February 20, 2023
You Have to Be There
We miss something sacred and “supernatural” when we absent ourselves from the body of Christ . . .
Articles for tag: Online Services
September 1, 2022
Are Church Leaders Prepared for Quicksand and Lava?
By Megan Rawlings When I was a child, probably around the age of 10, I perceived a few natural phenomena as threats to me on my journey to adulthood. For example, I spent hours researching and watching videos on how to escape quicksand and run away from volcanic lava. I didn’t realize, though, that neither of those was a threat to me in my southern Ohio hometown! I have prepared for one natural disaster my whole life, knowing that living in southern Ohio it was possible (notice I did not say “probable”). I could experience a tornado. I knew that
May 24, 2021
Five Ways to Bring Families Back to Church . . . Eventually
I've discovered five healthy ways to view people who are not physically at the church building, along with ways to help bring families back.
May 1, 2021
Harness the Opportunity: It’s Time to Plan for Growth Again
Crisis is always an opportunity. History proves the church can grow through and after a pandemic. I will not let this crisis kill my faith.
May 1, 2021
SPOTLIGHT: Alvadore Christian Church (Junction City, OR)
Exactly What This Very Small Church Needed Advancing their technology has never been a top priority at Alvadore Christian Church, a congregation of about 65 people in the small, rural town of Junction City, Oregon. It’s not that senior pastor Marcus Omdahl is old-fashioned. Omdahl is a sharp young leader with a wife and school-age daughter. But until recently, he understood that livestreaming was not something the congregation or the community was likely to embrace. Of course, that all changed with the spread of COVID-19 early in 2020. Immediately, Alvadore Christian, like so many other churches, suspended in-person worship services
February 1, 2021
How to Change Your Church Scorecard (in an ‘AC’ World)
What’s the score? Who’s winning? Both are common questions during a sporting event. Fans of the winning team often point out the scoreboard to the opposing team’s fans at the end of a game. “Keeping score” can be a positive or a negative depending on the situation and the underlying intent. Churches have traditionally used metrics like the ABCs (Attendance, Baptisms or Buildings, and Cash) or the three Cs (Church attendance, Conversions, and Cash) to “keep score” and to measure their growth and effectiveness in accomplishing the mission. The new norm for many church leaders seems to be the sharing
November 22, 2020
My Road to Peace
—This content is sponsored by The Solomon Foundation— As the pandemic unfolded in March, I quickly became concerned . . . about catching the virus, about our economy, and about churches. On March 9, during my last airline flight (from Detroit to Denver) before most everything shut down, it became obvious to me I was not the only one concerned. Before that week ended, our country was in total lockdown. I could feel the tension rising within me, and I could sense the tension in others. As with many others, my wife and I spent a great deal of time
July 21, 2020
Church Staff Steps Up During Preacher Search, Pandemic
By Chris Moon The COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult one for church leaders and staff to navigate. But try doing it without a senior pastor in place. That’s the reality Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, Ill., has been living during these days of the new coronavirus. Tom Butler, the church’s executive pastor, joked that he took a class in seminary about serving in a church through a major pandemic and a recession—and without a head shepherd in place. “That class has really come in handy,” Butler said. Then, in a serious tone, he said, “This has been unprecedented in
July 15, 2020
An Online Revolution of Necessity
Is online church really church? That question has bounced around church circles for years as more of American life takes place over the internet. Churches and pastors have been all over the spectrum—from all-in to logged out. The conversation persisted right up to the COVID-19 pandemic. A couple of Christian magazine covers from March 2020 help tell the story. The central theme of Christian Standard’s March print edition featured a robust discussion about the benefits of online church. The cover featured Rusty George of Real Life Church in Valencia, California, who said, “Church is engagement . . . with the
April 15, 2020
Ellsworth’s Farewell Sermon On Hold Until Church Can Gather Again
By Chris Moon Tom Ellsworth jokes that his “crystal ball” must have been broken when he announced last year his plan to retire at the end this month. Ellsworth has put in nearly 40 years of service as pastor of Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, Ind. He’s seen the church grow from an attendance of about 80 people to more than 3,000 on two campuses. But 40 years is a good biblical number, and Ellsworth had his 65th birthday earlier this year. The church began working on a retirement plan a couple of years ago, and Shawn Green was
March 25, 2020
Churches Gain Attention for Adapting to COVID-19 Challenges
Numerous Christian churches were featured in newspaper stories the past few days for how they are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the news stories noted that the churches are not meeting in-person but are coping by sharing their worship services via the Internet. Here are some of the churches that were featured: Odon (Ind.) Christian Church (featured in the Times-Herald)—”With the restrictions, we are going to be doing our services online only,” noted pastor Micah Stephen. “Easter time we usually get much larger numbers into the church. We are kind of putting things on hold and trying to
March 18, 2020
Pastors Focused on Serving Communities, Improving Online Abilities as Pandemic Continues
By Chris Moon After a weekend of large-scale cancellations of in-person worship services—the result of the COVID-19 pandemic—many Restoration Movement churches are spending this week plotting their next moves. Pastors say they are looking both inward at how their online programming was received and outward at how best to serve their communities in a time of need. They say they are recognizing the way in which “social distancing” recommendations are affecting vulnerable communities, from the elderly to those in poverty. Tyler McKenzie, lead pastor of Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, said his church put together both a weekend service plan
March 13, 2020
Church Leaders Make Tough Calls as Coronavirus Spreads
(On Friday, March 13, this article was updated with information from Northshore Christian Church in Everett, Wash.) By Chris Moon The fear of COVID-19, the new coronavirus, has swept the nation during the past week, and Restoration Movement churches and organizations are working through the fallout. An array of announcements about changes at churches and Christian colleges have been rolled out during the past few days. Colleges have begun posting notices on their websites indicating their response to the coronavirus. (Click here to read “Christian Universities Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic,” which offers a rundown of steps many of our colleges
June 1, 2015
Missed Turns
By Eddie Lowen Three college buddies and I decided to attend a conference that was 1,200 miles away. Inadequate budgets didn”t allow us to book a hotel along the way. Inadequate brains didn”t allow us to consider anything other than a 24-hour marathon drive. During the early morning hours of our journey, as three of us napped, our on-duty driver missed a turn. About an hour later, I awoke and asked, “Where are we?” The answer: 50 miles off course. That”s how missed turns are discovered. Someone wakes up and says, “Hey, this is not where we intended to be.”
