Janet Hoover

Formatted as a letter, the author uses his business and nonprofit board experience to discuss the characteristics and structure of an effective board while reflecting on common problems and conflict.

This biblically-based guidebook details a vision and strategy for implementing a congregational collaborative ministry.

This book provides a variety of ways congregations can ask for money, covering topics like the importance of listening, consistency, and follow through.

This book offers tactics for congregations to better communicate through social media.

This resource examines the shared ministry system as a way for congregations to support lay leaders and develop a collaborative ministry.

Written by a professor of ministry and pastoral theology, this resource argues that providing a hospitable environment is key to creating an effective multicultural learning space for students.

This organization provides resources and training for congregations to establish a ministry of care and support for those in the midst of crisis or grief.

This resource describes the four benefits of volunteering, which range from the physical to mental.

This book focuses on providing a Christian education for African Americans, equipping congregations with an educational strategy in addition to insight on learning styles, developmental stages in learners, and curriculum.

This resource argues that 21st century volunteers are different, and thus, congregations must adapt a different mindset in order to engage, recruit, and empower today's volunteers.

This resource combines anecdotes, information, and explanations to equip teachers with the tools needed to create effective learning environments.

This workbook is filled with exercises and reflection questions to help readers discover their spiritual gifts and passions.

This resource will help the reader identify their conflict management tendencies before zooming out and revealing how those tendencies play out in larger congregational conflict, offering options for responding to conflict and how to resolve problems.

This resource reveals the potential for collaborative ministry within small congregations and considers theology, leadership, and the foundations of church, faith, and ministry.

This resource re-frames how readers see supervisory relationships within the congregation, arguing that supervision can be used as a tool to help others develop their leadership and ministry skills.

This organization provides Biblically based resources on volunteers and volunteer management, such as training videos, spiritual gifts assessments, background checks, and an online bookstore.

Gallup provides the CliftonStrengths assessment tool for users to identify, understand, and maximize their strengths in personal and group settings.

This resource is designed to help nonprofit groups involve, engage, and sustain baby boomers and succeeding generations as volunteers.

This resource shows how to properly recruit, retain, and motivate volunteers, and covers topics ranging from volunteer agreements to teambuilding.

This comprehensive website provides information to manage volunteers and programs through online resources, training, and consulting.

This workbook looks at both theory and practical issues to equip small group leaders with the tools needed to develop effective congregational small groups.

This eight-hour course is part of a comprehensive spiritual gifts program that helps users identify and implement their spiritual gifts while helping churches embed a spiritual gifts ministry into the fiber of their congregations.

This collection of 13 essays discusses relevant topics for lay ministers, such as the relationship between leadership and spirituality, power and authority, and theology.

This book outlines five stages to transform synagogues into learning congregations.

Written by a church communications professional, this step-by-step guide explains how and why churches should engage in social media in order to spread the good news.

This resource lends practical marketing strategies for congregations, using examples from real-life and the Bible to highlight potential pitfalls and what types of messages congregations want to send.

This book contains dozens of brief, expert articles about how to communicate ideas inside and outside the congregation.

This peacebuilding book offers a group dialogue process and conversation skills to build respectful relationships that honor differences.

This practical resource offers suggestions and examples to help readers enhance their listening skills and narrow the communication gap, looking at various communication methods.

This interview excerpt with a communications professional discusses the dynamics, content, and method of communication within an organization.

Frederick Gonnerman, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor and former Director of Public Relations at Luther Seminary, says that communication "can be compared to a web that touches, connects, and even sensitizes all the elements of congregational ministry." Gonnerman believes that congregations must produce more effective and professional publications if they want to enhance their ministries, increase the possibility of their message being heard, and positively impact those in and outside of the congregation. Then Gonnerman shows readers how to accomplish the task he promotes. Gonnerman's foundational text on church communication addresses topics such as defining your audience, improving readability, and making the layout of material appealing to readers. Gonnerman also discusses contentious communication issues, such as who has ultimate editorial responsibility and authority. Readers who have not begun using the Internet for ministry will appreciate the research, ideas, and tips that Gonnerman offers in the electronic ministry chapter. The four appendices help readers 1) evaluate their communications system, 2) review English grammar and punctuation, 3) determine readability, and 4) discern appropriate fonts. Written in a clear and direct style, Gonnerman's work is for religious leaders and staff, lay-leaders, and anyone who wonders if their congregation is producing the best publications it can.

