Articles for tag: Online Giving

Offering as Worship

KCU's president is concerned we are inadvertently deemphasizing the biblical concept of the offering as worship.

January 1, 2021

Jerry Harris

Church & Ministry Church Planting

10 Foundation Stones of the Church—No. 9: Giving

It’s clear from reading Acts 2:42-47 that the early church was a generous church—and not simply generous, but contagiously generous. Scripture offers no hint that generosity was considered a burden; rather, it was a privilege. The people responded immediately by selling their houses and not considering material possessions as their own. The people freely gave and shared so that no needy people were among them. Such generosity was not dictated by the government or enforced by law; instead, it was done in response to one another and to God. In contrast, people in churches today can be filled with personal

January 1, 2021

Orpheus J. Heyward

Mission & Evangelism

A Renaissance Rebirth

How God Worked through the Pandemic to Move Our Church from Local to Global Ministry One of the most potent theological tenets of Scripture is called the Providence of God. The doctrine of Providence provides us with insight into God’s care for his creation as he continuously provides for its existence and sustenance. Additionally, Providence suggests that God is guiding his creation according to his divine purpose. A particular passage that accentuates this notion is Romans 8:28: “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”

January 1, 2021

Phil Claycomb

How the Pandemic Impacted Planting Churches

7 Counterintuitive Ways to Interpret Reality By Phil Claycomb I’ve coached, mentored, and trained church planters since 2001, so I’ve been involved in many different crisis situations. I’ve sighed deeply and asked, “OK, what just happened?” more times than I care to remember. I’ve brainstormed through a host of “where do we go from here?” discussions. I’ve rolled up my shirtsleeves and jumped in to help “pick up the pieces and move on.” And I’ve discovered that while the causes of crises may vary, and churches are amazingly creative at finding ways to get into trouble, the one thing leaders

September 22, 2020

Church & Ministry Church Growth

Different Environments, Different Approaches (Ministering in the Midst of COVID-19)

Urban, Suburban, and Rural Church Leaders Share Their Experiences of Leading Through a Pandemic By Chris Moon No two churches are the same, even in how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the virus has left a mark on Restoration Movement congregations and pastors across the country. For some churches and pastors, especially in rural, conservative areas of the country, the pandemic seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The major difficulty was figuring out how to get the internet to cooperate during a brief closure. “There’s a lot of things you face like that

September 22, 2020

Jim Estep

Church & Ministry Church Growth

What COVID-19 Taught Rural Churches

By Jim Estep State by state, county by county, the COVID-19 pandemic led to limitations, shelter-in-place orders, and essentially a shutdown of “normal.” In rural congregations—which are often smaller, singular in focus (worship), and fairly stable in ministry programming—this became an impetus for reflection, reevaluation, renewal, and a reenvisioning of ministries across the country. Theology of the Church We all know the church is made up of people—it’s not the building or the worship service—but our everyday theology would say otherwise. Whether we like it or not, our default theology turns church into a place or time. (“We are going

August 15, 2020

Kent E. Fillinger

Stewardship & Generosity

Church Finance FAQ

By Kent E. Fillinger The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated our time and attention for much of 2020. This month’s article provides an overview of church finances based on our 2019 survey of 439 churches, while next month’s article will share findings from a separate survey that seeks to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the financial health of our churches. How Much Money Was Given to Churches Last Year? The total amount given last year to the churches we surveyed was $872,134,383. This included giving to the general fund, capital campaigns, building funds, and other sources. This reflected less than

July 22, 2020

Kent E. Fillinger

Stewardship & Generosity

The Financial Impact of COVID-19 on Christian Churches

(This article is excerpted from a longer feature article written for our October print magazine. We post some of the more time-critical information now for the benefit of our churches. The longer version—available at the end of September—provides a more comprehensive report.) By Kent E. Fillinger During the week of June 7, I conducted a COVID-19 Church Impact Survey to take a “snapshot” of how churches fared during the initial three months of quarantine (March to May) and what they anticipated would be happening over the next three months (June to August) as many have started regathering for in-person worship

April 22, 2020

Church Giving Seems to Stabilize after Rough Start to COVID-19 Closures

We spoke with ministers of churches large and small in several states about how their church finances have been impacted by COVID-19 and the resulting stay-at-home orders. The sampling size is small—five ministers—but most report improved giving after a rough first couple of weeks. _ _ _ By Chris Moon When asked about church finances during the COVID-19 pandemic, pastor Vince Antonucci had a quick answer. “It’s scary,” he said. The lead pastor of Verve Church in Las Vegas—which averaged 285 people in attendance before the shutdown—is in a city that’s been particularly hard hit because of the outbreak. The

