Articles for tag: Jennifer Johnson

May 24, 2015

Christian Standard

Serving People Every Single Day

By Jennifer Johnson A century ago, churches were known for building hospitals, schools, universities, and community centers instead of constructing buildings only for their own use, say leaders at Crosspointe Church of Cary, NC. This month, the church is breaking ground on a new 130,000-square-foot facility that will increase its space for Sunday programming””and provide a new YMCA for the community. As the church leadership team considered the need for new facilities, they wanted to create something that would serve people in the area every day of the week. While discussing potential options, they noticed a lack of activities for

May 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Call Centered

By Jennifer Johnson Eighteen months ago it was my extreme privilege to be invited to visit the work of Central India Christian Mission. During our 10 days there, Matt and I were struck by the incredible range of ministries CICM has started. In addition to planting more than 1,100 churches, CICM has recruited sponsors for 5,000 children, published dozens of books, started Bible colleges, created a college of nursing, built hospitals and clinics, and more. Through the work of CICM”s many initiatives, a quarter-million (!) people in India have come to know Jesus””all on a yearly budget that”s one-sixth the

May 8, 2015

Christian Standard

Training, Empowering Workers in India

By Jennifer Johnson When Greg Matney talked with Ajai Lall about the biggest ministry needs at Central India Christian Mission, Lall, director and CEO of CICM, mentioned his desire for their newly trained church planters and pastors to be more financially independent. The idea struck a chord with Greg, who had previously worked with Business as Mission initiatives, and his wife Abhineeta (Ajai”s daughter), who had gone to law school in India. In 2011 they held an advocacy and empowerment conference for 500 local leaders, and in 2012 they began offering a variety of vocational training opportunities to help pastors

May 7, 2015

Christian Standard

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 29, 2015

Christian Standard

You Can Help Nepal

By Jennifer Johnson Many mission agencies and international ministries are working to provide relief, support, and financial resources to those affected by Saturday”s devastating earthquake in Nepal. Central India Christian Mission, which has worked in Nepal the last 15 years, writes, “On a typical Saturday morning, many Nepalese churches meet for weekly worship services. On Saturday, April 25th, at 11:56 am when many Nepalese brothers and sisters in Christ were worshipping, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake occurred. It destroyed almost everything in the country. From Saturday until now, approximately 45 earthquakes have happened in the country. It has brought huge destruction.

April 16, 2015

Christian Standard

19 Ways to Recognize a Hero

By Jennifer Johnson Real heroes don”t wear capes. They can”t fly or leap tall buildings or breathe underwater. Real heroes wear khakis and polo shirts. The younger ones wear jeans and untucked Diesel button-downs with pockets on both pecs. On good days they wear waders in a baptistery. Heroes answer the phone at midnight and change back into the jeans before driving across town to sit with a grieving family. Heroes still get up early the next morning to have breakfast with their kids. Heroes are strong enough to unite opinionated volunteers and gentle enough to dedicate new babies. Heroes

April 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Musical Theatre Degree Added

By Jennifer Johnson Although Rochester (MI) College comes from a noninstrumental church of Christ tradition, the school has developed strong programs in music, music education, and theatre. Now the school has created a new major in music theatre””one of the only “4Cs” schools to do so. “We discovered a growing number of students in this part of the country were interested in pursuing this major, and local schools” programs were maxed out and turning people away,” says Dr. Catherine Parker, associate professor of theatre. “We had been talking about it for a few years and were only missing a dance

April 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Single Minded

By Jennifer Johnson It doesn”t surprise me that Mark Thornton is single. Not because he isn”t great””in fact, this God-loving, hard-working guy will be a catch for the right mission-minded girl. (Ladies, I have his number.) But because he”s chosen to live and work in the inner city, I guessed he was unmarried even before our phone interview confirmed it. “I”m a single guy with no kids, so I don”t mind living with sex offenders all around me,” he said during that conversation. “But I understand when people move out or don”t want to minister here.” I do, too, but

April 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Meeting at Jacob”s Well

By Jennifer Johnson When Mark Thornton gets an idea, get out of the way””or move to Lincoln, NE, and join the cause. “Seven years ago I was working at a homeless shelter here,” he says. “It was one of several places I”d served, and it just seemed like if we did this work as neighbors in the community instead of as outside agencies, it would be more effective. So I quit my job, moved downtown, and started something out of the house.” That “something” is Jacob”s Well, a multifaceted ministry that develops friendships and meets physical and spiritual needs for

April 2, 2015

Christian Standard

The World Is Watching

By Jennifer Johnson Since 1921, Mountain Mission School has provided a high-quality education as well as a home for thousands of children in need. The school has always welcomed kids from countries around the world, but recently its ministry has extended to include survivors of the Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, including several of the girls kidnapped by the terrorist organization last April. From Capitol Hill to Chibok, Nigeria, to its beautiful campus in Grundy, Virginia, this small school is playing a large role in bringing hope and healing to a number of brave young women””and the world is watching.