Designed by a church communications specialist, this website offers a variety of tools and resources for effective communication.

This website views technology as a vehicle for congregations to communicate and also shares the latest tips and advice for practitioners.

This organization provides coaching and mentoring for congregations to use communication as an evangelism tool.

This book underlines the importance of a congregation's ability to communicate their values, principles, missions, and goals.

This resource teaches lay leaders how to better handle a crisis and promotes collaboration between clergy and laity by providing recommendations about appropriate channels and priorities of communication for disseminating information.

This resource provides an overview of how to keep children safe, touching on subjects ranging from classroom discipline to selecting adult workers.

This company makes online donation software that can be used with computers, tablets, and smartphones, and through credit cards, debit cards, or electronic transfer of funds.

This book written by a seminary professor introduces faith leaders to basic accounting, financial documents in a church, good practices and money as it relates to theology.

This software offers online giving and electronic financial services for organizations including religious institutions, where donors can give online, use credit cards, have funds transferred electronically, or donate via a text message.

The research that undergirds this report involved more than 3,000 congregational leaders from various religious traditions who responded to surveys about the impact of the recent economic downturn on congregational giving. The report offers giving trends and notes factors that influence congregational giving patterns. It also reveals how congregations are managing differences in giving and reviews fundraising and financial practices. Other topics include staffing issues, budgets, educational opportunities, and the use of technology to discern its impact on congregational giving. The research and report were supported by several organizations, including The Center for Congregations and The Alban Institute. Because a broad variety of congregational leaders responded to the survey, leaders from a variety of religious traditions, including Jewish synagogues, will find the results informative and illuminating. The report is free and downloadable. Readers can use the link noted above to complete a brief form that enables the report's receipt.

Created by the IRS, this booklet helps congregations ensure their compliance with the current federal tax code.

This customizable giving platform allows congregations to select a variety of services a la carte.

This document is a tool to evaluate lay people's awareness of congregational finances and policies.

This article focuses on capital campaigns planned primarily to reduce congregational debt.

Written by an accounting professor and theology professor, this book is a practical overview of accounting practices, financial reports and budgets to help leaders manage money in the church.

This annual publication provides current information about tax laws, equipping treasurers and tax preparers with the tools needed to accurately fill out tax forms and important documents.

This website provides links and information about finance in congregations.

This free and downloadable document, offered by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, is organized by subject matter and covers a variety of topics related to congregational finances. Topics include the budget, expenses and disbursements, financial reports, payroll, real estate, insurance, endowments, and engaging independent contractors. Each topic includes a list of applicable policies and procedures. Pertinent internal controls are also offered to ensure adherence to the policies and procedures. Although Episcopal polity is assumed throughout the document, other faith traditions can easily adapt the contents to their own language and style of governance. Some congregations may find the "records management" section particularly helpful. It lists what documents can be destroyed and what documents must be retained for more than seven years. An index makes finding relevant material particularly easy.

This user-friendly guide simplifies bookkeeping and accounting, and outlines the basic processes behind balancing the books and creating financial statements.

This online donation software includes a variety of giving options to make it easy for congregants to donate.

This workbook provides a comprehensive and systematic approach to budgeting, ranging from the basics to sound strategies and processes.

This e-newsletter covers timely finance topics such as record keeping, business expenses, church office security, internal controls, best practices for donations, and money management.

Church Law & Tax Report is an online magazine resource that covers topics such as record keeping, business expenses, church office security, internal controls, best practices for donations, and money management.

This company offers consulting on a wide range of accounting, financial, and management topics, including providing financial audits.

This book will help churches attain future financial stability and offers a process for initiating practices that support ministry and lead to healthier congregations.

Drawing from the author's experience leading a multi-racial church, this book looks at the state of racial relationships within the United States before zooming into the church and offering advice on how congregations can overcome obstacles to become more diverse.

Based on research from more than 100 interviews and site visits, this resource offers best practices for building a strong community, giving an overview of different kinds of personal relationships, case studies, and skills for building community.

