November 6, 2025
We’re hearing stories from across the country about college ministries where thousands are giving their lives to Christ and being baptized in obedience to him. There’s something real happening in This Generation.
October 23, 2023
Service has a sound. Service has a frangrance. Service has a feeling. Service has names. Service has role models . . .
January 29, 2020
How Northeast Christian Is Seeking to Redefine Church Around the Cross-Shaped Love of Jesus _ _ _ I was a stranger and you invited me in. _ _ _ By Tyler McKenzie Outsiders consider people inside the church to be extreme and irrelevant. That’s according to recent research about perceptions of Christianity in America conducted by Barna Group and its president David Kinnaman. You may disagree with these descriptors of churchgoersextreme and irrelevantbut perception is reality to some degree. Outsiders either despise us or don’t care about us. We clearly have a PR problem on our hands. The extremist label
January 29, 2020
This Church’s Outreach Approach Recycles Much More than Clothing and Furniture _ _ _ “I needed clothes and you clothed me.” By L. Mackenzie On December 15, 2008, leaders of The Crossing in Quincy, Illinois, were discussing possible changes to their benevolence strategy. Several of them had just visited a church in Post Falls, Idaho, where they sought out ideas for growth. Elder Bruce Freeman was among those who listened as an idea for a thrift store ministry was discussed. Freeman was head of benevolence, a man passionate about helping others. He also had 25 years of experience working in
January 22, 2020
By Jon Weatherly _ _ _ “The impious Galilaeans support not only their own poor but ours as well.”Julian, Letters, 22 _ _ _ The scene is dramatic. The language is poetic. The effect is chilling. The Son of Man sits on the divine throne, surrounded by angels. Before him are the peoples of the world. He sorts them like a shepherd separating the more valuable sheep from the less valuable goats. But they are sorted for blessing and punishment, for a reason none quite expects. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did [or ‘did not do’] for one of
January 22, 2020
“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” _ _ _ By Steve Poe Remember when a dollar was worth something? I remember paying a little less than a dollar for a gallon of gas. Today gasoline commonly costs triple that amount. Some time ago, if you wanted hot coffee, you could buy one for yourself and one for a friend and still get change back from your dollar. Today a Starbucks coffee starts at $1.85. You just can’t do much with a dollar anymore. And yet, what
January 2, 2020
By Michael C. Mack We’re trying something a little different this month. We have provided what amounts to a 54-page Bible study of 16 verses: Matthew 25:31-46. We begin with exposition; Jon Weatherly skillfully provides context and commentary for this passage. Of course, effectual Bible study begins with careful observation and accurate interpretation, but it means nothing without application. We must “do what it says.” And so we tell the stories of churches and other Christian organizations living out Matthew 25:34-40. They demonstrate what it looks like to feed the hungry, welcome strangers, clothe those in need, look after sick
November 12, 2019
By Beau Bruton We all have people we look up to for one reason or another. After meeting someone, it’s common to say, “They made a good impression on me.” The word impression can mean your first thoughts on someone, mimicry of someone, or the imprint of something. Many people look up to the rich and famous—musicians, athletes, movie stars, and sometimes politicians. People of note leave indelible marks on society, sometimes for good things but often for bad. Kirk Franklin sings, “America has no more stars, now we call them idols.” (He obviously is referring to TV’s American Idol.)
November 9, 2016
By Jim Tune The hardest part of life, one preacher said, is that it”s so daily. Every day the bed needs to be made. Breakfast needs to be cooked. Dishes, dusting, work, and sleep demand our attention every single day. The same with ministry. Many of our churches need hundreds of volunteers to operate every week. The numbers vary depending on the size of the church, but every church needs people to show up and do their job. There”s not much glory in showing up faithfully, but without it we”re sunk. We get tired, though. The thousandth time a husband
November 4, 2015
By Jennifer Johnson The Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship and Envision (North Carolina), two mid-Atlantic evangelizing associations, publicly announced their merger at last week”s International Conference on Missions. The two groups are joining to become Waypoint Church Partners. The two organizations completed a two-year process syncing their legal, financial, and organizational structures to form a new regional alliance. Envision, once known as the Piedmont Evangelizing Association, had been involved with more than 30 new church projects in North Carolina over the past 45 years. VEF, in existence since 1938, planted more than 80 churches in Virginia and more recently in the adjoining
January 6, 2015
By Mark A. Taylor Is your church healthy? Unfortunately, our quest to answer that question may send us looking in the wrong direction. Our tendency is to consider symptoms, not causes, of church health. We analyze statistics about giving or growth or participation, externals that may indicate how we”re doing but don”t tell how to make it better. What can we do to make our church healthier? The best answer””certainly the first answer””is to look in (not out), to cast our gaze upon ourselves. The function of any individual part affects the health of the whole. A quick look at
May 13, 2012
By Brian Jones I think two of the most dangerous influences any church faces are (1) spiritual leaders who have lost their first love and (2) the onslaught of church hoppers. Having wavered before in my faith and flirted with losing my first love with God, I know firsthand how dangerous the first one can be. But that”s something we spiritual leaders have control over. The second one . . . not so much. I call church hoppers “connoisseurs of fine churches” because they”re continually on a quest to find the church that is spiritual enough for them, will endlessly
November 2, 2010
By Jennifer Taylor Milligan College alumnus Andy Baker founded Remember the Children, a nonprofit organization committed to serving the forgotten children and families in Eastern Europe, after a trip to Romania in 1996. This fall he partnered with Milligan to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes for Romanian children. Milligan junior Rachel Severns helped spread the word on campus and collected contributions from community members. Baker will deliver the shoes to Romania this winter. www.remember-the-children.org www.milligan.edu ________________ Jennifer Taylor, one of Christian Standard”s contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Read her blog at www. christianstandard.com. Do you know of a church
July 20, 2008
By Darrel Rowland Southland Christian Church“s approach to making disciples might seem a little counterintuitive. For instance, although the Lexington, Kentucky, church has grown to 8,000 weekend attendees in recent years, Southland actually is holding fewer, not more events. And the leadership believes the discipleship process begins before, not when, someone becomes a Christian. The number of events has been trimmed to maximize impact and quality, say Will Briggs, connection minister, and Brandon Schaefer, study associate minister. “We have been aware of the stigma and reality that some churches do entertain,” Schaefer says. “We”ve combated this by really being intentional
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok
April 28, 2026
David Faust
April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok