Articles for tag: Urban Ministry

January 10, 2012

Christian Standard

In Just One Year: Love Your City

Nothing challenges us to think about changing times more than the transition from one year to the next. On this first day of 2012, we asked six Christian leaders to think about the church a year from now and to draw a picture of our progress””and our problems””then.  * * * By Jon Ferguson Last fall my family moved to the north side of Chicago””we love this city. We love Chicago for its sports teams, architecture, and history, but most of all, we love Chicago for its people: hard-working, unpretentious, and good-natured””as long as you don”t take their parking space

December 13, 2010

Christian Standard

Church on Tour

By Jennifer Taylor Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, Indiana) encourages its thousands of members to participate in churchwide outreach events, volunteer with ministry partners like Habitat for Humanity, and attend seminars on generational poverty, evangelism, and more. But Eric Cummings, community outreach pastor at Crossroads, says the church”s “inner-city van tours” are the most valuable educational tool they”ve developed. Each month, 10-12 adults participate in the two-hour experience, seeing the reality of crime, poverty, and homelessness while also stopping at many of the schools, government agencies, and ministries working to help the city”s residents. “We don”t get out of the van,

September 29, 2010

Christian Standard

White as Snow? Guilty as Sin?

By Darrel Rowland Some 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. pierced the church”s soul by pointing out that the most segregated hour in America was 11:00 Sunday morning. Things sure have changed in the five decades since, haven”t they? I mean, we gather at all sorts of hours other than 11 am Sunday these days. But about that other part . . . Let”s just ask ourselves a brutally honest question: Why are Christian churches and churches of Christ among the last bastions of society to remain predominantly white? Once we answer that one, we must tackle an even

November 8, 2009

Christian Standard

City Centered: Making a Difference One Relationship at a Time

By Jennifer Taylor Residents of inner-city Cincinnati need money. They need educational opportunities. They need clothes, medical care, and healthy food. But Hope Inner City provides none of that. Instead, the young couples working in this economically distressed, sometimes dangerous neighborhood offer the gospel through consistent loving relationships. It”s a new approach for many church leaders, but for these missionaries it”s the best way to build the kingdom. Programs vs. Presence Hope Inner City does organize some program-oriented outreach activities; a ministry for children ages 4 to 9 includes songs, stories, games, snacks, and more, while a preteen ministry focuses

June 6, 2009

Christian Standard

One State, Three Bible Colleges

By David Fincher Within our fellowship of churches, people are often surprised to learn Missouri has three Bible colleges. Churches in this state and region have been blessed by the ongoing ministry, Bible teaching, and ministerial training offered by Ozark Christian College (OCC) in Joplin, St. Louis Christian College (SLCC) in Florissant, and Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) in Moberly, Through the years, faculty, staff, and administrators of the three colleges have had cordial relationships and developed many friendships with supporters. But there remains this question, “How could the three Bible colleges in Missouri work together to reflect

April 5, 2009

Christian Standard

Balancing Word and Deed

By Doug Priest If you want to start an argument, ask a group of involved church members this question: “Of all the ministries this church performs, which is the most important?” Stand back and watch the fireworks begin. When I was a missionary kid growing up in Ethiopia, the government required the missionaries to establish and manage primary schools. These schools provided the only opportunity for the local children to receive an education. My father oversaw the expansion of the school, and one of the tasks was constructing outhouses for the students. This meant that funds given for missions were

March 15, 2009

Christian Standard

Christian College: High Value

    These days everyone is thinking about value received for money spent. In keeping with the times, we asked each of the Christian colleges in our annual survey to write a few paragraphs on this theme: “The High Value of Your Education at Our School.” Their reports follow.     Alberta Bible College Empowered to dream! Equipped to serve! Students join Alberta Bible College at different points on their faith journeys, but each is greeted with the same challenging question, “Where does your deep gladness meet the world”s deep need?”But students who are uncertain about attending ABC should ask

July 27, 2008

Christian Standard

Lessons Learned from Christ”s Church

By Bruce E. Shields It bothers and often mystifies me to hear people talk about their faith in God and Jesus Christ and, in the next breath, their lack of interest in the church. Perhaps we professor types share some responsibility for this, since we so often deal with the Bible, church history, and Christian doctrine””yes, and even Christian ministries””as though they have little connection with real people in real congregations. We present the ideal Christian community and then send students out into real””that is, messy””congregations. I recall reading once that the church is a little like Noah”s ark. If

March 16, 2008

Christian Standard

Why Attend Christian College? 26 Schools Give Their Answer

By Staff Alberta Bible College Calgary, Alberta, Canada It”s not for everyone, but you might consider attending Alberta Bible College if: “¢ You enjoy learning in the way that you learn! To learn to ride a bicycle, you ride a bicycle. To learn to serve Christ, you serve Christ. Experiential learning at its best . . . without academic compromise . . . that”s ABC! About one-third of ABC grads successfully complete graduate programs, others “hit the ground running” in various ministry pursuits, and still others transfer into other programs, taking their ministry formation experience with them. “¢ You don”t

September 9, 2007

Christian Standard

A Transforming Community

By Wye Huxford There was a buzz on campus early on the morning of April 19, 2007, as students at Atlanta Christian College began assembling in front of the Hathcock Center. Normally these students would be headed to class in Hathcock at about that time . . . and as we all know, there is seldom much of a buzz about early morning classes for college students! But this was going to be a different day””it was Spring Ministry Day. Classes were canceled and offices were closed. For the first time in its history, ACC was undertaking a project that

August 19, 2007

Christian Standard

Sharing the Gospel on Treadmills and Spin Bikes

By Janet Smith John and James are missionaries with Christian Missionary Fellowship in a large, bustling city in Asia. When they begin their day, however, they don”t go to a church building, a medical clinic, or a school. They go to a first-class fitness facility frequented daily by hundreds of upper-middle-class nationals. None of them know that John and James are marketplace ministers, but all of them know they are Christians. CMF”s Fitness & Learning Center is an innovative approach to sharing the gospel using the business as mission model, a first-century idea taking on new life as an important

May 20, 2007

Christian Standard

Professor Jack

By Joshua Graves Several of my friends (as in 100-plus) from both my church and college decided to be a part of a “love feast” for the poor and homeless persons who live in and around Cass Park in downtown Detroit. Cass Corridor is a notorious section of Detroit known for rampant prostitution, drugs, and destitution. The people who live there swear the police have given up on the place. The men and women who call it “home” welcomed us into their space with love, acceptance, and hospitality. Cass Park is within a stone”s throw of mighty Ford Field and

May 13, 2007

Christian Standard

God, Guns, and Economic Apologetics

By Jim Herbst Diane, an MBA student, asked me to review a presentation. She was speaking about the International Monetary Fund, about which I knew nothing. Poor Diane never made it through her whole presentation. I kept interrupting to ask questions. Monetary policy, microenterprise, microloans and their application to poverty fascinated me. She never came to me with something to review. Even if my college had offered a course in economics, I wouldn”t have taken it. Only after living in poorer neighborhoods have I become interested. Now I see daily the incredible influence economic standing has on how we live

September 4, 2005

Jim Herbst

senior saints

God and Little Old Ladies

Senior saints carry long stories of prayer, hospitality, and perseverance. Jim Herbst reflects on how overlooked faithfulness in Pittsburgh strengthened his ministry and reminded him that God’s slow work is relentless.

July 27, 2005

Mark A. Taylor

urban evangelism

Different

A Central Park conversation reveals how stereotypes distort our view of unfamiliar communities. This reflection urges Christians to learn from and support those sharing the gospel in neighborhoods unlike their own.

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