Articles for tag: Teaching Team

July 15, 2020

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Coaching Matters

By Kent Fillinger A lead minister serves as a sort of head coach of the church team and has a major influence on the church’s health and growth. There are many reasons for this influence, but surveys indicate much of it involves the minister’s communication skills and ability to explain Scripture. That said, a 2019 Lifeway survey found that more churchgoers say their minister preaches longer than they prefer (27 percent) than shorter than they prefer (13 percent). This article examines findings from our 2019 survey of 439 churches to explore several factors related to the lead minister’s impact on

May 7, 2016

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

Everybody Leaves Sooner or Later

An Interview with Warren Bird,Â coauthor of Next: Pastoral Succession that Works By Kent Fillinger What are the key points from Next? The first is the sobering reminder that we”re all interims. A reality of life is that whatever our role is, someone is going to come after us unless Jesus comes back before then. We try to unfold that in the book. And there”s a theology behind that. Jesus had a succession plan, so shouldn”t you? Moses had a succession plan. And look at how, from Moses to Joshua, it worked so well. But Joshua didn”t have a successor, and

July 10, 2013

Christian Standard

Church Leadership

40 Under 40: Ethan Magness

ETHAN MAGNESS Pastor of spiritual formation and director of Semester in Ministry, Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland Ethan Magness is difficult to describe. He was a math major and an athlete (swimmer). He is an intellectual and he pours himself into people by throwing parties. He really isn”t into sports but annually joins our NCAA basketball brackets contest and almost always finishes in the top three. As pastor of spiritual formation, Ethan is a gifted teacher who launched GrowingU at Mountain Christian Church to teach Scripture and discipleship, but he focuses on training small group leaders and teachers rather than

June 12, 2011

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Large, Healthy Churches Merge in Phoenix Area

By Jennifer Taylor What if thousands of people drove past one another on the highway to worship at churches that weren”t located too far apart? What if both churches coordinated hundreds of small groups in their communities””groups studying different material and never working together to reach the city? When Christ”s Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ) and Parkway Christian Church (Surprise, AZ) saw this scenario playing out in their shared mission field, they made a surprising decision””to merge both churches and do more together than they could apart. The two churches, both located in suburbs of Phoenix, officially merged in

January 27, 2008

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

A Unique Transition

By Richard L. Jones From the time he became senior pastor of Pantano Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona, in October 1992, Tim Coop had a dream. Tim dreamed he would find a younger pastor to whom he would “pass the baton” so he wouldn”t have to leave the church he loved and served. Instead, Tim wanted to remain at Pantano as a vital part of the team. He would be there to support his friend as together they continued to fulfill the dream. Tim Coop believes in the concept of a shared ministry. Tim initiated this transition in January 2004.