Articles for tag: Portable Church

May 16, 2018

Beyond Building Concepts and Renovations

LifePointe Christian Church in Elk Grove, California, develops a new space to reflect what they already have—deep relationships. By Mel McGowan “Imagine the church being the community of people that it’s supposed to be, where we are choosing to connect in deep, meaningful ways with others through relationship so we can pursue life to the fullest in Jesus,” says Chris Delfs, senior pastor of LifePointe Christian Church in Elk Grove, California. Delfs is talking about something that goes beyond building concepts and renovations. He desires to re-create his congregation’s current space into something that is warm and welcoming—a beautiful

June 19, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

WHERE’S THE STEEPLE? “” Journey Christian Church, Roswell, GA

By Justin Horey For many years, Journey Christian Church met for worship in a traditional brick building with pews and a steeple. Today the congregation worships in the media room of a local high school. But Journey Christian Church isn”t dying. Journey didn”t lose its building. The congregation willingly sold its seven-acre campus so it could spend more on “ministry and mission” and less on “mortgage and maintenance.” When senior pastor Dan Garrett arrived at Journey (then First Christian Church of Roswell) in 2011, the congregation was averaging around 150 in attendance. Though Roswell has one of the highest per-capita

June 19, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

WHERE’S THE STEEPLE? “” 2|42 Community Church, Brighton, MI

By Justin Horey and Jennifer Johnson 2|42 Community Church (pronounced “Two Forty-Two”) didn”t mind being a portable church in its early years. In fact, lead pastor David Dummitt liked being portable. He found that the weekly set-up and tear-down made it easy to involve men, who sometimes struggle to find their place in a new church. Moreover, the lack of a building allowed 2|42 to invest more money into ministry and community outreach. During that time, Dummitt said, the number one question he heard from other pastors was, “When are you going to build?” Dummitt and his team didn”t want

April 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Christian Living

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

November 13, 2010

Christian Standard

Church Leadership

My Journey to Journey

By Darin Brown I can still remember taking notes from a breakout session at the Eastern Christian Convention more than 10 years ago. Gene Appel was describing the transformation that had occurred at the church he was leading in Las Vegas and was presenting a simple yet profound formula for change. I wrote down “Dissatisfaction + Vision + Next Steps = Change.” As I listened to Appel explain these concepts, I had no idea my life and ministry would be heading down the same path. It should not have happened so quickly. I was the senior minister of a new

November 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Growing Leaders in a Young Church: Interior and Exterior

By Steve Cuss I used to believe that a good-hearted pastor with a strong work ethic and a vision from God could lead a thriving local church. Four years into my own journey, four churches around us have closed their doors. In order to thrive, I”ve learned to focus on the interior life of the leader and the exterior structure of the church. Your Interior Life Baptize your calendar!“”I”m convinced my calendar is a pagan””possibly even a devil worshiper. It can run my life ragged if I”m not careful, keeping me so consumed with details that I neglect my fundamental