December 25, 2023
Today, in the final of six Christmas memories that Christian leaders so generously shared with us this season, Christian writer and speaker Seana Scott describes how her family tried to make the best of a nightmare situation. Merry Christmas to all!
September 18, 2023
"I Can," a movie about Katelyn Pavey, a one-armed athlete who became an All-American softball player at Kentucky Christian University, will premiere in theaters nationwide on Friday. Katelyn’s home church, First Capital Christian Church in Corydon, Ind., produced the film. . . .
November 7, 2022
Do you ever try to one-up someone and make yourself feel superior? Have you ever engaged in a competitive conversation where, instead of listening well, everyone tried to outdo each other by telling more impressive stories of their own?
April 1, 2021
Shampa sat next to her husband, Mukul, in their apartment in Calcutta, India. Their neighbor sat across from them, nervously describing how the company he had worked for as a day laborer had closed due to the COVID-19 quarantine. Money was scarce before the lockdowns, but now survival would be nearly impossible. This man was a member of the house church Shampa and Mukul had started, and here he was, struggling right in front of them. Shampa glanced at Mukul. She looked back at their neighbor. “As long as the lockdown continues, you and your family can come and have
February 1, 2021
September 27, 2019
By Michael C. Mack In his October Metrics column on small and very small churches, Kent Fillinger noted that “only 4 percent of very small churches relied on small groups as their primary form of discipleship.” That’s not surprising. Some might say very small churches are small groups. Well, that depends on how we define small groups, purely by size or by how they function. Tom Claibourne made this point in a 2012 Christian Standard article: “I have actually observed deeper interpersonal relationships, confession, and openness in the lives of Christians involved in small groups in large churches than I’ve
May 22, 2019
Christian Standard’s sister publication The Lookout offers a daily Bible reading plan to walk you through the entire Bible in one year. The Daily Reading Plan can be found for free at lookoutmag.com/resources, or you can connect to the plan using the You Version Bible App. In the app, simply go to Plans and search for “The Lookout.” The plan provides a selection of Scripture reading for 6 days per week. Subscribers to The Lookout will find the Bible Reading Plan in the print magazine, with a small accompanying daily devotional. These can also be found in the free digital
October 6, 2017
By Justin Horey Imagine you live a half hour from the nearest pizza place, and no one delivers. That”s not the premise for a new reality television show. It”s how Dr. Barney Wells, graduate academic dean and associate professor of Bible and ministry at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University, playfully defines “rural communities” for his undergraduate students. Although millions of Americans live in rural communities, small-town people are often overlooked and misunderstood by sociologists and economists more focused on serving larger population centers. Likewise, few have studied or analyzed what it takes to succeed and thrive as a ministry in a
August 17, 2017
Six church human-resource leaders share their best practices for successfully lifting the lids that limit the capacity of staff members Leaders and employees have one thing in common when it comes to performance reviews. Both cringe at the thought of them! How do you view staff evaluations? Are they an annual chore filled with official forms and uncomfortable face-to-face meetings? Have you ever said, “Write your own review, and I”ll sign it”? Would you prefer the “no news is good news” approach? As a new ministry season begins and as the end of the year approaches, effective churches understand the
November 4, 2016
By Jennifer Johnson Jeff Vines, lead pastor at Christ”s Church of the Valley (CCV) in San Dimas, California, was a missionary in New Zealand for 10 years. In the first four years of his ministry at Shore Community Christian Church in Auckland, he grew the congregation from 350 people to more than 1,000 by challenging people to connect with “one life.” Today the same strategies are bringing growth to CCV as a whole and to many of its members. “New Zealand is a post-Christian nation,” Vines says. “I quickly learned that the best way to evangelize in that culture is
July 24, 2016
Jeff Vines explains to Kelly Carr, editor of The Lookout, why church leaders must focus more on apologetics and why he believes all evangelism must be one-on-one. See this interview, from the 2016 NACC in Anaheim, here.
