October 4, 2023
RiverTree Christian Church in Northeastern Ohio formally opened its eighth regional campus on Sunday. The new campus is in Canton, Ohio. . . . Plus briefs from Point University, Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan, Exponential, and more. . . .
February 1, 2023
A retired construction professional who volunteers with a Christian housing ministry is spearheading an effort to build a house for a father and daughter who are part of Christian Church in the Wildwood in Florida. Plus briefs about "The Senior Pastor Podcast," RiverTree Christian, RENEW.org, and more.
July 13, 2022
Briefs about almost 150 ICOM "Exhibitor Spotlights," tornado recovery efforts near Cincinnati, a Christocentric art exhibition in Northeast Ohio, a sewing ministry in North Carolina, and a learning retreat in Indiana.
March 20, 2017
By Jennifer Johnson Milligan College and Stadia recently announced they have partnered to raise awareness of church planting and further the mission of both institutions. The new partnership was announced in December during a “Church Planting Emphasis Week” at Milligan College and Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Tennessee. The partnership opens a variety of opportunities for both organizations, including theological training for church planters at Milligan/Emmanuel, Stadia-developed church planting courses for students, new internship opportunities for Milligan and Emmanuel students at church plants, and Stadia speakers for Milligan”s Youth in Ministry Student Leadership Conference. Phyllis Fox, who served as director of
September 11, 2016
By Kent Fillinger Alex Absalom leads Dandelion (www.dandelionresourcing.com), which empowers leaders, churches, and networks to build missional and naturally supernatural disciple-making cultures. He is a pastor at Grace Church in Long Beach, California, and previously spent five years on the leadership team at RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, where he led the church in transitioning from a purely attractional to an attractive missional model, which included the starting of about 70 midsize missional communities. We spoke with him about how churches today are unleashing their members to use their spiritual gifts””and how they can do this better. What is
June 18, 2013
By Mark A. Taylor Of all the articles about missional ministry we”ve posted this month, I like the stories from churches most. Maybe you agree. Although we”re energized by the insights of missional leaders like Matt Smay and Alan Hirsch, their ideas come to life in the strategies, experiences, successes, and failures of local congregations. Rivertree Christian Church, Massillon, Ohio; Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois; and Southland Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, encourage us with the new paths they”re blazing. And now you can hear leaders from these three churches discuss their ministry. We”re bringing them to you via CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s
June 1, 2013
By Darrel Rowland RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, has not tried to become just a little more missional. Led by visionary minister Greg Nettle, more than three years ago the church made a revolutionary commitment to a missional strategy for all its ministry. The result is breeding influence and disciple-building in a way Nettle believes is vital for the very survival of the church in America. Just a few minutes after Greg Nettle”s message and the closing song, a man with an idea pulls him aside in the hallway. “You know what? I know all these remodelers,” the contractor
April 23, 2012
By Greg Nettle It all boils down to “how well we are doing at making disciples.” After 23 years at the leadership helm of RiverTree Christian Church, I have to take at least some responsibility for the quality of disciples we are producing. Now, don”t get me wrong, I know it is God who brings about the sanctification process and that we, as humans, certainly continue to have the freedom to make good or bad choices. However, surrounding my 20-year anniversary as leader of RiverTree, I spent a lot of time praying and reflecting. And I didn”t like what was
January 22, 2012
Brent Storms became president of Orchard Group in 2009 and CEO this past July. Greg Nettle joined the Stadia team as president just a few months ago. These two young leaders recently sat down with us for a candid conversation about the future of church planting and the future of the church. Brent, what is Orchard Group”s niche and overall mission? STORMS: Our mission is to plant growing and reproducing churches in New York, the Northeast, and beyond, which often means strategic urban settings. We began in the New York metro area and in the last 20 years we”ve
January 5, 2012
Nothing challenges us to think about changing times more than the transition from one year to the next. On this first day of 2012, we asked six Christian leaders to think about the church a year from now and to draw a picture of our progress””and our problems””then. * * * By Greg Nettle It was the worst of times. . . . It was the best of times. As an underlying foundation, I believe that when the circumstances of life are at their worst, the church has the opportunity to be at her best. It was the worst because
October 5, 2011
By Jennifer Taylor A number of factors began to converge, and Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), thought God might be up to something. There were partnerships with Stadia (Irvine, CA) and Compassion International; the launch of 18 churches and counting with Kingdom Synergy Partnership, a church planting network; the addition of Alex Absalom, coauthor of Launching Missional Communities, to the RiverTree staff; the launch of Love Canton, an urban church plant; and the transition of RiverTree from megachurch to missional movement. “It started to become clear that God was moving,” Nettle says. The RiverTree team
