensational overtime. Boise State won when Ian Johnson ran in a two-point conversion on a Statue of Liberty play. Then, if that wasn”t enough,
Meeting Needs & Saving Souls
By Randall R. Childress A recent movement among churches is “Don”t go to church””Be the church.” The idea is that instead of gathering for worship, the church should be out in the community doing good in the name of Christ. But sometimes well-meaning Christians focus on “doing good” and forget the “in the name of Christ.” The church is not a humanitarian society so much as an evangelistic one. I thought about the church meeting needs and saving souls when I read a comment by Drew Dyck, managing editor of Leadership Journal, in the Winter 2012 issue. “My church is big
September 28, 2010
Offering More than a Meal to the Homeless
By Jennifer Taylor “His Heart, His Hands” began with six people buying breakfast sandwiches at McDonald”s to distribute to the hungry and homeless of Chandler, Arizona. Today more than 35 volunteers serve hot breakfasts every Sunday morning to 60 homeless men and women from around the city. One reason for this rapid growth is obedience. Sharon Bouchard, a volunteer leader and a member at Chandler Christian Church, felt God leading her to the ministry. “Just a short time later, two other people told me they wanted to do something for the homeless,” she says. “I hadn”t mentioned it!
December 16, 2009
We Can Be the Gift
By Mark A. Taylor Some readers will say we”ve saved our best “Get Your Hands Dirty” article for last. The feature appearing this week, “Season of Love,” makes more than 30 “Get Your Hands Dirty” articles we”ve published in 2009. The good deeds these pieces have reported are a thrilling overview of outreach and service performed by members of our fellowship: everything from overseas sacrifice to inner-city outreach. Browse through the items listed under this heading in our index, and you”ll be reminded how churches everywhere are serving the oppressed and helpless. But the Christmas stories in this final feature
December 17, 2008
Interview with Jon Weece
Jon Weece explains how Southland Christian Church’s controversial Christmas outreach decision became a year-round commitment to serving people outside the church’s walls.
April 9, 2006
MEGACHURCH PROFILE/Web Only: Adventure Christian Church
Adventure Christian Church grew rapidly from its earliest days to a major campus in Roseville, California. After years of fast growth, leaders are pausing to clarify vision, strengthen systems, and keep evangelism and compassionate outreach central.
