When Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA, accumulated $500,000 in debt — in addition to falling behind on their mortgage payments — financial ruin and foreclosure seemed imminent.
Read More >In this modern era, many churches are offering more and more services to its congregants to attract new members, retain established members and create revenue to operate the church or fund its programs. Common examples may include a bookstore or coffee bar. As a general rule, a church is not taxed on its income or revenues from an activity that is substantially related to the religious or charitable purposes of the organization.
Read More >People of faith are renowned for their charitable generosity. Amidst what economists are calling the “Great Recession,” giving to religion is the one subsector of charitable giving that grew in 2008. While charitable giving as a whole decreased from 2007 to 2008 by 2 percent (-5.7 percent when adjusted for inflation) and individual giving dropped 2.7 percent (-6.3 percent when adjusted for inflation) contributions to religion increased by 5.5 percent (+1.5 percent when adjusted for inflation).
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At a conference hosted by the North American Christian Convention last summer in Kentucky, Rick Rusaw stood on stage before thousands of church leaders and posed this question: “If your church disappeared today, would your community miss it?” Then he echoed a disturbing finding by a national research firm: 66 percent of Americans agree that churches have little or no value in helping them find meaning or direction for their lives.
Read More >When Phil Hotsenpiller became the teaching pastor at Yorba Linda Friends Church, Yorba Linda, CA, writing a comic book was the last thing on his mind. In fact, the thought had never occurred to him. Little did he know that one of the comic book industries most talented and controversial artists, Rob Liefeld, attended his church. Neither Hotsenpiller nor Liefeld ever imagined what would happen next.
Read More >Howard Beale in Network might just as well have been yelling about the fraud and embezzlement that is epidemic in the church, but who’s listening?
Read More >t’s called The Refinery, for the young lives it is intended to mold and refine, who use its facilities. Saddleback Church’s youth center that opened more than a year ago is as much a community center too, providing a venue for events, weddings and sports.
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With the multi-site church revolution in full swing across America, much attention is paid to video venues, program development and community outreach. An equal or greater amount of attention, however, should be paid to the digital communications strategy. Whether or not your church is offering its own live video streaming or “Internet Campus” experience, running a Web site for multiple locations is a much different challenge than that of a single-site church.
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This particular Saturday was the fifth wedding anniversary of Wayne Chaney Jr. and his wife Myesha, an occasion when they usually kicked back, enjoyed a leisurely dinner and spent quality time reflecting on their marriage. But the day began at 9:00 with a wedding ceremony, a 10:00 interview with a writer, a 2:00 funeral and burial, a 3:30 wedding in Los Angeles, and a 5:00 comedy showcase at Antioch Church of Long Beach. By the time they drew their breath at 8:00 that evening they had fallen asleep in the back of a limo ride to a restaurant. They opted instead to celebrate a week later in Palm Springs.
Read More >Remember when it was easy to manage church finances? Income approximated expenses. New programs were launched to meet people’s needs. Lives were changed; more people came, and expansion became necessary; capital campaigns followed, which met or exceeded expectations. Then the bottom fell out as the economy plunged into a recession unparalleled in our experience.
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