Articles for tag: IGNITE

May 3, 2018

Church Member Recovering after Pastor Throws Captain America Shield into the Congregation

By Caleb Kaltenbach DALLAS—“I’m not sure what happened,” said pastor Billy Yates. “I guess I just got too excited.” Yates was visibly shaken, head downcast, rubbing at the temples of his mask, after ill-advisedly hurling a Captain America shield into a crowd of people attending Open Door Church’s 11 a.m. worship service. In an effort to connect with culture, the staff of Open Door Church plotted out an Avengers sermon series. This past Sunday, Yates preached in a spandex Captain America costume while throwing his shield up and down. Eventually, as Yates grew bolder, he sailed the metal shield into

March 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Devotionals

What Are You Waiting For?

By Jennifer Johnson As you read this it”s March, but I”m writing it in December. The lead times for print mean I”m usually penning reflections for an issue months before it goes to press, so although you are currently preoccupied with final preparations for Easter, I am in the middle of Advent. I have a love/hate relationship with this part of the church calendar. Christmas is my favorite time of year, but that”s because most of us jump right to the celebrating. Music, lights, special events, too much special food””we go right from Thanksgiving to Emmanuel. But Advent reminds us

March 4, 2016

Christian Standard

Mission & Evangelism

“˜A Dream in My Heart”

By Jennifer Johnson It all began with a sermon. Several years ago, Josh Howard, director of leadership training at Central India Christian Mission, was listening to a message called “Born to Reproduce” by Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators. “He made a comment that it was possible for us to reach the entire world in 10 years,” Howard says. “I thought, There”s no way that”s true. So I got out my calculator and did the math. I realized that if every person reached one person every six months, in 15 years we could reach all of India”s 1.1 billion people.