The process of deciding a budget sets priorities for the year. Yet the process can be routine and boring. How can the conversations be livelier, more Spirit-inspired? “Let’s Talk About Resources” — part of Lake Institute on Faith & Giving’s “Shifting Ground”…
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How are congregations managing their money during COVID-19? How are they engaging their members? Or planning for their future? Our partners at Lake Institute on Faith & Giving recently released the results of a survey of more than 550 congregations that offer a…
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Changing the structure of your stewardship ministries might bring new life to familiar work, writes the CEO of the Executive Stewardship Center.
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An executive pastor describes how church land can be a source of ministry funding
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by Mark Miller-McLemore | My church was located across from an abandoned strip mall and the local “No-Tell Motel,” where drugs and sex were peddled. We worked closely with homeless people through a shelter program in our building. It was a place…
Read Moreby Mary Louise Gifford In 1953, with its membership over nine hundred people, no one could have predicted the cultural and personal changes that would lead the thriving congregation at Wollaston Congregational Church (WCCUCC) in Quincy, MA, to the gates of…
Read MoreLike many congregations and organizations with an endowment, at the beginning of 2009 Western Presbyterian Church faced a painful situation. Despite our endowment outperforming the market benchmarks by six points, it had suffered a huge loss of value in the…
Read MoreAs Sunday offerings have gone down for many congregations, their interest in alternative revenue sources has gone up. Many churches are now considering grant funding as a way to support some ministry programs. In my twenty-plus years of writing grant…
Read MoreSome pundits see a silver lining in our recent economic troubles: Americans have finally kicked the habit of conspicuous consumption. I’ll believe it when I see it. Over the last couple of years, I have consulted with a number of…
Read MoreA recent survey of more than 1,500 mostly Protestant congregations found that the first half of 2009 was more financially challenging for churches than 2008, but the leaders of the organizations involved in the research also find cause for hope—and…
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