Faithlife StaffThese deals are so good, they won’t stay around long! Add new favorites to your library before the bargains disappear, or view all of this week’s deals. *** Dirt: Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful Dirt shows how God can work...
Lexham PressThe answer to “how to be a good dad” could fill volumes. (Scroll to the end for a few.) But there’s one key that can help translate all the other advice for Christian dads, like the Rosetta Stone. That’s allowing yourself to be a father shaped by...
In January 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was declared. This legal document said that all slaves were now free. But in Texas, someone kept it a secret. They didn’t tell us that we were free. So for a couple of years after the Emancipation...
Mary JahnkeA church website template is like the outlines in a coloring book. You’re the one adding life to the page and creating something worth looking at . . . but wow, it sure helps to have the outlines. You don’t have to be an artist to look like an...
Want stronger faith, bolstered biblical literacy, and closer community in your church? Digital discipleship can help! As churches have moved to more online tools for community building, mobile giving, and live streaming, church leaders are talking...
There seem to be countless sermon illustrations on faith—but some are better than others. Find six memorable ones below! Sermon illustration on enduring faith From Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes: Faith honors...
Is there a difference between a group vs. team? According to Justin Irving, the answer is yes—and it’s important for churches to know. In the following excerpt adapted from Leading Teams and Groups in Ministry, an 11-hour course from Logos Mobile...
Ryan NelsonIn Every Square Inch, Dr. Bruce Riley Ashford surveys a variety of perspectives on the relationship between Christianity and culture. According to Ashford, the conversation boils down to these three main views: 1. Christianity against culture This...
Summertime doesn’t have to be a season that stretches your church funds. If you aren’t capitalizing on the ways people use mobile devices, including recurring giving, you’ll probably face the dreaded summer slump every year. Taking advantage of...
We may not all be pastors, but we know what you juggle. Work. Family. Study. Sermon prep. Pastoral care. Church. God. We also know that often, finding a quiet place to research, pray, and study can be near impossible. Enter the Pastor Pod. The...
This month’s free book opens with a quote from Rodney ‘Gipsy’ Smith, a man who won tens of thousands to Christ. There are five Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian—but most people never read the first four. So how do we as...
Jennifer GrishamWhat’s the first part of your church’s worship services? Chances are, it’s a call to worship—even if your church doesn’t actually refer to it as a call to worship. What is a call to worship? Simply put, a call to worship is the beginning of a...
Adam ShaefferWith Faithlife Giving, your church can keep all donations—whether online, by check, or in cash—together in one place. This helps with more than just organization! It also allows you to export all gifts from Faithlife Giving directly into your...
Millennials and Gen Z are weighing heavy on pastors’ hearts these days. According to Barna, When presented with a list of possible challenges facing their church today, half of Protestant pastors note that “reaching a younger audience” (51%) is a...
Guest AuthorBy Katie Allred Now that your church’s worship services are both online and in-person (as most are these days), how are you engaging your online visitors—or are you? Here are four tips for making sure your online guests aren’t an afterthought but...
It’s summer. Families are traveling, attendance is sparse, but your budget hasn’t changed. How can you ward off the summer giving slump and encourage your congregation to give cheerfully so that you stay on track with your church budget? 1. Show the...
How do you do church live streaming? Or do it better? There’s a lot to think about, but don’t worry. We’ll guide you through it. Here are three down-to-earth tips from The Ultimate Guide to Church Live Streaming to get you started: Don’t try...
Every church outreach event takes some foresight to pull together, but VBS planning? That can take even more. (How does it go from the start of spring to the dead of summer in a blink?!) Here’s a handy VBS planning checklist to start you off on the...
Church software can be like the brand-new volunteer trying to help out in an area where they’re not gifted. They get the work partway done, but you have to come behind to pick up the slack, correct errors, and finish the job. Or it can be like the...
For many churches, the pandemic caused a noticeable change in giving. Others that have still experienced fairly consistent giving are about to face a season that traditionally sees dips every year—summer. It even has a name: “the summer giving slump...
By Trillia Newbell The other morning I woke up while my children were still sleeping and began to pray. I started thinking about my identity. Who am I? As I settled into my prayer time, I began to rejoice at the thought that I am a mother. It is...
By John Bornshein Why is it important to pray? Knowing the answer—and then doing something with that knowledge—has the power to change our lives. How, exactly? Read on. This excerpt comes from A Prayer Warrior’s Guide to Spiritual Battle: The Front...
In 2020, churches accomplished many feats for the first time. For 24% of churches we surveyed, that included implementing online giving. Yet a somewhat surprising 38% of churches said cash or checks still had the biggest positive impact on church...
Matthew BoffeyWe’ve written about how to introduce new worship songs to your church. But that assumes you’ve found new songs to lead, which raises another question: What new worship songs should you be singing? With innumerable choices, how do worship...
Kristen SchaferChurch administration comes with a lot of tasks that take a little bit of time . . . and it all adds up. For instance, Americans typically waste 12 days of their lives entering or resetting passwords. Ouch! If dealing with passwords wastes that...
By Jordan Sjodin and Mary Jahnke For Faithlife employee and church volunteer Jordan Sjodin, starting to live stream services came as an unexpected blessing. Sure, there was a lot to figure out (live streaming equipment was a big one!), but the...
A friend who knows a lot about church administration once shared a lesson she learned from The Trellis and the Vine: If the Church is the vine (John 15), then administration is the trellis. The trellis doesn’t exist for itself, but for the vine. No...
By James Wasem Church leadership and tech teams have a perennial problem: maintaining technology systems crucial for ministry, both in the sanctuary and online. While much of the decision-making process is focused on budget, it is even more...
This is a guest post by Peter Krol. A reader of my blog recently emailed to say, “I was never intentionally taught how to lead a Bible study, and, when the time came for me to teach others how to do it, I had no idea even where to begin.” Do you...
Building a church website? Follow these five best practices for a church website that attracts visitors, engages members, and is easy to maintain. (And if you haven’t yet, check out why church websites are important and three overarching...