Several years ago, the pastor at a church I worked with told the story of an affluent family in a nearby church giving two significant gifts in the same year — both of which made the local newspaper. The first gift was to the church where several generations of the family regularly attended. The second […]
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By RaeAnn Slaybaugh In 1998, Clay Scroggins moved to Atlanta to study engineering at college. He found a church home in North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, led by Senior Pastor Andy Stanley — first as an attendee, and then as a volunteer in the high school ministry. “I loved it so much that I […]
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By Sam S. Rainer III Christmas Eve is the most likely time an unchurched person will walk into your worship space. It’s a huge opportunity. My fear is some churches go through the motions since Christmas Eve is the peak of busy season and volunteers are short in supply. Your Christmas Eve service is worth […]
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By Trevor Eppehimer, Ph.D. “Social relevance” serves as a holy grail for those whose careers depend on the ability to identify current patterns of thinking and spot contemporary cultural trends. Success follows, conventional wisdom holds, the politician, recording artist, filmmaker, or company that can locate, commodify and project “social relevance.” In North America, where persons […]
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By Sam S. Rainer III I am in the third year of serving as lead pastor at West Bradenton. Thankfully, my first two years were more joy than angst, defined by encouragement and not disillusion. But even in a healthy church, the third year can bring frustration — for both pastor and congregation. In the […]
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By Tim Spivey The most overlooked and underrated trait of people who serve in healthy, growing churches is a positive attitude. This isn’t to be mistaken for blindness to obstacles or a “yes man/woman” posture. I’m talking about one’s primary attitude, and whether it is oriented toward self/others and criticism/encouragement. What weather do they produce […]
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Due to the nature of their work, churches are held to a high standard of accountability by internal and external stakeholders. Without a financial solution designed to comply with non-profit accounting standards, it can be challenging to demonstrate transparency and fiscal responsibility to constituents. While commercial accounting software can be configured to meet basic financial […]
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By Joe Garecht Many faith-based organizations worry about making fundraising asks. They think that because they have a religious mission, making direct asks of donors is somehow unethical or will damage their reputation. Other faith-based non-profits focus solely on making group asks from the pulpit, or through mass-communication mediums like direct mail or e-mail. These organizations avoid […]
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By Carey Nieuwhof So you want to lead better. The question, always, is how. There are thousands of small tips and strategies that make us better as leaders, but some insights become the Archimedes Lever of leadership. For me personally, these principles are in that category. If I keep these 5 insights close, I always […]
Read More >I remember sitting in a one-week intensive class, watching a video by photographer Dewitt Jones. He talked about his travels for National Geographic and how the scenes he captured and the people he met impacted his perspective on the world. Jones talked about an interview with a life-seasoned woman known for her weaving. When […]
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