By Cathy Lynn Grossman (RNS) With the voting now underway in the election of a new pope, the College of Cardinals will seek a prayerful, joyful pastor — and a savvy enough manager who could bring order to the medieval chaos of church bureaucracy. A CEO pope, if you will. There are three things any […]
Read More >Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL, hosted a weeklong “Awakening Revival” gathering Jan. 29 to Feb. 2 in its state-of-the-art arena to celebrate the first-phase completion of the church building project. Stovall Weems, founder and lead pastor, wanted to create an energy that is distinctive to arena-style worship facilities, but within a more intimate space. Alabama-based […]
Read More >By Russ Rankin NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As public policy continues to change on the issue, a LifeWay Research poll shows 58 percent of American adults agree it is a civil rights issue and 64 percent believe it is inevitable same-sex marriage will become legal throughout the United States. LifeWay Research conducted a wide-ranging survey of […]
Read More >BREA, California — The Great Recession forever changed the way commercial lenders evaluate potential borrowers and their requirements for ministries that need a loan. For ministry leaders, this means that preparation for future financing needs to look different. To help ministries prepare well, Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU) produced a webinar in February titled “How […]
Read More >INDIANAPOLIS – Congregations whose clergy are aware of giving trends in their congregation and those with younger attendees were more likely to see positive fundraising results between the first half of 2011 and the first half of 2012, according to a new report from the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Indiana University […]
Read More >Some aging congregations are mergering with younger, multi-cultural congregations in order to stay alive. By Jeff Brumley Things were looking bleak for Orange Grove Baptist Church and its aging membership when Greg Shoemaker arrived as its pastor about a year ago. Located just north of Pascagoula, Miss., the congregation and community around it had been […]
Read More >By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) When aging religious leaders reach the top echelons of temporal and spiritual power, their followers have a certain expectation: Till death us do part. But Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise resignation has shifted that calculus, prompting introspection about traditional understandings of religions’ senior management and when, if and how to let […]
Read More >By Rez Gopez-Sindac DALLAS – XPastor, a learning network for executive pastors and others in similar roles, is launching a new program to help church leaders get the education and training they need to do their jobs more effectively. “About half of new executive pastors come straight out of business,” says Dr. David Fletcher, founder […]
Read More >When a church does not reference its denomination in the church name, unchurched people tend to see that church as less formal, rigid and old-fashioned, but this also makes them feel more uncertain and wonder whether the church is trying to hide its beliefs. Study findings just released by Grey Matter Research (Phoenix, AZ) among […]
Read More >By Adelle M. Banks (RNS) Despite the tough economy, many of the nation’s largest churches are thriving, with increased offerings and plans to hire more staff, a new survey shows. Just 3 percent of churches with 2,000 or more attendance surveyed by Leadership Network, a Dallas-based church think tank, said they were affected “very negatively” […]
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