Christian Standard | May/June 2021 by Christian Standard Media

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Texas Winter Storm, 4,000 Games + More in Your Weekly News Brief

CHRISTIAN STANDARD + THE

LOOKOUT

February 24, 2021

Churches, Ministries Weather Winter Storm in Texas By Jim Nieman

Churches, a parachurch ministry, and a Christian college in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were among those that suffered through severe winter u.,i:i.:::ithP.r thP. n::id twr. \AIP.i:>l<c: th::it t'nntin111':1-C: tn

fr o m th e pu bli sh er

New Normals or Old Normals (or Both)?

Can a “new normal” ever be a good thing? I have to admit, hearing people use the phrase new normal has been like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard to me. There are many things I am comfortable with that I really don’t like to see changing, and many times, when we use that phrase, it means that whatever is new will be “less than” what existed in the past. Anytime we lose ground, it just doesn’t sit well with me; still, once I am able to view it from a higher level, I sometimes find certain cultural changes can be very good. I have grown to appreciate some new normals of convenience during the past year. I’ve enjoyed the convenience of telehealth, online shopping, working from

home, delivered groceries, Stitch Fix, and DoorDash, all of which have saved me time and gas money. I’ve enjoyed the new opportunities we’ve explored at church with the development of our online and digital platforms, including online Bible studies, ministry updates, and other forms of communication. I’ve appreciated the strengthening of ministry networks via large Zoom gatherings and in smaller video-based conversations that have saved both time and money. Churches of all sizes have come a long way technologically in the last year. Many have revamped and rebooted their approach to staffing, programming, budgeting, and overall ministry direction. They have upgraded their ministry spaces and looked at expanding

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into new spaces. Churches have mobilized by building bridges with our communities to address social and educational needs and produced partnerships that could last a long time. All of these could be incredible blessings for the future, and if that’s what new normal means, then count me in! All of these can help us be better stewards of God’s provision and better leaders of God’s family as we maximize our effectiveness for the kingdom moving further into 2021 and beyond. But in many instances, I’m hearing new normal to describe a future that features smaller in-person gatherings. Many prognosticators speculate that churches won’t return to our pre-COVID-19 attendance numbers and that digital platforms are how we should expect a growing number of our people to worship with us from now on. They contend the convenience of virtual gatherings will be overpowering to many and that we should embrace and encourage it for future ministry. Some suggest that in-person services be reduced to monthly or quarterly, and that online worship be the primary focus. Many churches are redirecting funds and exploring hiring options specifically for this purpose. I think these online opportunities are great for our future, but I don’t believe they can or ever will replace physical gathering as a body, either in large or small groups. As a matter of fact, I believe the pandemic has created a greater appreciation for gathering in person.

The old saying that “absence makes the heart grow fonder” is typically applied to romantic relationships, but in this “new normal,” I believe it applies fittingly to our times of spiritual gathering as well. That fondness is best expressed by physical proximity. I believe that as restrictions are relaxed, masks come off, distances are narrowed, and physical touch is restored, people will embrace their “old normals” with great enthusiasm, even as they accept the best of the new ones into the routines of their lives. In my mind, it means there is much to look forward to with both old and new normals working together to bring people into a deepening relationship with Jesus and with one another.

Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard Media and senior pastor of The Crossing, a multisite church located in three states across the Midwest. @_jerryharris /jerrydharris

CHRISTIAN STANDARD FOUNDED 1866 BY ISAAC ERRETT Devoted to the restoration of New Testament Christianity, its doctrine, its ordinances, and its fruits.

team Jerry Harris, Publisher Michael C. Mack, Editor Jim Nieman, Managing Editor Megan Kempf, Designer Abby Wittler, Designer Renee Little, Operations Kim Harris, Marketing + Advertising Tracy Nichols, Customer Service

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In Every Issue 2 0 2 0 S TAT S & S TO R I E S Annual Church Survey Charts and Spotlight Articles

I ' M E X P E C T I N G A N AWA K E N I N G ! Jerry Harris

MAKE THE JUMP Michael C. Mack

2-3

from the publisher

6-7

from the Editor

10-11

LEAD

12-13

PREACH

14-15

BOLD

16-17 THE POWER OF HUMAN TOUCH We s B e a v i s

94 18-19

T H E A B C ' S O F C H A S I N G S T R AY S David Roadcup, Jim Estep, and Gary Johnson

Tyler McKenzie

100

A s h l e y Wo o l d r i d g e

104 110

The Silversmith Megan Rawlings

HORIZONS An Innovative Approach to Cross- Cultural Ministr y Laura McKillip Wood

E2: EFFECTIVE ELDERS

METRICS Facts and Figures From a Funky Year Kent Fillinger

124-125

HARNESS THE OPPORTUNITY

* n ew co lumn ! Great Sermons and Being Near to God Chris Philbeck

Measure What Matters Jim Estep

20-23

WE WERE MADE FOR THIS

* n ew co lumn ! To Hire the Right Staff, Ask the Right Questions Don Wilson

126

Interact

final word

f r o m th e edi to r

Be Faithful with the ‘Few’

A small group leader was struggling and wanted my help. Mary Jane’s women’s group had dwindled to four, and she wanted me, the small groups minister, to help her find more women, or she would quit leading. Mary Jane was a good leader, and I wanted to encourage her to stick with it. I quickly asked God to give me words to help me help her. “Keep being faithful with the people God has already given you,” I said, “and I know God will bring more people to your group.” The answer God gave me for Mary Jane is a basic biblical stewardship principle best summarized by Jesus: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). God provides us with everything we need, according to his

riches, as we partner with him to carry out his purposes. That includes the people he has put in our group, class, church, family, and sphere of friends. He increases our responsibilities and opportunities when we are faithful stewards with what, or whom, he has already given us. He won’t add to our number if we’re not faithful with the few we presently have. In this issue you will see many examples of God supplying all the needs of his church, fulfilling Jesus’ promise, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). And as Ashley Wooldridge quips in his article starting on page 110, “The church is resilient. If the gates of hell can’t destroy it, a pandemic won’t either.” I’m again thankful to Kent Fillinger, who conducted our 2020 survey and then analyzed the results from 421 churches. This year the tables include several

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new categories related to pandemic closures and online attendance. For the first time, we are including the tables from all six size categories in one issue. Kent’s analysis of how COVID-19 affected these churches is fascinating, and we can learn much from the findings. There are a couple areas to be concerned about, but we also have much to be thankful for. Remember that our survey is simply a snapshot in time. We realize it cannot tell the whole story of the church or give a complete outlook on the future. But Kent will continue to provide updates in his Metrics column in future issues. This year we’ve also included 12 “Church Spotlights,” two from each size category, that tell the stories behind the statistics. They demonstrate that our churches are resilient. They also show that our churches are innovative, mission-focused, and God-honoring. Each of our other feature articles in this special issue (perhaps the largest Christian Standard issue in our long history), focuses on a different aspect of being the church postpandemic. Yes, 2020 was a year full of tough circumstances, but I think most leaders understand that tough circumstances are a part of life, and how we deal with them matters most. I’m saddened when I see people give in to and eventually give up in the midst of their difficulties. They focus on their predicament rather than on Jesus’ presence, power, and purposes. Mary Jane was a good leader, but she was stuck in the muck of her current circumstances and couldn’t see past them to what God could do through the four people in her small group. She forgot that even where two or three gather in Jesus’ name—that is, meeting as his followers for his purposes—he is there with them. She saw success only in terms of numbers in her group, so in her eyes her group was unsuccessful, which meant she was a failure. Unfortunately, she gave up leading. That’s too bad. I believe God could have used Mary Jane in ways she couldn’t even imagine. Like Mary Jane, our numbers may be down from last year because of the pandemic or a thousand other reasons. God is looking for us to be faithful before he’ll make us fruitful.

So stay faithful, investing into the people you have. Love them, bring back any strays, shepherd them, disciple them, teach them how to reach lost people, develop them, help them bear fruit, multiply them. Make disciples who make disciples. And in his timing, God will give you more. An apple seed, when sewn in good ground and then watered and cultivated, grows, bears fruit, multiplies, and in time becomes an apple orchard. Sow some seed. Water it. God will make it grow.

PS: If you’re a regular reader, you’ll undoubtedly notice several new things in this issue. The most obvious is that this is our first two-month issue. Starting in May we are publishing every other month. Jerry Harris wrote about this change in his March Letter from the Publisher, which you can find at ChristianStandard. com/2021/03/Moving-Forward. Speaking of which, in February, we launched a brand-new website; same address but with a beautiful new interface that’s easier to navigate. The Lookout Bible study material can now be found exclusively on our website. See more about this on page 122. Also, we are excited about two new columns in this issue. “Lead,” by Don Wilson, provides encouragement for leaders as well as biblical leadership principles, strategies, and tactics. “Preach,” by Chris Philbeck, presents encouragement and practical ideas and tips for both new and experienced preachers and teachers. We plan to continue expanding our lineup of columns in our July/August issue.

@michaelc.mack @michaelcmack @michaelcmack /authormichaelcmack

8 c hristia n sta nda rd

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*ne w colu m n! lea d

ne of a church leader’s most important tasks is to hire the right staff to expand the ministry.

This is true whatever the church’s size. In fact, I believe there is more pressure to hire the right staff person in a smaller church than a larger church. If a church that averages 200 in weekly attendance and has three staff members makes one bad hire, it conceivably will impact their effectiveness by 33 percent. On the other hand, if a church averaging 2,000 in weekly attendance and has 30 staff members makes one bad hire, it likely will impact their effectiveness by only about 3 percent.

W h y S h o u l d a C h u r c h A d d S ta f f ?

To Hire the Right Staff, Ask the Right Questions by Don Wilson

Lack of adequate staff in a church can lead to burnout in the senior pastor, affecting his ability to adequately shepherd the flock. In Exodus 18, Jethro realized that Moses, his son-in-law, was trying to do everything by himself and was in danger of physically destroying his health. He advised Moses to find capable, God-fearing men who would lighten his leadership load. Moses listened to Jethro’s advice and shared some leadership responsibilities to more effectively meet the people’s needs; this enabled Moses himself to become more effective. It should also be noted that inadequate staff can hinder the church’s ability to grow because people can too easily fall through the cracks.

H o w D o Y o u F i n d t h e R i g h t S ta f f ? For the past several decades, Christian churches have found people to serve on staff from Christian colleges of the Restoration Movement. Most of these graduates had excellent theological training, were from healthy Christian families, and were certain of their call to ministry.

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Over the past 20 years our colleges seem to be graduating fewer students with degrees that truly prepare them to work in the local church. In addition, many of those graduates who desire a career in church ministry come from broken homes and have more personal brokenness. Their pain often goes unseen in an interview, but it is revealed later in L a c k o f a d e q u at e s ta f f i n a c h u r c h c a n l e a d t o ministry when they find themb u r n o u t i n t h e s e n i o r pa s t o r , a f f e c t i n g h i s a b i l i t y selves in situations where the t o a d e q u at e ly s h e p h e r d t h e f l o c k , a n d c a n h i n d e r pressure of their work becomes very demanding. t h e c h u r c h’ s a b i l i t y t o g r o w. In light of this, many of our churches, especially larger churches, are finding staff members from within their own church. The positive in this change is that most such “internal hires” clearly understand the church’s mission

W h at Q u a l i t i e s D o Y o u L o o k f o r W h e n H i r i n g S ta f f ? Here are the top three things I looked for when hiring staff. • Character. Never compromise on character. Moral failure in leadership damages the church family and hinders its witness in the community. Many churches now give more attention to a candidate’s social media activity than their professional references. Some of the key character traits I look for include a servant attitude, a teachable spirit, humility, and the capacity to work well as part of a team. • Chemistry. When considering a candidate, I ask myself, Will they fit with the team? A church team that has chemistry and works well together will almost always accomplish more. One of the best ways to assess chemistry is to do a project together or travel together; it will help you assess a person’s flexibility and sense of humor. • Competence. Does the candidate have the giftedness to get the job done? Do they have the capacity to manage others? I list this as the third quality because you can usually improve someone’s competence through training and accountability. On the other hand, you either have character and chemistry or you don’t. No doubt, I made mistakes in hiring people over my 50 years of ministry. I graduated from a Christian college but also played and coached college basketball. A coach’s job is to continually improve the players’ competency and performance. If a candidate was good in three areas but needed real improvement in two areas, I would sometimes hire them, convinced that with “my great leadership” they would become good in all five areas. I was usually wrong. Past performance is a good indicator of future performance. To tell the truth, hiring the right candidates improved when I involved my wife in the process. She has the gift of discernment and usually knew who would work best with me and who would fit best.

W h at Q u a l i t i e s D o I L o o k f o r A f t e r I H i r e S o m e o n e ? After hiring someone, the first thing I assess is communication. Can they take direction from their supervisor?

The second consideration is their openness to critique. An organization must continually be willing to improve. This can happen only when there is a culture of critique. As a church grows, it must overcome complacency and complexity. That is why repeated success is more difficult than initial success. The third thing I look for is consistency. When we are consistent, our fellow staff members (and church members at large) know what to expect from us. That is why worship services that rate an 8 on a scale of 1-10 every week are better than services that are a 10 one week and a 5 the next week. People will invite their friends to church when they know what to expect. Hiring the right staff is truly a key art in successful ministry. To church leaders—pray for discernment and do your homework before hiring. To church members—pray for and encourage young people to go into ministry. To Christian colleges—have a renewed emphasis on local church ministry.  abou t the au thor

After faithfully serving Christ’s Church of the Valley in Arizona for 35 years, Dr. Don Wilson launched Accelerate Group with his wife Sue, and they have served scores of pastor couples across the U.S. to date. Don has the unique ability to relate to varying age groups and demographics to inspire their leadership in advancing the gospel. @AccelerateGroupInfo @accelerate.group accelerate.group

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Can they give direction to those under them? Can they clearly share our vision and explain responsibilities to volunteers?

and vision. And because most of these folks have worked in the corporate world, they expect to be held accountable through goals and objectives. The negative is that many of these new pastors and staff members tend to lack theological or pastoral training. One of the major adjustments for those hired from within is that they no longer have their weekends free.

*ne w colu m n! preach

remember the weekend my son graduated from high school. It was June 2003, and the graduation ceremony was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. We had several family members in town to help celebrate, but before heading to the high school gymnasium for the actual graduation, we would all be sitting together in church. I wanted to preach a great sermon that weekend for my son, all of our other graduates, and for my family. I just really wanted to preach a great sermon. But it was a struggle. I’m not normally a “grinder” when I write a sermon, but I was grinding all week. Then, on the day I needed to send my manuscript to our production team, I had an “aha” moment when reminded of a quote I had read many years earlier. (I wish I could recall the source.)

Great Sermons and Being Near to God by Chris Philbeck

“Great sermons take their life from the nearness of God.” You wouldn’t think someone who at that point had been preaching for over 20 years would forget an important truth like that, but that’s what happened. I had become so consumed with creating a great sermon that I left God out of the process. And while it stings a bit to admit it, I’m sure I’m not the only preacher who has made this mistake. Paul wrote, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13). The word devote is translated from the Greek word prosecho, which means “to turn the mind to.” In his commentary The Pastoral Epistles, Donald Guthrie writes that prosecho, a verb, “implies previous preparation in private.” As a practical application, it can mean preparation in the sense of writing a sermon. Every preacher has his own process. But there’s another preparation that needs to happen in private—it’s the preparation of the heart as you turn your mind to God in a way that allows him to work in you and through you to consecrate the process. Great sermons take their life from being near to God. Just as every preacher has his own process when it comes to writing a sermon, we all have our own process when it comes to drawing near to God. Here are the elements that are important for me.

1. S o l i t u d e Solitude is beneficial for every believer, but it can be especially beneficial for preachers because the focus of solitude isn’t what you do, it’s what you don’t do. Solitude demands withdrawal, and it’s in that withdrawal that we hear from God. We’re all familiar with the post-adrenalin crash Elijah experienced after the miracle on Mount Carmel. A threatening message from Queen Jezebel sent him not just running

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After spending the night, God told Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by” (1 Kings 19:11). One after another came a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but the Lord wasn’t in any of I h a d b e c o m e s o c o n s u m e d w i t h c r e at i n g a g r e at those events. Instead, God spoke in a gentle whisper (v. 12). And Elijah, s e r m o n t h at I l e f t G o d o u t o f t h e p r o c e s s . alone in the presence of God, heard A n d w h i l e i t s t i n g s a b i t t o a d m i t i t, I’m s u r e I’m that whisper. Every preacher needs n o t t h e o n ly p r e a c h e r w h o h a s m a d e t h i s m i s ta k e . to experience the solitude of being alone with God in order to hear from God.

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2. C o n f e s s i o n Solitude always leads to confession for me, and confession draws me near to God. If we are going to speak for God, we need to make sure nothing disrupts our fellowship with God, and unconfessed sin is a great disruptor. I occasionally struggle in my spiritual life in more ways than I have space to write. However, when I follow the instruction of 1 John 1:9—“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”—weight is lifted, barriers are removed, and I draw near to God as I’m overwhelmed and renewed by the wonder of his grace.

abou t the au thor

3. P r a i s e I have favorite psalms of praise I like to read, sometimes out loud, when I want to draw near to God. Psalm 8 is a good example; it begins and ends with the words, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” In between are words of great praise. Psalm 145 is another favorite: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (vv. 8-9). You can't read verses like that and not feel the presence and goodness of God in a powerful way. I’m thankful for the call to preach. I’m thankful God has given me the opportunity to preach for more than 40 years in three great churches. But I’m most thankful for the knowledge that I’m not alone in this call and opportunity . . . and neither are you. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (English Standard Version). As you plan your preaching calendar and as you write your sermons, make drawing near to God a priority. Great sermons take their life from being near to God. 

Chris Philbeck serves as senior pastor of Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, Indiana. He has been in ministry since 1980 and has had the privilege of planting a new church, leading a turn-around church, and now leading a megachurch. Chris is passionate about biblical preaching, effective leadership, and developing new and better ways for the local church to make an impact in the community and the world. /PastorCPhilbeck @cphilbeck @pastorphilbeck

for his life but questioning his will to live. Ultimately, he ended up in a cave on Mount Horeb.

BOLD

felt the monotony of the workday end and a sense of relief come over me as I walked through the door of my home. I instinctively called for my husband, “Hey, I’m home!” “In here,” he replied. I walked in to find him packing up his most valued item. When I asked him what he was doing and why, he shared a story from his time in seminary.

The Challenge

The Silversmith T h e Pa i n f u l , N e c e s s a r y P r o c e s s o f P u r g i n g O u r I d o l s

by Megan Rawlings

While studying for his Master of Divinity at Abilene Christian University, a professor, Dr. John Willis, encouraged my husband and the other students to walk through their homes and discard their most valued possession in order to guard their hearts against what could be deemed idols. It made sense. Jesus instructed, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21, New Living Translation). Ridding ourselves of our idols—treasures that distract us or take our attention away from Jesus—is vital to maturing in our faith and following the will of God. The process, known as refining, can be painful, but it is necessary.

The Refining Process While mulling over this concept, I read a story that was floating around the internet. I’m not sure whom to credit, but the story’s sentiment perfectly supports what I’ve already shared. A group of women were studying the book of Malachi. (This is my favorite type of Bible study—a group of sisters in Christ opening the Bible and digging in.) In Malachi 3 they came across this: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” (v. 3). The women wondered how this showed God’s character, so one of them volunteered to learn more about the process of refining silver. She promised to report her findings the following week.

“

She called a local silversmith to make an appointment to study how he worked. She explained that she was curious about the process of refining silver but never mentioned the Bible study. On the appointed day, she watched the silversmith hold a piece of silver over the fire to heat it. To refine silver, he said, one must place it in the middle of the fire where it is hottest and allow the heat to burn away all the impuriR i d d i n g o u r s e lv e s o f o u r i d o l s —t r e a s u r e s t h at ties.

d i s t r a c t u s o r ta k e o u r at t e n t i o n away f r o m J e s u s — i s v i ta l t o m at u r i n g i n o u r fa i t h a n d following the will of God.

She suddenly understood this was how God holds his followers in “hot” spots, exactly like the Malachi verse that talks about

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how God sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true he had to stay with this piece of silver, in front of the fire, the whole time it was in the flames. The silversmith answered emphatically, “Yes!” He told her there was more to his job than just sitting and waiting, though. He said he had to monitor the silver the entire time it was in the fire, never taking his eyes off of it. “If the silver is left in the flame even a second too long, it would be impaired,” he said. “If it was not in the flame long enough, impurities would remain in it.” She listened and then sat silently for a moment before asking, “How do you know the exact moment when the silver is completely refined?” He smiled at her and said, “That is a good question and has an easy answer. The silver is fully refined when I see my image in it.”

The End Product Giving away our most valued possession can be difficult. Going through trials and facing temptations in order to get rid of things we may have unknowingly used as idols can feel as if we are being held in the center of the flames. But consider the words of Jesus’ brother: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, English Standard Version).

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I want to challenge you to rid yourself of the most distracting item in your life. And as you do, remember that God is watching closely for a glimpse of his own reflection. 

Megan Rawlings is the founder and CEO of The Bold Movement. She is an extrovert, pastor’s wife, and lover of the Scriptures. /tbmministry @tbm_ministry @tbm_ministry @theboldmovement theboldmovement.com

hori z ons

hen the college where my husband, Andrew, worked announced it was closing, his job teaching intercultural ministry ended. As he searched for another job, he remembered he had taught students they could do crosscultural ministry with people around them by reaching out to immigrants and refugees in their own towns. Andrew had taught English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in the local public school, had participated in campus ministries to foreign students, and had reached out to people in stores and parks when he learned they had come to the United States from other countries. Despite this, he felt he was unsuccessful in making lasting relationships or real connections with them.

An Innovative Approach to Cross-Cultural Ministry by Laura McKillip Wood

With his college closing, Andrew wondered if he could find a job that involved some sort of cross-cultural work. He remembered an idea he had often shared with students: teaching English as a second language to people in other countries via the internet. Andrew began researching opportunities to teach English online. He found many platforms offering ESL opportunities that connected potential students with teachers. He signed up for one, thinking he would try it out. Before he knew it, he was meeting with people from different countries around the world.

