Articles for tag: Missional Church

June 7, 2012

Christian Standard

Seven Positive Trends for Megachurches

By Brian Mavis I asked nine authors, academics, megachurch pastors, and missional church planters “What”s next for megachurches?”Â The nine shared enough opinions and insights for several articles, and I will develop those in upcoming issues. Several of the leaders I contacted mentioned some concerns, but this month let”s focus on identifying and distilling seven positive trends.   1. Deeper Discipleship Megachurches are growing less content with measuring attendance alone. David Faust, president of Cincinnati Christian University, said at a megachurch leaders conference he was . . . encouraged to hear a number of megachurch leaders talking about how their plans for the

June 4, 2012

Christian Standard

Beware the Second Decade

By Darrel Rowland For several years in a row, Kent Fillinger”s statistics have shown that church growth peaks when the senior minister is in his eighth to tenth year. Last year, those churches” weekend attendance increased an average of 8.3 percent””about double the figure for years 11-20 of a minister”s tenure. The 2010 contrast was even greater: 17 percent growth for years 8-10, a mere 1.4 percent for the second decade. Is now the time to mention that many senior ministers really hate these statistics””even though few quibble with the bottom-line numbers? One reason: The figures shoot down a prevalent

May 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Interview with Mike Baker

By Paul Boatman   Mike Baker has been senior pastor at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Illinois, since 2007. He first served at Eastview as youth pastor, beginning in 1995, and became associate pastor in 2002.   How do you happen to be in ministry? I was called to preach when I was 6 years old. It is all I have ever wanted to do. I did a side trip of 16 years in youth ministry. That let me be part of a team, learning from leaders in growing churches. I still preached””to the youth, occasionally to the whole church.

April 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Either, or Both, or Neither?

By Mark A. Taylor This week we have offered readers a picture of four dynamic Christian churches. Maybe you, like me, will decide you”d be pleased to be a member of any of them. Each is committed to Scripture and preaching the gospel. Each is seeking to develop new believers into mature disciples. Each is looking beyond the walls of its building and to the needs and hurts and opportunities to serve all around them. And each of the four has a different take on the current debate about whether a church should be attractional or missional. Paul Williams commented

April 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Missional and Attractional

By Rick Grover Versus is such a compelling word. It immediately communicates conflict, and it ushers concerned parties to set up camp on which side of vs. they believe to be correct. With a basic understanding of missional as to go and be the church and attractional as to come and see the church1, I”ve been on both sides of the vs. I prefer to see it as faith development. When my family and I moved to New Orleans to plant a church, we did so with great clarity on what kind of church we believed God was calling us

April 24, 2012

Christian Standard

The Attractional Model: “˜Come and See”

By Brian Jobe The growing population of church critics out there disheartens me. I”m not talking about the reform-minded leaders who actually love the church of Jesus and work to make it stronger. I”m referring to the so-called leaders who cloister themselves in a corner and proclaim how horrible the church is. Everybody but them is doing it wrong! As a young leader””and by that, I mean under 40″”I have been around a lot of younger guys who preach the praises of the missional church model. The premise is excellent: We need to be in the trenches, in the communities,

April 11, 2012

Christian Standard

Gen X Rising (Part 2)

By Rick Chromey Gen X is rising. From the Tea Party to the emerging church movement, a new breed of leader is operating. Unlike previous generations in recent history, Americans born between 1961 and 1981 don”t feel a need to work within institutional frames. In the 1990s they pioneered dot-com companies to launch a World Wide Web. During the past decade they”ve revolutionized dig- ital learning, wireless communications, reality television, and thousands of “third place” cultural experiences from coffee shops to fantasy sports to “emerging” churches. Now in their 30s and 40s, this generation rides the leading edge of unemployment, foreclosure,

March 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Orlando in July? Can”t Wait!

By Mark A. Taylor In the spirit of full disclosure, let me make my bias perfectly clear: I love Orlando. I love the palm trees and the fountains and the flowers. I love the theme parks with their manufactured adventures and one-of-a-kind experiences. I love the restaurants and the shops and the souvenirs. So when I heard the North American Christian Convention was meeting in Orlando this year, I became an instant advocate. “We”re going to Orlando for the NACC,” I told my wife and anyone else who would listen. And no possible objection has fazed me. “It will be

December 12, 2010

Christian Standard

Blind Copies

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe you”ve noticed, as I have, the remarkable sameness greeting travelers at each stop along United States Interstates. Parachute a blindfolded visitor before the assortment of franchised restaurants assembled at any random exit, and ask him whether he”s landed in Kansas or Kentucky. He probably won”t be able to tell you. With a few regional exceptions, the same stuff is on the menu just about everywhere. And it”s true in churches too. Every October churches large and small, from California through the Bible Belt, promote Trunk “n” Treat as a Halloween alternative. Soon Christian Standard will

September 12, 2010

Christian Standard

The Tourist Church

By Rick Grover People ask me the same questions they probably ask you: “Is your church seeker-driven, purpose-driven, missional, attractional, emergent, or traditional?” I always find it difficult to answer these questions without getting into lengthy discussions about the meaning of words and terms. And I also dislike the notion of being pigeonholed. Who doesn”t? When I think of labels for churches, I”ve coined one that I especially hope will never be used to describe ours: “Tourist Church.” Are you familiar with this name? You should be, because it is quickly becoming an unfortunate description of the American church. While

August 9, 2009

Christian Standard

Serving, Reaching, and Transforming in Cleveland, Ohio

  by Scott Pugh I grew up thinking church was boring and irrelevant. My attitude completely changed when I gave my life to Christ at a pool hall after a Christian reached out to me. But a lot of other people still think the way I did. They don”t go to church, or have been hurt by the church, and are just plain fed up with anything religious.  How are Christians going to reach these folks? We know the church must reach beyond its walls to seek the lost like Jesus did. And that”s what we”re trying to do through

November 23, 2008

Christian Standard

The Emerging Church and the Stone-Campbell Movement: Some Striking Similarities (Part 1)

By William R. Baker See the Sidebar: “The Emerging Church: A Brief History and Helpful Resources”     "Emerging churches are communities that practice the way of Jesus within postmodern cultures," say Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger.1 We might wonder, From what are these churches emerging? Simply stated, they are emerging from a modern world to a postmodern world.2    Yet, thinkers about the emerging church also want to place this mantra of “emerging” on the church generally in the past, present, and future.3 Thus, in the New Testament writings of Paul, we see the Greco-Roman church “emerge” from the

September 16, 2007

Gary Zustiak

emerging church movement

The Emerging Church Phenomenon

A look at the emerging church movement—its beginnings, key voices, and defining practices—plus a careful distinction between “emerging” and “Emergent,” and a critique that also notes strengths in authenticity and mission.

September 9, 2007

Cody Moore

institutional vs missional church

Missional Sending

Cody Moore contrasts the institutional church with the missional church, arguing that Christians are called out and sent back into the world. He urges communities to measure spiritual fruit, not just budgets and attendance.

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