This book argues that congregations should focus on designing their church for the unchurched, equipping readers with strategies and a detailed guide on how to transition an established congregation to an attractive place for the unchurched.

This resource draws upon five years of research on emerging adults to help congregations from a variety of traditions understand and minister to this demographic.

This resource combines the authors' military, medical, and faith backgrounds to address the challenges veterans face after serving and the healing role faith communities can play for them.

This book examines the differences and needs of the six generations that make up congregations, offering insight into how each relates to congregational identity, purpose, and orientation.

This book outlines a 40-day spiritual journey to practice compassion and eat in solidarity with those experiencing poverty.

This book focuses on the concept of evangelism --- its challenges, the reason for doing it, and stories of churches who do it effectively. This resource is for congregations looking for an in-depth analysis of evangelism and ideas on how to encourage faith sharing.

This resource uses theory and practice to help congregations understand the dynamics of culture and how it relates to their ministry, extending knowledge that will help create transformation.

Outreach Magazine is a by-monthly, non-denominational magazine for Christian churches that offers practical tips, ideas, and articles, all of which are designed to educate, inspire, and challenge churches.

This article reflects on hospitality and the stranger through the lens of immigration, touching on topics such as social justice, immigration, power, and privilege.

This article identifies ten negative messages congregations unknowingly send to guests and visitors.

This organization provides consulting and online resources focused on a variety of topics, from visitor retention and congregational growth to leadership strategies.

This article draws from the author's experience visiting various congregations to offer seven actions they can take to be more welcoming to guests.

Written by a theology professor, this article reflects on evangelism, the role of the Christian with respect to evangelism, and the purpose of the church.

This book explores the aging population and shares how they can be assets to the congregation.

This collection of essays from various scholars explores race relations and the role religion has played in mending or straining those relations. Written in two parts --- history and future --- this book looks at how religious institutions can move forward in an increasingly multi-cultural America.

This website provides tools and strategies to train and send evangelists to fulfill the Great Commission.

Based off the author's personal experience, along with the stories of six young black men, this resource reveals the vulnerability of African-American men in the United States and offers tools for care-givers who encounter anyone who feels invisible and hopeless.

This practical guide gives readers a theological background on worship and expands knowledge on how different cultures worship so that congregations may create worship services that suits their needs.

Written in three parts, this book encourages churches to seek diversity, and gives best practices for a multi-ethnic church before summarizing everything in a section that shows how to implement diversity.

This book examines how America's increased diversity impacts spiritual formation, addressing issues like bias and prejudice.

Written by the United Methodist Chuch, this article is designed to help congregations become more welcoming to their guests.

This web resource provides congregations free access to three downloadable hospitality resources and one for-purchase hospitality training pack that are designed to teach congregations effective hospitality skills and techniques.

This easy-to-follow guide emphasizes the importance of capable greeters who are able to create a welcoming environment. This book offers advice on how to manage a greeting ministry and tips for leaders.

Written from the Roman Catholic Jesuit perspective, this scholarly book examines God's hospitality through the Gospel of Luke.

This book analyzes the theme of hospitality from multiple aspects, including the author's own research and an exploration of how different faith communities approach hospitality, concluding that congregations receive multiple blessings when they exhibit welcoming traits.

This resource offers a Lutheran perspective on immigration, tracing its roots in the Bible and forming a cultural context around the topic before asking provoking reflection questions.

This book provides the process and strategy to build a community in a fragmented world.

This resource identifies challenges and offers solutions for congregations looking to reflect the different ethnicities and cultures in a congregational worship setting.

This informative book analyzes the Roman Catholic Church's response to racism in America, looking at historical documents and statements before suggesting moves that would provide a "more adequate" response.

This resource addresses how congregations can begin to treat the earth with sacredness by adapting more sustainable practices.

This resource asks congregations to assess their needs and explore alternatives before devoting resources to building a new facility.

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about managing a facility, ranging from the basics to maintaining an environmentally friendly facility.

This practical guide will help your congregation navigate the building process, from the planning stages to discussing the responsibilities of the architect and contractor.