Resources Plus Opportunity “I have the ability to speak English, and I have a computer,” Andrew says. “That’s really all I needed to get started.” He explains that since the pandemic allowed more work-from-home opportunities than before, many people have learned to connect via technology. Andrew utilizes this same technology for ministry. “Look at the resources you have and look for opportunities to use those resources where you are today,” he says. “Look for ways you can reach out and participate in God’s work with what you already have.”

“

When he was teaching in-person, Andrew often took students on short-term mission trips. He spent months planning the trips and raising support. Resources from a wide variety of churches and organizations went into a limited experience for a few students. Teaching ESL online uses skills Andrew already has as a native English speaker to link him with people who value those skills, and it requires very little investment.

T h e i d e a o f wa l k i n g i n t o a l a r g e c l a s s i n a c h u r c h f u l l o f s t r a n g e r s a l m o s t pa r a ly z e d h e r , b u t s h e d e c i d e d t o ta k e a s t e p o f fa i t h a n d g o .

Offering a Service Some people who are interested in teaching English to speakers

“You don’t have to be trained as a teacher,” he says. “You just have to be able to listen to people speak English and correct their mistakes.” Andrew says he provides something valuable to people who sought him out as a teacher. Andrew allows students to choose topics of conversation they find interesting so they are more engaged in the lessons. Sometimes the chosen topic is one Andrew truly enjoys and knows a lot about. “I was doing lessons in front of bookcases that hold books about religion,” Andrew says. “One of the students saw my books and said, ‘I see you have books about religion. I’ve always been curious about religion and haven’t had a chance to explore it the way I wanted to. Could we talk about religion in some of our English lessons?’” Since then, they have had several conversations regarding faith and religion. The student lives in a Catholic country but had not been serious about religion for a long time. His children did not know much about Christianity. At Christmas, the student and his wife decided to teach their children about Jesus’ birth. The children were interested and wanted to learn more about Jesus. Now Andrew and his student are reading through some ESL materials that use the book of Luke to teach English. His student uses his new understanding to teach his own children about Jesus.

“I’ve challenged him to think through his priorities and have asked him to prioritize improving the world over accumulating wealth.” Andrew taught him about microloans to people in developing countries. Now this student wants to study microloans in college. He also aspires to complete an internship at the United Nations. Andrew hopes his influence will stay with his student and help him see the world in a different way.

A Job with Purpose “Remarkably, instead of needing to raise support for this work, the people I’m teaching pay me to minister to their felt need of acquiring English. At the same time, I have been able to offer friendship, encouragement, and even to share my own faith,” Andrew says. “This is a great way for people to make extra income on their own schedule, reaching out to others from all over the world with the love of Christ and his message of hope.” 

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B u i l d i n g R e l at i o n s h i p s Andrew looks forward to his sessions with students. Each one brings a different story. Two of his students are teenage siblings from an Asian family who immigrated to New Zealand not long before the pandemic began. Their parents chose Andrew as a tutor because they wanted a Christian influence on their children, and they wanted to give their children extra practice with English. Andrew has become a mentor to these teens, teaching them vocabulary to talk about their own faith and providing an adult, Christian influence for them. The boy sibling recently told him that he had only two friends: a boy his age and Andrew. A student from a wealthy European family asked Andrew to help with the application process to an Ivy League college in the United States. This young man is interested

Laura McKillip Wood, former missionary to Ukraine, now lives in Papillion, Nebraska. She serves as an on-call chaplain at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha. She and her husband, Andrew, have three teenagers. /laura.wood2 @woodlaura30 @woodlaura30 lauramckillipwood.com lauramckillipwood@gmail.com

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in making money, but Andrew learned he also wants to make the world a better place.

of other languages might immediately conclude they are unqualified. Andrew, who has no formal ESL teacher training, encourages those people to try teaching English anyway.

e 2:e ffe ct i v e e ld e r s

Measure What Matters by Jim Estep

ur lives are inundated with metrics. We wake up to a weather report that shares high and low temperatures, barometric pressure, and likelihood of precipitation. The car dashboard provides information about speed, RPM, battery and oil conditions, temperature, navigation advice, and flashes any number of other indicators. At the medical office, a nurse takes our weight, height, blood pressure, temperature, and sometimes even our oxygen level before we even see a doctor. At work, our job description typically comes with written expectations and measurable performance targets so that our efforts can be charted and evaluated. Why? Because we need to measure what matters!

As elders we also measure what matters. However, far too often leaders and congregations move forward without any kind of dashboard. We glide into the future with little or no instrumentation; we make decisions based on little or no information. It’s a simple principle: We measure what is important to us! Consider that the typical church uses two metrics to gauge health: worship service attendance and offering. Are the numbers up and are the bills paid? Is that really all that matters to us? I’d hope not. But perhaps we unintentionally signal this to others when that’s all we talk about. What should be important to us? What should we be measuring?

T h e E l d e r ’ s S p i r i t u a l V i ta l i t y If our relationship with Jesus Christ is important, we should have some items on our individual dashboards related to it. An example might include frequency of practicing the spiritual disciplines such as prayer, devotion, fasting, and solitude. Do we practice these disciplines faithfully and frequently? The only real way to know is to make them part of our spiritual dashboard. We can lead others to spiritual maturity only after we ourselves have experienced it. That’s why providing some assessment to our spiritual lives is essential for elders. Committing to applying such a metric to our spiritual lives is the only way to really know how we are doing. Short of this, it’s like trying to lose weight without ever stepping on a scale.

The Elder Team’s Service Engaging in self-reflection and assessment is crucial to keeping ourselves on track and improving our service as elders to the flock. No one is perfect, and we all have room for improvement. Setting some personal leadership benchmarks and measuring them leads to becoming more effective in our service without necessarily

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having to commit more time and energy. As the cliché contends, work smarter, not harder.

“

One may want to commit more time to service or add to their own responsibilities as an elder, but how do we make sure we are not overloading ourselves? If our ministry as an elder is important, we will want to apply some metrics to check our progress. That’s not unlike paying attention to the car’s fuel gauge on a long trip; otherwise you might find yourself pointed in the right direction but sitting on the side of the road, out of fuel.

E n g a g i n g i n s e l f- r e f l e c t i o n a n d a s s e s s m e n t i s

The elder team should have a c r u c i a l t o k e e p i n g o u r s e lv e s o n t r a c k a n d i m p r o v i n g dashboard too. Our leadership as our service as elders to the flock. a team is essential for the health of the congregation. This can happen only if an elder team measures the level of mission-commitment and relational bonding the team possesses. Elder team members need to openly and candidly share with one another and provide valuable feedback. The e2 book Answer His Call (2013) provides a guide for providing feedback to one another. Without a frequent assessment of a team’s cohesion, friction and discord can grow, and the team can degenerate into an unhealthy clique over time.

T h e C h u r c h’ s M i s s i o n - F o c u s a n d M i n i s t r y Elders are the guardians of the church’s mission. A checklist ensures mission-focus is maintained, providing continuity to the team’s decisions and direction. Without a dashboard that facilitates mission-focus and aids in an assessment of decisions previously made about ministries, mission-drift occurs. Subtle, minute changes in an elder team’s focus will over time take them away from the mission, away from having an outward focus toward the lost; these changes will cause the team to become ingrown in their focus and the elders can begin to inadvertently mistake managing ministries for leading the church on a mission. (See www.e2elders.org for an inventory on mission-focus.) As was mentioned, most churches look at two metrics: attendance and money. Neither of these is really all that important to assessing a church’s health. Some suggest we measure the Ns (noses, numbers, and notches) or the ABCs (attendance, budget, and conversions). Numerous other metrics should be employed on a regular basis, such as participation in small groups, Bible studies, or Sunday school; new members by transfer or baptism; number of volunteers; and a myriad of others. The data should be reviewed weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually; compare this information with the previous year’s data to provide perspective. We measure what is important. What’s important to you? 

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Jim Estep serves as vice president of academics with Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Missouri, and as event director with e2: effective elders.

/e2elders @e2elders

ME TR I CS

he year 2020 was, well . . . different! And, because of that, we knew it was super important to capture the stories and statistics from 2020 to gauge the true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our churches and establish baselines to measure future growth and changes. We made major changes to our annual church survey to better reflect the uniqueness of church ministry in 2020. Therefore, you will see a mix of new and familiar data in this report. A total of 421 churches bravely reported their data, and we appreciate each one’s contribution to our annual research.

Determining Church Sizes In 2020

Facts and Figures from a Funky Year by Kent E. Fillinger

In all previous years, it was easy to determine which size category a church fit into based on their average weekly worship attendance. For 2020, we adjusted our process while maintaining the same six church-size categories: megachurches (average weekly worship attendance of 2,000 or more), emerging megachurches (averaging 1,000 to 1,999), large churches (500 to 999), medium (250 to 499), small (100 to 249), and very small churches (99 or fewer). In the survey, we asked churches to report their in-person, online, and total average worship attendance prior to the arrival of COVID-19 in the first part of 2020. We also asked churches to report their average online worship attendance for the weeks when no in-person gatherings took place. Then, we asked churches to report their in-person, online, and total average attendance for the weekends after they regathered for in-person services. I took each church’s pre-COVID-19 total attendance, and the attendance after regathering (when a church resumed offering in-person services), and I averaged these two numbers to get an estimated total average worship attendance for 2020. We used this combined average worship attendance figure to determine each church’s size category for last year. All other research statistics were calculated based on combined average worship attendances.

S h i f t f r o m I n - P e r s o n t o O n l i n e C h u r c h At t e n d a n c e

“

The pandemic impacted worship gatherings by shifting attenP r i o r t o C O V I D -19, o n ly 9 p e r c e n t o f t h e c h u r c h e s dance from in-person to online. Looking beyond a church’s geosurveyed offered online small groups, but this graphical location—which we increased to 73 percent during the closures and know impacted their ability and r e m a i n e d at 6 4 p e r c e n t a f t e r r e g at h e r i n g . willingness to meet in-person— we determined that churches of various size categories shut down in-person services for varying amounts of time during 2020. For example, the average very small church held more in-person worship services

By the time of our survey, in-person attendance had recovered to 51 percent of its pre-COVID-19 levels. Very small churches have seen the greatest rebound of inperson worship attendance, with an average of 62 percent of attendees returning. Megachurches experienced the smallest rebound of in-person worship, with just over a one-third (35 percent) returning.

Among the various categories, megachurches saw a 61 percent decrease in baptisms—the biggest decline—while small churches had the littlest decline, just 1 percent. Emerging megachurches, large churches, and medium churches all saw total baptisms decrease more than 50 percent from 2019 to 2020.

At the end of 2020, the percentage of people participating in online worship remained high. After “regathering,” 50 percent of worship attendance was taking place online, compared with only 8 percent before the pandemic. At megachurches, online worship attendance grew from 18 percent pre-pandemic to 70 percent after regathering. Small churches saw their online worship attendance soar from 3 percent pre-pandemic to 37 percent after regathering.

A G e n e r a l ly G o o d F i n a n c i a l P i c t u r e

More insights on the digital strategies used by the churches in our study will be shared in a future article.

At t e n d a n c e T r e n d s Average worship attendance at the start of 2020 virtually mirrored the 2019 year-end averages for all six church size categories. Total average attendance for the 421 churches after regathering declined an average 2.7 percent compared to their pre-COVID-19 attendance. The two largest declines were among very small churches (8.8 percent) and megachurches (6.6 percent). Attendance at emerging megachurches held steady. Medium church and small church attendance both increased by just over 1 percent after regathering. Nearly every church was online-only at Easter in 2020, and overall attendance was down 8 percent for those weekend services compared with 2019 (826,885 vs. 899,577). Only megachurches and small churches saw an increase in Easter attendance.

When COVID-19 forced churches to cease in-person gatherings for several weeks, most church leaders were concerned about how congregational giving would be impacted. Our survey found that 69 percent of the churches reported giving either met or exceeded their budget in 2020, the same percentage as in 2019. Medium churches fared the best, with 81 percent either meeting or exceeding budget last year. Those most likely to experience giving that fell short of budget were emerging megachurches (42 percent) and megachurches (39 percent). Two-thirds of churches (67 percent) decreased ministry spending in 2020, which was significantly greater than the 14 percent that decreased spending in 2019. Only 16 percent of churches increased ministry spending last year compared with 48 percent in 2019. In 2020, almost two-thirds of churches (62 percent) applied for and received federal funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Those most likely to receive these forgivable loans were emerging megachurches (83 percent); very small churches were the least likely to receive a loan (21 percent). Interestingly, churches that did not receive PPP funds were more likely to see total giving meet or exceed their budget last year (77 percent) than churches that received PPP funds (65 percent).

Last year, 57 percent of all Christmas Eve worship attendees watched online, and total attendance for these services declined 30 percent compared with 2019.

Our survey sought to better understand the full financial impact of COVID-19 on church giving. We asked churches to compare their giving from the most recent pandemicimpacted fiscal year (2020) to the prior, pre-COVID-19 fiscal year (2019).

A Big Dip in Baptisms

Overall, 21 percent of churches said giving in 2020 was about the same as the year prior.

Churches saw a significant dip in baptisms last year. The total number of baptisms in 2019 was 32,139 among the

Among the churches seeing improvement, 28 percent said giving increased 1 to 9 percent in 2020 compared with the

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439 churches that participated in the survey—an average of 96 baptisms per church. In 2020, there were 13,502 baptisms among 421 churches—an average of 33 baptisms per church. The year-over-year decline in baptisms for all churches was 58 percent.

(40 weekends) than any other church size category last year. By comparison, the average megachurch met inperson only 33 weekends. The overall average number of in-person worship weekends among churches we surveyed was 37 in 2020.

year before, 13 percent of churches said giving increased 10 to 19 percent, and 7 percent said giving jumped more than 20 percent. But the survey found almost one-third of churches (31 percent) saw a definite downturn in giving last year, with 19 percent seeing a 1 to 9 percent drop in giving in 2020 compared with the year before, 8 percent of churches saying giving decreased 10-19 percent, and just over 4 percent indicating giving fell 20 percent or more.

“

We made major changes to our annual church survey to better reflect the uniqueness of church ministry in 2020. Therefore, you will see a m i x o f n e w a n d fa m i l i a r d ata i n t h i s r e p o r t. A t o ta l o f 4 21 c h u r c h e s b r av e ly r e p o r t e d t h e i r d ata , a n d w e a p p r e c i at e e a c h o n e ’ s c o n t r i b u t i o n to our annual research.

Medium churches fared the best, as 83 percent saw giving in 2020 that was at or above 2019 levels. Emerging megachurches seemed to experience the biggest struggles, but 61 percent still reported 2020 giving that was at or above the prior year.

Amid the pandemic, over half of the churches (59 percent) increased their cash reserves or savings in 2020, and another 26 percent were able to maintain their cash reserves; only 14 percent of churches saw a decrease. The average church had 13 weeks of operational expenses in reserve in 2020, a better than three-week improvement over 2019.

Some random cash reserve findings: 25 percent of churches reported more than 21 weeks of cash on hand; large churches and very small churches had the most cash reserves, averaging just over 14 weeks; and megachurches had the least in reserve, averaging just under 12 weeks. On a positive note, 85 percent of the churches said they were “optimistic” in their outlook of the future financial condition of their church. Only 1 percent of respondents said they were “pessimistic” about their church’s financial future, while 10 percent were “uncertain” what the days ahead would bring.

H o w M i n i s t r y C h a n g e d D u r i n g t h e Pa n d e m i c Churches and church leaders pivoted several times during the ever-changing landscape of pandemic-related rules, regulations, and restrictions in 2020. Creativity, flexibility, and fortitude were necessary as churches strove to develop new methods for maintaining and carrying out the mission and ministry of the church. We sought to better understand how our churches responded to the pandemic—what was prioritized and what changed—based on a close examination of 21 specific facets of ministry. To that end, we asked churches to identify which of the 21 facets they were doing pre-pandemic . . . and during the closures . . . and after regathering for inperson services.

Churches also added online special events and hangout sessions for students and children. During closures, 69 percent of churches offered such ministry for students, and 61 percent provided this ministry for children; after regathering, that declined to 41 percent (students) and 36 percent (children). In the arena of ministry to adults, online devotions— whether live or recorded—became very popular during the closures. Only 12 percent of churches offered online devotions prior to the pandemic, but that increased to 69 percent during the closures and continued at 49 percent after regathering. The pandemic also changed small-group ministry. Prior to COVID-19, only 9 percent of the churches surveyed offered online small groups, but this increased to 73 percent during the closures and remained at 64 percent after regathering. The use of online prerecorded videos of weekend worship also increased dramatically during the closures, with 78 percent of churches offering this option, up from 22 percent prior to the pandemic. About half the churches (48 percent) continued to offer these prerecorded worship services online after regathering. Many churches added digital “hosts” or ministers to interact with online worship attendees during the closures— only 14 percent of churches had people serving in this role before coronavirus, but 63 percent had them during church closures (and that dropped very slightly to 61 percent after regathering). Digital welcome or connection cards used to track the number of people worshipping online were more common during the closures, increasing from 30 percent prior to the disruption to 59 percent after the pandemic’s arrival (and that increased slightly to 61 percent after regathering).

t h e o n g o i n g i m pa c t o f c o v i d -19 Our survey asked church leaders to project how far into the future they expected their church to experience negative effects from the pandemic. The largest percentage (38 percent) said they expected negative effects to linger

abou t the au thor

Kent E. Fillinger serves as president of 3:STRANDS Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana, and regional vice president (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan) with Christian Financial Resources.

/3strandsconsulting 3strandsconsulting.com

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an additional 6 to 12 months—effectively throughout all of 2021. Almost one-third of church leaders (31 percent) said they anticipated negative effects would continue for more than 12 months . . . into 2022. One-fifth of the churches forecasted the negative effects of COVID-19 would continue for up to six months but end during 2021. (Just more than one in ten churches expected no ongoing impact.) 

The greatest increase in a specific ministry method was in providing online children’s ministry lessons; prior to COVID-19, only 6 percent of churches served children in this way, but that spiked to 76 percent during the closures. A very similar increase occurred with student ministry, as only 5 percent of churches provided online lessons prior to the pandemic, but that increased to 72 percent during the closures. While those numbers declined after regathering, 55 percent of churches continue to offer online opportunities to children and 45 percent have continued with this ministry to students.

2 02 0 S TAT S + S T O R I E S

M AY 2 0 2 0 C H R I S T I A N S TA N D A R D - 2 5 THIS YEAR WE ARE PRESENTING IN A SINGLE ISSUE T H E S TAT I S T I C S A N D S TO R I E S O F A L L S I X C H U R C H C AT E G O R I E S ( F R O M V E R Y S M A L L C H U R C H E S TO M E G A C H U R C H E S ) F R O M O U R A N N U A L S U R V E Y.

In these pages we share not only average at tendance numbers but also give an in- depth look at how building closures af fec ted churches across our movement.

B u t n u m b e r s r e ve a l o n l y a f r a c t i o n o f w h a t o u r c h u r c h e s e x p e r i e n c e d i n 2 0 2 0 (a k a , “ t h e y e a r o f COV I D -19 ” ). S o f o r o u r a n n u a l s t a t i s t i c s i s s u e, C h r i s t i a n S t a n d a r d c o n t r i b u to r J u s t i n H o r e y i n t e r v i e w e d l e a d e r s f r o m 12 c h u r c h e s — t w o f r o m e a c h o f o u r s i x s i z e c a t e g o r i e s — to t e l l o f t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s d u r i n g t h e m o s t u n u s u a l a n d h i s to r i c y e a r.

M AY 2 0 2 0 C H R I S T I A N S TA N D A R D - 2 6 -

2 0 2 0 A N N UA L S U R V E Y S TAT S By Ke nt Fi l l i nge r 28

FA S T FA C T S

MEGACHURCHES

EMERG I N G MEGACHURCHES

LARGE CHURCHES

MEDIUM CHURCHES

SMALL CHURCHES

VERY SMALL CHURCHES

2020 SPOTLIGHT CHURCHES By Justin Horey 56

CENTR AL CHRISTIAN CHURCH ( TOLEDO, OHIO)

A LVA D O R E C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H ( J U N C T I O N C I T Y, O R E . )

C ATA LY S T C H U R C H ( G R E E N S B O R O , N . C . )

C ATA LY S T C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H ( N I C H O L A S V I L L E , K Y. )

DI SCOVERY CHURCH (B R I S TOL , TENN .)

WESTSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (BR ADENTON, FL A .)

CROSSROADS CH R I S TIAN CHURCH (MACO N , M O.)

