The Paycheck Protection Program grants loans to small businesses (including churches) to help keep workers employed during the COVID-19 emergency. The loans are potentially 100 percent forgivable. Excellent resources from the United Methodist Church. (Photo: Rain Love AMR, Creative Commons)
Experience the joy of spiritual disciplines this Lent
Lent is a time for renewed focus on matters of the spirit and practices that will refresh our connection with the Almighty. This year bring a study and experience of spiritual disciplines to your congregation. This handy group-study guide from the United Methodists of Greater New Jersey can help. (Photo: mwms1916, Creative Commons )
A church community garden grows more than produce
It’s not too late to put in a community garden at your church. You can reap healthier relationships with your neighbors, provide fresh produce for needy folks, and use it as a tool to teach about life God’s creation. This United Methodist Church tells how to start. (Photo: USDA, Lance Cheung)
Should pastors know what a congregant gives?
Should a pastor know how much people give? Some call it a “third rail” of ministry — touch it get zapped! Others say the knowledge is essential to good ministry. This United Methodist Church article discusses up the pros and cons while also lifting up ways to encourage healthy talk about money in church.
A 12-Month Stewardship Plan for Your Church
Stewardship is more than just a six-week campaign in the fall, yet most congregations lack a strategy for anything else. Here, from the United Methodist Church, is a handy guide with links to help keep financial stewardship awareness simmering all year long.
Pass the Peace, Not the Germs, in Flu Season
With flu season in full swing and the highest number of cases reported in years, churches are modifying worship practices to guard against spreading the disease. This informative article from the United Methodist Church has some great tips for minimizing the risk of folks getting sick! (Photo: Lorena Cupcake, Creative Commons)
Start Planning for Year-Round Stewardship in 2018
January 1 is less than two months away, so now’s the time to plan for a year-round stewardship effort that can help transform the culture of your church and the hearts of your people to incline toward generosity. This resource from the United Methodist Church lays out a simple 12-month plan to educate, inspire and nudge […]
Teach Kids Stewardship through ‘Bible Bucks’
Many parents give their children an allowance for doing chores because it helps to build discipline. Allowance money can go numerous places, some spiritually rewarding and others detrimental. It is important for the church to help teach stewardship to children. One fun way to do this is to use “Bible Bucks.” This article from the […]
Stressed-Out Clergy Pack on Pounds
Serving God’s people reaps many joys, but it’s also a highly stressful vocation. And for too many ministers that stress results in extra weight, according to a United Methodist Study. It showed that clergy suffer from obesity, high cholesterol, borderline hypertension, borderline diabetes, asthma and depression at significantly higher rates than do other demographically comparable […]
5 Keys to a Successful Stewardship Strategy
In your church, is the word “stewardship” synonymous with a multiweek fall campaign? What if stewardship were more than a campaign? What if it were a mindset? And what if stewardship were incorporated in every season? Here are five keys to consider. (Photo: The Original Muddog, Creative Commons)