January 1, 2026
With careful planning, clear communication, financial foresight, and sensitivity to personalities, churches can not only survive transitions, they can thrive through them.
February 14, 2025
Alan Ahlgrim’s legacy as a Christian leader and a mentor to pastors will be missed by many.
The speaker lineup for the 2021 SpireConference is announced; High Hill Christian Camp is undergoing expansion; plus other briefs.
March 31, 2021
More than 600 people attended a celebration of life service Monday at Antioch Christian Church, Marion, Iowa, for correctional officer Robert McFarland, who was killed last week during an attempted escape from the Anamosa State Penitentiary. The governor ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff Monday.
March 30, 2021
Loneliness is a perpetual problem among pastors, and it only has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to two experts who specialize in care for pastors—Dr. Wes Beavis and Alan Ahlgrim. “There’s not a pastor out there who does not need authentic friendships,” Beavis said.
January 22, 2017
By Alan Ahlgrim Every person can relate to being at the end of his or her rope””especially leaders! But realizing that secrets like these are common to many can lead to solutions and calm. Secrets””everyone has them. I”ve been close to a group of business entrepreneurs for years. We used to gather every week for lunch, now we connect every few months and it”s always a grand reunion. Recently, as we finished our sandwiches in a business conference room, I interrupted the chatter by reading a passage from Matthew 5. When I asked what stood out the most in this teaching
April 29, 2016
By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Jeff Miller Jeff Miller is a graduate of Nebraska Christian College in Papillion and Emmanuel Christian Seminary, Johnson City, Tennessee. He has held youth and worship ministries in Nebraska, Colorado, and Tennessee. He lives with his wife, Dana, in eastern Tennessee, where he teaches Bible at Milligan College. They have two adult daughters, Danielle and Cassady, and one granddaughter, Claire. Jeff”s Best Sermon: Sara Barton, chaplain at Pepperdine University, preached the best sermon I”ve heard on pride. The
September 20, 2014
By Linda Ahlgrim Ever wonder if it”s quitting time? Every church volunteer has probably faced a time when they felt that way. More often than not, these frustrations arise from interpersonal conflict and should be seen as opportunities to practice humility and become more like Christ, not as reasons to quit. But sometimes we do need to step away from our ministry. Sometimes quitting is the most unselfish choice we can make. IT MAY BE QUITTING TIME IF . . . You need to say “no” to a serving opportunity to make room for God”s bigger “yes” in your life.
September 19, 2014
By Michael C. Mack In 2009, Dave Runyon gathered a group of 20 lead ministers in the Denver area to think, dream, and pray about how their churches might join forces to serve their community. The ministers asked the local mayor a simple question: “How can we as churches best work together to serve our city?” The mayor”s response has inspired passion and a movement. “The majority of issues our community is facing would be eliminated or drastically reduced if we could just figure out a way to become a community of great neighbors,” the mayor said. Runyon and Jay
By Rick Jett (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) The best advice I ever received was from Alan Ahlgrim, former senior minister of Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Colorado. About 20 years ago, Alan was teaching one of the graduate classes I was taking at Cincinnati Christian University. One lesson was about personal growth of a leader. He said good leaders are constantly growing. They will read, take classes, attend conferences, and interview other leaders. He explained that growing leaders will set goals. He walked us through an exercise of writing goals and action steps
By Alan Ahlgrim (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I’ve Ever Received.”) One of my favorite elders is the source of both the best and worst advice I can think of. Just after we occupied our new building, with a huge debt, and just before a Sunday service, Norm said, “This church is just two bad sermons away from disaster!” That was the worst. The best came from the same man a few years later when we were celebrating our 10th anniversary. He delivered the heartfelt and encouraging reminder, “God”s vision for this church has always been bigger
December 20, 2013
By Ryan Rasmussen Quite possibly the scariest moment in my life came at age 22, whereupon graduating from Bible college, I was embarking upon my first full-time ministry. I had taken a job as youth pastor at a little church just north of Indianapolis, Indiana. The church sat comfortably between cornfields and was on the outskirts of a blue-collar factory town the Beach Boys used to sing about (Kokomo). The people were nice, the church was great, but I still felt all alone in this new world I had taken by storm. In an effort to kill time and distract