H I K E S P O I N T C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H ( L O U I S V I L L E , K Y. )

N E W L I F E C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H ( C H A N T I L LY, VA . )

B O O N E S C R E E K C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H ( J O H N S O N C I T Y, T E N N . )

2 |42 COMMUNIT Y CHURCH (MICHIGAN)

O N E & A L L C H U R C H ( S A N D I M A S , C A L I F. , & I N T E R N AT I O N A L )

THE KEY

M E G AC H U R C H E S 2 , 0 0 0 + I N AV E R A G E W E E K LY W O R S H I P AT T E N D A N C E

E M E R G I N G M E G AC H U R C H E S 1, 0 0 0 –1,9 9 9 I N AV E R AG E W O R S H I P AT T E N DA N C E

LARGE 5 0 0 – 9 9 9 I N A V E R A G E W O R S H I P A T T E N D A N C E

MEDIUM 2 5 0 – 49 9 I N AV E R AG E W O R S H I P AT T E N DA N C E

SMALL 10 0 – 2 49 I N AV E R AG E W O R S H I P AT T E N DA N C E

VERY SMALL U P T O 9 9 I N AV E R AG E W O R S H I P AT T E N DA N C E

// G R O W T H

// V E R Y S M A L L

AV E R AG E AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG I N G P R E - COV I D -19 AT T E N DA N C E W I T H AT T E N DA N C E A F T E R R E G AT H E R I N G

P E R C E N TAG E O F C H U R C H E S T H AT G R E W D U R I N G 2 0 2 0

// S M A L L

16 5

22%

34%

// B A P T I S M S

F R O M P R E - COV I D -19 AT T E N DA N C E T O A F T E R - R E G AT H E R I N G AT T E N DA N C E

BAPTISMS

MOST BAPTISMS

17 3 P E O P L E

AV E R AG E 7 P E R C H U R C H

THE FOUNDRY

VERNAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

B U R K E , VA

// G I V I N G

GIVING AV E R A G E W E E K LY P E R - P E R S O N G I V I N G ( G E N E R A L F U N D O N LY )

OUTREACH

673 PEO PL E

AV E R AG E 2 P E R C H U R C H

$35.86

$ 4.54 FROM 2019

VERNAL, UT

$33.29

$1. 59 F R O M 2 019

16 .7 %

16 . 0 %

4 7. 2 %

48.4%

NUMBER OF IN-PERSON WORSHIP WEEKENDS

P E R C E N TAG E O F P R E - COV I D -19 W O R S H I P AT T E N DA N C E T H AT R E T U R N E D T O I N - P E R S O N G AT H E R I N G S BY YEAR END

62%

57%

P E R C E N TAG E O F DEBT- FREE CHURCHES

88%

63%

PE R C E N TAG E O F T O TA L B U D G E T S PE N T ON MINISTRY “OUTSIDE THE WALL S”

S TA F F B U D G E T

// N E W S TAT S

PE R C E N TAG E O F T O TA L B U D G E T I N V E S T E D O N M I N I S T R Y S TA F F

// M E D I U M

// L A R G E

// E M E R G I N G M E G A

// M E G A

363

700

1, 3 5 4

5,608

37%

28%

33%

9 13 P E O P L E

1, 3 0 3 P E O P L E

2,382 PEOPLE

8,058 PEOPLE

AV E R AG E 13 P E R C H U R C H

AV E R AG E 2 0 P E R C H U R C H

AV E R AG E 47 P E R C H U R C H

AV E R AG E 175 P E R C H U R C H

CHRIST'S CHURCH

PIKES PEAK CHRISTIAN CHURCH

S A LT Y C H U R C H

CHRIST’S CHURCH O F T H E VA L L E Y

F O R T WAY N E , I N

$32.47

$ 0 .1 2 F R O M 2 0 1 9

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

$32.09

$1. 2 0 F R O M 2 019

ORMOND BEACH, FL

12 6

$32.07

$1. 2 7 F R O M 2 019

PHOENIX, AZ

2,292

$25.07

$ 6.38 FROM 2019

14 .7 %

15 . 5%

14 . 5 %

14 .1%

48.5%

4 7. 7 %

49. 6%

49. 4%

50%

46%

42%

35%

33%

25%

17 %

20%

M E G A // M E G A // M E G A

CHURCH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19

20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29

30 31

34 35 36 37

38 39

40 41

44 45

46 47

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

Christ's Church of the Valley

35,063

20,838

2,917

33,314

16,952

37,885

Southeast Christian Church

27,896

8,897

6,195

36,266

23,460

33,224

Shepherd Church

10,219

2,703

1,500

14,010

10,032

12,227

ONE&ALL Church

7,582

5,243

6,784

7,231

10,028

Eastside Christian Church

9,037

952

11,160

9,989

Crossroads Christian Church

5,896

1,363

3,487

16,465

7,736

9,241

Compassion Christian Church

8,471

3,996

9,891

4,552

8,510

Eastview Christian Church

5,067

1,565

2,128

11,469

7,930

8,345

The Crossing Church

6,900

3,293

3,140

6,526

2,719

8,026

2|42 Community Church

9,572

2,012

16,212

3,635

7,610

Compass Christian Church

4,802

1,386

1,293

7,943

5,956

6,719

The Crossing, a Christian Church

5,558

1,487

1,787

6,691

3,663

6,244

Real Life Church

4,525

820

2,100

5,250

4,700

6,073

Mountain Christian Church

5,000

1,400

3,790

5,095

Northside Christian Church

6,262

1,036

692

3,166

1,937

4,964

Southeast Christian Church

2,468

913

593

5,014

5,122

4,548

West Side Christian Church

3,336

713

1,092

5,175

3,194

4,168

Compass Christian Church

3,391

1,128

4,475

3,382

3,951

Northeast Christian Church

3,047

403

1,356

3,733

2,665

3,736

Sherwood Oaks Christian Church

3,011

943

4,118

6,091

3,694

Eagle Christian Church

3,934

1,774

3,299

1,643

3,676

Owensboro Christian Church

2,100

850

300

2,800

4,130

3,665

Whitewater Crossing Christian Church

2,200

610

6,000

4,508

3,659

873

286

2,296

3,050

3,628

3,542

Pathway Church

3,887

1,731

297

2,786

1,065

3,490

Community Christian Church

3,233

607

340

6,547

2,683

3,432

Crossroads Christian Church

2,273

542

1,708

2,802

1,688

3,106

Valley Real Life

3,445

1,041

2,595

1,429

2,958

Tomoka Christian Church

2,497

1,211

598

2,805

1,540

2,923

LifeBridge Christian Church

2,500

300

3,000

2,900

Maryland Community Church

2,558

754

5,238

2,373

2,843

Pantano Christian Church

2,842

867

375

2,072

1,449

2,767

Central Christian Church

1,804

1,291

888

3,490

1,196

2,590

New City Church

2,300

1,250

2,500

1,500

2,525

Harvester Christian Church

2,401

958

439

2,806

1,088

2,443

Christ's Church of Oronogo

2,770

1,056

2,260

1,023

2,425

Mosaic Christian Church

1,733

474

1,424

2,076

1,217

2,424

Rocky Mountain Christian Church

2,499

904

2,148

1,206

2,305

Active Church

1,304

808

1,250

2,400

1,203

2,283

New Day Christian Church

2,122

795

2,473

1,434

2,176

RiverTree Christian Church

900

1,250

2,150

White River Christian Church

2,400

1,100

200

1,822

600

2,150

Eastpoint Christian Church

2,300

290

200

1,700

1,500

2,145

Generations Christian Church

2,000

1,000

600

2,900

600

2,100

Riverlawn Christian Church

1,436

479

559

4,268

1,718

2,096

Legacy Christian Church

2,074

928

2,224

1,116

2,059

Greenford Christian Church

1,981

761

1,374

2,058

Plainfield Christian Church

1,685

909

2,481

1,465

2,030

First Capital Christian Church

A L L N U M B E R S A R E S E L F - R E P O R T E D. N O T E : A N O N L I N E S E R V I C E C O U N T O F " 0 " M E A N S T H E C H U R C H D I D N O T C O U N T/ T R AC K O R O F F E R O N L I N E S E R V I C E S .

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

m ay/j une 20 21

L O C AT I O N

BAPTISMS

2,292

Peoria

Ashley Wooldridge

ccv.church

1982

305

Louisville

Kyle Idleman

southeastchristian.org

1962

482

Porter Ranch

Dudley Rutherford

theshepherdchurch.com

1954

119

San Dimas

Jeff Vines

oneandall.church

1973

162

Anaheim

Gene Appel

eastside.com

1962

240

Corona

Chuck Booher

crossroadschurch.com

1892

209

Savannah

Cam Huxford

compassionchristian.com

1964

180

Normal

Michael Baker

eastview.church

1955

543

Quincy

Jerry Harris

thecrossing.net

1974

286

Brighton

Steve Larson

242community.com

2005

190

Colleyville

Drew Sherman

compass.church

1966

230

Las Vegas

Shane Philip

thecrossinglv.com

2000

212

Valencia

Rusty George

reallifechurch.org

1998

115

Joppa

Ben Cachiaras

mountaincc.org

1824

146

New Albany

Nate Ross

mynorthside.com

1970

Parker

Aaron Couch

southeastcc.org

1972

Springfield

Eddie Lowen

wschurch.org

1901

123

Chandler

Brian Jobe

compassaz.church

1925

Louisville

Tyler McKenzie

necchurch.org

Bloomington

Shawn Green

socc.org

1962

Eagle

Steve Crane

eaglechristianchurch.com

1995

Owensboro

Scott Kenworthy

owensboro.cc

1953

220

Cleves

David Vaughan

whitewatercrossing.org

1916

140

Corydon

Randy Kirk

firstcapital.church

1990

Wichita

Todd Carter

pathwaychurch.com

1959

Fort Lauderdale

Scott Eynon

communitycc.com

1957

Newburgh

Phil Heller

cccgo.com

1968

125

Greenacres

Dan Shields

valleyreallife.org

121

Ormond Beach

Joe Putting

tomoka.cc

1971

Longmont

Matt Hessel

lbcc.org

1891

Terre Haute

Scot Longyear

mccth.org

1919

Tucson

Glen Elliott

pantano.church

1963

Mount Vernon

Jamie S. Allen

centralnow.com

1853

Phoenix

Brian Kruckenberg

newcityphx.com

2011

St. Charles

Doyle Roth

harvesterchristian.org

1981

Oronogo

Mark Christian

cco.church

1953

Elkridge

Carl Kuhl

mosaicchristian.org

2008

113

Niwot

Shan Moyers

rocky.church

1984

105

Yucaipa

Mike Frisch

activechurches.com

1960

105

Port Charlotte

Rusty Russell

ndcchurch.com

1959

Massillon

Jason Lantz

rivertreechristian.com

1964

Noblesville

Timothy Brock

wrcc.org

1973

South Portland

Scott Taube

eastpoint.church

2004

Trinity

Johnny Scott

generationscc.com

1974

Wichita

Jeff Isaacs

riverlawn.org

1956

Overland Park

Reggie Epps

lcc.org

1969

Greenford

Sean Kelly

greenfordchristian.org

1832

Plainfield

Steve White

plainfieldchristian.com

1829

111 55

117

9 119

“ I T H I N K PE O PL E A R E L O N G I N G F O R I T H I N K PE O PL E A R E T H I R S T Y T O S E E I N - PE R S O N E X P R E S S I O N S T O B E E M B R AC E D T O B E S U R R O U N D E D B Y A G R E AT C L O U D TO HEAR THE T O E N G AG E I N S M A L L TO BREAK BREAD TOGETHER AND TO REJOICE IN A HARVEST

R E L AT I O N S H I P L I K E N E V E R B E F O R E . F O R H U M A N CO N TAC T, O N O T H E R PE O PL E ’ S FAC E S , A N D E N CO U R AG E D, OF LIVING WITNESSES PR AISING THE LOR D, W O R D P R O C L A I M E D, C I R C L E S O F D I S C I PL E S H I P, AT T H E L O R D ’ S TA B L E , O F B A P T I S M S L I K E N E V E R B E F O R E ."

— JERRY HARRIS L E T T E R F R O M T H E P U B L I S H E R , PA G E 2

E M E R G I N G M E G A // E M E R G I N G M E G A

CHURCH

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19

20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29

30 31

34 35 36 37

38 39

40 41

44 45

46 47

48 49

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

Boones Creek Christian Church

1,012

532

750

2,237

1,669

1,982

First Church of Christ

2,577

750

1,329

623

1,975

Christ's Church of the Valley

1,700

450

1,760

1,700

1,925

Summit Christian Church

2,250

589

2,277

1,037

1,921

Salty Church

1,826

838

3,600

1,170

1,917

Antioch Christian Church

1,674

1,196

1,787

682

1,776

University Christian Church

1,677

620

181

3,247

876

1,677

First Christian Church

1,762

343

1,898

1,164

1,635

Central Christian Church

2,004

595

1,190

663

1,631

Hope City Church

1,385

919

3,395

931

1,618

Worthington Christian Church

1,235

355

1,534

1,562

Journey’s Crossing Church

725

812

1,894

1,576

1,557

Third City Christian Church

1,798

788

500

1,543

Kingsway Christian Church

1,634

630

230

1,135

585

1,540

First Christian Church

1,140

750

320

3,500

800

1,505

Ten Mile Christian Church

1,759

750

100

450

1,505

Redemption Christian Church

2,113

881

1,497

Forum Christian Church

1,722

502

866

686

1,455

New Life Christian Church

1,315

255

237

1,531

1,016

1,412

Christ's Church of Flagstaff

1,131

313

1,484

1,357

1,401

Eastside Christian Church

1,610

829

1,015

318

1,379

Ekklesia Christian Church

1,016

761

1,865

909

1,343

Pinedale Christian Church

1,158

550

150

1,500

800

1,329

Westerville Christian Church

1,232

215

1,887

1,207

1,327

Broadway Christian Church

1,644

563

1,000

428

1,318

Mt. Gilead Church

1,295

504

1,350

705

1,252

Northshore Christian Church

863

199

636

1,850

806

1,252

Northside Christian Church

950

225

800

1,300

1,238

Crossroads Christian Church

1,093

410

177

1,670

772

1,226

Shelby Christian Church

1,105

578

172

1,172

578

1,217

The Refinery Christian Church

1,408

679

760

310

1,211

First Church | An Independent Christian Church

1,130

566

1,640

723

1,210

875

279

1,495

1,254

1,204

Northside Christian Church

1,236

678

517

474

1,194

Central Christian Church

1,450

350

800

500

1,175

First Christian Church

1,266

382

246

1,051

356

1,174

Second Church of Christ

1,357

520

769

462

1,170

First Christian Church/The Crossing

1,224

543

873

557

1,162

Madison Park Christian Church

1,177

502

889

633

1,156

Northridge Christian Church

998

367

324

1,195

622

1,156

Greenwood Christian Church

1,164

431

1,705

706

1,151

Suncrest Christian Church

1,382

472

887

443

1,149

928

402

1,937

820

1,115

Academy Christian Church

1,203

490

506

1,100

Christ's Church of Effingham

1,260

931

1,096

Restore Community Church

1,220

420

1,012

550

1,095

College Heights Christian Church

1,302

387

1,288

489

1,089

Current – A Christian Church

1,429

616

Venture Christian Church

1,000

300

1,490

800

1,050

Bridge Christian Church

1,367

524

700

200

1,046

Victory Christian Church

Westbrook Christian Church

1,070

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

m ay/j une 20 21

L O C AT I O N

BAPTISMS

Johnson City

David Clark

boonescreekcc.org

1825

Burlington

Darin Mirante

firstchurch.me

1964

Royersford

Brian Jones

ccvlive.com

2000

Sparks

Steve Bond/Bryan Smith

summitnv.org

1999

126

Ormond Beach

Robbie O'Brien

salty.org

2005

104

Marion

Greg Johnson

lifeisforliving.org

1974

Manhattan

Barry Park

university.church

1969

Canton

Ryan Rasmussen

firstchristian.com

1855

Beloit

David Clark

centralwired.com

1907

Joplin

Cody Walker

experiencehope.city

2014

Columbus

Jay Scott

worthingtoncc.org

1975

Germantown

Mark Wilkinson

journeyscrossing.org

2001

Grand Island

Scott Jones

thirdcityc.org

1967

Avon

Matt Nickoson

kingswaychurch.org

1973

105

Jacksonville

Shane Allen

1c.church

1967

112

Meridian

Steve Moore

tenmilecc.com

1906

Jasper

Darrel Land

redemptionin.com

2000

Columbia

Bradley Williams

forumchristian.org

1954

Chantilly

Brett Andrews

newlife.church

1993

Flagstaff

Chris Reed

ccof.church

1984

Jeffersonville

Dave Hastings

discovereastside.com

1958

Conway

Matthew Wilson

ekkchurch.com

2014

Winston-Salem

Matthew Sink

pinedale.church

1916

Westerville

Gregory N. Bondurant

wcchurch.life

1968

Mesa

John Enabnit

bccmesa.com

1978

Mooresville

Jeff Faull

mgchurch.org

1835

Everett

Scott Harris

northshorechristian.org

1992

Yorktown

Larry Jones

northsidecc.org

1899

Joliet

Matt Summers

crossroadsofjoliet.org

2007

Shelbyville

Dave Hamlin

shelbychristian.org

1968

Goodyear

Chad Goucher

therefinerycc.com

2009

Owasso

Chad Broaddus

firstchurchok.com

1907

Franklin

Josh Cadwell

victorycc.life

1947

Springfield

Wayne Bushnell

northsidechristianchurch.net

1970

Lancaster

Matt Dumas

centralchristian.org

1955

Decatur

Wayne Kent

firstdecatur.org

1834

Danville

Greg Taylor

secondchurch.com

1899

Kernersville

Pete Kunkle

fccministries.com

1987

Quincy

Tyler Myers

madisonparkchurch.com

1915

Milledgeville

Mike Waers

northridge.online

1916

Greenwood

Matt Giebler

greenwoodchristian.com

1860

Saint John

Greg Lee

suncrest.org

1994

Bolingbrook

Mont Mitchell

westbrook.church

1996

Colorado Springs

Bryan Myers

academychristian.org

1973

Effingham

Jeff Michael

christschurch.com

1984

Kansas City

Troy McMahon

restorecc.org

2008

Joplin

Sy Huffer

chjoplin.org

1967

Katy

Darren Walter

currentchristian.org

1985

Carmel

Stan Killebrew

venturechristian.church

1968

Fishersville

Todd Brown

bridgechristian.church

1994

105

E M E R G I N G M E G A // C O N T.

CHURCH

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

White Flag Church

1,340

737

Calvary Christian Church

2,186

539

314

1,723

1,088

1,032

947

548

1,827

532

1,014

Kissimmee Christian Church

1,039

“ E V E R Y DAY T H E Y C O N T I N U E D T O M E E T T O G E T H E R I N T H E T E M P L E C O U R T S . T H E Y B R O K E B R E A D I N T H E I R H O M E S A N D AT E T O G E T H E R W I T H G L A D A N D S I N C E R E H E A R T S , P R A I S I N G G O D A N D E N J OY I N G T H E FAV O R O F A L L T H E P E O P L E . A N D T H E L O R D A D D E D T O T H E I R N U M B E R DA I LY T H O S E W H O W E R E B E I N G S AV E D .” A C T S 2 : 4 6 - 47

BAPTISMS

L O C AT I O N

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

St. Louis

Paul Wingfield

whiteflag.church

1969

109

Bellevue

Scott Beckenhauer

calvary.ch

1970

Kissimmee

Jim Book

kissimmeechristianchurch.org

1905

L A R G E // L A R G E // L A R G E

CHURCH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19

20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29

30 31

34 35 36 37

38 39

40 41

44 45

46 47

48 49

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

1,000

245

1,419

742

995

Valley View Christian Church

452

241

1,289

1,294

994

First Christian Church

145

550

1,240

1,180

973

1,061

404

529

472

969

Richwoods Christian Church

831

134

1,124

883

924

Pikes Peak Christian Church

1,000

300

500

900

Fairway Christian Church

1,103

344

400

350

897

Mount Carmel Christian Church

1,025

394

552

364

892

Prescott Christian Church

968

583

392

221

886

The Village Christian Church

700

400

100

1,000

600

875

325

857

429

847

Vail Christian Church

856

646

727

157

830

First Christian Church

955

279

208

368

209

826

Crosspoint Christian Church

888

485

266

820

Community Christian Church

977

253

580

366

798

Mountainview Christian Church

920

250

100

400

300

785

Gateway Christian Church

967

450

1,500

125

771

1,072

464

768

900

325

100

600

200

763

745

739

310

293

420

174

758

First Christian Church

208

727

522

755

First Christian Church

600

275

1,000

625

750

Outlook Christian Church

900

195

360

728

Trademark Church

700

300

100

200

340

720

White Oak Christian Church

911

360

460

167

719

Tri-Village Christian Church

598

276

550

712

Hikes Point Christian Church

678

329

702

407

707

Community Christian Church

982

414

698

Oakwood Christian Church

740

438

470

207

693

Cornerstone Church

550

220

900

600

685

Verde Valley Christian Church

750

298

854

297

673

The Journey Church

705

121

674

497

662

Belmont Christian Church

690

255

376

660

Clifton Christian Church

705

489

254

122

658

Bridges Christian Church

625

180

600

500

653

Momentum Christian Church

900

400

Valley View Christian Church

775

320

350

190

643

First Christian Church of Malvern

650

400

200

640

1,000

250

500

300

638

Lincoln Christian Church

716

269

634

286

636

Canvas Christian Church

244

275

439

946

300

629

Orrville Christian Church

600

200

852

450

625

Kaimuki Christian Church

542

691

604

623

Milford Christian Church

270

185

1,500

790

623

Spencer Christian Church

709

266

572

250

623

McCook Christian Church

610

North Liberty Church of Christ

600

300

450

320

610

Jefferson Christian Church

690

337

450

125

606

Fern Creek Christian Church

664

371

160

598

First Christian Church

East 91st Street Christian Church

Northside Christian Church

Rise City Church North Terrace Church of Christ Journey Christian Church Chapel Rock Christian Church

Mission Viejo Christian Church

761

650

610

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

m ay/j une 20 21

L O C AT I O N

BAPTISMS

Johnson City

Ethan Magness

fcc-jc.org

1871

Littleton

Phillip Holland

valleyviewcc.com

1957

Medicine Lodge

Tom Walters

firstchristianml.org

1887

Indianapolis

Rick Grover

e91church.com

1924

Peoria

Chad Manbeck

richwoods.org

1967

Colorado Springs

Darrin Ronde

yes2god.org

1958

The Villages

Butch Gastfield

fairwaycc.org

1999

Cincinnati

Didi Bacon

mtcarmelchurch.org

1968

Prescott

Jason Price

prescottchristian.com

1922

Minooka

Nate Ferguson

thevillagechristianchurch.com

2004

Warrensburg

Sid Tiller

nccburg.com

1964

Vail

Ben Pitney

vailchristian.com

2006

Norfolk

Tim DeFor

fcnorfolk.org

1894

Cape Coral

Jeff Swearingen

crosspointcape.com

2006

White Marsh

David Robinson

communitycc.net

2006

Highlands Ranch

Ken Hensley

mtnvw.org

1986

St. Albans

Dave Stauffer

gatewaychurch.net

1956

Lakeside

Brandon Grant

risecitychurch.com

2013

Zanesville

Chris Steele

ntcoc.org

1920

Greeley

Arron Chambers

journeychristian.org

1999

Indianapolis

Casey Scott

chapelrock.org

1964

Columbus

Steve Yeaton

fccoc.org

1855

Greeneville

Scott Wakefield

fccgreene.org

1919

McCordsville

Rob McCord

outlookchurch.org

1866

Fort Worth

Landon Pickering

trademark.church

1968

Cincinnati

Nathan Hinkle

thewocc.com

1830

Pataskala

Paul Snoddy

tri-village.org

1961

Louisville

Jeff Wallace

hikespointchristian.com

1999

Hemet

John Scott

community.cc

1981

Enid

Eric Keller

oakwood.church

1978

Deltona

Kevin Key

cornerstonedeltona.com

1999

Cottonwood

Jim Hammond

vvcc.online

1967

Springfield

Chad Simpkins

thejourneynova.org

1974

Christiansburg

James "Beaver" Terry

belmontchristian.org

1946

Clifton

Roger Ferguson

cliftonchristianchurch.com

1910

Russell

Tom Lawson

bridgeschristianchurch.org

1921

McDonough

Bart Stone

momentumcc.org

2007

Edgewood

Brandon Shaffer

vv.church

1986

Malvern

Kenny Thomas

fccmonline.org

1870

Mission Viejo

Mike Maiolo

mvcchome.org

1972

Lincoln

Ron Otto

lincolnchristianchurch.org

1853

Cumming

Stan Percival

canvaschristian.org

1976

Orrville

John Mulpas

orrville.church

1902

Honolulu

Bryan Sands

kaimukichristian.org

1923

Lamar

Fisherville

McCook

North Liberty

10 20

Clifford Hazard

1881 spencerchristian.org

1997

Kyle Dellevoet

mccookchristian.church

1963

Tim Stewart

northliberty.cc

1903

Rural Hall

Steve Cook

jeffersonchurch.org

1880

Louisville

Craig Grammer

ferncreekcc.org

1965

L A R G E // C O N T.

