by Jim Kitchens | Aug 7, 2020 | Changes, finances, staffing
Many churches have been struggling for years to raise the financial resources needed to maintain the staffing model they’ve “always had.” This struggle has come into even sharper focus now, given the pandemic’s impact on church giving. Given that growing...
by Mike Queen | Jul 24, 2020 | Adapting
A man has back surgery and returns to work in just a week. We say that he “bounced back.” A college student has a bad semester, yet makes the Dean’s List the next. We say that she “bounced back.” A businesswoman has a bad quarter financially, but posts solid gains the...
by Michelle Snyder | Jul 23, 2020 | Adapting, healthy congregation
Resilience is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot these days. Lectures, TED Talks, Brené Brown, Oprah, Sheryl Sandberg… it seems everyone is inviting us to pursue resilience as a key to joy, fulfillment, and growth. I don’t disagree. But what’s the pathway to...
by Bill Wilson | Jul 23, 2020 | Adapting
Our current virus pandemic has forced all of us to face some harsh realities. One of the benefits of experiencing a seismic shift in our world is the ensuing time of introspection and the questioning of our assumptions. Most churches are realizing that the landscape...
by Jim Kitchens | Jul 13, 2020 | worship
When you look back over the tremendous amount of change our churches have gone through since the early days of Covid-19, it almost takes your breath away. Congregations who couldn’t have given you a definition of adaptive change suddenly find themselves knee-deep in...
by Matt Cook | Jul 13, 2020 | community, Uncategorized
I came across an interesting list a few months ago. It was a list of the richest animals in the world. Did you know that the richest animal in the world is a dog named Gunther IV. Gunther is worth about $373 million dollars give or take. He received his wealth from...
by Bill Wilson | Jul 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
Approximately 100 days into the Corona-19 pandemic, we continue to find ourselves bewildered and confused by the upheaval to our way(s) of life. It seems as though a fog has settled over us, obscuring our vision of both the present and future church. The...
by Matt Cook | Jun 23, 2020 | leadership
They never taught us…how to pastor a church during a pandemic. They never taught us…what to do when news channels trained the members of our churches to look at the exact same events and see them in two totally different ways. They never taught us…what...
by Jayne Davis | Jun 16, 2020 | prayer
Who knew it was such an exhausting commute from the coffee pot in the kitchen to my office in the upstairs bonus room? Just 16 steps. Each way. I counted. It’s one of the quirky things you do on Day 89 of...
by Matt Cook | Jun 10, 2020 | healthy congregation
At the Center for Healthy Churches we don’t tend to dwell on controversial topics. We’re an organization that focuses on congregational best practices. Hiring well, articulating a clear vision, being intentional with stewardship—these practices aren’t always easy but...