March 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Connecting Churches, Transforming Indy

By Jennifer Johnson Lots of churches in Indianapolis are working to help people in poverty. City Mosaic is helping those churches work together. “We realized many churches were doing their own thing in silos, with no coordinated partnership,” says Stacia Murphy, communications director at City Mosaic. “We exist to connect those churches and help them work together to transform and empower the communities of our city.” The three-year-old organization has developed initiatives in education, housing, job creation, family transformation, and church revitalization to accomplish this goal. Volunteers serve as tutors in several of the city”s elementary schools; church partners and

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, TX

Baptism Weekend, a New Tradition By Drew Sherman, lead pastor, Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, Texas We started a new tradition last Easter by having a baptism weekend. It was awesome. We had a large pool just outside the front of the church. One hundred eighteen people were baptized that weekend, including a biker dude named Fred who was watching online in the area. He got so excited he jumped on his Harley and came down to get baptized!

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Northside Christian Church, Yorktown, VA

Focusing on Friday By Shawn Cartwright, worship arts pastor, Northside Christian Church, Yorktown, Virginia From my perspective, an investment in Good Friday needs as much attention as Easter worship services or special productions. After all, you don”t have the resurrection without the cross. There are two specific services we”ve done that have been especially meaningful for two churches I”ve served. The first is “Song Stories Victory.” The premise of a “Song Stories” event is emphasizing the stories that songs tell and the stories behind why they were written, as well as how their stories impact our lives. One year we

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

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: West Side Christian Church, Springfield, IL

Jesus Is for Everyone By Melissa Sandel, director of ministries, West Side Christian Church, Springfield, Illinois In early 2014, West Side”s leaders began to sense our community needed a refreshing message from the church””that Jesus is, in fact, for EVERYONE””without qualifiers. We launched a six-week emphasis entitled “EVERYONE,” based on Jesus” words in John 11:25, 26, with renewed conviction that Jesus offers new life and hope to everyone who chooses to follow him. The first step was a Sunday morning message describing what it would mean to extend the hope of Jesus to everyone in our community. Next, we equipped

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: First Christian Church, Albuquerque, NM

The Table, the Throne, and the Cross By Tim Neuenschwander, worship minister, First Christian Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico The theme was “The Table.” The four weeks leading up to Easter highlighted the table that transformed into a throne, and to a mess, and to the cross, and then, on Easter, back into the table. Senior minister Tom Caffery and I went to our Christian camp here in New Mexico and cut down a tree, split it into lumber, and hauled it back to our church. We videotaped all this with the theme song, “There”s a Table in the Wilderness.” We

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Camarillo (CA) Christian Church

Preparation, Pictures, and Prayer Stations By Charles Maloney, senior pastor, Camarillo (California) Christian Church Our student ministries department put together a guided Good Friday prayer walk involving “prayer stations” covering the events of the final week of Jesus” life, ending at the crucifixion. The prayer stations included pictures and prayer ideas, complete with drawings for children to color, for each of the days leading up to the events of Good Friday. The prayer walk was from noon to 7 p.m., so people could come during the day or after work. We encouraged families to participate together. The last prayer station

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Plainfield (IN) Christian Church

Remembering the Final Week By Todd Dillon, worship arts pastor, Plainfield (Indiana) Christian Church We always have a pre-Resurrection Day service on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Some of our favorite have been Tenebrae services based on different approaches to the final week before the crucifixion. Some of these have been based on the last seven words of Christ, as told through the eyes of various biblical characters, entwined with Scripture and music. We have used the traditional Tenebrae approach, using lighted candles that we extinguish at intervals until we are left in darkness. Another favorite was “a meal of remembrance.” We had tables

March 2, 2015

Christian Standard

Building Creativity

By Jennifer Johnson According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, churches spent close to $9 billion on new construction in 2002 and $3.5 billion in 2013. (Thanks, Great Recession.) Organizations analyzing church spending report congregations that own or rent existing buildings spend 20-30 percent or more of their budgets on loan payments, maintenance, and related expenses. For most churches in the U.S., buildings are necessary for building ministry, and the process isn”t cheap. I”m not interested in the tired debate about whether a church should have a nice building that costs a lot of money when so many

March 2, 2015

Christian Standard

More than a Church

By Jennifer Johnson A few years ago, Rusty George had the opportunity to participate in a meeting with the mayor and local business leaders to discuss area needs. “A local car dealer mentioned how nice it would be if nonprofits could work together and share costs,” says George, lead pastor of Real Life Church in Valencia, CA. “We were just getting ready to open a second site, and I thought how great it would be to have a church building that didn”t sit empty during the week and, instead, housed a variety of nonprofits that could share coffee pots and

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