CHURCH

54 55

56 57

58 59

60 61

64 65

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

Westport Christian Church

280

120

130

650

590

Windsor Road Christian Church

981

170

150

588

Journey Christian Church

620

420

650

120

580

New Hope Christian Church

547

212

650

394

577

New Life Christian Church

600

250

350

300

575

Legacy Christian Church

380

205

250

550

568

Central Christian Church

400

152

200

560

556

West Valley Christian Church

570

174

1,134

360

552

Wentzville Christian Church

750

339

545

Leesburg Christian Church

533

328

166

144

527

First Christian Church

325

150

450

375

525

First Christian Church of Scottsburg

552

228

370

242

522

Franklin Christian Church

540

150

350

520

Northside Christian Church

460

282

275

518

Northview Christian Church

480

213

824

321

507

BAPTISMS

L O C AT I O N

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

Westport

Mike Bartlett

westportchristianchurch.com

Champaign

Randy Boltinghouse

windsorroad.org

Jackson

Jeremy Brown

ourjourney.com

2010

Roanoke

Seth Bryant

newhoperoanoke.com

1953

Alexandria

John Taplin

your-newlife.com

1956

Lakeland

Steve Brooke

legacychristian.com

2007

St. Petersburg

Rich Franz

centalstpete.com

1954

West Hills

Rob Denton

wvcch.org

1976

Wentzville

Keith Comp

wentzvillecc.org

1961

Cynthiana

Sammy Harris

leesburg.cc

1826

Monticello

Joe Tipton

firstchristianmonticello.com

1831

Scottsburg

Matthew Craig

scottsburg.church

1874

Franklin

David Welsh

franklinchristianchurch.com

1985

Broken Arrow

Justin Carpenter

northsideonline.com

1956

Danville

Nathan Rector

northviewchristian.org

1968

1850

“A S T H E Y T R AV E L E D F R O M T O W N T O T O W N , T H E Y D E L I V E R E D T H E D E C I S I O N S R E A C H E D B Y T H E A P O S T L E S A N D E L D E R S I N J E R U S A L E M F O R T H E P E O P L E T O O B E Y. S O T H E C H U R C H E S W E R E S T R E N G T H E N E D I N T H E FA I T H A N D G R E W DA I LY I N N U M B E R S .“ A C T S 16 : 4 - 5

M E D I U M // M E D I U M // M E D I U M

CHURCH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19

20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29

30 31

34 35 36 37

38 39

40 41

44 45

46 47

48 49

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

165

160

495

653

199

478

227

345

477

500

200

400

250

475

Woodstock Christian Church

350

100

600

400

470

Suburban Christian Church

620

100

250

200

468

Crossroads Christian Church

560

283

175

467

Discover Christian Church

575

165

249

194

467

Crossroads Christian Church

400

175

500

300

463

Timber Lake Christian Church

400

300

500

200

460

Crestview Christian Church

430

181

540

279

445

Indian Hills Christian Church

530

180

300

180

445

Creekside Christian Fellowship

440

300

435

116

442

Impact Christian Church

425

260

550

195

440

Greencastle Christian Church

402

175

424

254

428

Parkview Christian Church

342

184

471

328

427

First Christian Church

500

250

300

100

425

Pasco Christian Church

285

180

515

385

425

LifeSpring Community Christian Church

480

360

420

Westside Christian Church

275

140

500

400

408

Canyon Springs Christian Church

474

269

203

407

Grandview Christian Church

418

136

395

259

407

The Crossing Church

804

402

Griffith First Christian Church

444

158

581

184

393

South Lansing Christian Church

387

438

301

391

Northeast Christian Church

376

208

338

195

390

New Life Christian Church

368

230

536

180

389

Lakeside Christian Church

398

160

343

215

387

Northpointe Community Church

487

245

376

Crossroads Christian Church

400

100

450

350

375

Foundation Christian Church

400

182

408

166

374

Discovery Church

405

300

373

First Christian Church

325

225

125

363

First Christian Church of Inverness

181

112

140

291

362

Chilhowie Christian Church

400

225

100

355

Jefferson Street Christian Church

424

150

130

352

Downey First Christian Church

300

150

400

250

350

Lakeview Christian Church

250

150

350

300

350

Union Christian Church

325

175

375

125

350

Lincoln Heights Christian Church

335

195

160

345

Southwest Church

426

139

321

124

345

Christ’s Church - Fort Wayne

262

187

302

205

341

Delaware Christian Church

436

198

338

Cross Bridge Christian Church

135

125

300

409

336

Mount Tabor Christian Church

190

175

145

355

160

335

Odon Christian Church

300

225

250

325

First Christian Church

244

153

836

250

324

Kalkaska Church of Christ

415

120

150

318

Liberty Christian Church

260

320

315

Novesta Church of Christ

330

200

250

100

315

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

Madison Christian Church

610

190

Community Christian Fellowship

543

216

Connect Christian Church

679

Norwin Christian Church

BEFORE CLOSURE

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

m ay/j une 20 21

L O C AT I O N

BAPTISMS

Groveport

Paul Barnes

madisonchristian.org

1975

Siloam Springs

Pat Callahan

ccfsiloam.com

1973

Concord

James Kuhl

connectchristianchurch.org

1984

North Huntingdon

Terry Erwin

norwinchristianchurch.com

1961

Woodstock

Kirby Lloyd

woodstockchristianchurch.org

1977

Corvallis

Michael King

suburbanchurch.com

1963

Macon

Matt Stieger

maconcrossroads.com

1973

Dublin

Steve Murphy

discovercc.org

1961

Washington Court House OH

Adam Lynch

crossroadswch.org

1874

Moberly

tlcc.church

1954

Manhattan

Devin Wendt

crestviewchristian.org

1958

Danville

Jim Cooper

ihccdanville.org

1961

Needville

Greg Garcia

creeksidefellowship.org

2004

Woodland Park

Scott Park

impactcc.net

Greencastle

John Tischer

greencastlecc.org

1966

Findlay

Joel Johnson

parkviewfindlay.org

1958

Miami

Brian Brubaker

fccmiamiok.com

1894

Pasco

Chuck Rodgers

pascochristian.com

1908

Harrison

Jeff Duerler

lscommunity.org

2008

Bradenton

Tim Boyd

westsidechristianchurch.com

1964

Middleton

Nick Duffel

canyonspringschristian.com

2003

Johnson City

Aaron Wymer

grandviewchristian.org

1927

Batavia

Kenny White

cometothecrossing.com

2012

Griffith

Shawn L. Cornett

gfcc.net

1920

Lansing

Frank Weller

seekstudyserve.org

1952

Grand Junction

Seth Thomas

northeastchristian.org

1955

Wildwood

Matt Malott

nlchristian.org

2005

Springfield

Jon Morrissette

lakesidechristian.com

1962

DeWitt

Rick Ruble

northpointecc.org

1840

Largo

Harold Kellermier

crossroadslargo.org

1956

Newnan

Clint Nolder

foundationnewnan.com

2018

Bristol

Matthew Korell

discoverybristol.com

2011

Morris

Scott Zorn

fccmorris.org

1974

Inverness

Tom Thomas

fccivn.com

1974

Chilhowie

Frank Branson

chilhowie church.com

1898

Lincoln

Michael V. Mallick

jeffstreet.org

1971

Downey

Josh Phillips

downeyfirst.org

1869

Green

Jim Gindlesberger

lakeviewcc.net

1924

Terre Haute

Todd Payton

unionchristianchurch.org

1887

Phoenix

Chris Roussin

lincolnheights.church

1885

Springboro

Roger Hendricks

southwestchurch.org

1997

Fort Wayne

Jason Kemerly

fwcc.cc

1969

Delaware

Sam Rosa

dccwired.org

1979

Dalzell

Tim Brown

crossbridgechristian.church

1998

Salem

Tony Mendizabal

mtcchurch.org

1840

Odon

Micah Stephen

occonline.org

1907

Warsaw

Matthew Rogers

fccwarsaw.com

1851

Kalkaska

Andy Bratton

kccwired.com

1888

Martinsville

Rocky Baire

lccmartinsville.com

Cass City

Brad Speirs

novestachurch.org

5 10

4 20

1872

M E D I U M // C O N T.

CHURCH

54 55

56 57

58 59

60 61

64 65

66 67

68 69

70 71

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

Central Christian Church

350

275

313

Towne South Church of Christ

369

240

305

River Run Christian Church

310

214

172

303

Campbellsville Christian Church

312

360

200

302

Bailey Christian Church

370

230

300

Bridgetown Church of Christ

280

200

250

120

300

Forefront

300

290

293

Fortville Christian Church

300

160

213

116

288

New Hope Christian Church

300

125

250

150

288

Brady Lane Church

245

154

262

143

286

Tonganoxie Christian Church

330

181

286

First Christian Church

307

220

400

285

LifeBridge Church

325

208

282

Lanier Christian Church

269

180

104

270

Milford Christian Church

280

170

260

270

Jessamine Christian Church

377

161

269

Axis Christian Church

260

210

200

268

Crosspoint Christian Church

350

180

Church of Christ at Logansport

145

300

263

First Christian Church

320

143

109

256

South Fork Christian Church

265

210

255

265

“ TH OSE W H O ACCE P TE D H I S M E SSAG E WE R E BA P TI Z E D, A N D A B O U T T H R E E T H O U S A N D W E R E A D D E D T O T H E I R N U M B E R T H AT DAY.” A C T S 2 : 41

BAPTISMS

L O C AT I O N

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

Mount Vernon

Andrew Beatty

cccmv.com

1960

Elizabeth City

Brad Giffin

tscoc.com

1988

Melbourne

Dan Gish

riverrunchristian.com

2016

Campbellsville

Rodney Booe

campbellsvillechristianchurch.com

1839

Bailey

Daren Penwell

baileychristianchurch.com

1879

Cincinnati

Nathaniel Hardesty

bridgetownchurch.com

1933

New York

Jonathan Williams

forefrontnyc.com

2012

Fortville

Rob Rigsbee

fortvillechristian.com

1871

Crawfordsville

Darrell Portwood

newhopefortoday.org

1977

Lafayette

Jeff Keller

bradylanechurch.org

1965

Tonganoxie

Ross Frisbie

tongiecc.org

1872

Carmi

Greg Grant

firstchristiancarmi.com

1851

Kennesaw

Aaron Gable

www.mylifebridgechurch.com

2010

Gainesville

David Simpson

lanierchristianchurch.com

1974

Milford

Todd Jefferson

milfordchurch.org

1939

Nicholasville

Lee Faust

jessaminecc.com

1994

Mason

Stephen Sams

axischurch.com

2009

Conyers

Curt Zehner

xpt.cc

1963

Logansport

Jeff Strite

churchchrist.net

Huber Heights

Rob Sweeney

fcchh.org

1972

Verona

Bob Hightchew

southforkchristianchurch.org

1844

S M A L L // S M A L L // S M A L L

CHURCH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19

20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29

30 31

34 35 36 37

38 39

40 41

44 45

46 47

48 49

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

Central Christian Church of Bristol

270

109

213

112

246

Madison Hills Christian Church

225

200

180

245

Avalon Church of Christ

283

138

243

Church of Christ at Treaty

130

100

300

200

240

First Christian Church of New Salem

220

160

320

100

240

Meadow View Church of Christ

276

201

239

Felicity Christian Church

275

120

Lake Ridge Christian Church

317

154

236

Saltair Church of Christ

180

135

150

233

Vernal Christian Church

250

150

233

Rich Acres Christian Church

333

125

Santa Clara Church of Christ

208

350

175

229

Catalyst Christian Church

215

131

200

103

225

Western Hills Christian Church

238

168

225

Plainview Church of Christ

200

340

150

224

WestWay Christian Church

216

121

250

100

219

Northfield Church of Christ

282

151

217

Ellettsville Christian Church

236

300

104

216

Living Creek Christian Church

210

218

214

Cambridge City Christian Church

180

250

150

208

Legacy Christian Church

220

280

120

208

1,500

267

206

Central Christian Church of Brownsville

200

100

220

109

205

Oak Park Christian Church

220

135

148

201

Duplain Church of Christ

220

120

100

200

First Christian Church

154

140

210

199

Verve

262

105

199

University Christian Church

238

156

197

Oak Grove Christian Church

190

145

135

193

Orleans Christian Church

200

150

190

First Christian Church

154

115

197

107

188

One Life Church

200

100

130

188

North Central Church of Christ

190

100

183

Claypool Hill Church of Christ

203

159

147

181

Church of Christ at Manor Woods

234

180

Garden Way Church

225

180

Western Hills Church of Christ

180

125

140

180

125

200

178

Indian Run Christian Church

200

150

175

Lane Christian Church

170

Millersburg Christian Church

205

168

Corner House Christian Church

110

130

117

166

MC3 Church

130

200

150

165

Ridgeview Christian Church

183

114

109

164

Nelson Christian Church

175

110

212

163

Sebastopol Christian Church

140

150

130

163

Warren Church of Christ

150

225

100

163

Bridge Christian Community

250

160

Osage Hills Christian Church

165

120

150

160

Reclaim Christian Church

151

159

Valley Christian Church

Hazelwood Christian Church

238

229

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

m ay/j une 20 21

L O C AT I O N

BAPTISMS

Bristol

Mark Overton

cccbristol.com

1903

Richmond

Ben Stroup

partypeople.church

1985

Virginia Beach

Christopher McCarthy

avalonchurch.com

Wabash

Ryan Weaver

cctreaty.org

1910

Uniontown

Andy Miles

fccnewsalem.com

1896

Frazeysburg

Sam Dunn

meadowviewchurch.com

1898

Felicity

Rick Gabelman

felicitychurch.org

1886

Nate Alexander

lakeridgechurch.org

Paris

Bethel

Bob Wickline

Vernal

Marty Young

vernalchristianchurch.com

1977

Martinsville

Tim Hunt

racconline.com

1953

Eugene

Wes Wright

santaclarachurch.com

1896

Nicholasville

David Kibler

catalystchristian.net

2008

Lawton

Dave Menge

whccfamily.com

1964

Plainview

Bob Blanshan

plainviewchurchofchrist.org

1861

Scottsbluff

John Mulholland

westwaychurch.com

1951

Fort Dodge

Dale Harlow

northfieldchurch.org

1987

Ellettsville

Byron Williams

ellettsvillecc.com

Monee

Randy Roberts

livingcreek.org

1969

Cambridge City

Danny Berry

4c.church

1841

Harrison

Mark Garrett

harrisonlegacy.com

1833

Moorhead

Brent Captain

valleycc.com

1961

Brownsville

Lance Hostetter

cccbrownsville.org

1910

Grover Beach

Mike Gunderson

oakparkchristian.org

1986

St. Johns

Andy Goodrich

duplainchurch.org

1871

Paris

Jamie Kent

fccparis.org

1861

Las Vegas

Vince Antonucci

vivalaverve.org

2010

Muncie

Steve Huddleston

universitychristianchurch.com

1929

Beckley

John Wittmann

ogcc.org

1902

Orleans

Tom Bostic

orleanschristianchurch.org

1867

Paris

Jamie Kent

fccparis.org

1860

Concord

Justin Wallace

onelifechurch.tv

2005

Bloomington

Shane Himes

nc3family.org

1825

Cedar Bluff

Bob Smith

thelordsway.com/claypoolhillchurchofchrist

1981

Rockville

Mark Lewis

manorwoods.com

1947

Eugene

Rob Carney

gardenway.net

1952

Cincinnati

Dan Lang

thewhcc.com

1925

Pittsburgh

Ed Gratton

hcc412.com

1898

East Canton

Terry Bailey

christforeastcanton.com

1850

Lane

Jim Kilson

lanechurch.org

1850

18 7

1948

Millersburg

Wes McElravy

millersburgchristianchurch.com

Hubbard

David Coxson

cornerhousecc.org

1825

Lilburn

Art Stansberry

mc3.life

2018

Rolla

Adam Bloch

ridgecc.com

1950

Bardstown

Mark Jones

nelsonchristianchurch.com

1987

Sebastopol

Jim Swaney

sebchristian.com

1965

Warren

Ethan Stivers

warrenchurchofchrist.org

1895

Dubuque

Travis Roehm

bridgeontheweb.org

2001

Tulsa

James Wright

osagehills.com

1969

Ansonia

Breandan McTighe

reclaimcc.com

1985

S M A L L // C O N T.

CHURCH

54 55

56 57

58 59

60 61

64 65

66 67

68 69

70 71

73 74

75 76

77 78

80 81

84 85 86 87

88 89

90 91

93 94

95 96

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

North Industry Christian Church

175

100

150

158

Church of Christ

165

130

125

155

Erie Christian Church

150

100

300

155

North Point Christian Church

135

175

100

155

Compassion Christian Church

185

153

Northside Christian Church

175

153

Cornerstone Christian Church

125

110

150

Life Springs Christian Church

200

100

150

Willisburg Christian Church

182

118

150

200

148

Jenison Christian Church

175

100

148

Riverside Christian Church

140

110

160

148

Hartford Christian Church

165

119

147

Cornerstone Christian Church

180

145

Community Christian Church

175

100

First Church of Christ

130

144

136

Jarvisburg Church of Christ

184

136

Macedonia Christian Church

159

101

130

Risen Church Westside

130

195

130

Amity Christian Church

133

116

129

Itawamba Christian Church

130

100

128

Monroeville Christian Church

140

128

Fayetteville Christian Church

156

126

Catalyst Church

142

123

Defiance Christian Church

158

123

Howard Christian Church

130

121

125

120

Sugar Grove Christian Church

105

118

Orange Park Christian Church

110

116

Molalla Christian Church

120

115

Mt. Ivy Christian Church

130

100

115

Countryside Church of Christ

107

111

Boulevard Christian Church

102

110

Lakeshore Christian Church

130

110

Manchester Christian Church

120

110

West Waynesboro Church of Christ

125

110

Adventure Christian Church

108

109

Catawissa Christian Church

115

109

Hillside Christian Church

100

108

Thurston Christian Church

135

108

Castle Rock Christian Church

140

106

110

105

Rocky Fork Church of Christ

115

105

Rousculp Church of Christ

130

105

Kenwood Heights Christian Church

134

102

Atwood Christian Church

100

Church of Christ

150

100

Heppner Christian Church

Homeville Christian Church

North Baltimore Church of Christ

150

138

BAPTISMS

L O C AT I O N

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

Canton

Ed Barnes

nicconline.com

1880

Columbus

Nathan Diller

rosehillchurch.com

1930

Erie

Nathan Bright

eriechristianchurch.com

1870

Spearfish

Matt Branum

northpointcc.net

2004

Delaware

Al Perry

compassiondelaware.org

2016

Kansas City

Jeremy Eubanks

northsidechristian.org

1968

Lincoln

Steven Stolle

corstonech.org

1988

Las Vegas

Roger Worsham

lifespringschurch.org

Willisburg

Lance Ladd

willisburgchristian.org

1856

Heppner

Raymond DeLoe

heppnerchristianchurch.org

1900

Hudsonville

Steve North

jcconline.net

1978

Boonville

David Mackey

riversidechristianchurch.org

1994

Hartford

Scott Parker

hartfordchristian.com

1905

Springfield

Warren Whitaker

welcometocornerstone.net

2006

Williamston

Chad Holcomb

comccfamily.com

1948

Barberton

Jeremy Klein

barbertonfcoc.org

1900

Jarvisburg

Ron Lawrence

jarvisburgchurchofchrist.com

1893

Bonneau

Larry Bradberry

Santa Monica

Trevor Debenning

risenchurch.com

2016

Amity

Ryan Connor

amitychurch.org

1846

Fulton

Tony Thornton

itawambachristianchurch.org

1980

Monroeville

Dave Provance

monroevillechristianchurch.com

Fayetteville

Andrew Higle

fayettevillechristian.org

1971

Greensboro

Scott Haulter

catalystchurch.org

2009

Defiance

Mike Hasselbring

defiancechristian.org

1957

Howard

Donald Crane

howardchristianchurch.org

1894

West Mifflin

David Shively

homevillechristianchurch.org

1918

Owingsville

Francis Nash

sugargrovechristianchurch.org

1917

Orange Park

James Joiner

orangeparkcc.com

1977

Molalla

Bob Laver

molallachristian.com

1908

Moneta

Steve Pasley

mtivy.org

1895

Seaman

Hannum Taylor

countrysidechurchofchrist.com

1814

Sylvania

Scot Gorsuch

boulevardchurch.com

1940

St. Joseph

Jim Matthews

lakeshorechristian.org

1956

New Franklin

Rob Kasler

manchesterchristian.org

1950

Waynesboro

Chad Grondin

westwaynesboro.com

1955

Bourbonnais

Andy Hamilton

theadventurechurch.com

6 15

4 15

1881

Catawissa

Mike Spagnuolo

catawissachristianchurch.com

2011

Reinholds

William Dusing

hillsidepa.org

1972

Springfield

Scott Lerwick

thurston.church

1890

Castle Rock

John Leffler

cr-cc.org

1853

North Baltimore

Bill Cook

Newark

Moses Hamilton

rockyforkcoc.com

Lima

Kenny Rader

rousculpchurch.org

1897

Louisville

Randy Beard

kenwoodheights.com

1969

Atwood

Don Gerkin

1893

Truman

Merrill Davis

1901

1897

“ WE MADE MAJOR CHANGES TO OUR ANNUAL UNIQUENESS OF CHURCH THEREFORE, YOU WILL SEE A MIX OF A TOTAL OF 421 CHURCHES AND WE APPRECIATE EACH ONE’S

CHURCH SURVEY TO BET TER REFLECT THE MINISTRY IN 2020. NEW AND FAMILIAR DATA IN THIS REPORT. BR AVELY REPORTED THEIR DATA , CONTRIBUTION TO OUR RESEARCH."

