Articles for tag: Missions

February 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: Pioneer Bible Translators

By Jennifer Taylor Pioneer Bible Translators (Founded 1976) 7255 West Camp Wisdom Road, Dallas, TX 75236 www.pioneerbible.org Greg Pruett, President Pioneer Bible Translators does not exist just to translate the Bible. Instead, its mission is “discipling the Bible-less,” a holistic approach that includes working with native people groups, developing literacy, investing in the community, and planting churches. “The end goal is not just translated Scripture, but churches using Scripture,” says President Greg Pruett. “We consider a project completed only when we have helped to create networks of growing believers and multiplying churches.” The ministry began with a vision to combine the

February 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: New Missions Systems International

By Jennifer Taylor New Missions Systems International (Founded 1989) 2701 Cleveland Ave., Suite 7, Fort Myers, FL 33901 www.nmsi.org Laura Clancy, President/CEO Every word of NMSI”s name is intentional: the organization looks for new ways to help people fulfill the missions they feel called to, while using systematic approaches to planning and implementation and maintaining an international focus across the ministry. “Our niche is supporting missionaries to fulfill their calling,” says President Laura Clancy. “We look for ways to support people who can identify and articulate their call, and we focus on opportunities where we can add unique value. This

February 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: IDES

By Jennifer Taylor IDES (Founded 1973) P.O. Box 60, Kempton, IN 46049 www.ides.org Rick Jett, Executive Director Until 2005, International Disaster Emergency Service primarily received donations from churches and individuals and channeled the money to missionaries or U.S. agencies. When disaster struck, churches knew they could trust IDES to manage the gifts and ensure every penny went to the designated cause. Today IDES is still a “top of mind” organization for charitable giving, especially in response to earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters, and as much as 70 percent of its ministry is facilitating these gifts. However, the IDES team

February 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: Good News Productions International

By Jennifer Taylor Good News Productions International (Founded 1976) P.O. Box 222, Joplin, MO 64802 www.gnpi.org Mike Schrage, Executive Director Many organizations exist to evangelize the world; the mission of Good News Productions International is accelerating the work with relevant, culturally sensitive media strategies. “We offer the church an opportunity to use first-world technology to reach Third World cultures,” says Executive Director Mike Schrage. “Our team in Joplin is just a small part of our ministry””we have regional production centers around the world and we touch a million people each week with our audio, video, and print projects.” These initiatives

February 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: FAME

By Jennifer Taylor FAME (Founded 1970) 4545 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46203 www.FAMEworld.org Rick Wolford, Executive Director “You don”t send ice skates to Honduras.” Rick Wolford, executive director of FAME, smiles as he explains the ministry”s insistence on sending only good quality, usable medical equipment to the field. But the illustration is fitting; FAME understands its role as a leader in medical evangelism and targets its efforts on accomplishing this mission with excellence. “That”s been one of our biggest challenges in responding to the Haitian earthquake,” Wolford says. “We received requests to help with construction projects and other initiatives and

February 20, 2012

Christian Standard

Sending, Serving, Reaching: Christian Missionary Fellowship

By Jennifer Taylor Christian Missionary Fellowship (Founded 1949) P.O. Box 501020, Indianapolis, IN 46250 www.cmfi.org Doug Priest, Executive Director Many people have learned of Christian Missionary Fellowship because of its work in Nairobi, Kenya; since 2006 Executive Director Doug Priest has invited ministers and other Christian church leaders to visit the area and learn about The Hope Partnership. The Hope Partnership offers a strong Community Health Evangelism (CHE) program, teaches HIV/AIDs awareness and other basic health and wellness education, plants churches, and provides hope to the people living in the Mathare slums. “At the Willow Creek Leadership Conference in 2006, Bill

September 30, 2011

Christian Standard

My Appetite

By Chris DeWelt   “My food . . . “ It was quite tasty. A large whole lamb fixed in a traditional Albanian way””stuffed with rice. Really good rice. It even had some almonds and bits of liver mixed in. The college students all looked my way with some degree of uncertainty. Maybe it was because the whole lamb was present (minus the wool and hide). Fish with the head attached is one thing, but this definitely was stretching the comfort zone, and here in Durres, Albania, we had already been stretched quite a bit. Perhaps I was a bit

June 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Finest Hour, Our Ongoing Challenge

By LeRoy Lawson My subject today is missions. Please don”t yawn. Sometimes preachers are made to feel a little defensive when promoting this essential part of a church”s life. Announce a “missions emphasis weekend” and watch the attendance plummet. Announce that giving has been falling behind and expenses have to be cut and you can count on a chorus of calls to slash missions giving. It”s a hard sell””this missions enterprise. That”s why I bring the subject up. Please don”t be cynical, either. You might object that I think this matter is so important only because I work for a

June 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Eubanks Institute Hosts “˜Forwarding Agents” Event

