CFX 2026 brings church leaders and ministry teams together for practical education on everything from building projects and technology to safety, content and leadership. Church Executive: The format for this year’s CFX is two co-located conferences: the Church Production Conference and Worship Facility Conference. What are the primary differences between them? Jim Wagner: Oh, […]
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Examining engaging design at Pleasant Valley Community Church in Owensboro, Ky. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh When Pleasant Valley Community Church Executive Pastor Jay Mills began looking for a partner to help expand and accommodate rapid growth, he already knew who he wanted to call. Mills had known Rodney James, founder and president of Master’s Plan […]
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Architecture That Tells the Story By RaeAnn Slaybaugh By 2015, Church of the Incarnation needed more space on its historic Dallas campus. That was clear. Yet, when this demand was answered — with the completion of 60,000 square feet of added ministry space — the new spaces didn’t look “added on.” In fact, some people […]
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Andy Stanley is a bestselling author, communicator, and founder of North Point Ministries. In his latest book, What Great Leaders Do: 7 Essentials for Enduring Impact, he distills decades of leadership experience into seven essential practices that create strong leaders, healthy organizations, and lasting influence. Andy Stanley on the leadership tensions that quietly derail churches—and […]
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Why ministry readiness begins with the ordinary, not the extraordinary By Chris Atkins Ask a church safety team what they train for, and many will say the active shooter. Walk with that same team through a real year, and you will almost never see one. You will see a great deal of everything else. In […]
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By Frank Sheldone It has become an unfortunate fact of life that church services have become targets for some people seeking to harm others. In 2025 alone, three places of worship — in Michigan, Minnesota and Kentucky — were targeted by active shooters. These events remain rare, and they do not mean churches should fear […]
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LESS CHASING, MORE STEWARDSHIP Simplifying church finance without losing accountability Church Executive: Why do churches struggle to simplify accounting without sacrificing completeness? Adam Alphin: Church finance is complex because churches are managing funds, not one pool of money. Operations, missions, building projects, youth, benevolence and other restricted purposes all need to be tracked so each […]
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Why humility and wisdom should go hand in hand As someone who considers himself a quasi-IT “professional,” I’ll admit something many of us in technology probably won’t say out loud: we can sometimes come across as a bit … all-knowing. You know the look — slight head tilt, confident nod, maybe a quiet sigh when […]
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LifePoint Church’s Tiny Town, Tenn., campus showcases the value of pairing strategic planning with collaborative design-build leadership — and a clear understanding of local culture. By RaeAnn Slaybaugh When Mike Burnette talks about church growth, it’s worth listening. When it comes to major church building and expansion projects — something many pastors do […]
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(Above, left to right) Kingdom Kids Director Mary Tod Braswell; Ministry Coordinator Sarah Miranda; Worship + Communications Pastor Reid Work; Youth Director Hunter Stonebraker; Lead Designer Mary Kate Kitsmiller; Assimilations Coordinator + Interim Kingdom Kids Coordinator Logan Hunt; College + Young Adult Director Caleb Anderson; Teaching Pastor Will Campbell Six years ago, Reid Work and […]
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