Articles for tag: TR Robertson

June 22, 2019

Christian Standard

The State of Campus Ministry: An Interview with David Embree

By TR Robertson David Embree has led Christian Campus House at Missouri State University in Springfield for 41 years. I talked to him about the state of campus ministry, past, present, and future. QUESTION: Why is campus ministry important? ANSWER: As Charles Malik [former president of the United Nations General Assembly] said back in the ’60s, if you want to impact the world, impact campuses. Eighty-five percent of kids from our churches go to non-church-related schools; [it] is going to be one of the most challenging intellectual and spiritual experiences of their lives. We need to be the church on

March 25, 2019

Christian Standard

SPOTLIGHT: Greentree Christian Church, Rolla, Missouri

Intentional Continuity and Longevity Lead to Steady Growth By TR Robertson First Christian Church in Rolla, Missouri, was averaging about 200 when senior minister Tim Cook began his ministry there in 1982. Over the past 37 years, the congregation has moved, changed its name to Greentree Christian Church, and grown to around 2,500 members; GCC now averages about 1,200 to 1,300 on Sunday mornings. The site where the church met for more than 100 years had only 25 parking spaces. When the church reached the point of drawing around 500 in three services, they knew they needed to expand. The

October 1, 2018

Christian Standard

Mission-Driven Success

By TR Robertson   Rocky Fork Fellowship in tiny Hallsville, Missouri—population 1,500—grew from 40 to more than 400 in its first 10 years while meeting in the local middle school cafeteria. On March 4, 2018—11 years after the church’s founding—Rocky Fork gathered for their first Sunday together in a new building just south of town. A combined 841 worshippers attended two services. The following week, three Easter services brought in a total attendance of 977. Not surprisingly, the founders and leaders of the congregation have grown used to fielding questions about the secret to their success. “We try to pinpoint

April 18, 2018

Christian Standard

SPOTLIGHT: Crossroads Christian Church, Macon, Missouri

“We’re not a traditional country church. . . . We choose uncomfortable instead of traditions.”   By TR Robertson When Matt Stieger was hired in 2008 as lead minister of Crossroads Christian Church (a church formed in 1972 in Macon, Missouri, a town of 5,400), the average attendance was 200. Ten years later, as the church entered 2018, Crossroads was averaging around 550 each Sunday morning. ​ “We decided we were going to offer a different idea of what church is,” Stieger said. “We’re not a traditional country church. We choose joy and celebration. We choose new instead of what is old. We

February 11, 2018

Christian Standard

Dennis & Linda Messimer: Five Decades of Ministering Around the World Together

By TR Robertson A lifetime of ministry together has given Dennis and Linda Messimer a rhythm of talking—they often finish each other’s sentences—and a rhythm of serving God together. “Dennis would teach Bible studies and I would teach the kids,” Linda says, describing the arrangement they’ve followed hundreds of times, on three continents. “. . . But once kids came along,” Dennis adds, “Linda wasn’t as involved in the ministry work as she had been earlier.” Since the kids have grown, Linda says, “I’ve done Bible studies with women and he did Bible studies with men. We support each other

December 30, 2017

Christian Standard

12 Ways to Protect Your Congregation in a Litigious Culture

By TR Robertson  “We face a true crisis in our Constitution as it relates to religious liberty. . . . I cannot think of another time when there have been greater challenges.” Joshua Hawley delivered this warning at the 2016 Protecting Religious Freedom Conference sponsored by Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Missouri, and Forum Christian Church, Columbia, Missouri. Hawley is now attorney general of Missouri, but at the time, he was a professor at the University of Missouri. He and his MU School of Law colleague Carl Esbeck are both experienced religious liberty litigators. Hawley and Esbeck weren”t

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