As churches slowly begin to reopen, the natural next thought is: When do we resume our GenZ ministries? ... There is no specific guidance for church youth programs, therefore, church leaders are left to make their own decisions. We have provided a few tips as you make your plans in reopening and restarting various ministries of your church.
Is the church a building or is it its people? Does the church have to assemble all its people at one place to be a church? Is a church a church because it assembles? Is assembly of the church the command of God? What does the Bible say about the church meeting together? The Bible does tell us and we need to search this out.
UPDATED 4/2/2020 The CARES Act provides a great deal of help for churches during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have addressed some of the questions many have regarding what is available for churches and other religious 501c3 organizations.
It does not matter how small or how large a church is, plans should be thoughtfully made for potential disasters. Thinking through how your church might be affected - from at risk members to outside ministries and outreaches - will help in implementing plans quickly should the need arise.
There is not a week that goes by that we are not talking to someone in ministry regarding legal issues that have risen in a church. One of the first things we ask is: What does your Constitution and Bylaws state?
One of the most important legal aspects of organizing a church is that of forming the Constitution and By Laws. In decades past, most churches simply had a one or two page Statement of Faith which might also include how many deacons there were going to be and for how long they would serve with a few other items such as following Robert's Rules of Order for all business meetings. Today, those types of documents will not suffice as protection for the church corporation, its ministries, or its members.
Introducing Ministry Rescue
What does the unchurched in the community think when they see churches fight and split, only to start or join another church around the corner? What do they think when they see another decaying church building because it closed its doors? The usual discussion turns to opinions of what someone else did that was wrong leading to what that person would have done differently to solve all the problems. The reality I have known in nearly three decades of ministry is that the root issue is the same everywhere and the solution to all the problems is still found in scripture. What happens is that people fail to see the root issue and, therefore, never find the solution in scripture.
Solomon said in Ecclesiastes there is nothing new under the sun; life is full of cycles. It is amazing when each generation feels they have discovered something new and exciting. Occasionally, an older generation watches a trend come back around and chuckles at the younger generation’s excitement of what they discovered only for them to... Continue Reading →