August 31, 2011
On Aug. 29, Provision Ministry Group announced the selection of Greg Nettle as the new president of Stadia, Provision”s church planting organization. “Greg is an international church planter as well as the vision caster and senior pastor of a church planting megachurch in northern Ohio,” wrote Provision CEO Larry Winger. “Instead of plucking Greg out of that context to lead Stadia, we are leaving him right where he is to keep on practicing and perfecting.” Nettle is senior pastor with RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH) and also one of the creators of Kingdom Synergy Partners, a church planting group formed
July 27, 2011
By Greg Nettle If Jesus is now in us, then it follows that, like Jesus, we must be for people. But unless people see our lives reflecting the fact that God is for them, they will continue to believe that God is against them. They”ll continue to be afraid of God. For us to restore the church to the mission of Jesus, we must communicate to people in every way possible that Jesus is for them and, therefore, that we as followers of Jesus are for them. Letting Others Know We Are for Them How should this Christology be
April 28, 2011
First Christian Church (Canton, OH) and RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH) celebrated Easter together this past Sunday. “FCC planted RiverTree more than forty years ago!” the churches share. “We believe we share a common mission and vision from God and want to take steps to build our partnership.” Instead of one huge gathering, each congregation held its own worship services; Scott Rosen and Greg Nettle, senior pastors of the two churches, drove back and forth to “team preach” at each one. The multisite campuses of each church received the same message via video.
January 19, 2011
Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), is one of nine guys climbing a volcano in the Andes Mountains this month! Nettle and his team leave for Ecuador tomorrow; while there they will climb four mountains including Cotopaxi, the second-highest summit in the country and one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. The last 5,000 feet of the climb will be over the world’s largest equatorial glacier! The nine climbers, all part of RiverTree, are raising $100,000 for ChildReach Ministries and Compassion International. Click here to watch Greg and two teammates discuss the trip and
December 8, 2010
By Jennifer Taylor Last week, a Canton, OH-area newspaper reported the story of a Cincinnati teen and the local pastors championing his cause. The student, Bernard Pastor, was brought to the United States as a 3-year-old and taken into custody last month as an undocumented immigrant. Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH) and Troy Jackson, senior pastor at University Christian Church (Cincinnati, OH) are among the leaders calling for the passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. “At the heart of all of this, we’re talking about caring for children,” Nettle
November 18, 2009
By Brad Dupray Greg Nettle is celebrating his 20th anniversary as senior pastor of RiverTree Christian Church, Massillon, Ohio, this year, and he is also celebrating a collaboration of churches from throughout Ohio. About 30 churches have joined in Kingdom Synergy Partnerships (KSP) with a goal of starting 50 churches in a 10-year period. Although RiverTree is running about 3,000 in weekend attendance, Greg sees the value of every church, large and small, as an important link in the partnership model. Greg and his wife, Julie, have been married 16 years and are the proud parents of two children, Tabitha
August 2, 2009
 by Greg Nettle Where I grew up in northern Ohio, the predominant religion was Catholicism. As a result of not being a Catholic, I formed some very unhealthy approaches to my Catholic friends. Most involved arguments and confrontations about what was scripturally incorrect with the Catholic church. I would regularly discuss with my youth-group buddies topics such as: Is the pope the Antichrist? And, is it OK to date a Catholic girl so you can convert her to New Testament Christianity? In short, I was erecting a lot of relational barriers. Years later, after serving as a senior pastor
By Sonja White READ THE SIDEBAR: “An Adoption Story” by Sonja White  The arc of international flags on the front lawn of RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, might remind some of the United Nations. But for RiverTree”s congregation and the community, the flags celebrate children. Each flag represents the birth country of the 150 children who have been adopted by a family involved in the church”s Born in Our Hearts adoption ministry. Born in Our Hearts is an adoption and foster care ministry dedicated to raising the awareness of children in need of adoption and helping families through the
By Sonja White READ THE MAIN ARTICLE: “Embracing the Ministry of Adoption” by Sonja White  Every adoptive family has a story and a journey. For Greg and Julie Nettle, their story began on December 1, 2001. Greg explains, “We had good friends who had decided to adopt [a child] from Kazakhstan. It was a difficult time for our country following the events of September 11th, and our friends had to leave their two biological boys with grandparents to complete their adoption in Kazakhstan, a country just 500 miles north of Afghanistan. At the end of their three-week trip,
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