This two-part guide to become environmentally friendly includes case studies and tips, addressing topics like water use and cooling systems.

Written in five parts, this book explores the relationship between Roman Catholic beliefs and architecture, and can be used as a resource for churches looking to redesign, renovate, or build new facilities.

This resource provides an overview of the building process, and covers the importance of clarifying your congregation's mission, stewardship, and building design.

Targeted towards Roman Catholics, this book summarizes a twelve-step process that can be applied to church renovation or construction projects.

This article details the stories of several Roman Catholic congregations during the renovation process of their respective facilities.

Worship Facilities Magazine’ s educational and informative articles address different questions and concerns about a congregation’ s facility. The magazine’ s goal is to help congregations design, use, and maintain their facilities to maximize the effect of their ministry. Specific subjects include maintenance, finances, construction, renovation, interior design, acoustics, safety and security, the "greening” of a facility, landscaping, and technology.

Written by The Diocesan Commission on Church Art and Architecture for the Archdiocese of Chicago, this resource is designed to be used with Built of Living Stones, a statement by U.S. bishops about renovating and building Roman Catholic churches. This book provides additional information on topics that include icons and places for prayer.

This resource combines theology, illustration, and history to delve into features of the Roman Catholic Church and the significance of each.

This resource specializes in understanding the American with Disabilities and Architectural Barriers acts, revealing how congregations can apply guidelines.

Written by an architect, this reflective article asks questions about how God's presence is experienced and the purpose of a religious community's facilities.

This straightforward article lists the phases of a building project and highlights costs to be included in a realistic project budget.

This resource divides renovation and building projects into a three part process, showing how your new building can convey the congregation's mission.

This book makes the connection between worship goals and worship spaces with tips on how to enhance both.

This customizable giving platform provides many giving and reporting options for large congregations.

This book presents the small house church as a way to achieve ministry as described by Jesus and Paul throughout the New Testament. It delves into topics like prayer, humility, lay leadership, and relationships as it exists within the house church.

Filled with moving stories about the life of a small church, this book offers a candid look into small congregations --- its strengths, challenges, and its future.

This book identifies administration and leadership as crucial components for the small church, offering effective management strategies from volunteers to finance.

This conference focuses on educating and empowering prospective and current clergy, for ministry and in general, at rural congregations.

Bi-vocational pastor Harry Colegrove’ s leadership experience in a small town informs this blog on rural ministry and its challenges.

This organization offers resources and trainings with the goal of planting and supporting churches in small-town America.

This web resource, by Rural Church Network, provides space for congregational leaders in rural communities to share ideas and gather information about rural life and ministry to improve and enhance the lives of church members and their neighbors.

Based on the author's experience within a rural congregation, this resource explores the benefits of a partnership between the church and its farmers, one that can lead to community growth.

Based on the experiences of the author as a rural pastor, this book dispels false assumptions about rural congregations and shows how stagnant churches can grow by setting goals based on vision, attitude, leadership, understanding, and enduring excellence.

Based off the results of a case study, this resource offers stagnant rural and small congregations a process they can follow to ensure renewal.

This website offers free resources for rural and small town congregations to address outreach, stewardship of creation, agriculture and food.

This article describes the experience of one rural congregation to portray the value of prayer walks, a process in which walkers discovered new insights regarding their congregation.

This article looks at the efforts of Jewish congregations and judicatories to address the challenges of small congregations.

This organization provides coaching, consulting, and free online resources for leaders of small congregations.

As a by-product of the Center for Small Church Leadership, this resource offers small church clergy and lay-leaders education and encouragement to create more effective small churches.

This two-part article discusses common small church challenges and makes recommendations for pastors about their leadership.

Designed to help small church leaders improve their ministry, this book examines small churches from numerous angles ranging from theories to real life examples of congregations. It also gives hints and solutions throughout.

This resource argues that the most effective small church is one that sees and appreciates its assets in order to achieve ministry goals. It will help clergy and lay leaders of small congregations.

This article argues that congregations can be successful regardless of their location, offering a discussion on how congregations can become a neighborhood destination.

This downloadable guide outlines a three-year revitalization process for small churches.

Written by someone with first-hand experience, this book shows how the part-time clergy model can be beneficial for congregations and the challenges that come along with it.

