Religious leaders report reduced giving, increased use of technology To document the impact of COVID-19 on church life, Ministry Brands — a leading provider of software, services, and information platforms for churches, ministries, and those they serve — this week released new data from a recently completed national survey of churches across multiple denominations. The […]
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How to assess your church’s child sexual abuse risk points — and how to do (much) better In many churches, leaders think child sexual abuse “can’t happen here.” What’s the reality? Guy A. Russ: Any organization that serves children must understand the statistics: one in four girls and one in 13 boys are likely to […]
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By Rodney C. James Nearly every church selects a group of people to lead a renovation or building project. You might call them a “vision team,” “building committee,” “expansion board,” or some other creative name, but their role will be the same: to assist the staff and leadership in the myriad of decisions the church […]
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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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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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(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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With 350–400 congregants, Boulevard Baptist Church is part of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. About 60% of its members are 50 and older, and 30% are younger families. The tech-savvy church has a long history of live-streaming its worship services every week—even before COVID-19. When the new pastor started at Boulevard Baptist Church, older members of […]
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Defining each one can help your church make a greater impact By Matt VanGent I learned to drive before smartphones with GPS were commonplace. If I wanted to go somewhere new, I needed to do a little homework first. Do you remember the routine? Find the address, look it up on a map (or later, […]
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Tips, tools & expert advice Given the coronavirus and its effect on church operations, are you seeing an increased interest in sustained giving tools and strategies? Baker: Before COVID-19, digital giving was an important part of a church’s stewardship ministries. Now it’s the main focus of financing the work of the Lord. Every church has […]
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No matter the crisis, whether COVID-19 or something more local to our community, our first priority must be how we minister to people. Having current and real information is key to making necessary decisions in the moment. Answer the question, based on what we know, what is right, now? Don’t let all the other energy […]
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