Articles for tag: Relationship Building

January 3, 2019

Christian Standard

Cloud Church: Space for Diversity, Relationship, and the Kingdom

By Mel McGowan Imagine you’re rearranging your office. You move your desk to one corner, your bookshelf to another. You move the lamps around to get the light just right. You adjust the couch so you can see your guests better. At the end of the day, you look around with satisfaction that all your office furniture, equipment, and supplies are in the right places. Why is this so important to us? Because the furnishings of our offices are tools that facilitate things like ideas, hard work, and skills. It should come as no surprise, then, that your sacred space

August 22, 2015

Michael C. Mack

5 Practical Ideas to Make Your Meetings More Genuine

By Michael C. Mack What”s the most important element on your meeting agenda? People! If you make it a priority to build genuine relationships with your group, class, or team, you”ll find your meetings will be more efficient and successful. Here are five practical ideas: “¢ Don”t plan to start on time. If you open your meetings with an agenda item or Bible study questions, you”re prioritizing program over people. Plan on a casual start to your group by asking people about their day or week. “¢ Include food! Food seems to break down walls of resistance. Eating with your

June 8, 2013

Christian Standard

Is Missional Working?

By Stephen Sams At Axis Church in Mason, Ohio, we don”t use the word missional. It”s not that we are opposed to the word, it”s just that we try to use words that people understand. When you are trying to reach people who don”t know Jesus, you must use words that communicate and create mental pictures. If people can”t define it or explain it, then they can”t carry it out or act on it. Nearly everyone in America has a concept of church. They think they understand it. They have predetermined definitions of concepts like discipleship, evangelism, and worship, largely

August 8, 2012

Christian Standard

Church Outreach Extends to Self-Service Laundries

By Jennifer Taylor Once a month, volunteers from Crossroads Christian Church (Lexington, KY) serve others. But instead of washing feet, they”re washing clothes. Brent Barger, outward focus lead pastor at the church, started Crossroads” “Laundry Love” outreach after successfully implementing it at a church plant in northern Ohio. “It”s simple,” he says. “We visit a local self-service laundry on a Saturday morning and do people”s laundry for free.” Each volunteer has a specific assignment, from welcoming customers to keeping track of each person”s laundry to roaming the room with rolls of quarters. They don”t load laundry into the machines””most of

May 20, 2007

Christian Standard

When You Begin a Food Pantry

By Ruth Herron and Anita Smelser WHEN YOU BEGIN A FOOD PANTRY . . . “¢ Remember God is in charge. Reach out in love without being judgmental. “¢ Keep your ministry visible. Let the congregation know what you”re doing. “¢ Involve men, women, teens and children in this ministry. “¢ Be accountable. Keep monthly reports of families served. “¢ Be safe. Don”t put yourself in dangerous situations. Work smart. “¢ Explore “food recovery” in your community. “¢ Train your volunteers in safe food practices. “¢ Join your local food pantry agency. “¢ Have a set distribution day for staple

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