Articles for tag: Missions

Christian Fellowship North (Warsaw, Poland): Passion for Christ and Community

By Laura McKillip Wood I came to Christian Fellowship North soon after I moved. I was in a very difficult and dark place in my life. My relationship had just collapsed, I had moved to a new city and started a new job, leaving family and friends on the other side of the country. For the first few months I came in and out, with no energy to talk to anybody. I just talked to God. One Sunday I sat on a chair somewhere at the back of the room, immersed in my thoughts, tears pouring down my face. It

October 1, 2019

Partnering for Change

By Laura McKillip Wood The 75-year-old, one of few literate Roma women in Ukraine, had read the Bible for years in Russian and Ukrainian. She spoke both languages, in addition to her own dialect of the Roma language. When translators presented to her the story of the prodigal son, newly translated into the Roma dialect, a smile spread across her face. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I have read this story many times, but this is the first time I have understood it!” This reaction underscores the importance of a new project underway that partners a Ukrainian college,

October 1, 2019

Christian Arabic Services (Egypt): The Best-Kept Secret in the Restoration Movement?

A Christian Standard Interview with Safaa Fahmi By John Caldwell Christian Arabic Services of Cairo, Egypt, is strategically located in the Islamic world, at the crossroads of Africa and Asia and next to the world’s only Jewish state. Safaa and Mona Fahmi lead the CAS ministry, which targets the 420 million Arabic-speaking people concentrated in northern Africa and the Middle East. The Fahmis and their dedicated team of associates have trained leaders who have helped to reopen at least 200 Egyptian village churches from Aswan to Alexandria. Through its efforts, several hundred denominational churches have embraced New Testament Christianity, as

October 1, 2019

Rick Chromey

Devotionals

When Life Gives You Leamons

By Rick Chromey It was a blustery, cold Thursday in January 2005. My meeting with Bill Leamon—the maintenance manager for Kentucky Christian University—was scheduled for 3 p.m. I initiated the meeting to announce my resignation from the youth worker team for Bill’s mission trip to Mexico. My daughter had roped me into going. Our church youth group annually traveled to Ciudad Acuna to serve impoverished families. The trip of 1,400 miles was a grueling, nonstop, 24-hour, one-way drive from Grayson, Kentucky. My daughter’s enthusiasm had proven contagious. I said yes. But I never wanted to go. Mission work, I believed,

October 1, 2019

BELIEVABLE LIVES: How YOU Can Make a Kingdom Difference in This World

By Dan Crum INDIA: I visited north India earlier this year and was honored to sit among leaders of one of the largest movements to Christ I’ve ever known. While there, a woman stood up and shared about her work among the transgender community. Prisha (not her real name) had approached the transgender community and requested to teach them about Christ. She was rejected initially, but soon one of the people in that community became ill and medical treatment was not helping. Some folks reached out to Prisha and told her she could come and pray for their friend. If

September 4, 2019

News & Updates

Key Lay Leaders of First Christian, Evansville, Die in Plane Crash

First Christian Church in Evansville, Ind., suffered the loss of three key lay leaders in a plane crash last week in Montana. Tim Arnold, Grant Weythman, and Allen Eicher were flying in a small plane toward Pinehaven Christian Children’s Ranch in Montana as part of a volunteer missions team when they struck a power line and crashed. According to the Courier & Press, Weythman and Eicher were elders at First Christian, and Arnold was a former elder. They were headed to the children’s ranch to repair broken machinery. “They were very much what we call shepherds—trying to make sure everybody

August 22, 2019

Jesse Yangmi: A Lifetime of Service in Southeast Asia

By Laura McKillip Wood “We knew your father,” the old man said, “and we have heard about you for many years. We’ve been waiting for you.” Jesse’s lifelong dream had been to return to his father’s remote village, where he too had lived as a child. He had thought about his father’s people, the Jerwang, many times through the years, wondering when he would get a chance to return. But the Jerwang live in a very remote area where China, Myanmar, and Tibet share an ill-defined border area, and visiting them is difficult. To reach the villages, Jesse traveled from

July 22, 2019

A Partnership of Hope

By Laura McKillip Wood The sun beat down on the American visitors as they made their way through dirt streets and stepped over the open sewers that lined them. Tin and wooden shanties crowded together. Whole families with five to ten members lived in one room. The smells of smoldering cooking fires, garbage, and sewage permeated the air in the slums of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Just the week before, a 14-year-old boy, loved by many in the community, faced the guns of a corrupt police force. Shot multiple times, the boy died immediately. The visitors knew nothing

June 22, 2019

Transformation through Education

By Laura McKillip Wood (After writing our “Horizons” column for two years, Emily Drayne has decided to step away from this role due to time constraints and other responsibilities. We thank her for her good work. We welcome our new “Horizons” writer, former missionary Laura McKillip Wood. Laura’s name may be familiar to readers as she contributes regularly to The Lookout.) He closes his Bible and stretches his arms, rubs his neck, and yawns. He hears the night sounds outside his window and tucks his sermon, scribbled on a scrap of paper, into his Bible. Ambling to bed, this Ugandan