June 17, 2014
By Mark A. Taylor Joe Boyd says the Bible came alive to him when he was just 8 years old. The Sunday school lesson of the day was about Jacob and Esau and how Esau, famished from a day in “the open country,” gave up his birthright for a bowl of Jacob”s stew (Genesis 25:29-34). “Our teacher told us that story,” Boyd remembers, “and then she pulled out a thermos, unscrewed the cap, and poured each of us a serving of lentil stew in a paper cup. “I”d never tasked lentil stew before, and it was good! It dawned on
January 29, 2013
By Kent E. Fillinger Quality leaders and effective leadership can make the difference in whether a local church or any organization succeeds or fails. So we asked a few dozen leaders from churches of all sizes to tell us how they develop leaders where they serve. (The 43 congregations surveyed have average attendances from 275 to 8,500.) Most of those surveyed (77 percent) said every staff member is responsible to train leaders and volunteers within each of their ministries. Four of the megachurches surveyed have a staff person focused solely on leadership development, yet these churches still rely on a
By Mark A. Taylor Some readers may feel this week”s articles don”t apply to them. “I”m not an elder, and I”ll never be one.” “I sometimes wonder what happens in those elders meetings, but not enough to think about how they could be better.” “Governance? What is elder governance? We just approve the bills and try to keep the preacher on the right track. Governance is too fancy a word for what we do in our monthly meetings.” But think carefully about Don Green”s ideas andGary Johnson”s experience, and you”ll see that elder governance can revolutionize how a church functions.
November 13, 2011
By Jennifer Taylor  This fall, William Jessup University (Rocklin, CA) tried a new approach to fund-raising””and set a record in the process. Vice President for Advancement Eric Hogue had three goals: to recruit new donors, help WJU students, and to raise the money without taking the staff away from work. “Give:24″ accomplished all three. Every member of the staff, faculty, and administration was encouraged to participate by asking 24 friends and family members to give $24 each. They made the requests and promoted the effort via social media and e-mail during the month of August; donors could give online during
November 2, 2011
On Thursday, Forefront Church (New York, NY) will hold its next “Conversation That Matters,” a regular gathering to discuss a problem, issue, or article as well as offer one or two people the opportunity to share their own stories. “There are too few places where nonreligious and religious people can listen to one another graciously and learn from one another’s perspectives,” the church writes. Forefront posts links to discussion questions and suggested readings before each gathering.
By Jennifer Taylor The Leadership Institute at Christ”s Church of the Valley (Peoria, Arizona) offers college-level courses from Hope International University (Fullerton, California) plus an internship program. Interns work with CCV staff pastors, attend weekly training sessions, and receive one-on-one mentoring. Participants may choose a one- or two-year internship; the two-year program allows students to earn their master”s degree from HIU. www.ccvonline.com www.hiu.edu ________________ Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors and bloggers, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Do you know of a church breaking new ground or leading innovative ministry? Contact bu**@*********ub.com.
December 1, 2010
Members of Journey”s Crossing Christian Church (Gaithersburg, MD) were at the mall at 5:30 a.m. on Black Friday””but not to get a jump on their Christmas shopping. Instead, the team gave away coffee, hot chocolate, and breakfast treats at one of the busiest shopping centers in their area.
October 28, 2010
Central Christian Church (Wichita, KS) launched a new Spanish-speaking church on Sunday evening, Oct. 24. Iglesia Cristiana Casa de Luz (House of Light Christian Church) held its first services in one of Central”s auxiliary buildings also used for the church”s community outreach ministry. Edwin Ojedis will serve as pastor.
June 17, 2007
By Stefanie Cassetto This article is a sidebar to Cassetto’s “A Day in the Park.” For my small group of nine, “A Day in the Park” was just the beginning of our journey. When we met the following week and began to share our stories, God started to open our hearts and eyes to ways we could extend his love even more. My husband, John, shared his experience of helping a father and son with a delivery to their small central Manchester apartment. The smell was the first thing that hit him when he walked through the door of their
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John B. Penrose Jr
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David Faust
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Rick Cherok
