By Johanna Gruber Shared meals are one of the most effective ways to bring people together. They support volunteers before a busy Sunday, help welcome newcomers, fuel children’s programming, and create connection across a congregation. But for churches with multiple campuses, managing the food behind those moments can become a financial and administrative headache. Orders […]
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Q: As church leaders come to you with questions about church seating, what are they asking most often? In contrast, what questions would you advise them to ask first? A: The first question we ask is, “What issues do you have with your current seating that you want to try to fix?” Many churches have […]
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Strategic decisions — made early — can help you create versatile spaces and maximize your investment. Q: As church leaders come to you with questions about church seating, what are they asking most often? In contrast, what questions would you advise them to ask first — and why? A: I think the No. 1 question […]
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Before any design takes shape, you need a clear funding strategy and a comprehensive accounting of project costs. An experienced church construction adviser explains what to plan for — and what happens when budgets fall short. Q: You say hard costs are “what people picture when they picture construction,” but soft costs are […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh At Chase Oaks Church, partnering with Learning Care to bring Pathways Learning Academy to campus has helped meet a community need, create new ministry connections and put underused facilities to work — without asking church staff to become childcare specialists. For many churches, full-service childcare offers compelling possibilities: meeting a community need, […]
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By Matthew Mattingly, ARM Most churches review their insurance policy once a year, sign the renewal, and move on to the hundred other things competing for an administrator’s attention. That’s understandable — risk management isn’t why anyone got into ministry. But in 20 years of working with religious institutions, the churches that get hurt aren’t […]
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By Johanna Gruber For most churches, the weekend is the most important — and most operationally demanding — part of the week. Before the first service begins, staff and volunteers are already setting up, troubleshooting, welcoming early arrivals, and preparing for what comes next. That schedule is part of ministry. But it does not have […]
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By partnering with Learning Care to establish a Pathways Learning Academy, Northview Church transformed underused weekday space into a full-day early education and childcare facility — expanding its community reach, generating revenue for ministry, and keeping church staff focused on what they do best. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh “Our mission is ‘making Jesus known,’ and […]
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Why policies alone do not produce consistent outcomes By Jon Barron A ministry has an employee handbook with policies for leave, conduct, accommodations, reporting concerns, and corrective action. The policies were approved, stored and shared. Everyone assumes they provide control. Then a real situation comes up. One supervisor follows the handbook closely. Another makes an […]
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To realize its ideal expanded campus, Grace Bible Church pivoted on an uncertain project, unified its people (physically and spiritually), and created all the space the next generation could want By RaeAnn Slaybaugh When Grace Bible Church moved from downtown Nacogdoches, Texas, to a site beside the local university in 1950 — 10 years […]
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