Stewardship &amp; Generosity

Money & Debt Stewardship & Generosity

Southeast Christian Church “˜Paid in Full”

By Jennifer Taylor This past weekend Bob Russell, previous senior minister at Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY), shared the pulpit with Dave Stone, the current senior minister. Stone invited Russell to preach with him so he could surprise and honor him midservice by sharing a letter from the bank. “Because of God”s provision and your prudent leadership,” Stone said, “and because of the overwhelming generosity of these good people at all three campuses, every inch of land and buildings on over 100 acres at the Blankenbaker campus has been paid in full.” After burning the note, Stone also shared that

January 26, 2011

Stewardship & Generosity

Calculating Our Generosity

By Mark A. Taylor David Campbell and Robert Putnam got it right when they commented on the generosity of Evangelical churches. “Local congregations are often on the front lines of providing charitable services to the poor and needy through food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters,” they wrote in the December 10 Wall Street Journal. “Many congregations also sponsor missionaries overseas.” A visit to the National Missionary Convention underscores the truth of their conclusion, especially among Christian churches and churches of Christ. This week”s NMC review article mentions that at least 300 missionaries and other ministries brought displays to the convention

January 19, 2011

Preacher, Crew, to Climb Volcano

Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), is one of nine guys climbing a volcano in the Andes Mountains this month! Nettle and his team leave for Ecuador tomorrow; while there they will climb four mountains including Cotopaxi, the second-highest summit in the country and one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. The last 5,000 feet of the climb will be over the world’s largest equatorial glacier! The nine climbers, all part of RiverTree, are raising $100,000 for ChildReach Ministries and Compassion International. Click here to watch Greg and two teammates discuss the trip and

December 24, 2010

Church Offers Year-End Offering Opportunity

“Being a part of this church has changed my life! I am in a very difficult financial place right now so finding an extra $20 is hard. I do, however, have these rings to give. Thank you, I have been able to make it through the darkest time because every Sunday you are all here for me.” Inspired by this note, the team at 2|42 Community Church (Howell, MI) created a special year-end offering opportunity””“The Original Christmas Gift.” Just as the wise men gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus, members were encouraged to bring their gold (in

October 8, 2010

“˜Give 10 for 5,000″²

Central India Christian Mission has designated October as “Give 10 for 5,000” month. It is asking supporters to give $10 each to provide 5,000 copies of the Hindi Family Pictorial Bible, which CICM first published in 1999 and which has played a vital role in sharing the good news with children and illiterate adults in India. Click here to find more information and to access bulletin inserts, posters, videos, and PowerPoint presentations!

September 27, 2010

10,000 Pairs of Shoes for Romania

Andy Baker, an alumnus of Milligan College in Tennessee and founder of Remember the Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of Romanian families, spoke about shoes in Milligan”s chapel last Thursday. And students, faculty, and friends donated shoes to the cause. “10,000 shoes,” an initiative to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes in 10 months for Romanian children, captured the attention of Milligan students like Rachel Severns. She rallied students across the campus to meet the goal and even collected donations from the public. “Our students are excited about this campaign and combining the heart of the students

September 23, 2010

Tweeting for Haitian Children

Northwest Haiti Christian Mission has partnered with a variety of organizations to raise money for a Miriam Center, a home and therapy center for Haitian children with cerebral palsy, severe autism, and other challenges. One of the partners””A Home in Haiti“”launched TwitChange last week to raise money for the cause by giving bidders the chance to have more than 150 celebrities follow them or mention them on Twitter or retweet their message. Celebrities participating include Eva Longoria, Shaquille O”Neal, Demi Moore, and many others. Read more about the project on NWHCM”s Web site or click here to visit TwitChange. The

April 28, 2010

Mark A. Taylor

Stewardship & Generosity

Pondering the Demands on My Abundance

After visiting Nairobi’s slums with Christian Missionary Fellowship, Mark A. Taylor reflects on privilege, abundance, and Jesus’ call to greater responsibility.

April 4, 2010

Jim Herbst

Living Simply Isn”t So Simple

Jim Herbst reflects on the messy, humbling work of pursuing financial simplicity, discovering that faithful steps toward generosity and contentment can still make life healthier.

March 28, 2010

Money & Debt Stewardship & Generosity

The Blessings of Scarcity

By Stephen Bond I meet for lunch every month with four other senior pastors who serve in my community. I”m surprised by the openness of each pastor in sharing the unique hurdles and challenges his church faces. But one challenge we”ve all wrestled with in the past two years is finances. The economic downturn has affected our churches in different degrees””but we”ve all felt the crunch. In our state, Nevada, unemployment hovers near 13 percent. When people don”t have jobs, it often means they don”t have money to support their local church. This inevitably affects the financial resources churches have

January 30, 2010

Jeff Faull

Guaranteed Returns

Jeff Faull challenges believers to see difficult economic times as an opportunity for kingdom generosity, wise stewardship, and public examples of giving motivated by pure hearts.

May 24, 2009

John Plunkett

What We Learned from Hard Times

John Plunkett reflects on how one church moved from fear-driven cutbacks to prayerful generosity, learning to trust God through Caterpillar strikes and economic hardship.

April 19, 2009

Kent E. Fillinger

Megachurches: Sustaining Ministry in a Shrinking Economy

Kent E. Fillinger offers practical guidance for churches navigating a shrinking economy through better budgeting, generous stewardship, Acts 4 community, and clear communication rooted in hope.

April 5, 2009

Mike Schrage

Which ‘E’ has Priority? Economy or Evangelism?

Mike Schrage urges Christians to weigh economic uncertainty against global spiritual need, asking whether believers will reprioritize resources, gratitude, and generosity for evangelism.

March 22, 2009

Darrel Rowland

Hard Times for Healthy Churches

Churches across the country are facing uneven financial pressures during the recession, especially around giving, building campaigns, debt, and the hard stewardship decisions required of leaders.

March 22, 2009

Darrel Rowland

Church Loans, Risky Loans?

Church Development Fund president Doug Crozier says moral and leadership failure, more than economic downturns, poses the greatest risk to church loans and congregational stability.

March 22, 2009

Karen R. Rees

The Greed Factor

Karen R. Rees reflects on economic abuse among foreign household servants in Hong Kong and challenges Christians to respond with biblical justice, generosity, and trust in God.

March 18, 2009

Mark A. Taylor

Our Money Can Point People to Jesus

Mark A. Taylor reflects on Waterfront Community Church’s radical generosity and challenges congregations to use money as a visible witness to Jesus during difficult economic times.

January 18, 2009

Pat Snyder