The end of the year is one of the most fruitful times for church giving. People are in a posture of reflection, gratitude, and generosity. But if churches only focus on giving once a year, they miss the deeper calling: to disciple their people into a lifestyle of generosity not just a moment of […]
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Expert advice for driving maximum year-end generosity … starting now Church Executive: First, how important is year-end giving in most churches, really? Ryan Matthews: Year-end giving isn’t just important; it’s crucial. Many churches receive about 30% of their yearly giving in December alone. Jena Lynch: Yes. And of that 30%, we see the majority […]
Read More >Featuring five co-located conferences, CFX 2025 aims to equip church leaders with a spectrum of much-needed skills and resources Church Executive: First things first: you’ve merged with Church Production Magazine and the Capture Summit for this year’s conference. Tell me more about these partnerships and how they’ll benefit CFX attendees. Jim Wagner: One […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh In 2016, a strategic assessment of New Work Fellowship identified — and removed — roadblocks to growth in its facilities. Today, as a result, the church enjoys the modern curb appeal it wanted, plus twice the room for worship and fellowship. And it all happened without missing a single Sunday service. […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh First Baptist Church in Rogers, Ark., has a lot to celebrate. Most recently, it finished a new, 1,800-seat sanctuary — twice the size of its previous worship space. Now, leaders and members alike are excited for the original single-level sanctuary to be reimagined into a two-story administrative and education building, as […]
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By Brian Lindquist The modern insurance landscape is much different than it was even five years ago. Record losses, inflation, high construction costs, and more have all contributed to rising insurance costs. This industry-wide trend has many ministries asking questions about how to maximize the value of their insurance. There are many factors that drive […]
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Last week, the Supreme Court handed down its “non-decision” in the latest church school funding case, affirming the lower court decision by an equally divided court. No reasoning was given, nor was a breakdown of how the justices voted provided, leaving undecided the central issue as to whether a state can directly fund a church […]
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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 […]
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