By Jennifer Taylor On May 23 and 24, the Eubanks Institute for Missions at Johnson Bible College (Knoxville, TN) hosted a gathering of forwarding agents, missionaries, and others interested in missions to discuss the agents” multifaceted and important role. Speakers at “The Work of the Forwarding Agent: Past, Present and Future” included Reggie Hundley, Ziden Nutt, Chris Templar, and Carrie Beth Lowe. Workshops and main sessions focused on finances, education, public relations, publishing, and more. The Eubanks Institute was established in 2006 and named in honor of former JBC President David Eubanks and his wife, Margaret, to recognize their significant

April 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Travel Light

By Neal Windham “We must learn to travel light if we hope to keep pace with Christ,” remarked Neville Ward, and who could argue the point? When times are good, it seems the church can afford “reasonable” debt and a growing staff, but when the economy turns sour, then what? In the best of all worlds the church and her mission should not be hampered in any way by a smoldering economy. In fact, the reverse is true. It is precisely the tough times that test our claim to be the loving people of Christ. For example, the early church”s

June 9, 2010

Christian Standard

Never More Movement, Never More Questions

By Mark A. Taylor I don”t remember the author of the essay or the year it appeared in CHRISTIAN STANDARD. I know it was decades ago, probably in the late “60s or early “70s. And I remember the question the writer raised: “When will the Restoration Movement start moving again?” The essay was a plea for our churches and leaders and institutions to step out of their lethargy and isolation and to actually make something happen in our world for Christ”s sake. Maybe someone listened, because no one in Christian churches and churches of Christ today is pleading for something to move.

April 4, 2010

Christian Standard

Living Simply Isn”t So Simple

By Jim Herbst “I think I can. I think I can,” I said to myself. “I think I can live a simpler life.” Fresh from rereading the latest edition of Ronald Sider”s Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, and other similar works, I entered the Christmas shopping season with a fierce conviction to simplify and have a better influence on the world”s poor. No longer could I preach against materialism with a clear conscience while knowing every room in my home is packed with material clutter. You may already know the harsh statistics. The U.S. accounts for 6 percent of

December 30, 2009

Christian Standard

Leading the Discussion

By Mark A. Taylor As the new year begins, here at CHRISTIAN STANDARD we”re gearing up to serve you with 48 issues full of thoughtful insight, encouraging news, and prodding analysis. We”re committed to leading the discussion among Christian church readers about what”s happening in our movement and what it means to all of us. For starters, we”re once again planning 12 special, thicker issues to deal with timely themes: January 10: Vacation Bible School and Children”s Ministry February 14: NACC Preview March 14: Christian Colleges April 11/18: Megachurches May 9: Family June 6: Preaching July 18/25: “Beyond”””NACC Theme Issue

February 1, 2009

Christian Standard

Is It Time to Move Beyond Truth? (Part 3)

by Robert C. Kurka In the first article in this series, we explained a nonfoundationalist approach to theology given shape by Stanley Grenz”s and John Franke”s 2001 book, Beyond Foundationalism. As we noted then, their work contributed a number of helpful insights to those committed to making an impact upon the postmodern world. But it is also fraught with a number of serious problems restorationists should consider. Last week we looked at two areas where Beyond Foundationalism encounters critical difficulties: the Bible itself and church history. We conclude this week by considering two more of these areas: philosophy, and missions

November 19, 2008

Christian Standard

Interview with Ralph Eichelberger

By Brad Dupray Before coming to lead Round Lake Christian Assembly, Lakeville, Ohio, as camp coordinator Ralph Eichelberger was a dairy farmer for 10 years. Even today, Ralph enjoys visiting the family farm. At Round Lake Ralph has been sowing seeds in young people”s hearts for the past 23 years. This summer Round Lake had 112 baptisms at camp, while 47 others were baptized in their home church after returning from camp. Ralph is a graduate of Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College and was once the minister at Kirkpatrick Church of Christ in Marion, Ohio. He and his wife, Carolyn, have

June 29, 2008

Christian Standard

The Inside-Out Life

By Ken Idleman Janice and Faye Rosvit are twin sisters who left their very close-knit family circle, their aging parents, their beloved Colorado Rocky Mountains, and promising country-western singing careers to enroll in Bible college. There they studied phonetics and missions before eventually traveling to more than 100 countries of the world. They have been destitute, sick with dysentery, separated from loved ones, and stung by a Portugese Man “O War. (And that hurts!) Why would they do all of this? Kevin D. took his wife and children to the jungles of Panama to fight the drug traffic in the United

July 1, 2007

Christian Standard

The Problems with Christian Nationalism: A European Viewpoint

By Patrick Nullens I”ll never forget my first trip to America. After landing in Chicago, I thought, It”s like the movies. I took a cab to a huge hotel. As most tired travelers do, I switched on the cheap television set. That was when I experienced my first cultural shock. A well-dressed woman with giant artificial pink nails was resting her hands on a stack of postcards and praying for sick people. After reading each card, she prayed for each request, one by one. As she prayed eloquently and piously, a number for financial contributions flashed across the bottom of

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