September 12, 2023
Lincoln Christian University is entering the second year of a massive overhaul of its educational model. And it’s doing so with a mixed bag of early results. . . .
September 1, 2022
A day or two after the finance committee mailed the letters to the church's members, the preacher came into my office. He was furious. He shouted, “Your committee’s ruined the church!” . . .
July 20, 2021
From a financial standpoint, most churches performed amazingly well during the course of COVID-19. Now, with unprecedented levels of cash on hand, church leaders must strategize how best to steward these resources.
January 6, 2018
By Jerry Harris One of the top-selling books of the recent past by an independent Christian church writer is undoubtedly Barry Cameron’s The ABC’s of Financial Freedom, which has sold approximately 250,000 copies since its release in 2001. The book has helped hundreds of churches and thousands of people across America turn their financial situations around, and it has helped churches raise millions of dollars for kingdom causes. Through the ABC’s, readers have discovered biblical principles to help escape the burden and bondage of debt, enabling them to declare their financial independence. Churches have reduced their debt and improved their financial
February 20, 2017
By Jennifer Johnson It”s common for church plants to meet in school buildings, and leaders in those new churches happily haul gear, set up rooms for children, and tear down worship spaces each week. It”s much less common for decades-old congregations to give up their buildings and go back to this way of worshipping, but for Journey Christian Church in Roswell, GA, this facility decision is opening up new opportunities for ministry. When Dan Garrett became lead pastor at Journey (then First Christian Church of Roswell) in 2011, the church was paying off $2.5 million in debt. The church had
May 7, 2014
By Kent Fillinger The annual survey of attendance and trends in the fellowship of Christian churches and churches of Christ always yields interesting facts, but our study for calendar year 2013 also identified three notable “firsts”: “¢ For the first time, three churches averaged more than 20,000 in weekly worship attendance. Joining Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, and Central Christian Church, Henderson, Nevada, both of which surpassed 20,000 for the third consecutive year, was Christ”s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona. “¢ For the first time in the 18-year history of this list, Southeast Christian did not have the highest
February 3, 2014
By Paul Boatman Mike Kilgallin was called to the presidency of Crossroads College (formerly Minnesota Bible College) in 2008. He has previously served as a professor and preaching minister, and as a vice president working in commercial construction, banking, and church finance. He and his wife, Debbie, live near Rochester, Minnesota. I understand Crossroads College is in a crisis. That is fair to say. Our crisis is much like that of other Bible colleges, though perhaps more intense. It is financially driven. Let me give you some personal background. I”ve been associated with Bible colleges since 1975 when my
January 4, 2013
By Brian Jones I believe pastors don”t hit their ministry “sweet spot” until they”re in their mid-50s. And if they stay engaged and growing, that sweet spot will last into their mid- to late-70s. Anyone who has ever led a church, or been led by a pastor in a church, knows this. Put another way, I believe a pastor”s personal ministry effectiveness, as defined both biblically and experientially, doesn”t reach its full potential until a pastor has grandkids and starts to get AARP letters in his mailbox. You can understand my great disappointment, then, when I read my friend Kent
May 15, 2012
By Kent Fillinger Suppose you could describe most emerging megachurches by combining their characteristics into a description of just one congregation. The story you”d tell would likely look something like the composite picture presented here. Things were going well at CreekView Christian Church. Like many large-size churches (those with an average worship attendance of 500 to 999) it had grown large enough to feel successful but remained small enough for the minister to feel comfortable. He could know most in the congregation, at least by face, if not by name. The church”s building was attractive. The church staff had grown
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April 28, 2026
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