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 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…
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 MoreFor many religious people, their faith and their money live in an uneasy truce with each other. Seldom are we encouraged to see our attitudes about—and actions done with—our money as essential aspects of our spiritual formation as believers. Our…
Read MoreToo often, I run into faith-based organizations that seem embarrassed in the presence of secular funders, as though the faith aspect of their work were a liability. Instead, I think we need to consider why being faith-based is a reason…
Read More“Everything is connected…no one thing can change by itself.” —Paul Hawken, entrepreneur The nation’s clergy and congregations might be dismayed or exhilarated by what foundation leaders had to say at a recent meeting convened by the Alban Institute. The meeting…
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