September 1, 2021
A Posture, Not a Program
Reaching our worlds with the gospel today demands that we think afresh about outreach.
Articles for tag: Service Projects
January 3, 2019
Instill the Importance of Missions
By Emily Drayne What happens when our missionaries come off the field? Someone enters the mission field to replace them, right? At least we hope that’s what happens. We’re seeing many veteran missionaries who are ready to retire, but they are having a harder-than-expected time finding someone to take over their work. Are fewer people interested in entering the ministry as full-time missionaries? We need to pass on the importance of missions to our churches, families, and students. Here are four approaches that can help. Highlight Your Missionaries Churches often fail to highlight their missionaries to the entire congregation
SPOTLIGHT: Sunbury (Ohio) Christian Church
Church changes its DNA through service projects and grows, with room to expand. By Darrel Rowland Ten years ago, Sunbury Christian Church spent $500,000 to buy 11 acres at the edge of a village in central Ohio. The church knew its old facility less than two miles away was inadequate, despite renovations that added a gym and got rid of the 1960s-era green paisley carpet. Still, half-a-million dollars for a congregation of about 300 as the Great Recession struck? “We swallowed real hard,” remembers senior minister Mike Bratten. “The need outweighed the fear.” The parcel wasn’t just randomly selected.
April 7, 2018
Incorporating Missions into Your Church Activities
By Emily Drayne From time to time, every church needs to refresh programs and activities, including missions ministry. No matter the church size, budget, or the number of missionaries supported, missions can easily be prioritized and incorporated into your church activities. A Minute for Missions An easy way to incorporate missions into your Sunday service is to do a “minutes for missions” each week. This can be as simple as showing a few photos of a missionary you support and talking about them for two or three minutes. Show a map of where they serve and talk about the
May 29, 2017
Mountain Riders Have Fun, Do Good
By Jennifer Johnson The Mountain Riders pool funds to buy a new coat or a bag of groceries for a member in need. They visit each other”s friends and family members in the hospital. They build wheelchair ramps and do home improvement projects. In fact, the Riders””a ministry of Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, MD“”function as the church, offering opportunities for motorcycle riders and motorcycle fans to study, serve, and grow together. The Riders launched in 2005, and today more than 70 people participate in the group”s activities. While they enjoy their rides, leader Todd Holmberg talks more about the
August 20, 2015
Thanks, Dan
By Jennifer Johnson Thanks, Dan. It”s been 20 years since high school, and I am still so indebted to my youth minister. I was in high school more years ago than I care to remember, so long before anything Internet that information about our fall retreats, ski trips, CIY conferences, service projects, church camp, parties, and mission trips was communicated via photocopied handouts. Dan Giese arrived at our church early in my middle school career and stayed until long after my high school graduation, so he was the only youth minister my friends and I knew. And he was the
November 10, 2014
Missions Ministries that Work: Tower Hill Christian Church
By Derrick Ritchie When Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” we believe this calling is for not only individual Christians, but the church as well. I confess this is a challenge, because our church will give more than $85,000 to missions this year. There are always things I would love to do with this money inside the walls of our church. Really, I have a long list in my head! But I believe God will bless our local ministry in relation to our generosity to missions and missionaries around the world as we advance his
August 7, 2014
Blitz Your Community
By Michael C. Mack In May, Northeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, canceled weekend church services, opting instead to serve an urban community of the city where the church has a campus. Nearly 2,000 church members rode buses to Clifton, where they were mobilized for more than 4,000 hours of service. How does a church plan a serving event of this scale? Randy Gordon, “Go and Do” minister at Northeast, suggested that church leaders “establish points of contact in the community to identify the legitimate needs.” Northeast staff and volunteers visited schools, businesses, government leaders, community ministries, and a bar owner
January 15, 2013
Developing the Youngest Disciples
By Teresa Welch Discipleship””following after Christ””is an expectation for every believer. But sometimes we forget that discipleship can””and often should””begin during childhood. I recently enjoyed spending time with “my kids,” who were part of the children”s ministry I led prior to joining the faculty at Emmanuel Christian Seminary. As with all of my former kids, I was curious to find out about their lives, as I felt responsibility for their continued spiritual formation. During my visit with them, it became apparent what I see in their lives now is directly connected to the time I was with them and their
October 1, 2012
One-Day Project or Sacrificial Service?
By Jennifer Johnson “The church has left the building!” “Don”t miss our great day of service!” “This Sunday we”re not going to church, we”re going to BE the church!” These churches mean well. They want to show God”s love to their communities in practical ways while making it easier for church members to practice serving others. And some, like the annual ServeFest coordinated by Mountain Christian Church in Joppa, Maryland, have grown into very effective partnerships with dozens of other area churches in a common cause. (Check it out at www.servefestmd.org.) But I often wonder about the recipients of these
August 21, 2012
Ten Ways You Can Strengthen Campus Ministry
By Mark A. Taylor Every year we publish a directory of campus ministries like the one in this issue. Every year we include stories of dynamic, life-changing influence provided by these ministries. And every year I learn something new about outreach to young people forgotten or ignored by too many local churches. Obviously, many Christian churches and churches of Christ care about taking Christ to college students. Could we do more? Look at my list, and decide for yourself. 1. Choose a ministry. From our directory, find a campus ministry either (a) close to your local church, (b) on the
August 31, 2011
Proper Care and Feeding of Campus Ministry Graduates
By Gretchen Magruder Dear local church, Let me introduce you to some new members headed your way! My friends have just graduated from college and are looking for a new community to join. They are excited about finding a place to jump in and serve, and will be checking you out over the next few months as they transition from college life to (hopefully) gainful employment. Everyone wants to be known. I know they look young, but please don”t assume they”re with their parents or that they”re just going to be around for a short time. Ask them to tell
June 11, 2011
CIY Leading ‘Engage the City’ to Serve Joplin
From July 4-8 and July 11-15, Christ in Youth (CIY) is leading “Engage the City,” an opportunity for students to serve victims of last month”s tornado in Joplin, Missouri, and learn from the community”s leaders. “CIY will organize projects, programming, housing, meals, materials, and leadership to help these groups best respond to the needs of Joplin,” the organization writes. “There will be outlets to serve but, more importantly, your students will have opportunities to connect with storm survivors and hear their stories. CIY will handle all the details and connect your group with missional leaders to see how they responded
January 12, 2011
Making a Difference
By Joni Sullivan Baker Christmas decorations are down, second semester is underway, and snow is on the ground. It”s January. For those involved in children”s ministry that means only one thing””it”s time to start planning Vacation Bible School. Every summer, Standard Publishing puts its brand-new, unpublished VBS curriculum to the test by asking a local church to actually try it. Christ”s Church at Mason (Ohio) tested the new VBS last June. VBS 2011 is called “Inside Out & Upside Down on Main Street: Where Jesus Makes a Difference Every Day!” The children in the field test learned about five of
January 10, 2008
The Lost Generation
By Chuck Booher Fifteen years ago I visited one of the largest churches in the country. I was in awe of its high school ministry: 2,000 high school students passionately worshiping Christ. However, when I recently visited this same church I was disheartened to discover its high school ministry had dropped to 500 students. The church has doubled in size, and yet its youth ministry is dwindling. The reason definitely isn”t a lack of students in the area. In fact, the city recently opened two new high schools, and its junior college is brimming with college students. Ironically, as I
