Church Executive has been following the spate of Supreme Court cases during the last few years where the Court is sorting out the ground rules for when church schools and other church affiliates are allowed to participate in government tuition and subsidy programs and when they can properly be excluded. Drawing the right dividing line […]
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For one of the country’s biggest, fastest-growing churches, solar structures make a lot of ministry (and monetary) sense In the Phoenix metro area, Christ’s Church of the Valley is a household name. Around the country, it’s similarly well-known as the second-largest and fastest-growing church in America, according to the 2021 Outreach 100 list. But even […]
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The term “smart investing” can strike fear in the hearts of clergy — but if this rings true for you, you’re in good company. Many professionals grapple with how to invest intelligently, so the results can fall short of what’s possible. In this Remote Roundtable Discussion, church executives discuss smart investing strategies with the pros, […]
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By Sarah Barham Managing church finances can be a daunting task even under the most favorable circumstances. Factor in complex tax reports, bank reconciliations, and ever-changing IRS and state guidelines, and you can guarantee church staff is overspending valuable time on workarounds for processes that could be intuitively streamlined. With outsourced ministry accounting services, […]
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How to determine your best path forward By Rodney C. James It doesn’t matter if yours is a more recent church plant looking for its first potential forever home or a well-established church where facilities are hindering you from fulfilling your God-given vision: answering the question, “What do we do next?” has implications that can […]
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By Jerry Vaughan “Debt” isn’t a popular word in churches. As church lenders and people of faith ourselves, we understand: it’s difficult to preach about being debt-free and then turn around and borrow money for a building project. So when cautioned against committing too heavily to raising funds ahead of construction — compared to financing […]
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Every day, I talk to church leaders who are looking for additional financial support. They’ve grown frustrated with their current loan (or lack thereof). All too often, the conversation becomes an explanation of why a bank isn’t likely to be interested in a project or loan and then a few basic changes to consider for […]
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Supply chain issues. Rising interest rates. A reimagined worship environment. All these factors — and more — are likely to impact church financing now and in years to come. Church Executive: Tell me about your organization and its history working with churches. David Lee: Thrivent has been serving the financing needs of churches for more […]
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The dangers of choosing an organization-centered response By Gregory Love & Kimberlee Norris At a Christian school in West Texas, five employees were recently arrested and charged with ‘Failure to Report with Intent to Conceal’ after a teen reported he had been sexually assaulted on campus, by another student. Nine days later, four administrators from […]
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When the term “engaging design” comes up, the financing part of the equation might seem unrelated. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve been working in the church loan market, exclusively, for more than 16 years. I’ve known Bruce Woody, President and CEO of HH Architects, that entire time. Our organizations attend and sponsor […]
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