March 21, 2020

Ministries & Nonprofits Organizations & Events

TSF Helping Ministers, Churches During Uncertain Times

By Jim Nieman The Solomon Foundation has begun hosting weekly Zoom meetings to help connect, encourage, and resource ministers across the country during these uncertain times. Doug Crozier, CEO of the church extension fund that works with Christian churches and churches of Christ, said TSF is seeking to be proactive during the COVID-19 outbreak and related financial unease by reminding ministry leaders that God remains in control. To that end, TSF connected with almost 120 ministers and/or ministry team callers during the first weekly Zoom meeting it hosted this past Tuesday morning. Among the speakers were former Christian college president

March 19, 2020

Jerry Harris

Devotionals

When Good Gifts Are Wrapped in Ugly Paper: How We Can Be Bright Lights in Dark Circumstances

By Jerry Harris Sometimes our greatest gifts and opportunities come wrapped in ugly paper. With our hearts and lives in distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be easy to cave in to our fears and get lost in this “lower” story. Consider Joseph in the Old Testament. He had plenty of reasons to give in to selfish emotions, but he instead chose to see his circumstances from a “higher” story point of view. This was Joseph’s attitude: “Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what

March 18, 2020

Tyler McKenzie

News & Updates

Pastors Focused on Serving Communities, Improving Online Abilities as Pandemic Continues

By Chris Moon After a weekend of large-scale cancellations of in-person worship services—the result of the COVID-19 pandemic—many Restoration Movement churches are spending this week plotting their next moves. Pastors say they are looking both inward at how their online programming was received and outward at how best to serve their communities in a time of need. They say they are recognizing the way in which “social distancing” recommendations are affecting vulnerable communities, from the elderly to those in poverty. Tyler McKenzie, lead pastor of Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, said his church put together both a weekend service plan

March 13, 2020

News & Updates

Church Leaders Make Tough Calls as Coronavirus Spreads

(On Friday, March 13, this article was updated with information from Northshore Christian Church in Everett, Wash.) By Chris Moon The fear of COVID-19, the new coronavirus, has swept the nation during the past week, and Restoration Movement churches and organizations are working through the fallout. An array of announcements about changes at churches and Christian colleges have been rolled out during the past few days. Colleges have begun posting notices on their websites indicating their response to the coronavirus. (Click here to read “Christian Universities Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic,” which offers a rundown of steps many of our colleges

February 22, 2020

David Dummitt

Six Reasons Your Church Needs a Mobile-Giving Option

By David Dummitt IBM created the first smartphone in the early 1990s, but it was Apple’s release of the first iPhone in 2007 that effectively changed the world at large. Fast-forward to today and approximately 81 percent of people in America own a smartphone. The world has literally moved into the palms of people’s hands. The advent of smartphones over the past quarter century has revolutionized the way people prefer to learn, shop, and, yes, give. While many churches are embracing financial technology in new ways and are experiencing the positive impact on congregational generosity, many churches in America continue

February 22, 2020

Jim Estep

Leveraging Technology for Ministry

By Jim Estep I recall Dave Stone once saying something like, “You can’t reach an MP4 generation with 8-track methods. The problem is that half of you are asking, “What’s an MP4?” and the others are asking, “What’s an 8-track?'” It is not just that technological innovation continues at an unprecedented rateI actually think Dave said, “MP3 generation”or that its presence within our culture and our lives grows more pervasive daily, but that technology has changed how we perceive our lives, society, and especially the church. The simple lesson is this: We either will learn to leverage technology in our

February 22, 2020

Jerry Harris

Technology and the Church

By Jerry Harris Modern technology is an incredible thing, and it’s especially impressive to someone my age. When I was a child, I used to wonder at the people I knew who were around before airplanes, mass-production of cars, and the discovery of antibiotics. With technology developing at light speed, I have become one of those people today that young people look at quizzically. I grew up when cars had painted steel dashboards, pointy control knobs, and a shelf beneath the back window for kids to sleep on during drives. The only “airbag” in our car was my mother’s arm

February 2, 2020

David Dummitt

Six Reasons Your Church Needs a Mobile-Giving Option

January 3, 2019

Kent E. Fillinger