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On Friday, February 27, 2009, the stock market hit its lowest mark in more than a decade. That same weekend, during worship services at Cross Timbers Community Church (Argyle, TX), Pastor Toby Slough made the following announcement:
"If you need money today to feed or house your family, please take money out of the offering plate, rather than putting money in." In response to his bold and generous words, the people of the church gave their biggest offering ever.
The global financial crisis has been devastating for some and felt by nearly everyone. In the midst of the national economic downturn, many headlines predict a crisis for churches and other non-profits. Yet compared to the nation's economic pulse, how are churches really weathering the slump?
Impact on Larger Churches
In an effort to get an accurate picture of the church's current |
| Leadership Network's senior pastor survey is now open -- with the promise that every participant gets a free copy of the results. Lead pastors in churches with attendance of 800 and higher are encouraged to participate here. |
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economic outlook, Leadership Network asked identical questions about the economy's impact in surveys conducted in both 2008 and 2009. A comparison of the responses led to several surprises:
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Most larger churches, despite what some national headlines predict, are cautious but holding steady – and churches that are growing are even doing well financially. In fact, 43% of the churches surveyed in January 2009 reported feeling only minimally affected by the economic slowdown, only 2% fewer churches than said so in June 2008. |
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Most of the churches surveyed in January are also expecting income to increase or remain the same in 2009, and 63% of the responding pastors believe their church will meet its budget for 2009. |
This situation is not the case for all churches, especially ones in certain sections of the country, such as . . .
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Attend a Sticky conference that is unlike any you've ever attended, and learn to close the back door and become the church no one wants to leave.
Interact with Sticky Church ministry leaders. Build relationships, ask questions, and explore why the Sticky Church concept helps transition attendees to members.
Church Unique Vision co::Lab
16 cities – 8 churches – 6 sessions – 6 months |
What if you could be trained and equipped to guide your team to discover your church's unique calling? What if you could develop a framework for clarity? What if you could learn practices that would help you deliver your vision daily?
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| 86.7 Million Americans Uninsured over Last Two Years |
One out of three Americans under 65 were without health insurance at some point during 2007 and 2008.
Americans at Risk: One in Three Uninsured, a study recently commissioned by the consumer health advocacy group Families USA, found 86.7 million Americans were uninsured at one point during the past two years.
A few of the report's key findings include:
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Nearly three out of four uninsured Americans were without health insurance for at least six months. |
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Almost two-thirds were uninsured for nine months or more. |
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Four out of five of the uninsured were in working families. |
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People without health insurance are less likely to have a usual doctor and often go without screenings or preventative care. |
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| Connections: 3 Levels of Pastoral Care |
Pastor of Encouragement Ron Hall recognizes that the need for healing extends beyond the church walls. This church's flourishing Recovery Ministry offers people both inside and outside of the church practical resources, spiritual tools and community to conquer struggles. With three distinct pastoral care departments, Christ's Church of the Valley cannot help but make waves.
| Video Honors Founder Bob Buford |
In this video, a host of people send their best wishes to Leadership Network founder Bob Buford and his wife Linda, who recently celebrated 25 years of the organization's ministry. Together, these testimonials affirm that the Bufords have lived their calling to live lives with a hundredfold results, and have given others confidence to do the same.
Commentators on the video include. . .
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Christians living in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have experienced massive change in the last two decades, and post-communist culture and the involvement of Western churches have had a significant impact on church planting.
This paper explores the challenges that church planters face in these countries, and how they are adapting to facilitate greater growth in the "stony soil" of post-communist Europe.
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You can peruse nearly 100 past issues of Leadership Network Advance and get valuable information on a variety of ministry topics in our Archives. Select VIEW FULL ARCHIVES LIST to see what's there.
Here are a few topics of interest we covered recently: |
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