We have been in a handful of conversations in the last few weeks with church leaders in the planning stages for a capital campaign. Shortly after they got a worship service online and began to stabilize the financial realities, the next looming question became the decision of go-no-go with the campaign slated for sometime before this Christmas.

The economic relief program known as CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) may be an opportunity for financial relief from the federal government that would benefit churches.

Be wary of anyone who gives a confident prediction of what the future holds. We know the Church will prevail – our faith, our history, and our Lord remind us of that. I actually think the days on the “other side” of this current chapter will be exciting and bright.

It is highly probable that churches will collect significantly less money than they are used to collecting over the next 3-8 weeks. This is a time that calls for proactivity and faith.

by Cory Hartman The vision is still in print, but it’s harder to keep people’s eyes on it. Vision lingo is still spoken, but it’s harder to get people excited about it. Vision activity is still performed, but it’s harder to remember the reason for it. Diagnosis: your church has lost its passion for its […]

by Greg Gibbs It should come as no surprise to pastors and ministry leaders that the traditional ways we track and predict things are going the way of the fax machine. And the articles and polls are coming out virtually every week right now: Giving is down in the church! Ugh. As if pastors don’t […]

Here’s a little context for you: I’ve been helping lead out Capital Campaigns for more than 20 years, which means I’m clocking in at 100+ campaigns, which included doing them (successfully!) during the 2008-2010 economic recession. Oh, and by the way…I live near Detroit!

Among the reasons I am still committed to the “dust up” that campaigns create is that they raise way more than financial support. A discipleship-based campaign raises the faith temperature in the hearts of people in a way that is life-changing.

If we’re honest, it’s pretty easy to see the functional Great Commission in North America: go into all the world and make more worship attenders, baptizing them in the name of small groups, and teaching them to volunteer a few times a month.

Eric Geiger, Senior Pastor at Mariners Church, shares how he processed leaving Lifeway and what it feels like to leave "unfinished business."