— KENT FILLINGER " FA C T S A N D F I G U R E S F R O M A F U N K Y Y E A R ," PA G E 2 0

V E R Y S M A L L // V E R Y S M A L L // V E R Y S M A L L

CHURCH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14

15 16 17

18 19

20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27

28 29

30 31

34 35 36 37

38 39

40 41

44 45

46 47

48 49

Bloomington Christian Church

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E

BEFORE CLOSURE

DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

125

150

Licking Christian Church

121

Movement Christian Church

120

Sheldon Church of Christ

Cool Spring Christian Church

Spearsville Church of Christ

100

110

Athens Christian Church

Mt. Vernon Christian

109

McElroy Road Church of Christ

Pleasant Grove Church of Christ

Germantown Christian Church

147

132

100

Restoration Church of Christ

Delta Church of Christ

100

The Foundry

Follansbee Church of Christ

Laurel Avenue Church of Christ

100

Riverside: A Christian Community

Rockliff Church of Christ

First Christian Church

Adena Road Church of Christ

Chapel of Hope Christian Church

First Christian Church

New Testament Christian Church

Parksville Christian Church

Dora Christian Church

Bethany Church of Christ

Capitol City Christian Church

100

LifeSpring Christian Church

Alvadore Christian Church

Union Grove Christian Church

Weston Church of Christ

Geneva Church of Christ

Beech Street Christian Church

First Church of Christ Christian

Caledonia Church of Christ

Christ's Church of Morgan County

Community Christian Church

Jerusalem Christian Church

Edon Church of Christ

Redemption Christian Church

Friendship Christian Church

Valley Falls Christian Church

Impact Christian Church

Thrive Christian Church

Ocala Christian Church

Cross Point Christian Church

Jennings Road Church of Christ

Middleport Church of Christ

Movement Church

Clarksburg Christian Church

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

m ay/j une 20 21

L O C AT I O N

BAPTISMS

Byrdstown

Stevan McClure

bloomingtonchristianchurch.org

1912

Licking

Rick Mosher

lickingchristian.org

1981

Knightdale

Bobby Wallace

movementchristianchurch.com

Fayetteville

Michael Brown

thrivenwa.com

2013

Sheldon

Jeremy Allard

sheldonchurch.com

1922

Keysville

David Richmond

coilsoringscc.org

1800

Morgantown

G. Michael Goodwin

Ocala

Roger Wright

noperfectchurch.com

2007

Lexington

Robert Warren

acc-ky.org

1848

Mount Vernon

Jeffrey Kruger

mtvernoncc.org

2000

New Albany

Cody Clark

mycrosspointchurch.org

1968

Mansfield

Dean Jackson

Mt. Gilead

Jack Kegley

Germantown

Brian Brumley

Van Wert

David Ray

jenningsroad.org

1916

Pittsburgh

Faron Franklin

restorationchurchofchrist.org

2003

Delta

Dave Underwood

deltachurchofchrist.org

1840

Middleport

David Hopkins

middleportchurch.org

1838

Burke

Andrew Keeney

thefoundrychurch.com

2018

Follansbee

Daniel B. Cooper

refocuschurch.com

1905

Chesapeake

Kirk Dice

lacconline.com

1952

Newport

Josh Tandy

movementnky.com

2014

Stanwood

Dave Watkins

riversidebr.org

2018

McMinnville

Bill Boyd

rockliffchurchofchrist.com

1918

Cassville

Chuck Terrill

fcccassville.com

1886

Chillicothe

Jason Thomas

adena.church

1964

Marsing

Keith W. Croft

Sayre

Dennis Knight

Reeds Spring

Ron Rasmussen

ntccrs.com

2017

Parksville

Frank Preston

parksvillechristianchurch.yolasite.com

1802

Lagro

Mark Wisniewski

dorachristianchurch.weebly.com

1871

Kettering

Damon F. Reid

bcckettering.com

1953

Boise

David Davolt (Elder)

capitolcitychristian.org

2004

Clarksburg

Jerran Jackson

Akron

Terrence Baker

lifespringchurchlive.com

1892

Alvadore

Marcus Omdahl

alvadorechristian.com

1889

Barboursville

Terry L. Newton

uniongrovecc.com

1900

Weston

Gary L. Wackler

westonchurchofchrist.org

1895

Geneva

Keith R Winn

genevachurchofchrist.org

1973

Ashland

Rob O'Lynn

beechstreetchristianchurch.org

1909

Niles

Gordie Fox

firstchurchniles.com

1929

Caledonia

David Braxton

caledoniachurchofchrist.yolasite.com

Fort Morgan

Gene Dalrymple

christschurchmc.org

2001

Galion

Daniel Turner

community-christian.com

1897

Greenville

John Canon

jerusalemchristian.church

1842

Edon

David LaDuke

edonchurchofchrist.com

1890

Inverness

Todd Langdon

redemptionchristian.net

2008

Valley

Buddy Harris

Valley Falls

Mike Kirby

valleyfallscc.org

1865

Merrillville

Robert Szoke

impactchristian.org

2008

1882

1960 pgchurchofchrist.org

1858 1832

1990 1910

1831

1955

V E R Y S M A L L // C O N ' T

CHURCH

54 55

56 57

58 59

60 61

64 65

66 67

68 69

70 71

73 74

75 76

77 78

80 81

84 85 86 87

IN-PERSON AT T E N DA N C E

T O TA L AT T E N DA N C E AV E R AG E

ONLINE AT T E N DA N C E DURING CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

999

Lockland Christian Church

First Christian Church

Midlands Christian Church

New Hope Christian Church

Peeled Oak Christian Church

Stella Community Church

100

Bushnell Christian Church

Neapolis Church of Christ

120

Palmer Christian Church

Ubly Christian Church

Tualatin Hills Christian Church

Blachleyville Church of Christ

First Christian Church

Belvue Christian Church

Hamersville Church of Christ

Agape Christian Church

Westside Christian Church

Vine Grove Christian Church

Metamora Church of Christ

Christian Church of Riverton

Leitchfield Christian Church

Promise Land Ministries

Coventry Crossing Christian Church

Everyday Fellowship Church

Swedeborg Christian Church

Washington Chapel Church of Christ

New Hope Christian Church

Mt. Zion Christian Church

Antioch Christian Church

Bigfork Christian Church

Central Christian Church

Mountain Life Ministries

BEFORE CLOSURE

AFTER REGATHERING

San Bernardino Church of Christ

Encounter Christian Church

Real Life Church

Discover Point

First / Central Christian Church

BEFORE CLOSURE

BAPTISMS

L O C AT I O N

LEAD MINISTER

WEBSITE

YEAR S TA R T E D

San Bernardino

Royce Bell

faithlight.org

1908

Cedar Rapids

Caleb Plumb

encountercc.org

2003

Sheridan

Ryan Charest

reallifesheridan.com

2015

Kettering

Tracy Wright

discoverpointchurch.org

2017

Lockland

Don Stowell

locklandchristian.org

Waynesburg

Scott Chambers

wbgchristian.com

1890

Lexington

Tim Brokaw

midlandschristian.org

1995

Belton

Bill Mieir

newhopechristianbelton.com

1990

Owingsville

Bill Teegarden

peeledoakchristianchurch.com

1915

Stella

John D. States

Bushnell

Neapolis

1921

David G. Campbell

bushnellchristianchurch.com

1954

Jeff Kimberly

neapolischurch.com

1872

Palmer

Bill Lance

Ubly

Austin Keller

ublychristianchurch.org

Tualatin

Loren Doty

tualatinhills.org

Wooster

Dab Kirtlan

Crossville

Kingsport

Hamersville

1949 2018 1896 fcc-crossville.org

1898

John Owston

belvuechristianchurch.org

1947

David Hennig

hamersvillechurchofchrist.com

1860

Las Cruces

Herb Pinney Sr.

agapechristianchurch.net

1999

Republic

Bruce Hayes

westsidechristian.church

1971

Vine Grove

Evan Hardwick

vinegrovecc.com

1939

Metamora

Bob McIntyre

metamoracc.org

1841

Riverton

Scott Muller

ccriverton.com

1940

Leitchfield

Lee Schroerlucke

Warrensburg

Todd Frick

Akron

Florissant

Douglas Lay

Richland

Bill Towns

1868 1970 coventrycrossingchurch.org

1977

everydayfellowship.org

2015

Minburn

Jim Edmondson

Creston

C. Ermal Allen

newhopechristian.faith

Santa Claus

Vienna

Carl Sweatman

antiochccvienna.org

1903

Bigfork

bigforkchristian.org

1978

Toledo

Dennis Nagy

1872

Idaho City

Brent Adamson

2003

Cheneyville

1866 2005 1835

1843

SPOTLIGHT

A F T E R 15 0 Y E A R S , S TA R T I N G F R E S H

At Central Christian Church in Toledo, Ohio, it’s not uncommon for children to get out of their seats and walk around during sermons. At times, a curious child might even approach the pulpit and strike up a conversation with Dennis Nagy as he preaches. Central Christian is not disorganized, undisciplined, or chaotic. Nor is the church pioneering an interactive approach to teaching the Scriptures. Rather, the congregation is home to a higherthan-average number of families with children who have autism. Nagy is in his second tenure with Central. He first served there around 20 years ago but left in 2003 to pursue other callings in ministry. He returned to the congregation in October 2020 after a 17-year absence. In those intervening years, Central Christian Church struggled, and attendance dwindled. Only one elder remained when the church’s preacher died of COVID-19 earlier in 2020.

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That elder, David Valleroy, has been a longtime, faithful member of the congregation; he and his wife have continued to serve the church and the surrounding community as Central experienced a slow decline over nearly two decades. During that time, with the church’s building often underutilized, Central began renting rooms to a local school for children with autism. Many of the children at the school came from families that were struggling, and so the Valleroys reached out to the families one by one, providing food or other necessities and inviting them to attend church on Sunday. When COVID-19 took the life of Central’s preacher last year, David Valleroy contacted Nagy and invited him back to resume his ministry in Toledo.

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

L O C AT I O N TOLEDO, OHIO

“The church was trying to get things started again,” Nagy said. With few people or resources at their disposal, he said, the church simply committed “to do the basic things that Christ intended”—preaching the Word and loving people. Upon returning, Nagy discovered that many of the church’s new families had been introduced to the Valleroys while their children attended classes in the church building during the week. Most of those families were previously unchurched, in part because, as Nagy said, “It’s uncomfortable for parents of children with autism to sit in a traditional church assembly.” In order to love and serve those families, Central is committed to making Sunday morning a comfortable experience for children and their parents, even if it means allowing the sermon to occasionally be interrupted by a curious youngster. “We let the children do what they want to do while going through our services,” Nagy said. Central Christian Church has been around since 1872, making it one of the oldest churches in the Toledo area, yet its current approach to ministry is most unusual. Naturally, not everyone at the church is raising a child with autism, but the congregation is adjusting its ministry and learning new ways to reach people who need the gospel.

FOUNDED 1872

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 11

SENIOR MINISTER DEN N I S NAGY

After nearly 150 years as a church, Nagy said, “we’re basically starting fresh.” 

FA C E B O O K /CENTRAL-CHRISTIAN-CHURCH162847190508351

SPOTLIGHT

E X AC T LY W H AT T H I S V E R Y SMALL CHURCH NEEDED

Advancing their technology has never been a top priority at Alvadore Christian Church, a congregation of about 65 people in the small, rural town of Junction City, Oregon. It’s not that senior pastor Marcus Omdahl is old-fashioned. Omdahl is a sharp young leader with a wife and school-age daughter. But until recently, he understood that livestreaming was not something the congregation or the community was likely to embrace. Of course, that all changed with the spread of COVID-19 early in 2020. Immediately, Alvadore Christian, like so many other churches, suspended in-person worship services and began offering programming online. Prior to the state’s stay-home orders, Omdahl had expected to introduce video services in three to four years. Instead, he said, “It went from a want to a need.” Naturally, it was not easy for such a small congregation to implement digital Sunday services. At first, Alvadore pre-recorded its Sunday broadcast. When the church decided to switch to livestreaming, the costs were prohibitive. Local audiovisual companies offered price quotes far exceeding the congregation’s modest budget, so Omdahl contacted a friend who

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suggested equipment that would do the job for about 10 percent of the cost. It was exactly what the church needed at the time—not too elaborate, but not too amateurish. “The key for us has been trying to avoid the extremes” by providing a reliable online broadcast without a lot of unnecessary production, Omdahl said. Still, less than two months into the pandemic, the congregation was eager to meet together again. “It felt like we were losing ground,” Omdahl said. For Easter Sunday and Mother’s Day, the church offered services in its parking lot. Beginning in June, ACC held outdoor services on the church lawn. By the fall, local authorities allowed the congregation to begin meeting in the building again. So much change might have been unsettling to another small church, but Omdahl didn’t see it as disorganized or chaotic. It was purposeful. “The message to the congregation was, ‘You’re really important, whether you’re online, in the parking lot, or inside,’” he said. Alvadore Christian created “multiple levels of participation” for its members in 2020, though the church was not trying to please everyone. It was trying to please God. Omdahl said three biblical principles guided the church’s decision-making: submitting to authorities, sacrificing personal freedom, and the mission to reach the lost—many of whom were scared and hungry for the truth. Unlike many larger churches, attendance at Alvadore Christian Church was not negatively impacted by the pandemic. Because the church is small, the leaders know who is and isn’t present each week. While Alvadore’s people are now going to church in a variety of new ways, they’re still going. And more are coming. In the first few weeks of 2021, Alvadore Christian Church baptized four new believers, ranging in age from 10 to 85. “This has not been easy for us,” Omdahl said, “but those baptisms remind me that this little church is feeding souls.” 

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH A LVA D O R E C H R I S T I A N CHURCH

L O C AT I O N J U N C T I O N C I T Y, OREGON

FOUNDED 18 89

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 63

BAPTISMS 3

SENIOR MINISTER M A RCUS O M DA H L

WEBSITE ALVADORECHRISTIAN.COM

FA C E B O O K /ALVADORE-CHRISTIANCHURCH-141370206474

SPOTLIGHT

R E AC H I N G A N YO N E ' W I T H G A R B AG E '

Catalyst Church is reaching people of all races, educational backgrounds, and socioeconomic levels in Greensboro, North Carolina. And though the congregation is diverse, most attendees share one thing in common: a lack of a formal church background. Lead pastor Scott Haulter estimates that 90 percent of people in the church have been introduced or reintroduced to Jesus through Catalyst. Haulter grew up in a non-Christian family, one of three sons raised by a single mother in a low-income part of Columbus, Ohio. When he was a teenager, one of his brothers began attending an area church with a friend. Both boys were shocked

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to learn the youth pastor had a criminal history as a drug dealer and gangster. The leader was not ashamed of his past or the good news of the gospel, which helped in attracting a high percentage of “street kids” and drug dealers to the group.

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH C ATA LY S T C H U R C H

“That youth pastor,” Haulter remembered, “loved us like nobody’s business.” Haulter gave his life to Christ through the ministry of that gangster-turned-pastor, and eventually enrolled in Bible college. When he started a church nearly a decade after graduation, he didn’t feel called to the inner city or another low-income neighborhood. Instead, with a launch team of about 25 people, he planted Catalyst Church in 2009 in what he called “a big-money area.” His stated goal was “to establish a new church for people who don’t typically feel comfortable in traditional churches.” For the last decade, Catalyst Church has successfully communicated the gospel with the wealthiest and poorest of its unchurched neighbors. “We do a good job of reaching nonchurched people” regardless of race or income level, Haulter said. Even those who don’t think of themselves as “non-Christians” when they first visit Catalyst tend to be far from God. One recent visitor described himself as a Christian but hadn’t been to church in 25 years. Haulter says his no-nonsense style of ministry may be “too rough around the edges” for a lot of Christian people, though recently the church has started to attract believers who grew up in church and recently moved to the area. Haulter came to know Christ through a youth pastor who reached all kinds of people, and he’s committed to doing the same—in fact, it’s the church’s highest priority. On a typical Sunday morning, worshippers at Catalyst include regulars at the local biker bar and families who earn close to a million dollars per year. They all respond to the no-frills gospel message and they understand it’s available to anyone because all have sinned. “I believe everybody comes in with garbage,” Halter said. “A non-Christian? They have garbage. A Christian transferring from another congregation? They have garbage, too. It’s OK. We love to reach people that other churches don’t.” 

L O C AT I O N GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

FOUNDED 2009

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 12 3

BAPTISMS 3

SENIOR MINISTER S C O T T H A U LT E R

WEBSITE CATALYSTCHURCH.ORG

FA C E B O O K /CATALYSTCHURCHNC

I N S TA G R A M @CATALYSTCHURCHNC

SPOTLIGHT

A CHURCH CHANGES I T S M E TA B O L I S M

Catalyst Christian Church of Nicholasville, Kentucky, is a small congregation with a big vision to plant churches. “We want to be a church that has children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,” said senior pastor David Kibler. Inspired by the church-planting legacy of congregations like East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Kibler started Catalyst in 2008 with a goal of being a church that plants churches. Catalyst was a “ground zero plant” with no formal support or backing from an evangelistic association or other organization.

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Kibler worked multiple jobs to support himself and his family during Catalyst’s early years. It was difficult work, but Kibler was committed to the calling. More recently, the church has been “extremely healthy” and has grown by 10 to 12 percent annually.

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH

Kibler has been pleased with the congregation’s growth, but from the beginning his goal was to do more than start and lead a single church.

C ATA LY S T C H R I S T I A N CHURCH

“Young things grow fast,” he said, “but one of the signs of maturity is reproduction.” Kibler believes God intends a church to function the same way—to reproduce as it reaches maturity.

L O C AT I O N

As a result, Catalyst has been “changing its metabolism” as a church in recent years from an emphasis on growth to an emphasis on multiplication. “We have a culture of church planting here on staff,” Kibler said. To that end, Catalyst established a new role called church planter in residence. The first person to hold the position is Catalyst’s youth pastor Robert Harlamert, who plans to launch Elevate Christian Church in nearby Lexington this month (May 2021). Catalyst Christian’s culture of church planting extends to the entire congregation. Since last year, Kibler has encouraged attendees who live in Lexington to make plans to attend the new congregation when it begins meeting rather than continuing to make the roughly 10-mile drive to Catalyst. He even suggested they begin tithing to the new church in 2020, while Elevate was still in the prelaunch phase. Though Catalyst Christian Church is still relatively small, Kibler expects it to have a major impact through a long-term commitment to planting as many churches as possible. “We may never grow beyond 250 or 300 in attendance at Catalyst, but this church could have 20 or 30 ‘children,’” he said. The reason, of course, is simple: “Lost people in general are far more likely to attend church plants than established churches.”

NICHOLASVILLE, KENTUCK Y

FOUNDED 2008

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 225

BAPTISMS 18

SENIOR MINISTER D AV I D K I B L E R

WEBSITE

Catalyst’s first “daughter” church chose a nearby location, but future church plants could be located anywhere—perhaps even the Pacific Northwest or New England. Kibler isn’t limiting the church’s plans for reproduction.

CATALYSTCHRISTIAN.NET

“We’re not going to let anything dictate our vision or our work. It’s our job to be faithful to his calling.” 

FA C E B O O K /CATALYSTCHRISTIANCHURCH

TWITTER @CATALYSTNICH

SPOTLIGHT

M A K I N G A N I M PAC T THROUGH SERVICE

Service is a way of life at Discovery Church in Bristol, Tennessee. The church was founded on a culture of service that has endured throughout the congregation’s 10-year history. Discovery’s current lead pastor, Matt Korell, served as a missionary in Taiwan before accepting the call to lead the church, and his experience overseas impressed upon him the importance of service. “This church has a spirit of serving,” Korell said, and that spirit is part of what attracted him to Discovery. One tradition at the church is “Sent to Serve” Sunday; these take place typically four times a year on the fifth Sunday of the month. In 2020, the first Sent to Serve Sunday was celebrated on March 29, just weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A typical Sent to Serve Sunday at Discovery involves a lot of personal, face-to-face interaction. The congregation typically gathers at 9:30 a.m. for a worship song and Communion, then the people disperse to various sites in the community. Historically, Discovery Church members have assisted at local nursing homes and homeless shelters, delivered food, and even provided medical help for low-income residents in the area. This hands-on approach has earned Discovery a reputation as a serving church, and local organizations ranging from schools to pregnancy centers, and even city government, have requested assistance from the congregation. But when Sent to Serve occurred just weeks into the coronavirus lockdown, the church introduced an option for members to participate without leaving home. Participants baked cookies, wrote cards to frontline workers and nursing home residents, and prepared other gifts for delivery to those in need. “It wasn’t difficult to serve in that situation, but it was different,” Korell said. Eventually, Discovery hosted all four of its regularly scheduled Sent to Serve Sundays in 2020. As the year went on, the church added other coronavirus-safe options. Participants visited nursing homes but maintained social distance by knocking on windows and visiting with seniors through the glass. Discovery Church members delivered hot meals to low-income residents at a local apartment complex and served food in an outdoor setting downtown. On the fifth Sunday in November, volunteers from Discovery Church put Christmas decals on the windows at the nursing home, to the delight of the residents. The Sent to Serve program is a cornerstone of Discovery’s ongoing ministry, but it’s hardly the only way the church serves its neighbors. Korell said the church’s goal is “to make an impact through service.” Some small groups regularly serve together in addition to meeting for Bible study, and the church opened its building at times during the pandemic to serve as a remote learning center for children who needed access to reliable internet connections. Through these regular, repeated acts of service, Korell said Discovery is fulfilling its mission to “help people discover Jesus and their place in his story.” 