September 22, 2013
By Roger Boatman “There will be no large churches in this city,” thundered the city councilman of a Seattle suburb to leaders of a Christian church. At issue was land the church had in escrow to develop as its new campus. Church leaders objected, saying elected officials could not determine the size of their church. “Oh, yes we can,” the councilman replied, “because we set the parking code, and you will not be approved for this or any other large site in this city.” Not to be denied their vision for the church, the congregation backed away from that site
September 18, 2013
By Jennifer Johnson Several Christian churches in Colorado have been key in helping victims of the floods that damaged more than 18,000 homes and left many other residents without power and running water. “¢ LifeBridge Christian Church (Longmont, CO) has served as one of the primary evacuation centers since last Thursday, assisting thousands of people and working with city and county officials as well as leaders from relief organizations. LBCC says it doesn”t need any immediate donations of food, water, or clothing, but will probably need more as rescue turns to recovery. “The LifeBridge site was almost a study
September 8, 2012
By Alan Ahlgrim Picture this: Your church launches a new campus with a state-of-the-art, 70,000-square-foot building on 30 acres””just before the economy implodes in the greatest recession most of us have experienced. Meanwhile you are fighting for the church”s life in a lawsuit that costs you $2 million to win. This creates a loss of momentum that results in staff reductions and the departure of many members to another congregation nearby. What do you do in such a situation? Alan Ahlgrim, pastor of Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Colorado, faced all those challenges and more. As he shares in this
June 5, 2011
By Alan Ahlgrim Once again this year I”m enjoying a slow pilgrimage through the Bible. I don”t read through the entire Bible every year, but my daughter and I are using The One Year Bible, and it”s been wonderfully refreshing and enlightening. The best 30 minutes of my day are at the beginning. They”re the ones spent reading and reflecting on God”s Word. That certainly was true this morning when I was once again gripped with the fact that, at times, God spoke to people directly. I”ve been reading the book of Numbers over the last few days and have
January 14, 2011
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it would not hear an appeal from the Boulder County (CO) commissioners in their case against Rocky Mountain Christian Church (Niwot, CO). In a Denver Post article, RMCC lead pastor Alan Ahlgrim said this final, conclusive win for the church could have legal implications for at least 160 other churches around the country. The dispute centered on the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The county will be required to pay the church”s legal fees; most of the $1.5 million will be covered by the county”s insurance.
December 16, 2010
“Tis the season for Christmas concerts, and this year Rocky Mountain Christian Church (Niwot, CO) tried something new! This past weekend the church presented “Reel to Real,” a celebration of Christmas movies (reel) and the real meaning of Christmas. The event included clips from favorite Christmas movies on a giant screen while a chorus and live orchestra provided the music and a red carpet and “paparazzi” created the feel of a movie premiere.
October 15, 2010
By Mark A. Taylor Trapped in the coal-dark underground of a Chilean mine, Ariel Tacona Yanez made a decision that will live beyond the rest of his life. Along with 32 fellow miners, he was cut off from the watching world for 17 days until a probe penetrated their dungeon and the world heard the news that the miners were alive. During that time of isolation and uncertainty, the 29-year-old father of two thought about his wife and their soon-to-be born baby girl. They had agreed on a name, Carolina, for their daughter. But there in the depths of the
January 17, 2010
By Linda Ahlgrim Worry is an insult to God! Even so, it”s easy for church leaders to experience panic and despair when they know ministry programs are doomed to failure without boatloads of committed volunteers. I understand. As director of children”s ministry for our church, I often found myself burdened with the responsibility of finding and training volunteers to serve with our ever-increasing numbers of children. And as everyone around me anticipated a summer filled with fun and travel, I faced my annual “season of despair” when volunteer after volunteer decided to take the summer off. I had to learn
April 7, 2026
John B. Penrose Jr
April 7, 2026
David Faust
March 27, 2026
Rick Cherok