41% of congregations reported declines in donations in early months of pandemic while 28% saw increases, according to survey by Lake Institute on Faith & Giving INDIANAPOLIS — Many U.S. religious congregations currently are entering their annual fall fundraising and budget-planning season with uncertainty about their finances and reopening plans as the COVID-19 pandemic and […]
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By Shaun Nepstad Tears streamed down my face while my body was folded up under my desk like origami. I had just preached my heart out that Sunday, and I was exhausted and overwhelmed. Earlier that week, I had been teaching boldly, and now I was hiding from the world, hoping no one would find […]
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By Phil Cooke, Ph.D. During the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, I literally monitored hundreds of live stream services. The good news is that during that experience, more and more church leaders finally started taking live streaming seriously. During that time, I made a list of suggestions to help pastors and communication teams. Keep in mind […]
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Iconic holiday fundraising campaign is being launched earlier than ever to meet increasing need ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — For the first time in 130 years, The Salvation Army is starting its annual holiday fundraising campaign early in an effort to “rescue Christmas.” The funds raised through the organization’s iconic red kettles are […]
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From Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. This year, it has become especially difficult to navigate “business as usual” with the ever-present threat of COVID-19. Depending upon where you live, trick-or-treating might not be safe or even possible this year. There is an alternative that can give members of houses of worship a safe way to […]
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Arlington, Va., September 2, 2020 — National polling of the U.S. workforce indicates a majority of employees are burnt out (58 percent), up from 45 percent in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among employees who report burnout, 35 percent say it is attributable to COVID-19 circumstances, up from 25 percent in April. These findings […]
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Pushpay, the leading payments and engagement provider to the US faith sector, today announces ChurchStaq™, an all-inclusive suite of end-to-end engagement solutions including a comprehensive church management system (ChMS), mobile app, donor management and giving solution, to help churches know, grow, and keep their people. Today, ChurchStaq™ combines Pushpay’s giving and app solutions with Church […]
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By John H. Wright Jr., MAI, and Martin H. Aaron, MAI, SRA The role that religion plays in the midst of this pandemic is a philosophical matter. However, the role that religious facilities play is a decidedly practical matter — particularly for church mortgage lenders. Before the pandemic, 36% of Americans attended religious services weekly, […]
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released Commercial Buildings and Onsite Renewable Energy, a 15-page report summarizing data on the self-reported use of onsite renewable energy among a subset of U.S. commercial buildings. The information, including comparisons by building type, location and energy generated comes from the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® program, whose ENERGY STAR […]
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(above) Trinity Western University in Canada By Bill Strom, PhD, Seven weeks after the World Health Organization’s announcement that COVID-19 was a pandemic, I was fortunate to gather information from 781 people living in varying degrees of social isolation, in an effort to discover who is most at risk as the pandemic continues, and how […]
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