January 12, 2026
David Faust urges churches to live their mission statements and core values—not just display them. Grounded in faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13) and Israel’s daily manna, he calls for fresh, daily obedience.
The church grew in 2017, despite being warned attendance possibly could drop 15 percent under a new pastor. By Andy Rector Tyler McKenzie says he was “raw” when he was hired as teaching pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2012. In April 2016, McKenzie became lead pastor. Former lead minister Bob Cherry, who helped start Northeast in 1977, saw something in McKenzie during the initial interview process. And Cherry doesn’t mince words about McKenzie’s subsequent promotion: “Tyler is the right guy” for the lead pastor role. A year before McKenzie joined the Northeast staff, Cherry began
July 23, 2017
By L. E. Mackenzie You did it! As the lead pastor of your church, you established an amazing mission statement to keep everyone focused and on track. It looks so good on paper that you framed it and hung it on the wall behind your desk. You show the statement to others, you preach on it, and your people know it by heart. But something is not right . . . You have strong, practical ideas to grow and mature your church, but you feel resistance at different levels. In e-mails and quiet conversations people ask, “Why are we doing
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
June 22, 2014
By Eddie Lowen I would not trade””for anything””the experience of seeing what happened with our team when we united around the words of our vision and mission. For a long time, I was a skeptic and contrarian regarding church mission statements. To my eye, nearly all were synonymous, so why bother? Besides, isn”t the church”s mission already expressed in Scripture? Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. He commissioned his followers to preach the good news to everyone. His words are clear and compelling. Best of all, using the words of Jesus does not require several days
May 18, 2014
By Brien Sims Most people know the recluse spider (also known as the fiddleback), the king cobra, and sharks are dangerous and deadly critters capable of seriously wounding and even killing. Ironically, the humble hippo rarely makes the list of deadly animals. There”s something about them . . . they just seem too cute and lumbering. A quick Internet search, however, reveals hippos ferociously defend their territory and kill more people than sharks each year. Yes, cute baby hippos grow into animals that will attack and kill when approached, antagonized, or separated from their young. If you enter a hippo”s
August 28, 2012
By Michael C. Mack Why does your small group exist? What”s your purpose? What are your goals? Bill Willits, director of group life at North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia, tells what happened when that church first began meeting in the convention center in Atlanta. The electronic marquee that thousands of people would see every day advertised the church as “No Point Church.” The sign engineer could not fit the entire name on the marquee, so he took some creative liberties. Of course, Willits says, this became the joke of the night, but it also provided Andy Stanley an opportunity
September 21, 2008
By Gary E. Weedman I like the North American Christian Convention. I have attended since the 1960s and have many great memories of workshops, worship services, and reunions with old friends and former colleagues. I have participated in workshops and twice led morning Bible studies. I have fond memories of sermons that inspired and gave new perspective, of worship services that brought us into the presence of God, and of Communion services that helped us in “discerning the Lord”s body.” So, I”m not a completely objective observer. I”ll try, however, to put on my administrative hat and consider this project
September 7, 2008
By Gary L. Johnson Did you ever think gasoline would sell for more than $4 a gallon? The increasing cost of fuel is having an impact on driving habits. In particular, many rethought summer travel plans because of fuel costs. Long-distance travel plans were canceled. Maps were put away in favor of staying close to home. The value of a vacation wasn”t as great as the cost of getting there. Regretfully, some churches are making a “change in their travel plans” by not practicing strategic planning. “Moving” the local church strategically to a distant point in the future doesn”t happen
August 28, 2005
How can a church building itself become a mission statement? Terrence O’Casey shares how Seaside Christian Church used symbolic design—and practical planning—to reach spiritual “drive-bys” while guarding against making a building an idol.
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