In this series installment, Paul Gage — who has consulted more than 500 church capital campaigns, with results exceeding $1 billion — focuses on the second phase of a campaign: Organization. According to Gage, the three most critical components of this phase are Prayer, Presentation and Preaching.
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Church members not only look for spiritual leadership from their pastoral staff, but they also have expectations that donations made will be widely used. Often, they expect leadership to provide financial reports produced from a reliable accounting package, verifying their trust.
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I recently conducted a small Facebook test. Survey participants were asked to answer three questions about giving. Here’s what I found:
• 96% of people consider themselves to be generous
• 80% of those same people want to be more generous than they currently are
• 92% feel held back by a lack of money
These findings represent a strange tension between who we are, who we want to be, and our perceived lack that stands in the way.
Seminary is not about answering every question a church leader might encounter; it is about developing a holistic biblical worldview and obtaining the right tools to understand those questions and discern the answers. It is about being prepared to apply biblical truth in a variety of social and cultural contexts. It is about speaking the truth of the gospel with humility and grace.
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Here are 4 keys to being the best boss you can be. These keys apply to parents and coaches, as well.
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These are just five resolutions, and they may not be the right five for you, but they have worked for me. I find that I need to continually renew the resolutions from the past years, as some are just too important to forget.
Read More >Did you know that one in five people in your congregation can’t hear the inspiring words and music that are shared each week in your house of worship? Ultimately, this leaves them feeling disconnected from the community. Many of these congregants have hearing aids — but hearing aids are made to work in up-close, face-to-face conversations; often, they don’t work in large spaces with ambient noise. Fortunately, assistive listening systems can help these congregants feel more connected by solving issues of distance, ambient noise and hearing loss.To help get you started in your church, Listen Technologies is hosting a special event on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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People of faith are frequently mission-driven and ministerially oriented. For many of these, volunteering is often considered more privilege than obligation. When such folks have managerial or leadership experience, or when they possess special expertise or have received professional education and training, it is not uncommon that they volunteer to serve the Church via board membership and activity. It is critically important to recognize, however, that even highly educated, skilled and experienced people do not necessarily understand what board service entails and requires of them.
Read More >As a provider of international evacuation for its clients — including many churches — Arthur J. Gallagher fields Ebola questions quite a bit, especially in recent months. Here’s what you (and your ministry teams) need to know.
Read More >One of the key aspects of my job is making great hires. I look at our staff of 120-plus employees and I thank God every day for the stories behind the people.
While a lot of elements go into hiring, I have found 6 overarching values that drive hiring.