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH DI SCOVERY CHURCH

L O C AT I O N BRISTOL , TENNESSEE

FOUNDED 2 0 11

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 373

BAPTISMS 8

SENIOR MINISTER M AT T H E W KO R E L L

WEBSITE DISCOVERYBRISTOL.COM

FA C E B O O K /DISCOVERYBRISTOL

I N S TA G R A M @DISCOVERYBRISTOL

SPOTLIGHT

T H A N K S T O COV I D -19, C H U R C H C U LT U R E C H A N G E S

For years, lead pastor Tim Boyd and the leaders at Westside Christian Church in Bradenton, Florida, felt called to increasingly engage with the surrounding community. The people of Westside periodically participated in small service projects and the church had a relationship with a local nonprofit called Downtown Ministries, but community involvement had never been a defining characteristic of the congregation. Until 2020. In the early days and weeks of the pandemic, Boyd remembered being surprised at how quickly things shut down. Westside suspended its in-person worship, prerecorded its Sunday services for streaming online, and then reopened when the state of Florida relaxed guidelines for group gatherings. But the constant change was not a primary concern because the Sunday worship experience suddenly had become secondary to acts of service.

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SPOTLIGHT CHURCH

When stay-at-home orders were first issued and lockdowns were being strictly observed, the people of Westside Christian Church quickly shifted to an emphasis on serving their neighbors. The church tried putting it in perspective: “We’re stuck at home, but what would be even worse? Not having a home at all.” That compassionate viewpoint quickly changed the culture at Westside. Boyd said the church’s members stopped focusing on their own suffering and started looking at those around them, many of whom had more severe struggles. Downtown Ministries was a natural place to start. The church began with small acts such as collecting granola bars, cereal, and other nonperishable foods. The congregation responded generously by overfilling a 55-gallon drum with donations every week. And the outpouring was more than just a short-term, emotional response created by the stay-at-home advisories. A year has passed, and Westside members are still filling that barrel with donations of food for Downtown Ministries almost every week. When Florida began easing COVID-19 restrictions, people from Westside quickly began volunteering in-person at Downtown Ministries. The Westsiders did far more than serve food; they developed relationships with the area’s homeless people. One of the church’s elders met a young man at Downtown Ministries who gave his life to Christ and was baptized. When the church learned the young man was living far from his nearest family member, Westside paid for a ticket so he could go and live with his grandmother. The church’s service to the surrounding community has spread beyond Downtown Ministries. WCC’s members are now serving with a local women’s shelter and ministering to foster children on a regular basis. Boyd said the church’s culture has completely changed. He often hears people discussing their latest volunteer efforts with each other on Sunday mornings. After years of praying for the change, he is amazed at the speed with which God brought it about, and the way he did it. “If it wasn’t for COVID, there’s no way it would have gone this quickly.” 

WESTSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

L O C AT I O N B R A DE NTO N , FLO R I DA

FOUNDED 19 6 4

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 408

BAPTISMS 14

SENIOR MINISTER T I M B OY D

WEBSITE WESTSIDECHRISTIANCHURCH.COM

FA C E B O O K /WESTSIDECHRISTIANCHURCH

I N S TA G R A M @WCCBRADENTON

SPOTLIGHT

DELIVERING G R O C E R I E S A N D J OY

At Crossroads Christian Church in Macon, Missouri, the biggest wins of 2020 came in the form of spontaneous acts of service. In a year filled with unexpected challenges and unexpected ministry opportunities, Crossroads found two simple but significant ways to bless their neighbors. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners of the local grocery store asked the church to assist with deliveries. For years, the store had delivered groceries to elderly residents in the community each week, but when the first stay-at-home orders were issued, it was impossible to keep up with the increased demand. Volunteers from Crossroads agreed to deliver groceries, but suddenly seniors weren’t the only ones who wanted their groceries brought to their door. Instead of delivering once a week, the church’s volunteers went shopping and delivered food to families throughout the community three days a week.

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SPOTLIGHT CHURCH CROSSROADS CHRISTIAN CHURCH

The program ran for three months, meeting a very practical need during a time when many schools and businesses were closed and when many people were afraid to leave their homes. “When the world closed its doors,” said lead minister Matt Stieger, “we were able to continue to serve.” Later in the year, as the Christmas season approached, the leaders at Crossroads imagined a very different way to serve their neighbors. By that time, the church was holding limited inperson worship services with distanced seating, but it was clear large Christmas services would not be possible. Still, Stieger said, “We wanted to bring a lot of joy to people living in darkness.” Using funds from the 2020 budget that were not spent earlier in the year, Crossroads purchased 30,000 Christmas lights and created a simple but bold display. Half the lights were used to decorate a single large maple tree at the edge of the church property, and the other half were arranged on the grass nearby to spell out the word JOY in oversized letters. The lights were visible from the highway that runs past the church property. The people of Macon almost immediately nicknamed the display “The Joy Tree,” and it became a destination for locals seeking safe and festive activities during the holiday season. Families visited the church property every day to see the tree, and many posed for photos in front of it. Eventually, the tractor dealer next door to the church added an oversized light display of its own, decorating a large field sprayer on its lot. Both the grocery delivery program and The Joy Tree were rather spontaneous decisions, and Stieger doesn’t know if either one will be part of Crossroads Christian Church’s ministry in 2021. “Our plans are pretty loose right now,” he said. It’s precisely that attitude of openness and flexibility that allows Stieger and the Crossroads team to fulfill the church’s vision to “connect people to Jesus and love our community.” 

L O C AT I O N MACO N , M I SSOUR I

FOUNDED 19 7 3

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 4 67

BAPTISMS 6

SENIOR MINISTER M AT T S T I E G E R

WEBSITE MACOMBCROSSROADS.COM

FA C E B O O K /MACONCROSSROADS

TWITTER @MACONCROSSROADS

SPOTLIGHT

A N A L L - N AT I O N S K I N D O F FA I T H

Hikes Point Christian Church is a 22-year-old congregation on the southeastern edge of Louisville. The church meets in a building that originally was home to Southeast Christian Church. Located just outside of downtown Louisville, the Hikes Point neighborhood has changed significantly since Southeast Christian built its first home there decades ago. Today, a growing number of residents in the immediate vicinity are Latino or Hispanic. Many of them speak only Spanish. Ten years ago, Hikes Point began offering a free back-to-school clinic that provided basic medical care, haircuts, certain other services, and academic supplies. Every year, roughly 60 percent of the attendees at those events were Spanish speakers. Until recently, however, the church did not offer a specific, long-term ministry for their low-income neighbors, or for non-English speakers.

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Not long ago, Hikes Point hired a Spanish-speaking pastor to start a Spanish-language service on Sunday mornings, and the response from the community was swift. The church’s location is so ideal that many people who attended the Spanish service on Sundays walked there. The group quickly outgrew its space and moved to a larger room on campus. The success of the new service was a victory for the congregation and for the neighborhood, but it quickly became clear God was leading the church to be united despite the language barrier. In December, Hikes Point launched a combined English/Spanish worship service with a full-time translator. By worshipping together, English- and Spanish-speaking believers at Hikes Point are experiencing a new kind of Christian unity on Sunday mornings. Not only are they worshipping together, but they’re also serving side-by-side as ushers, greeters, and more. The leadership of the church is starting to change, too. Hikes Point recently added a Spanish-speaking deacon who will soon become part of the church staff.

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH HIKES POINT CHRISTIAN CHURCH

L O C AT I O N LOUISVILLE, KENTUCK Y

FOUNDED 19 9 9

Lead pastor Jeff Wallace said he expects to see even greater things in the future. The church is investigating the possibility of adding an Arabic translator for its multi-language worship service. Eventually, Wallace said, “Our greater hope is to create an all-nations kind of service.”

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E

In addition to ministering to people who speak different languages, Hikes Point Christian Church is also facilitating reconciliation among people of different races—including Black and White residents of the community. The racial reconciliation is desperately needed in Louisville, which was deeply divided after the killing of Breonna Taylor in March 2020.

BAPTISMS

Wallace is forthright about the difficulties of ministering to multiple races in multiple languages. “We’re not really working off a lot of guidance, other than a lot of prayer,” he said. “We’ve had to talk with our people through the challenges.” But Hikes Point Christian Church is not alone. Churches in and around Louisville have responded to the conflict and tension in the city with a message of hope and reconciliation and grace. “People want to find peace, and they’re finding it through the local churches in Louisville,” Wallace said. 

707

SENIOR MINISTER J E F F WA L L A C E

WEBSITE HIKESPOINTCHRISTIAN.COM

FA C E B O O K /HIKESPOINTCHRISTIAN

I N S TA G R A M @HIKESPOINTCHRISTIAN

SPOTLIGHT

BOLD PEOPLE E X E R C I S I N G B O L D FA I T H

At a church as large and well-established as New Life Christian in Chantilly, Virginia, it might be tempting to get complacent. Prior to the arrival of coronavirus early in 2020, New Life helped create the Exponential Network, planted more than 300 churches, and regularly attracted thousands of people to worship services every Sunday. Still, senior pastor Brett Andrews was convinced the church needed something else: boldness. Andrews and the leaders at New Life wanted to get better at reproducing disciples, not just reproducing churches. For the last three years, the church has striven to increase and improve its discipleship efforts. New Life created training programs and “gave people good tools.” But, Andrews observed, many people in the church were still hesitant to share their faith.

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In 2020, with worship services streaming online and small groups unable to meet in person, Andrews said it became difficult to track traditional church benchmarks like weekly attendance. New Life knew it was time to start measuring something else. It was time to start effectively evaluating the church’s discipleship efforts. Unlike attendance, however, discipleship is difficult to quantify. Discipleship is anything but an objective metric. Wanting to create a church of bold disciples, New Life shifted its focus from teaching and providing “discipleship tools” to asking a lot of difficult questions: What does it mean to be his sheep? Do we, as a church, truly understand the depth and the power of the gospel? Are we really experiencing it? Andrews began teaching the church to boldly pursue both Christ and the lost. He believes boldness and discipleship are indelibly intertwined. “As leaders, we discovered that we could give people good tools, but if they lack confidence and boldness, then discipleship doesn’t happen,” Andrews said. He began with simple steps like telling everyone in the congregation to search their phone’s contact list for someone who needed to hear the gospel.

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

L O C AT I O N C H A N T I L LY, V I R G I N I A

FOUNDED 19 9 3

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 1 , 412

The key to boldness is developing a heart for the lost, he said. In other words, being a disciple means creating disciples. “If you’re a disciple without a disciple, then you’re not really a disciple. It’s a very personal approach.”

BAPTISMS

Programs and plans don’t do the work of discipleship. People do.

SENIOR MINISTER

Of course, for New Life, the process has been far from flawless. Teaching thousands of people to think and act boldly is not easy, but the church is not deterred.

BRETT ANDREWS

“There’s not always success but there’s always the Holy Spirit’s activity.”

WEBSITE

Andrews repeatedly quotes from the book of Acts when talking about boldness. He said the book is full of bold people exercising bold faith, and Acts even ends with a certain boldness—in a circumstance that was particularly relevant in 2020. “At the end of Acts, Paul was stuck in a house, but he was still bold,” Andrews said. “Being stuck in a house didn’t hinder the gospel then, and it shouldn’t hinder the gospel now.” 

NEWLIFE.CHURCH

FA C E B O O K /NEWLIFE4ME

I N S TA G R A M @NL4ME

TWITTER @NLCC

SPOTLIGHT

GOD'S WORD BRINGS GROW TH

At the beginning of 2019, Boones Creek Christian Church in Johnson City, Tennessee, started a three-year sermon series on the Trinity. Senior minister David Clark planned to spend a year preaching and teaching on God the Father, a year on the person of Christ, and a year on the Holy Spirit. In 2020, the focus was on Jesus. David Eversole, the church’s administrative minister, recalled that the first two months of 2020 were an encouraging time for the congregation because of the churchwide emphasis on learning about Jesus. Not only were the Sunday sermons all about Jesus, so were the children’s programs and small groups. All ages were focused on Jesus. In January and February 2020, Boones Creek celebrated an unusually high number of baptisms and transfers. The church was

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averaging more than 1,000 in attendance for the first time. Then in March—due to COVID-19’s arrival—Clark had to decide if he should continue with a year of sermons about Jesus or switch to a more topical teaching series to address the pandemic. Clark resolved to keep preaching about Jesus. And so, while the sermon series didn’t change, nearly everything else did. Along with thousands of other churches, Boones Creek suspended its in-person services and transitioned to online gatherings on Sunday mornings. The church purchased additional video streaming equipment and expanded a qualified team that included an employee from the local NBC affiliate, but they did not advertise or promote the digital worship experience outside of a letter to the congregation. Still, the church continued reaching new people. Boones Creek Christian Church recorded 70 total additions in 2020, one of their largest growth years on record. Even offerings were up almost 5 percent over 2019. Clark has no doubt about the reason. “It was the Scripture doing it.” By continuing to preach about Christ, Clark allowed the simple message of the gospel to do its work during a time of extreme uncertainty. Even when the congregation wasn’t meeting in person, Boones Creek made it easier than ever for people to make a decision for Christ. The church already had a system in place for attendees to submit prayer requests by text message. Early in the pandemic, Clark concluded one of his sermons by inviting people to send a text “for prayer—or to make a decision.” That very small change was significant, and it worked. New believers in the online congregation began texting the church with their desire to be baptized. Clark is humble and jovial with a self-effacing sense of humor, and he’s quick to give glory to God for the growth at Boones Creek. “I’m not the best preacher in the world,” he said, “but we’ve had a huge influx of new people.” Even today, more people are attending the church’s services online than in person. And Clark is quick to credit Scripture for the church’s growth. 

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH BOONES CREEK CHRISTIAN CHURCH

L O C AT I O N J O H N S O N C I T Y, TENNESSEE FOUNDED 18 2 5

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 1 ,9 8 2

BAPTISMS 34

SENIOR MINISTER D AV I D C L A R K

WEBSITE BOONESCREEKCC.ORG

FA C E B O O K /BOONESCREEKCC

I N S TA G R A M @BOONESCREEKCC

TWITTER @BOONESCREEKCC

SPOTLIGHT

NO NEEDS MEETS MANY NEEDS

The first few months of 2020 brought a series of major changes to 2|42 Community Church. First, the church added three new campuses, increasing its total number of locations from four to seven. Next, founding pastor David Dummitt departed after accepting the call to serve as senior pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Then, of course, the pandemic shut down live worship services at all seven of the congregation’s campuses. Despite all of that, executive pastor Eric Rauch said the most significant event of 2020 was “The No Needs Project,” a monthlong, churchwide initiative that helped meet individual needs during the Christmas season. The No Needs Project was inspired by the “Big Give,” a single day of service and generosity 2|42 Church had organized in previous years.

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SPOTLIGHT CHURCH 2 |42 COMMUNIT Y CHURCH

In 2020, Rauch and 2|42’s other leaders were inspired to expand on the Big Give concept with a goal of meeting every need in the community. Rather than building an elaborate, staff-run program, 2|42 created a website, NoNeedsProject.com, where anyone from the surrounding area could submit a need and anyone from the church could sign up to meet it. The system was simple —essentially a digital bulletin board inspired in part by PrayerLoft, a web application that allows people to post and pray for specific requests. The purpose of the No Needs Project website was to facilitate connections between individuals as quickly as possible with minimal administrative work. “To make it work, it had to be really simple,” Rauch said. It was indeed a really simple system—and it really worked. In just three weeks, the people of 2|42 received and met more than 1,800 needs through the No Needs Project website. Requests ranged from small and predictable items like winter clothes, groceries, and help with household projects . . . on up to major items like reliable transportation. By the time the project concluded on December 20, five vehicles had been given to families in need, and several 2|42 members were being tested as potential donors for an individual in need of a kidney. The church did not specifically track each interaction facilitated by the No Needs Project, but Rauch estimates the total value of the goods and services exchanged between individuals easily exceeded $500,000. In a year of transition when, as Rauch said, “all churches are in an incredible season of refinement,” 2|42 Community Church found a new way to love people by empowering everyone in the congregation to give as they were able or to receive as they had need. “I can’t think of a better way for the church to end 2020,” said Rauch as he reflected on the ways God used his people. 

L O C AT I O N MICHIGAN

FOUNDED 2003

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 7, 61 0

BAPTISMS 286

SENIOR MINISTER STEVE LARSON

WEBSITE 242COMMUNITY.COM

FA C E B O O K /242COMMUNITY

I N S TA G R A M @242COMMUNITY

SPOTLIGHT

MORE THAN JUST A NAME CHANGE

Until recently, ONE&ALL Church was known as Christ’s Church of the Valley. The church changed its name when it began expanding its multisite model outside of Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley. Today, ONE&ALL Church has campuses as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, and Pakistan. Its worship services are also broadcast daily on Christian radio into many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Indonesia. Through partnerships with various Christian radio networks, ONE&ALL Church is transmitting the gospel to remote parts of the globe—what senior pastor Jeff Vines calls “unreachable places.” Vines explained that in many parts of the world, especially those without high-speed internet access, radio is still the primary medium of choice for most residents.

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ONE&ALL Church established its international radio ministry because of Vines’s history as a missionary. Prior to his ministry in Southern California, he spent 10 years as a missionary in Africa and 10 years in New Zealand. Though he has now lived in California for more than a decade, Vines’s sermons are heard around the world on Christian radio every day. Many countries carry the original English broadcast of ONE&ALL’s weekly service, and some services are translated into local languages. Back home in Southern California, the vision of ONE&ALL Church is to reach its entire region with four campuses in the San Gabriel Valley and a “care center” centrally located between them. The care center provides food, temporary housing, and more than 100 counselors as a community service. The goal was to make the care center easily accessible to residents of the entire region by locating it in the geographic center of the valley, Vines explained. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, ONE&ALL’s care center served about 2,500 visitors monthly. In 2020, that number roughly quadrupled—to 2,500 weekly. As a result, the city declared ONE&ALL an essential service provider. ONE&ALL Church hopes to repeat the model of four church sites with a care center “in the middle” in regions outside of Southern California. Not unlike the church’s radio ministry, the vision has been embraced by churches outside the United States. Some international congregations are already implementing the model, and others are going one step further by becoming satellite campuses of ONE&ALL Church. A church on Australia’s Gold Coast will be the first congregation outside the United States to implement the ONE&ALL model of four church campuses and a care center. Vines believes the timing and the location are perfect. “People are really hurting there,” he said. “COVID has taken it to another level.”

SPOTLIGHT CHURCH ONE& ALL CHURCH

L O C AT I O N SAN DIMAS, CALIFORNIA & I N T E R N AT I O N A L FOUNDED 19 7 3

W E E K LY AT T E N D A N C E 10,028

BAPTISMS 2,292

SENIOR MINISTER JEFF VINES

A congregation in New Zealand hopes to be the next one to implement the model. Many other congregations in faraway locations are revitalizing and reimagining their local ministry with sermon recordings and other tools provided by ONE&ALL Church. For Vines and ONE&ALL, the ultimate vision is to meet the needs of people— whether locally or outside the United States. After all, as Vines said, “I’m a missionary at heart.” 

