Articles for tag: Richwoods Christian Church

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

April 27, 2013

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Changing Church Culture

By Jim Powell Recently, several leaders from a local church asked to meet with me to discuss their congregation”s decline. They wanted advice on how to turn things around. When I sat down to visit with them, I noticed all of their questions were exclusively programmatic in nature. What kind of music do you play? What do you wear on Sundays? How do you present announcements? Do you serve coffee and doughnuts? There is value in asking such questions because we need to contextualize the gospel, and having relevant methods can make a difference. Yet I was concerned that they

January 25, 2013

Christian Standard

Church Leadership

How Are We Growing Our Elders?

By Don Green Churches of all sizes need to establish a process for disciple and leader development that can equip future elders to function as Christlike leaders (Luke 6:40). To be healthy and effective, every church must ensure that mature disciples are being prepared to function as shepherding, overseeing, and leading elders and equippers (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 5:1-4). Although adopting a disciple development process in a local congregation is no guarantee that effective leaders will be developed, it is an essential pathway to kingdom leadership development. During church consultations over the past 30 years I have often