To weather the storm, church leaders should pay attention to 6 crucial factors — and understand how they’re affecting the lending landscape. For the last several years, I’ve been helping churches across the country make financing decisions as they seek to grow their ministries and meet their stewardship goals. At Thrivent, we’ve been monitoring the […]
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In the few years following COVID, church leaders were not focused on construction or physical plant expansion; rather, they were waiting for in-person worship attendance to fully recover. Over the last 12 to 18 months, lenders finally began to see a significant increase in construction financing requests. Enter the tariff war and the caution flags […]
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By Alina Parizianu, CFP®, MBA, RICP® You might have heard the proverb, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” These wise words remind us that no one enjoys contemplating their own mortality. Many of us would prefer to postpone the preparations for our inevitable passing. However, it’s often the tasks we […]
Read More >HERITAGE CHURCH — Lake Zurich, Ill. “For our new, 1,000-seat worship center project, we looked at several different theater seat companies and several different stacker chair companies. But — when we saw what SERIES® Seating could provide firsthand — our decision became an easy one. From the outset, it was evident they were not selling, […]
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A look back at the articles that mattered most to our readers in 2024 By RaeAnn Slaybaugh In the past year, Church Executive has covered a lot of topics. Among them, a handful resonated best with our readers. With the help of our thought leader partners, we’ve written about rapid expansion, building projects, and […]
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How the Church of Eleven22 found a true banking partner for its expansion plans By Jeremy Moore After The Church of Eleven22 launched in 2012, leadership quickly found out how challenging it could be to find a banking partner that understands the needs of religious institutions. True, its early requirements were fairly basic. But […]
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By Denise Craig, CAE, CCA Back in April 2024, the US Department of Labor published a rule requiring all employers (including churches) to increase the minimum salary threshold for exempt workers in both July 2024 and January 2025, with regularly scheduled increases after that. However, in mid-November 2024, after the first increase had occurred and […]
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Year-end giving is crucial in meeting any church’s annual budget goals. But when should you start? Are you even set up to drive maximum generosity? And how can your efforts do double duty, driving not only giving but also engagement and discipleship? A church communications + giving expert weighs in. Church Executive: In the […]
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Getting the most from the smaller spaces in your church By Steve Siebert There was a time when churches could acquire existing buildings or land for low prices and renovate them at a fraction of today’s costs. Today, however, the cost per square foot for both acquisition and renovation has increased significantly, making it […]
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5 strategies to implement in your church You don’t have to be an insurance expert to know that churches are facing unique challenges with their insurance in recent years. Many well-documented factors are driving these challenges, including catastrophic weather events and rising costs — both of which are out of a church’s and insurance carrier’s […]
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