The Bible budget
Mainstreet.com
Bible readers may have less debt than people who don't read the Bible, according to a recent survey. The number of unpaid credit card bills, mortgage payments and car payments was lower among Bible readers than non-readers, according to the View from the Pew research study published in Christianity Today. One underlying theory that might explain why Bible readers have less debt may be that regularly reading the bible, going to church and praying requires discipline, and disciplined people are less likely to overspend, suggests USA Today.More

Church group balances ministries, buildings
UMC.org
The basement of the Brooklyn church was becoming hotter by the minute as the small group of United Methodist congregants gathered to say goodbye on a sultry Sunday afternoon in July. Behind them, a white and gold cross and a large painting of Jesus hung on the back wall, waiting to be removed. Having merged the week before with another congregation, the church members were not saying goodbye to each other. They were saying farewell to the dilapidated building. The building was being sold by its owner, the United Methodist City Society. More

Log in; spread the word
Houston Chronicle
Jenny Honeck's father was a pastor, and her sister is a missionary in Germany. So the Cypress schoolteacher feels mission work is in her blood. But Honeck found an easier way to travel to China, Kenya or Russia to spread God's word: Through her computer. Three mornings a week, Honeck sits at home or in her classroom at Salem Lutheran School in Tomball and ponders e-mails from people overseas who have visited one of 100 websites run by a Christian organization called Global Media Outreach.More

Clergy and grief
Associated Baptist Press
Grief is a steady companion for ministers, and a healthy church will recognize that dealing with grief is essential if your ministers are to help you navigate the difficult waters of grief and loss. Have you thought about all the ways clergy encounter grief in their work?More

5 key elements in creating a church budget that increases giving
LifeWay
As the author of this article sat around the lunch table with a group of pastors discussing how to increase church giving, he heard a lot of interesting comments. One pastor commented that one should always smile when asking for money for the church budget. Another remarked, "Tell church members you are going to start reviewing their giving records." Of course, both of the men were joking. Using the church budget as a tool to increase giving is assumed by many church leaders as the best way to raise additional income for the church. However, giving seldom increases just because the church has adopted a budget. Several key elements need to be in place before your church budget increases giving by your church family. More

Baptists unite to foster Hispanic congregations
The Augusta Chronicle
Iglesia Bautista Cristo Vive is more than a church. It's a community that rings of home for the area's Spanish-speaking immigrants. It's also a symbol. Cristo Vive, a new Hispanic church with a campus in Clearwater, Ga., and a second opening in Harlem, Ga., planned for August, is the product of teamwork within and among Augusta's Baptist churches. "It is nothing short of a miracle," said the Rev. Max Guzman, who pastors the new church. "It would be easy to ignore the Hispanics here, but you have people saying, 'No, we have to do something to reach them.' "More

Dynamic churches communicate effectively
Christian Computing Magazine
We live in the Information Age, but are we as churches really informing people or simply inundating them along with everyone else? The science and art of communication - from personal eye-to-eye contact to mass email campaigns - is constantly changing as new methods of communicating are introduced. Does your church have a strategy and methodology for finding the right way to communicate to the right audience?More

Impact of health care reform issues for nonprofits
Your Church
H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Reconciliation Act, P.L. 111-152), is a massive overhaul of the U.S. health care system affecting nearly all taxpayers, many employers, and many elements of the health care industry. The Reconciliation Act modifies legislation signed into law on March 23, 2010 that contains the bulk of the health reform law, H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Act, P.L. 111-148). The federal health care reform law and other recent tax acts will have a substantial impact on churches and ministries. Here are the main issues you may wish to consider.More

Report reveals ineffectiveness of Methodist structures
The Christian Post
As United Methodists in the U.S. continue to count losses in worship attendance and membership, the denomination is re-evaluating its structures and making efforts to identify and address the challenges it faces. A newly released report by the denomination gave "below average" grades to the body's governance and agencies as it cited a lack of mission clarity and accountability, among other things, within The United Methodist Church.More

Helping students read the Bible
Youth Worker
Unless you're an ancient history buff, the point of reading the Bible is to produce fruit. If the part of the Bible you're reading isn't producing fruit, you have two options. One is to go deeper, perhaps to try to understand the background behind it that might make it come alive for you. Option two is to move on to something that is more interesting, knowing you can come back to the part you've skipped another time. So how can we help our students produce fruit in their Bible reading?More

What do you do with your money?
Church Central
Church leaders need to pay attention to their own personal finances. If we can be thoughtful about personal money management, it will help our leadership in stewardship and church finances. You can't lead others where you haven't gone yourself. Does this mean that you have to get yourself together completely before you can lead people to work on their own financial issues? No. But you have to be honestly working on your own life with money. More

Send your small group on a mission
Crosswalk
Your small group can be a great place for you and other group members to enjoy friendships with each other while studying the Bible to learn more about God. But that's not all it can be. In fact, that's not all God wants it to be. God invites your small group to join Him on a mission to make the world a better place. If your small group moves out of the living room and into your community, you'll discover many needs that God can use you all to help meet. So send your small group on a mission. Here's how. More

Cowboy church the setting for western-themed VBS
Baptist Press
Kids in everyday cowboy boots didn't ride their horses to "Saddle Ridge Ranch" in Whitney, Texas. Most came in pickup trucks or SUVs. But, regardless of their transportation, could there be a more appropriate setting than Open Range Cowboy Church in Whitney for a western-themed Vacation Bible School curriculum? The church's rural setting, barn-shaped sanctuary and rodeo arena (its version of a family life center) made it hard to tell where the decorations for Saddle Ridge Ranch VBS left off and the church's regular decor began.More

Church members spend days to restore one of the oldest churches in Columbia, Ill.
News-Democrat
Members of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbia, Ill., didn't hire a contractor to build their first brick church in 1854. The German immigrants did the work themselves -- when they weren't tending to their farm fields or livestock at home. Recently, about 20 volunteers braved 90-degree temperatures on a recent work day, following the lead of their ancestors more than 150 years ago.More