Articles for tag: Online Church

September 12, 2018

Mark A. Taylor

A California Hindu Discovers Christ Online

By Mark A. Taylor It all started on an airplane. Rajiv Badha was flying home to Fremont, California, sitting beside Nic Chumney who lives in Ohio. Chumney is a member of Christ’s Church in Mason, Ohio. As their conversation continued, talk turned to spiritual matters, and Chumney told Badha about the online campus of Christ’s Church, ccmasonlive.churchonline.org. Badha, who grew up in a Hindu family, decided to check out the congregation’s worship services broadcast live over the Internet every Sunday. But he didn’t log on the first time on a Sunday; instead, he viewed a Sunday service on a Tuesday (Christ’s

September 2, 2018

Michael C. Mack

Urban Ministry, Disagreement, Changes

By Michael C. Mack This month we focus on the urban church. This topic may bring about disagreement among readers. Our cities, after all, often serve as the stage for highly charged emotional issues in our culture. In addition, we also tackle the contentious question of online church; is it really church? And how do we even discuss debatable issues in a sane and unifying manner? (We cover that too.) Finally, I want you to know about a few changes we’re making to serve you better.   What Urban Ministry Means to You As several writers point out, the New

August 11, 2018

Jerry Harris

Is Online Church Really Church? Absolutely.

IN THE ARENA: In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christ-centered and Christ-honoring debate of nonessential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard. Jon Weatherly’s article “How to Debate Debatable Issues” gives great insight on how to disagree in a godly way. We apply the principles Jon describes in our first debate between Jerry Harris and Barry Cameron (click here to read his article). These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you

August 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Is Online Church Really Church? In a Word, No.

IN THE ARENA: In the arena of ideas and opinions, there needs to be a place for Christ-centered and Christ-honoring debate of nonessential issues. We will occasionally feature a debate like this in Christian Standard. Jon Weatherly’s article “How to Debate Debatable Issues” gives great insight on how to disagree in a godly way. We apply the principles Jon describes in our first debate between Jerry Harris (click here to read his article) and Barry Cameron. These two men are great friends who have differing views and opinions about online church. Read their articles and then tell us what you

April 14, 2018

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Special Church Report Part 1: Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches

By Kent E. Fillinger This marks my 14th consecutive year of staying up late for weeks on end crunching numbers, looking for trends, and jotting down insights about our Restoration Movement churches to share with you. This year is special because it’s the first time Christian Standard opened up the annual survey to churches of every size. More than 400 churches from 39 states ranging in size from 12 to 28,216 responded to the survey, and I’m grateful for each one! I’m going to share in-depth results from the survey and analyze the data in my next few monthly articles.

March 24, 2017

Christian Standard

Where Has All the Shopping Gone?

By Joe Boyd Traditional retail is struggling. What might this mean to local churches in the United States?  A giant of the American economy is slowly dying. You may not notice it yet because giants die at such a sluggish pace. Traditional American department stores are struggling. Over the last year Macy”s has closed nearly 100 stores and laid off 10,000 employees. Sears is also closing more than 100 stores after a 2016 holiday shopping season that dropped more than 12 percent from 2015. Kohl”s closed 18 stores and laid off more than 1,500 people in 2016. This isn”t Forbes

May 1, 2015

Christian Standard

The Most Consequential Church Trend in 2015 . . . and What to Do About It

One trend is having a monumental impact on churches across the United States, says Will Mancini, founder of Auxano, a consulting ministry that focuses on vision clarity. On his blog at ChurchCentral.com, Mancini said: “Your most committed people will attend worship services less frequently than ever in 2015.” Churchgoers who once attended four times a month may now attend only twice a month. Those who attended every other week may now be showing up only once a month. Mancini points to several reasons, including increased involvement in multiple kids” activities, greater mobility, rise of the virtual workplace, and access to

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, TX

Baptism Weekend, a New Tradition By Drew Sherman, lead pastor, Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, Texas We started a new tradition last Easter by having a baptism weekend. It was awesome. We had a large pool just outside the front of the church. One hundred eighteen people were baptized that weekend, including a biker dude named Fred who was watching online in the area. He got so excited he jumped on his Harley and came down to get baptized!

May 19, 2012

Christian Standard

iChurch

By Kent E. Fillinger A recent Family Circus cartoon showed Dolly telling her mother, “Billy says he doesn”t hafta” go to church anymore “˜cause his phone has an app for that!” The reality is, Billy may be right! The top-ranked online search topic in 2011 was “iPhone,” beating out Casey Anthony, Kim Kardashian, and Katy Perry. Technologies like Facebook, Twitter, mobile websites, and smartphones are changing the way individuals live and organizations operate. Church growth consultant Barry Whitlow wrote, 70% of the people living in most American communities now choose not to get up and go to a church service

May 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Kurt Ervin

By Brad Dupray As executive pastor of church expansion at Central Christian Church in Henderson, Nevada, Kurt Ervin is overseeing one of the most innovative forms of evangelism and discipleship the church has ever seen. While Central has expanded to seven physical campuses, the campuses with the potential to turn the world upside down have no physical locations. Central”s online and Facebook campuses have eight different weekly services and reach attendees around the world. The church”s goal is to have 300 new campuses or churches in the next 10 years, and the online campuses are key to fulfilling that vision.

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: An Interview with Three Megachurch Ministers

  By Kent Fillinger A SWOT analysis is the classic model for strategic planning. It examines an organization from the standpoint of its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it faces. We asked three lead pastors of megachurches to comment on their individual congregations and on megachurches in general using the framework of a SWOT analysis: “¢ Jud Wilhite, 37, has been  senior pastor since 2003 of Central Christian Church (Henderson, Nevada), which has an average weekend worship attendance of 12,822. “¢ Scott Enyon, 47, has been senior pastor since 1994 of Community Christian Church

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link