When I was growing up in a pastor’s home, I remember the building fund appeals and public declarations of how much we had raised for the new sanctuary. I remember watching the magic of construction progress over the next few years. Behind the scenes, however, there were meetings with bankers, bond brokers, and large donors […]
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By Rev. Dr. Perry J. Hopper, MBA After two years of doing ministry and worshipping with the uncertainty of the pandemic, most churches have returned to in-person worship. Church attendance at mainline churches had been experiencing a steady decline before the pandemic, and that has been exacerbated because churches were forced to worship online for […]
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Infinite growth, invariable expansion At the nation’s premier multisite church, two financing needs take precedence above all: flexibility and simplicity By RaeAnn Slaybaugh North Coast Church in Vista, Calif., is one of the 20 largest churches in the United States. It also consistently ranks among the country’s fastest-growing, most influential churches. But it all started […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh Back in 2017, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Phoenix had already contemplated adding covered parking, in the form of solar structures, to its campus for some time. It was (and still is) a forward-thinking move not only for a house of worship, but for the area-at-large: when finished, it would be […]
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For the past 14 years, we’ve been experiencing near-historic low rates, and it appears those days might soon be gone as rates have risen over the past several months. The wonderful news? Many churches were able to take advantage of the low rates either by refinancing, purchasing a new property, or renovating or building a […]
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Before you talk with any lending group, your church will need to fully understand the ups and downs of its last three years of financial statements. Church lenders will always focus on undesignated income, cash flow, debt and equity trends. The first thing churches really want to know, however, is their borrowing capacity. Determining this […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh Perhaps better than anyone else in the United States, Arizonans know the value of being able to park in the shade. It’s a major perk. And now, Scottsdale Bible Church — which has appeared on lists of the largest churches in America (and is certainly one of the biggest churches in the […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh BRIAN BALES / LEAD PASTOR / CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH / ASHBURN, VA The new Christian Fellowship Church (Building) in Ashburn, Va., took many of its unique, contemporary style cues from the surrounding community Over 30+ years, leaders at Christian Fellowship Church grew adept at making ministry work in a former manufacturing […]
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INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Givelify, an award-winning online and mobile giving app platform, announced the release of its 2022 Giving in Faith report, which explores trends in the faith-based community. This year’s groundbreaking report delivers direct insight into the impact the continuing COVID-19 pandemic had on church attendance, digital adoption, community outreach and giving. Givelify partnered with the Lake Institute on […]
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Leverage technology to maximize outreach and build community this fall By Brian Byersdorf As a church leader, you’re probably feeling the so-called “summer slump” harder than usual in your attendance and tithing. Referring to the seemingly inevitable dip in church participation between June and August, the summer slump of 2022 has been exacerbated by several […]
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