WEBSITE ONEANDALL.CHURCH

FA C E B O O K /ONEANDALLCHURCH

I N S TA G R A M @ONEANDALLCHURCH

I’M EXPECTING AN

AWAKENIN G ! THROUGH THE LESSONS OF 2020, GOD HAS MADE US READY TO GROW By Jerry Harris

m ay/j une 20 21 83

No matter where you live in the world, it seems there’s always a susceptibility to some form of natural disaster. With some disasters, like floods or hurricanes, there is ample warning to save lives and minimize damages. Others, like earthquakes or tornadoes, provide very little or any warning. I grew up in the Midwest where basements and cellars were vital retreat spaces when tornadoes were forecast. COVID-19 was completely different. There was nowhere to run and no way to run—it was impossible to get out of its way. The microscopic enemy was no respecter of boundaries, politics, economics, culture, age, or education. It spread over the entire globe; people largely were ignorant and defenseless against it. The devastation was catastrophic, as the coronavirus killed over 2.5 million people and infected more than 100 million. The United States—with all its wealth, state-of-the-art health care and infrastructure, and academic and medical acumen—was the hardest hit nation, enduring twice as many deaths of any other country and nearly triple the infections. Extreme measures were introduced, including lockdowns, quarantining, mandated mask-wearing, social distancing, shuttering of many businesses, closing of church buildings and gatherings, and countless other attempts to manage the devastation of this invisible enemy. At the same time, racial tensions and political polarization began to take a toll on the American psyche. Altogether, a perfect storm formed over this nation like no one living had ever experienced. In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon reminded us that for everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. The political season has now come and gone, for the most part; the racial, cultural, and civil unrest is being addressed and re-examined; and new infections of COVID-19 have waned by more than 80 percent as of this writing, while multiple vaccinations are taking aim at bringing about herd immunity. Now is the time to evaluate our reaction to COVID-19, learn from it, and form a response that honors God and the mission to which he has called us.

c hristia n sta nda rd 84

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED The first thing I learned from 2020 is the truth about “the illusion of control.” I spent many hours this past year in Zoom meetings listening to church leaders make decisions in real time as we attempted to manage through the crisis . . . but no one had a crystal-clear picture of the right decisions to make. Early in the pandemic, some church leaders decided to keep their churches closed for many months. Some churches decided in May to keep their buildings closed into fall or throughout all of 2020. They had no idea that a second surge in the pandemic would occur at precisely the time they planned to reopen. Many took strong positions on masking without considering the 33 percent rule—that no matter what decision was made, two-thirds of a congregation would disagree with it on some level. Many felt compelled to speak to the cultural divide only to be swept up into the very division they were speaking out against. At a time when grace should have been overflowing, in many circumstances it was in short supply. I have been reminded that Jesus’ words about not worrying about tomorrow apply to the big things as well as the small things. Long-term planning is in many ways an illusion. As Randy Frazee says in his latest book, His Mighty Strength, I need to stop trying more and start trusting more. I have learned that the same challenges in leading a church from “the illusion of control” also apply to leading a nation through a pandemic. No matter who you might have supported politically, nobody had (or has) all of the right answers. Your politics is an empty well from which many try to draw faith. Instead, faith can come only from springs of living water found in God’s Word and a relationship with Jesus. I have learned to take to heart the words of Jesus’ half-brother: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1:19-20). Social media is not a listening platform or a thoughtful communication platform. I have also learned that while online worship is an incredible resource for first impressions and for filling in gaps in a highly mobile culture, it cannot replace in-person gatherings . . . it just can’t. The 10 prescriptions in Acts 2:41-47 are not

optional. The church instituted by Jesus has an authority structure that cannot exist in an online experience. The body ministers through a vast array of gifting that reflects Christ himself, and that gifting greatly exceeds chat hosts—as good as they might be—and so it cannot be fully realized in an online experience. The fellowship the church exemplifies is described in all of the New Testament’s “oneanother” passages, and much of that cannot take place virtually. This became vividly clear as churches began to regather, with the many stories of people weeping uncontrollably at the joy of singing and worshipping together again. The greatest metric for this reality probably is in baptisms, which experienced a 58 percent decline from 2019 to 2020, according to our survey of 421 Christian churches detailed in this issue. If online worship were as effective as in-person worship, there should have been a surge in baptisms at regathering. As great as technology can be, sometimes it can distract us from what is genuine. I learned that even in the midst of adversity, God provides incredible benefits. As a movement of churches divided by independence and geography, it has been easy to focus on our own circumstances and remain unaware of others. To its credit, the pandemic broke down certain resistance among us to asking for help, seeking out community, and sharing the leadership burden. And while technology might not be a replacement for church gathering, it became a lifeline for leaders and networking. We leveraged our unity like never before by encouraging one another and sharing tools—by really helping each other. It was invaluable for getting through this difficult time. But mostly, I’ve learned that God was never not in control. God leveraged his people and their creativity to reach out in new ways. We built bridges in certain areas that formerly had been off-limits—with school systems, community programs, organizations, and civic leaders—and we showed that the church can be an asset, friend, mobilizer, and a great force for good. As we exit the pandemic, we have a fresh understanding of what people truly need and how to fill it with the message of Jesus.

I LLU S I O N

C O NTR O L

TH E

THERE IS A

time FOR EVERYTHING, AND A

seas on

FOR EVERY ACTIVITY UNDER THE HEAVENS. Ecclesiastes 3:1

I have heard plenty of talk about “new normals” with regard to church. I’ve heard that we must rethink church, make online our main thing, and de-emphasize in-person services. I’ve heard the church of 2019 was a dinosaur that fell into the 2020 tar pit, and that the church must evolve. I’ve been told we should never expect the church to recover to the levels it once enjoyed, and we need to relearn how to do ministry. That is not what I believe. I agree we have found new ways of reaching out and connecting with people, new ways of doing ministry that we must not neglect or forget, but I do not believe that what God has done over the centuries should now be consigned exclusively to the past. I believe we are living in the greatest time of revival for the church! I think people are longing for relationship like never before. I think people are thirsty for human contact, to see in-person expressions on other people’s faces, to be embraced and encouraged, to be surrounded by a great cloud of living witnesses praising the Lord, to hear the Word proclaimed, to engage in small circles of discipleship, to break bread together at the Lord’s table, and to rejoice in a harvest of baptisms like never before. I believe we stand in a moment of great opportunity, that a door has opened to the hearts of people who are ready to listen and engage like never before in our lifetimes. I see a people who have detangled their politics from their faith, who have learned that faith in government yields little in results, and who now better understand the Lord is who brings about real change in the human heart. While some church leaders are expecting smaller attendance or fewer decisions, I am expecting an awakening. The fact that our churches’ giving and finances weathered the pandemic so well—as the 2020 Christian Standard survey indicates—shows us that our commitment is resilient. We have shed much of what was unnecessary in our programming and come through this leaner and more focused than before. God has made us ready to grow. But how? In this age of technology, churches have gained much but also forgotten much. We have collectively

forgotten one of the best tools available for bringing people back to church and growing it greatly. The percentage of people who have returned varies by region, state, and church, but at The Crossing, which I serve, we have seen almost 70 percent of the people return to in-person attendance. I anticipate that will grow to 80 to 85 percent by Easter. How will we reach the final 15 to 20 percent of folks we haven’t seen in a long time? We are going to chase those strays and we are going to do it old school! We are making calling lists for all 11 of our locations and we are training our staff how to make calls. Let me explain . . . We are not going to send out email blasts, text messages, or make phone calls. Instead, we will be handing our staff members lists of people’s names and addresses. These workers will then get in their cars, knock on doors, ask to be invited in, sit down on couches, and engage in conversations about coming back to church. Our people—our strays— are going to see that we really care about them, how they are doing, and how they feel about how we’ve been doing. We’re going to listen carefully, we are going to value them and expand our knowledge of their circumstances and viewpoints, and we are going to grow from it both personally and as a church. As I see it, our church is figuratively in that scene from Field of Dreams where James Earl Jones says, “People will come, Ray . . . they will definitely come!” I want to be ready for it. Many years ago, I was serving a church in a small town in western Indiana. Many of the homes needed roofs, paint, siding, or just something to reverse the toll of aging on the community. Then a major tornado came through that damaged most of the homes and our church. After the initial cleanup, insurance companies, various homeowners and businesses, and civic leaders got involved and pulled the community together. Soon, a flurry of activity occurred—demolition, repairs, and reconstruction. A year or so later, the town looked fresh and new. All the damage had been cleaned up, repaired, or replaced. The town actually looked better than before the tornado. That is how I see the present situation. Tornadoes and pandemics have their times and seasons, but God is always faithful to his church. 

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NOW WHAT?

MAKE THE JUMP UNDERsTANDING WHY PEOPLE HAVEN’T COME BACK TO IN-PERSON sERVICES, DON’T GET MORE INVOLVED IN THE ChURCH, AND AvOID MANY OTHER GOOD THINGS . . . AND WHAT WE CAN DO AbOUT IT By Michael C. Mack

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Here I was again, straddling the top tube of my mountain bike on the edge of the rock drop, looking down at the gently sloped hill. The dirt was well-packed and mostly smooth—good for a safe landing after getting some air. My friends and my son urged me on. “C’mon. You’ve got this.” Why was this rock drop so intimidating to me? I wasn’t sure. I had cleared it years earlier without mishap. My buddies hit it regularly. Earlier that day I followed a 6-year-old who landed it easily. It was getting increasingly embarrassing every time I rode around it. But for three years, that’s what I did. I’d pedal toward the large, flat rock at the top of the downhill, spot my takeoff point, and . . . roll down the path to the right of the rock. Dozens of times I did this, each time thinking, I’ve got it this time, only to veer around it again. That rock drop had gotten into my head. The real obstacle wasn’t the rock itself, but my thinking about it. I had fallen into a trap of my own autopilot; over three years I had literally trained my brain and body to take the easier path, and every time I took that path, I reinforced the pattern. I had developed subconscious muscle grooves more worn than the trails at the bike park.

traPped Our brains are wonderfully made by our Creator. Pastor and clinical psychologist Wes Beavis told me our brains are able to automate many everyday tasks, reducing future effort. Plus, our brains tend to choose comfort (pleasure) over discomfort (pain). (See Dr. Beavis’s article on page 94.) The problem is that “many of our negative thoughts operate in an automatic fashion” too, according to Jeffrey S. Nevid in a Psychology Today blog. People often get trapped in a negative repeating pattern of thought or action initially caused by the brain’s proclivity to protect us from pain. Some of these patterns may have begun years ago, even in childhood. These patterns become self-destructive when they keep us from moving forward in a full and meaningful life. Getting trapped in unhealthy patterns plays out in many ways in people’s lives, many which go beyond the scope of this article. I do often wonder, however, why so many folks avoid getting involved in small groups, serving on teams at church, going on mission trips, and other worthwhile spiritual activities . . . while these same people work 70-plus hours a week or come home from their job each day and veg out on the couch all night watching the same old TV programs they’ve seen 20 times before. Part of the problem, I think, involves the safe, predictable patterns they’ve fallen into over the years. When we encourage people to get involved in ministry, we often fight against these deeply ingrained habitual traps. I’ve asked myself why I keep riding around my rock drop. Here are my five reasons (excuses):

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iT’s safe. I’m much less likely to fall and get hurt by riding around it (which is why that path is so wellworn!).

it’s saNe. Maybe it’s a bit crazy for a 60-year-old to be doing mountain bike drops, jumps, wall rides, and such.

it’s Easy. Why take the difficult path when the easy one will do?

it’s familiaR. I know what to expect because I’ve been down that path many times.

it demands littLe cOmmitment.

I can easily justify those excuses, but I know that life—the abundant life—was never meant to be safe or easy. Jesus calls his followers to something costly and risky. We were designed by our Creator to live in a wild adventure with him, often going into the unfamiliar and unknown. We are called, like Abraham, to go on a journey with God, even if we don’t know where we’re going. We’re compelled, like Paul, to go places God has called us to, though we don’t know what will happen to us there. A life worth living is one with obstacles—whether mere rock drops or huge mountains—which God empowers us to overcome. Currently, many church leaders are trying to figure out why so many people are still staying home and continuing to watch online services when they could attend in person. Why can’t they make the jump? There may be a number of reasons, with “muscle memory” likely one of them. Without realizing it, after many months of doing the same thing week after week, people are now in a habitual loop. For some folks virtual still seems safer and saner than in-person. It’s definitely easier than getting up, getting dressed, driving to the church building, finding a parking spot, and wearing a mask. Over the last year, it’s also become very familiar. And here’s the big one: It requires nearly no commitment to stay home. Watching a screen demands little of us. And when little is demanded of us, when our commitment to Christ is weakened, the church is compromised. Our devotion “to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” occurs in the environment of a community in which “all the believers [are] together” (Acts 2:42, 44, my emphasis). For people to get out of the loop, they need to retrain their habits . . . and they may need help doing so.

all the believers were together T H E Y D E VO T E D T H E M S E LV E S T O T H E A P O S T L E S ’ T E AC H I N G A N D T O F E L L OW S H I P, T O T H E BREAKING OF BREAD AND T O P R AY E R . E V E RYO N E WA S F I L L E D W I T H AW E AT T H E M A N Y WO N D E R S A N D S I G N S P E R F O R M E D BY T H E A P O S T L E S . AC T S 2 : 4 2 - 4 3

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breaKing Out I’ve discovered four simple—though not necessarily easy—steps that have helped me break out of my habitual loop of going around the rock drop (and other negative life patterns I’ve developed).

1. be Aware The first step in solving a problem is to be aware of it. Most of us have a variety of blind spots (which our friends and family members often see quite clearly!). For many life issues, we’ve been so emotionally engaged in the obstacles and living on autopilot for so long that they have become normal for us. We naturally revert to old (and often unhealthy) ways of dealing with obstacles. “Sometimes we need to ‘check ourselves before we wreck ourselves,’” says Mark Parrish, who leads a Louisville counseling service. To gain full vision of the problem, he says, you need “the courage to reach out to others around you for feedback.” This is so vital for our emotional health, he says, because “seeds of doubt can grow into full jungles with emotional watering cans.” It took me three years of riding around the rock drop to realize I made the problem worse each time I did so. I became fully aware of my issue when watching a YouTube video of another mountain biker who had a similar problem overcoming an obstacle. When he described how he, too, kept riding around a big jump, I identified with him. When I saw him overcome it, I knew I could too. Testimonies have great power for good!

2. deciDe You must choose to want to make the jump. You have to commit to the goal. Making a commitment obligates you to carry it out. There’s no turning back, for better or worse. This is a decision of the will that’s influenced by both your mind and heart (emotions). You are transformed, says Paul, “by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2, New Living Translation). This takes surrender of the easier path. For Jesus, this meant, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

3. prePare It’s unwise to make any jump without preparation. Before attempting the rock drop, I watched several videos about the right technique and then practiced on smaller drops first. I made sure my tires and suspension were properly inflated, brakes were working, and everything was tightened properly. Part of preparing yourself is retraining your mental muscles. The first two steps, awareness and deciding to make the jump, are great places to start, but there’s more to it. Your negative muscle memory has come about through training, though you may not have realized it. Actions and reactions become automatic and unconscious, like when you can drive home from work without even thinking about it. You have to retrain your brain by purposely driving a different route, for instance. I retrained my muscle memory by stopping before the approach to the drop and picturing myself sending it, riding up to it a different way, and then looking out past the drop rather than at the rock itself. All that helped.

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How can you help people return to in-person church services? A simple checklist on the church’s website may help them prepare. List your safety plans, including mask use, social distancing, how you’re handling giving and Communion, and involvement of kids, for instance. You might encourage people to try new routines. If they have rarely left the house for months, perhaps they could take part in backyard gettogethers with people in their neighborhood (with safety precautions in place, of course). Invite people to outdoor events on church grounds or set up short front-yard visits at homes. Perhaps in your online services, you could pan the camera to worshippers in the crowd so people at home can see the joy of being together. Or include brief testimonies of people who are glad to be back in-person. Another piece of advice: Whether it involves mountain biking, ministry, or just about anything else, be sure to do it all in community. Tell your friends you want to make the jump. Take them along with you on the ride! They’ll encourage you, spur you on, build you up, and instruct you. “Your crew is a big part of the experience,” said one mountain-biking YouTuber. Be sure your crew consists of the right people, though— encouraging, empowering people, and, in the case of ministry, godly, kingdom-focused allies.

4. eXecute As I approached the jump, I started feeling a bit panicky, but I had prepared for that, too. I knew that feeling was normal, and I decided beforehand it wouldn’t stop me from making the jump. I had learned not to misinterpret excitement for fear. I was actually feeling nervous energy, and I used that to propel me forward. I was sticking to the goal. Veering right was out of the question. With each pedal stroke I pictured my body position as I went off the rock, pushing my handlebars out in front of me as my wheels left the ground, and returning to a neutral position as I prepared to land. I made the jump. The first attempt was a bit clumsy; I landed a bit too front-wheel heavy because I didn’t have enough speed, but everything was fine. My son and friends let out a whoop, and so did I. I had broken out of my habitual loop and finally felt free. The next time I hit the drop with a bit more speed and it was smoother. Now I’m ready for bigger jumps! And so will our people who are stuck in their own habitual traps. Getting back to in-person services may be just the first new obstacle they clear on the exciting, joyful path of following Christ. 

Michael C. Mack serves as editor of Christian Standard. Find him on Strava at www.strava.com/athletes/mikemack.

THE POWER OF HUMAN TOUCH

THE INCREDIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN IN-PERSON CHURCH ATTENDANCE AND SPIRITUAL, MENTAL, AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BY WES BEAVIS

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I recently attended a Bible study that didn’t sit right with me. That is saying something because, since graduating from theological college decades ago, I have attended many small-group studies. From youth camps to prisons, I thought there was little chance I could be surprised by a small-group experience. So, what happened? What made this experience so peculiar? Like many churches, we emphasize the need for people to be part of a small group. As we all know, the advancement of COVID-19 has led churches to put the brakes on meeting together in person. So when my wife, Ellie, and I heard that our church was recommencing in-person Bible study groups— not virtual, not Zoom-based—we were enthusiastic to sign up. The in-person groups were to be held at various locations around the church campus. Leading up to the night, we imagined how wonderful the experience would be. We both missed people! After such a long drought of personal contact, the thought of being side-by-side with other believers and studying God’s Word was exciting. Even if we had to wear masks, it was a small price to pay. Ellie and I were just craving some close proximity with fellow Christ followers. On launch night we headed to the room at our church building where our small-group Bible study was to meet. Upon entering, something felt amiss. It was not the leaders. They were well prepared. It was not the people. They were wonderful. It was the layout of the chairs, which had been carefully arranged in a circle, positioned six feet apart. I am not an expert in geometry, but when you place 16 chairs in a circle with six feet between each chair, you can say goodbye to any sense of group intimacy. It felt weird. Everyone felt it. It was difficult to hear the person on the other side of the circle. I lost track of how many times someone said, “Could you say that again? We couldn’t hear you over here!” We were together but not really together.

There was a cognitive dissonance at work. We were trying to be a group of believers huddled together in Christian unity. Yet, the six-foot gap warned, “avoid getting too close to the person next to you.” From the perspective of being a responsible citizen of the community at large, I totally understand the need for geographical distance between people. The church was being responsible in following mandates aimed at reducing the spread of a harmful virus. However, as a clinical psychologist who has counseled many people struggling with anxiety and depression due to social-distancing mandates, I knew the layout of the room was grating against how God created us. Physical closeness is paramount to soul connection. When was the last time you went to a wedding where the bride and groom said their vows to each other while standing six feet apart? I know how powerful appropriate human touch can be in the clinical setting [special emphasis on the word appropriate]. Some time ago I was counseling a U.S. Army veteran who had been ravaged by the atrocities of war in the Middle East. A recent event had triggered an adverse mental reaction causing him to relive his battlefield trauma. He crumpled in the counseling chair. I could see he was mentally drawing into a fetal position—feeling like he was all alone—taking incoming fire from intrusive dark thoughts. At that point he needed something more substantive than words, more effective than a calming voice. I reached out and pulled him to his feet. Then I administered a therapeutic intervention that I reserve for only the most critical of situations—I gave him a hug. He sobbed as I hugged. It was the turnaround moment in the counseling session. Something happened in that moment that made him feel safe and not alone. It was a reminder there is healing in appropriate physical contact.

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SCRIPTURE AFFIRMS IT Jesus told many parables. The one I use most frequently in my clinical practice is the parable of the lost son. Perhaps that is because there is a little bit (or a lot) of “prodigal” within each of us. The pertinent part of that parable in our context is this:

“‘I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

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“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Luke 15:19-20

Notice the dialogue between the son and father as they reconnected. The son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (v. 21). Then the father said to the servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. . . .” (v. 22). Hey, wait a minute! What’s missing here? Jesus doesn’t mention the father saying anything directly to his son. Not even “I’m so glad you’re home!” or “I have missed you so much.” He did not need to. The father’s actions said it all: He ran to his son (diminishing social distancing with every step), threw his arms around him, and kissed him. Embedded in the father’s embrace was forgiveness, acceptance, and healing.

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POLLS AND SCRIPTURE CONFIRM IT A 2020 Gallup poll on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic revealed something remarkable when compared with the results from a similar pre-pandemic study from 2019. It was discovered that in most every demographic category —gender, political affiliation, race, marital status, age, household income—people’s mental health declined. COVID-19 quite obviously has had a deleterious effect on people’s mental health. On some level, the virus has been harmful to everyone. So, what did the newer Gallup poll reveal that was noteworthy? The poll covered 19 categories of people. In 18 of those categories, people’s mental health declined. But in one category, people reported improved mental health during 2020. Poll respondents who reported they attended religious services on a weekly basis during 2020 actually saw a 4 percent mental health increase. By comparison, people whose attendance at religious services was more sporadic or negligible suffered a significant decline in mental health (down 12 percent) during 2020. Empirical evidence suggests that consistent church attendance has a measurable positive impact on the mental health of people. So, going to church—that is, connecting closely with others and affirming and growing your faith within the context of the Christian community—is not only essential for spiritual growth, it can be essential for your mental health. A growing body of scientific research also supports the notion that being actively engaged in a church community is good for physical health. A metastudy that examined scientific literature from 1980 to 2014 (published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, March 2015) revealed the likelihood of mortality increases due to social isolation

(29 percent) and loneliness (26 percent). Another study (published in Redox Biology, October 2020) implicated social isolation and loneliness as playing a role in stress-induced cardiovascular disease. Science attests to the capacity of the church community being an antidote to social isolation, loneliness, cardiovascular disease, and the higher mortality rates associated with doing life alone. In short, by engaging with a community of Christ followers weekly, we position ourselves to live longer and healthier.

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OUR EXPERIENCES BEAR WITNESS TO IT As a young pastor, I served under the leadership of Barry McMurtrie, senior pastor emeritus of Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, California. When Barry was senior pastor of Wollongong Church of Christ in Australia, he had the practice of finishing the Sunday evening service by encouraging people to link hands across the auditorium. He would then pray God’s blessing over everyone. One elderly lady faithfully showed up every Sunday evening. Barry suggested to her she might prefer the early morning service, since it was quieter and not so robust musically. She replied, “I cope with the loud music because the prayer at the end of the service makes it all worthwhile. It’s the only time in my week that somebody holds my hand.” There is a reason why “contactless” Bible study felt strange to me. It is because social distance is antithetical to intimacy—and God designed us for intimacy. Forgiveness, healing, acceptance, and a dozen other factors that contribute to mental and physical health are conveyed through close human connection. The father of the prodigal son exhibited that. He restored his son’s crushed spirit with one embrace. The power of human touch and proximal closeness has been programmed into us by God for our benefit. Will we ever get back to greeting each other with a hug, sitting close to one another, or holding hands as we pray? Yes! Maybe not this week, but one day. When we do, we won’t take it for granted like we did in 2019. 