May 22, 2019

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Five Areas to Help Your Intern Succeed

By Emily Drayne People who serve mission organizations or other ministries that utilize interns should consider five important matters to ensure the experience is enlightening, enriching, and enjoyable. Be a Mentor Come alongside the intern. Work with them. Take time to explain what you do and why you do it a particular way. Encourage workers—whether in an office or in the field—to do the same. During my internship in China, I taught English. Even though I loved my internship, I quickly learned that teaching was not my strong suit—or something I wanted to do my entire life. But it didn’t

April 25, 2019

Ministries & Nonprofits Organizations & Events

Kendall Grace Kemerly: Founder, Kendi’s Cows of Grace

This teenager who started a nonprofit ministry at age 8 continues to make a difference in the world By Kelly Carr “God’s teaching me that we’re not promised tomorrow, so we have to put forth our best today, every single chance we get. I need to listen to him and follow through what I’m being called to do, no matter what.” These wise words come from Kendall Grace Kemerly, who has been following the Lord in ministry since she first dreamed of making a difference at age 8. Now 16, she has spent 8 years overseeing Kendi’s Cows of Grace,

April 25, 2019

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Young People in Ministry: Invest, Invest, Invest

By Emily Drayne As a child, when I heard the word missionary, I envisioned an elderly lady sitting around a fire talking about Jesus to unreached peoples. Now, eight years into my job working with missionaries, I know that’s not (always) the case. Kendi’s Cows of Grace is a great example. Kendall Grace Kemerly visualized her mission when she was 8 years old. I’m not sure what you were doing at that age, but I was playing with Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls. Purchasing livestock wasn’t on my radar. It’s key to note that no one pooh-poohed Kendi’s idea simply

February 27, 2019

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Develop These 4 Habits to Increase Your Outreach

By Emily DrayneÂ Iâ™m a missionary . . . and you are too. Missionaries look to make a difference in a community. Itâ™s simply not true that a missionary must relocate to a new country. There are more âhomeâ-based ministry efforts than ever before working in local communities, in inner cities, in childrenâ™s homes, on Native American reservations, and elsewhere. Where can you and the people you lead get involved? This year Iâ™ve personally committed to being a âmissionaryâ where God has placed me. Iâ™ve written out some foundational steps Iâ™m pursuing along this journey that I want to share

February 2, 2019

Devotionals

It All Boils Down to Faith

By Emily Drayne Organizations and missionaries face an uphill battle with regard to donations. When we see a photo of a half-clothed child, a disaster-torn house, or a village that lacks clean water, our natural reaction is to want to help. Sadly, there are many needs, and not every single one can be captured in a photograph. Missionaries and their families need everyday support . . . so their children can get glasses . . . because the cost of living in their chosen part of the world is high . . . because they are starting a new ministry

January 29, 2019

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

How Is ICOM Making a Lasting Impact on the Church?

By Emily Drayne Youth conferences, weeks of camp, training conferences for adults, and mission trips are all mountaintop experiences. Participants come home refreshed, revitalized, and more passionate about the things they spent time focusing on. But life inevitably slows down, the daily humdrum returns, and the fire inside begins to flicker. There is at least one Great Commission-focused event, however, from which there seems to be no post-event letdown: the International Conference On Missions. What makes ICOM different? I’m convinced it’s the on-fire vibe that permeates the conference. People attend ICOM to do something: win the world for Christ, find

January 3, 2019

Instill the Importance of Missions

By Emily Drayne What happens when our missionaries come off the field? Someone enters the mission field to replace them, right? At least we hope that’s what happens. We’re seeing many veteran missionaries who are ready to retire, but they are having a harder-than-expected time finding someone to take over their work. Are fewer people interested in entering the ministry as full-time missionaries? We need to pass on the importance of missions to our churches, families, and students. Here are four approaches that can help. Highlight Your Missionaries Churches often fail to highlight their missionaries to the entire congregation

November 30, 2018

Give Your Church an International Flair this Christmas

By Emily Drayne Have you ever wondered how Christmas is celebrated in other countries? Do they bake cookies and set them out for Santa? Do they hang stockings from mantles and have Christmas trees full of ornaments and lights? Many Americans could benefit from learning the traditions of other countries. Incorporating an international flair into your end-of-year services is easy. Here are five ways to expose your church family to missions during “the most wonderful time of the year.” 1. Host an “International Christmas Week” at your church. December is not a normal time for a missions emphasis, but

November 29, 2018

Biographies Restoration Movement History

Remembering Hugh McDiarmid, Standard’s Second Editor

At this magazine, we speak often of Isaac Errett, our founding editor. So far as I am aware, his name has appeared in each issue of the magazine since the beginning in April 1866. Can anyone name the editor who succeeded Errett? Anyone? Anyone? Arron Chambers provided the answer—Hugh McDiarmid—in “Lifting Up Jesus,” an article about the magazine’s editors for our 150th anniversary issue (April 2016). But Arron provided only this brief description: Errett’s successor was Hugh McDiarmid (June 10, 1837—August 15, 1901); he served as editor from 1888–92. McDiarmid was born in Kent County, Ontario, Canada. Some information about

November 26, 2018