Dr. Wes Beavis has served as a pastor in Restoration Movement churches in both the United States and Australia. He is also a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in helping ministry leaders navigate the leadership journey. He has clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating the symptoms of ministry burnout, depression, anxiety, and helping ministry leaders transform negative stress into positive stress. His latest book is Let’s Talk About Ministry Burnout: A Proven Research-based Approach to the Wellbeing of Pastors. drwesbeavis.com text 949.246.7836

THE

A B C ' S OF CHASING STRAYS

BY DAVID ROADCUP, JIM ESTEP, AND GARY JOHNSON

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Chasing strays. It’s not the title of a new movie or video game. Chasing strays is a task that belongs to elders. For centuries, people have been straying from the local church. This is not a new phenomenon. While on death row, the apostle Paul was deserted by Christians (2 Timothy 4:916). Some elders in the church at Ephesus “distort[ed] the truth in order to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). For a variety of reasons, the church has experienced an age-old revolving door of members—people come, and people go. The question is, do we chase strays? We should. After all, this is one of the responsibilities of elders as we shepherd the flock. Church attendance has been declining for decades; COVID-19 simply exacerbated this phenomenon. At the height of the pandemic last summer, “one in three practicing Christians stopped attending church,” according to the Barna Group. In the third quarter of 2020, churches experienced only a 36 percent average in-person return rate after America reopened following the national lockdown, the UnStuck Group reported. Like it or not, many seats remain empty on Sunday morning, and rather than stew about it, we should do something about it. Now is the time to chase strays. As elders, we not only need to shepherd the flock, we also need to lead by example (1 Corinthians 11:1). It is essential we instill in other believers—staff, key leaders, etc.—the high value of chasing strays . . . of authentically caring for people who have walked away from the local church. The three guiding principles for doing so are as simple as ABC.

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ATTITUDE

BALANCE

How we think determines how we act and live. Case in point, when Paul admonished the Philippians for thinking more of themselves than others. Paul said they should “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” who “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8). Before we chase strays, we must have a Christlike attitude that others matter to us.

There is real risk of going to one extreme or the other with people who stray from the church. We might do nothing at all about people who have left the church, or we might focus all of our efforts on people who have left. Both extremes are hurtful to the body, and so we must strike a healthy balance.

In Luke 15, Jesus told three parables about something lost and then found: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. To Jesus, lost items mattered greatly. After all, he declared this as his most important mission, “for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). When the sheep wandered away from the flock, Jesus told how the shepherd left the ninetynine sheep and went after the stray (Luke 15:37). Similarly, elders—as shepherds of the local church—must work at pastoral care. This is not optional. Paul used a Greek imperative to command the Ephesian elders to “be shepherds of the church of God” (Acts 20:28). That same command is given to elders today. We should have been shepherding the flock and chasing strays when necessary long before the arrival of COVID-19. Yet, some elders give little or no attention to this. Maybe we have no margin of time for shepherding; after all, we are busy overseeing the church budget and reviewing bids for new HVAC units. Elders perhaps find it easier to run the church while drowning in the day-to-day because chasing strays is more difficult. Or maybe we avoid chasing strays because it hurts that people have left us, and we find it easier to just let them go as they please. No matter our excuse, as shepherds, we need to “leave the ninetynine” and go after them. After all, this is the heart of Jesus.

When we have a “Little Bo-Peep” mentality, people will feel the sting of neglect. The nursery rhyme states that Bo-Peep’s response to the sheep that strayed was to “leave them alone, and they’ll come home, wagging their tails behind them.” If we adopt the extreme of not chasing strays and assume they will return to the local church of their own accord, people will have cause to criticize the elders for not caring about them. There are many instances in the Old Testament when “shepherds of Israel” were criticized by God for not caring the for lost sheep (Ezekiel 34:7-10, et al.). As elders in the New Testament era, we must chase strays as one of our primary responsibilities. It is easy to forget about strays until we become one of them. At the other extreme, if we live-eat-breathe chasing strays to the detriment of serving those still in the church and those who are coming to faith, our neglect will be keenly felt by others. It is vitally important to have a healthy focus on those who are yet to become a part of the local church. Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church, shared that his church continues to pursue one-on-one evangelism. During COVID-19, Saddleback’s church members “have led over 16,000 people to Christ. We’re in revival. We’re averaging about 80 people a day coming to Christ—80 people a day,” Warren told Baptist News Global in December. We cannot be so driven to chase strays that we completely neglect others. Strike a healthy balance.

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CONTACT

A WORD OF CAUTION

Chasing strays requires contact. We cannot adequately shepherd people without having personal and intentional contact with them. Shepherds move among the sheep rather than remaining aloof from them. In this era of unprecedented social distancing and digital church, there are ways to leverage contact with those folks who have left. Begin conversations with people via email, text, or phone calls. Establish a place to meet for a meal or coffee. Jesus often engaged in table fellowship during his ministry, and it remains an ideal setting for us as we endeavor to care for others.

You take a risk if you try to corral a stray dog or cat. A stray animal can take on a feral nature and not want to be bothered. If you reach out to a stray dog or cat, you risk being bitten or scratched. Similarly, when chasing church strays, we may risk being wounded by people, particularly if they have been wounded or are wandering away from the faith. In such instances, remember that Paul said our struggle is not with people, but with “the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). Forgive as the Lord has forgiven us.

Ask why someone left the church. It’s a necessary question to ask strays, similar to what might be discussed during an exit interview at work. People don’t choose to leave simply because of the mask debate or political disunity. People are hurting in extraordinary ways. Emotional health and mental health are at low ebbs. Possible causes might include job losses, financial insecurity, addictions, separation, or divorce. Engage people in conversation and offer Jesus-like compassion. We must show these folks that we care, and if they choose not to return, we should bless them and pray for them as they seek a new church home. Wish them well. We’ve endured COVID-19 for more than a year, but loneliness is a pandemic on its own. Lockdowns and social distancing have caused many people to retreat into isolation, which is taking a heavy toll on many. As shepherds, the issue is not attendance but engagement. Jesus calls us into relationship with him and with one another. God is in relationship (i.e., the Trinity), and we were made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27); thus, we were made for relationship. There are more than 50 “one another” commands in the New Testament. It is not good for us to be alone (Genesis 2:18); instead, we should be in relationship with one another, especially with strays.

Love never fails. Chase strays. 

David Roadcup, Jim Estep, and Gary Johnson serve with e2: effective elders, a ministry founded in 2008 in response to the increasing need for equipping elders for leadership in the local congregation. These three men take turns writing for our regular column (see page 18).

WE W ER E M A DE F OR TH IS How You Too Can Build on Your Pandemic Compassion with Both Spiritual Justice & Social Justice

By Tyler McKenzie

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It’s been over a year since the pandemic made its presence known in Louisville, Kentucky. It has been, without rival, the most challenging season of ministry I’ve experienced. It has stretched our staff, resources, creativity, energy, and patience. We’ve dealt with people dying, members leaving, staff tapping out, and a city in need. Yet somehow, as the smoke begins to clear and we evaluate a year we would all like to forget, our church has progressed. Our God has been faithful. I’m thankful that shortly after our governor first asked Kentucky churches to stop gathering in person, we celebrated Easter. It reminded us at Northeast Christian Church that COVID-19 could not put Jesus back in the grave. Resurrection life is ours now and forever. In the first few months, this was the refrain we sewed into the hearts of our church: “We would never pray for this, but our church was made for this!” In March 2020, we made two strategic decisions. First, we decided our chief priority would be to develop a community service plan instead of a weekend service plan. Many churches scrambled to challenge government or go online when physical gatherings were suspended. Our chief concern was coming up with a breathtaking plan to meet our city’s needs. This meant disproportionately investing our resources toward helping our city, sometimes at the expense of weekend worship services. Second, we decided to cut expenses as deeply as possible so our financial resources could flow outward. We froze ministry spending. We halted a construction project. I kid you not, we even turned off the HVAC in the office. There were June days it felt like a sauna! Our only rule was that we would do everything we could not to lay off staff. We believe God honored these two decisions. There’s not enough space here to share all the stories! We transformed our empty worship center into a food pantry. We launched a small-business mentorship program. We conducted a teacher appreciation drive. We added an 11th partner school. We created a love-your-neighbor movement that went semi-viral online. We helped open a food mart in a food desert. We started a 24/7 prayer chain. We supported an elder-youth match program, mental health providers, frontline workers, and church leaders serving in predominantly Black congregations that were suffering through racial unrest.

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LOVE MEANS MORE WHEN PEOPLE ARE HURTING

BOTH–AND NOT EITHER–OR

Through all of these things, we discovered that love means more right now, because love means more when people are hurting. William Barclay, a 20th-century Scottish professor of biblical criticism, wrote, “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” We believe this is what we have seen. On the backside of this, our members are stronger. We’ve met thousands of needs. We have new partnerships with churches we never worked with before. Local media and government trust us. We have seen some of the most heart-swelling conversions. We’ve even seen a couple of our most prominent community leaders embrace Christ.

People of the world may criticize our beliefs, but they should never criticize our compassion. I believe we have more moral authority, public trust, and relational currency in our city than ever before. And I know we aren’t the only ones. I’ve been inspired by how many churches have risen up in service to their communities—from testing sites to food pantries to racial reconciliation, facility sharing, childcare services, frontline appreciation, financial generosity, mental health support, and simple acts of neighborly love. In one of our country’s hardest hours, don’t believe the headlines! It has been the finest hour for many churches!

Early on, our leadership established four values for faithfulness during the pandemic:

But now what? We must not relent! One of the mistakes evangelical churches can make is to dismiss the missional value of social action. Some churches fear it’s a slippery slope to the Social Gospel. Others see it as a waste unless it leads directly to conversions. Other churches swing the opposite direction and see it as the church’s primary role in the world. The classical evangelical position, though, has been a holistic recognition of the mutually beneficial value of both social action and spiritual conversion.

• Love for Neighbor: We will focus on self-sacrifice, not selfpreservation. • Public Witness: We will prioritize those we’re trying to reach over those we’re trying to keep. • Faithfulness to Truth: We will teach and live the hard truths no matter how unpopular. • Mission over Method: Our methods must change and adapt. Our mission is unchanging and forever.

To speak plainly, it’s both-and, not either-or. Jesus’ kingdom establishes what I’ll call here spiritual justice (which is giving sinners what they don’t deserve, grace and forgiveness) AND social justice (which is giving “the least” what they do deserve, love and dignity). Jesus gave special attention to two groups—the spiritually lost and socially marginalized. This is why when he healed people of physical sickness, he also forgave their sins. There’s a social and spiritual healing. This is why he told parables like the lost sheep, coin, and son but also told parables about serving the “least of these.” It is why Luke recorded Jesus’ first public sermon about his anointing to minister to the poor, prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19) and his last sermon before the ascension about his disciples being witnesses to the world (Acts 1:7-8). It’s both-and not either-or. The churches that continue to act in compassion and build on credibility earned during the pandemic will discover what we have, for the two fuel one another. As we evangelize the lost, we see people resurrected to unleash Jesus’ love on their neighborhoods . . . and as we build churches deeply concerned with social action, we will have a more fruitful evangelistic witness. Spiritual justice fuels social justice. Social justice fuels spiritual justice.

MISSION OVER METHOD

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FIVE STEPS TO BUILD ON THE MOMENTUM This understanding of the interrelationship of the two has grown our church in profound ways over the last six years. Here are five things we have learned that will help your church, no matter the size or locale, build on your pandemic compassion.

1. Start saying, "How can we help?" Stop saying, "Here's what we do." A friend visited the principal of a local school to offer help. She said, “My church would love to do a supply drive for you.” The principal walked her to a door and revealed a closet full of school supplies from other churches, “Thanks, but we have more than enough. That’s not what they need.” My friend replied, “Well, how can we help?” The principal lit up and had a slew of great ideas. This is the key to taking the relationships you’ve built to the next level. Go to these local leaders and say, “We have enjoyed working with you. How can we help going forward?” Don’t assume you know what they need or what is best for them. Many churches want to serve on their own terms. Resist that. Serve on the terms of the people or group your church is offering to help. This will build goodwill with neighbors and community leaders. A bonus of modeling this approach corporately is that it is also effective individually. Train your people to ask this question in their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and friend groups. Challenge them to sense when their coworkers or friends are troubled and ask, “How can we help?” God will provide amazing opportunities for ministry. Challenge your students to regularly ask their parents, “How can I help?” They may need to help their mom lift her jaw off the floor!

2. Commit to long-game love over short-term growth. Resist the temptation to quantify your church’s success in serving outside the walls by merely counting “backsides and baptisms.” Find great leaders and organizations to partner with who serve the demographics you feel called to work with. Then make a long-term commitment. The longer you serve, the more trust you accumulate. Trust is the most valuable form of relational currency. When people trust you, they look to you in times of need and listen to you in times of uncertainty. No matter how compelling your evangelistic message is, it cannot escape your reputation. Your reputation is the platform from which you speak. By playing the long game, you build a reputation people admire.

3. Budget and recruit for it. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If enhancing the relationships you’ve formed during the pandemic matters, you need to adjust your budget to reflect that. You may want to recruit some of your more gifted leaders to run with it. Maybe you need to take a leap of faith and hire someone new.

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4. Unapologetically share stories of love and life change. This will make some uncomfortable, but please hear me out. We unapologetically tell stories of our love and generosity. Every week from stage, on social media, and in other venues we tell stories of how people are being loved and saved. We talk about the big checks we write and the big projects we do. We send press releases to local media. We leverage stories. Why? Because, as I’ve said before, the American church has a public relations problem. When people hear the word church— especially those outside the church—they think of something and it’s usually not good. We are out to change that. We want to redefine our church around the love of Jesus. We want to earn for ourselves an honorable reputation. We see it as evangelism because we are changing people’s minds about the power and potential of the local church. The biblical pushback we usually get comes from Matthew 6:1-4 where Jesus warns his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount to beware of practicing their righteousness before others to be seen by them. He uses almsgiving, prayer, and fasting as three examples. He even says that when we give, our left hand shouldn’t know what our right hand is doing. Seems pretty airtight, right? Only problem is that earlier in that same sermon, in Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus also taught, “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (New American Standard Bible). Hmm? So, which is it? The important distinction here is motive. Is your motive to be seen by others? Or is your motive to see people glorify your heavenly Father? Is it about them seeing you or God? The difference is important. The latter is holy and the former is sinful. Make no mistake, we’re good at deceiving ourselves when it comes to our motives.

5. Train your people to share about Jesus. Our unique evangelism strategy is this: We always walk the walk and are ready to talk the talk when the opportunity is right. While that’s a catchy phrase—slick and rememberable—we made a big mistake in assuming our people would naturally know how to do this . . . to recognize “when the opportunity is right” and then know what to say next. We were wrong. Evangelism is required of Christians; unfortunately, it’s not comfortable or natural for most Christians. It’s important for every church, as they lean further into social action, to train their people how to identify opportunities to share their faith and how to do so in a way that is compelling, true, and authentic. I’ll end by reminding you again what we’ve been reminding our church this year: We would never pray for this, but we were made for this. Historically, seasons of suffering are the times when the church has stepped up in peace, prayer, compassion, and hope. Let’s rise to the occasion. Let’s claim our moment. 

Tyler McKenzie serves as lead pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

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H A R N E SS

OR T U N I T Y

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IT'S

TIME

PLAN

FOR GROWTH AGAIN

ASHLEY

WOOLDRIDGE

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The catcher was crouched and readied behind the plate. The pitcher threw the pitch. The batter didn’t swing. And for a moment, Bill Klem, baseball’s most legendary umpire, said nothing. Confused and frustrated by the silence, the catcher finally turned and asked, “So what was it, a ball or strike?” Klem famously responded, “Sonny, it ain’t nothin’ till I call it something.”

Guess whose call it is whether COVID-19 has been a “ball” or a “strike” for your church? Well, that would be you. So, what’s your call? Is COVID-19 a once in a lifetime crisis, outside your control, that will negatively affect your church’s growth for years to come? Or is COVID-19 a once in a lifetime opportunity God will use to springboard your church’s growth for years to come? I believe wholeheartedly this crisis is the latter—it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for future church growth. Will that be the case for every church? No. But it should be for healthy churches. And how you lead your church through 2021 will likely determine the trajectory of your church for the next 10 years. That’s how much I believe is on the line. So, what do you do? Actually, that’s the wrong question. Rather, I think you should focus on how you should think, for without the right thinking, you’ll almost never do the right things. I could spend a lot of time reciting all the things we are doing to reengage people at Christ’s Church of the Valley—as of February our in-person worship attendance had reached more than 60 percent of its pre-COVID-19 level—but those might be the wrong things in your context. But I believe if you’ll change your thinking, God will direct you to do the right things for growth. That said, here are three ways of thinking that I believe can lead to breakthrough growth.

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CRISIS ALWAYS EQUALS OPPORTUNITY

HISTORY PREDICTS BETTER THAN HEADLINES

The greatest breakthroughs in the Bible happened right after the deepest crises.

How did the Roman Empire go from crucifying Jesus to declaring Christianity their official religion approximately 300 years later? There are lots of reasons, but history records two horrific pandemics during this period. The first was the Antonine Plague of AD 165. The second was the Cyprian Plague of AD 249.

• Abraham is asked to leave his home and everything behind (Genesis 12). • Joseph is accused of rape and thrown in prison. Stick a fork in him; his life is over (Genesis 39). • Moses and the Israelites are stuck on the banks of a sea with an irate army approaching (Exodus 14). • King Hezekiah and Jerusalem are surrounded by an army they cannot defeat (2 Kings 19). • The disciples are quarantined together after Jesus’ death. It’s hopeless (Luke 24). In all of these instances—and I could list many more— God’s greatest breakthroughs happened after the hardest crises. Yet, in spite of all the biblical and historical evidence, I’ve observed a distinct lack of faith among churches this past year; many don’t think they will survive this crisis, let alone thrive long after it is over. I’ve heard multiple times, “The church will never be the same again. I’m not sure our church will ever get back to the attendance we had pre-COVID.” Has that sort of thinking entered your mind? It’s as if we think this is the first time the church has faced a global pandemic. I’ve heard people say, “This is unprecedented.” It’s not. In fact, history shows the church has thrived after worse pandemics. Which leads to a second change in thinking.

History shows that one of the major launching pads for the growth of the early church was how Christians led and loved through these two devastating pandemics. And yes, these pandemics helped church growth instead of hindering it. At one point during the Cyprian Plague, 5,000 people per day were dying in Rome. The love and leadership of the church during that time led to one of Christianity’s greatest growth periods. More recently, the Spanish Flu of 1918 devastated America and 50 million people died worldwide. Churches in America closed physically. People wore masks. But in the years that immediately followed, America experienced church revival and growth. And they did it without the internet. Imagine being a pastor in 1918. How would you continue to engage your church if you couldn’t meet physically? In 2020, with the help of the internet, we were able to keep people engaged far better during COVID-19 than other times the church couldn’t meet in person. So, don’t believe people won’t come back physically. Don’t believe the headlines that large gatherings are a thing of the past. After the 1918 Spanish flu, did people all of a sudden decide not to attend baseball games, the theater, or church? My point is this: Be careful not to get caught up in all the clickbait. Remember, many headlines are designed to scare us so we’ll open the article. And yes, even Christian writers and consultants use clickbait. Don’t

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THIS CRISIS WILL NOT KILL OUR FAITH BASEBALL GAME DURING SPANISH FLU, 1918

take the bait. Allow history to inform you. The church is resilient. If the gates of hell can’t destroy it, a pandemic won’t either. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t leverage online services for all they can provide. They are an amazing tool to reach people. And now nearly every church has this tool! What a blessing from COVID-19. But I fully believe in the long run people will want and need real community—physical community. I believe our online attendance and our physical attendance will continue to grow. It’s not either-or, it’s both-and. In fact, I believe so much in the future of the church and people’s hunger for the answers only the gospel provides that Christ’s Church of the Valley will be launching three new campuses in 2021. What do you believe? If you don’t believe you can grow your church during or after this crisis, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy for your church. Your thinking will drive the wrong actions. So, there’s one more change in thinking we need.

(GOD WANTS TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN WE CAN IMAGINE)

I’ll never forget being a 23-year-old working my first job at the Intel Corporation. The nation’s economy had just entered a deep and scary recession. The CEO at the time, Craig Barrett, called a staff meeting for all 85,000 employees to address the crisis. Everyone was scared. Everyone feared the worst. I’ll never forget Barrett’s leadership when he said, “Healthy and strong companies that lead well through a crisis will always come out stronger on the other side. Companies who are weaker and panic, who don’t lead well, will find themselves on the cusp of ruin.” Then he added, “Trust me, we will come out a stronger company on the other side of this.” His final sentence shot adrenaline into our company during what was a brutal year. Two years later, his words proved to be completely true. Having faith God can move after a crisis isn’t a business principle, it’s a biblical principle. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” And to be transparent, I’m sure my faith didn’t always please God this past year. I felt as discouraged, beat up, and on the floor with no faith as anyone. In fact, I’d never been so discouraged in my life. So, as much as I may have conveyed my faith with the words above, let me promise that my faith was challenged this past year. Over and over again, I’ve had to change my thinking. Crisis is always an opportunity. History proves the church can grow through and after a pandemic. I will not let this crisis kill my faith. My prediction is this fall and the beginning of 2022 will be prime times for you to do something big to reengage your church. But your thinking—your faith—will dictate if you do the right things. I’m planning for growth. Will you join me?  Ashley Wooldridge serves as senior pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley, a multicampus church in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. He and his wife, Jaime, have three girls and love to see marriages and families thrive.

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BY DOUG CROZIER

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We live in a world where everything revolves around success, and success is often defined as a number. I am quickly approaching retirement age and people sometimes ask me, “What is your number?” And I sometimes ask myself, How much money do I need to retire? When will I retire? Whether it be my age, checkbook balance, waistline, or financial needs to ensure a comfortable retirement, numbers are always involved. So many of us struggle with our various numbers, and in almost every case it creates stress. Numbers are also very important in the church, but they are often misinterpreted. And this period of COVID-19 has created more levels of confusion and stress. How should we count attendance during the pandemic? Beyond in-person attendance, there’s online attendance, social media streams, and perhaps others. What factor do we use to count online attendance, since more than one person may be viewing each screen? At The Solomon Foundation, we saw these issues arise for the leaders with whom we partner. We added a clinical psychologist on retainer to minister to our pastors who were struggling through COVID-19. The number of pastors who took advantage of this service was both staggering and encouraging. We need to find ways to alleviate stress rather than adding stress to our pastors’ lives.

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