This article offers advice and resources for small congregations and their governing systems and argues that small congregations need an appropriately sized governance system.

This article identifies ten challenges that small church pastors might face while offering suggestions to address such obstacles.

This book presents the meaning of church vitality in a new light, and begins a conversation about what it means for a church to be effective before providing a five-step process to follow.

This book offers a look inside the world of the small church, paying a tribute to the thousands of Christians who live, breathe, and sustain their faith in the small church.

This book equips congregations with tools to move from maintenance to mission, examining the characteristics of turnaround churches through scripture and stories.

This article dispels negative myths about the small church's future.

This book argues that churches must move from an internal to an external focus, giving congregations the tools to transform into a missional church that is daring in its outreach approach.

Drawing upon data and observations, this resource navigates the relationship between location and its impact on a congregation's health and vitality.

This book will help pastoral search committees through every step of the process, starting with a study of scripture, to creating financial packages, and everything in between point A and point B.

Written by an organizational consultant, this book contains business-based examples of healthy transitional changes that can be applied to congregations, offering insight on how to manage organizational and personal change.

This free website contains job postings from a variety of ministry positions.

Written by a United Methodist leader, this article offers 50 helpful actions that congregations can take to ease clergy leadership transitions.

This book provides spiritual and practical processes to search for a new clergy, offering helpful tools to make it a positive discernment process.

This web resource for The Center for Congregational Health's Interim Ministry program asserts the transition time between pastorates is vital for congregations and new ministers establishing "a solid ministry team" and offers a range of resources and services that either help congregations in transition or train clergy for interim ministry.

Provided by The Episcopal Church, this document outlines the benefits of choosing an interim minister when there are changes in clergy leadership.

This organization provides training for clergy, intentional interims, or interim consultants to support congregations in transition. The training program focuses on five important aspects: heritage, leadership, mission, connections, and future.

This book completes a three-part series on navigating pastoral transitions. This specific resource will help leaders prepare for a variety of emotional responses and ensure a smooth transition.

This book completes a three-part series on navigating pastoral transitions in Roman Catholic congregations. This specific resource focuses on the church staff.

This book completes a three-part series on navigating pastoral transitions in Roman Catholic congregations. This resource focuses on how incoming priests can ease their transition and build relationships.

Using scripture, stories from other clergy, and the author's own story, this resource helps pastors make a graceful vocational transition.

This resource frames clergy transitions as a period with potential to strengthen relationships between the new pastor and the congregation.

This resource offers a comprehensive review of interim ministry, and includes strategies and actions interim pastors can take to lead congregations through change.

This premier consulting agency works with churches for hiring staff, succession planning and building staff culture.

This book uses case studies, biblical examples, and interviews to offer a fresh perspective on clergy succession.

This article advocates for an increased number of trained intentional interim ministers and a larger number of churches to seek intentional interims during clergy transitions.

This resource identifies the nine leadership behaviors that will aid in a smooth transition to new clergy leadership.

This e-book explores the challenges of pastoral leadership and provides clarity surrounding congregational identity to help congregations select the right pastor for their church.

Baylor University’ s website offers individuals and congregations several resources related to clergy sexual misconduct which touch upon topics such as hints for preventing abuse, the civil and criminal consequences of sexual misconduct, and the vulnerability of both clergy and laypeople in counseling sessions.

This resource uses the voice of Tamar from 2 Samuel 13 as the grounding force to challenge assumptions about abuse and create awareness that will lead readers towards healing and redemption.

This article presents a proactive stance on clergy sexual abuse and suggests four categories of preventive measures that range from professional safeguards to raising awareness.

This organization offers online trainings, resources, and consulting addressing sexual and domestic violence in faith communities.

This resource looks at topics such as misconduct, authenticity, testimony, vulnerability, and power within the context of trust --- how clergy and laity can build trust with intentionality and purpose.

This resource critiques the Roman Catholic church with love and grace, diagnosing its current challenges and offering solutions that will transform the church into a space people will find relevant and welcoming.

Based on his work with male survivors of sexual abuse in addition to his own experiences as a survivor, this author offers readers information and tools for healing and recovery after abuse.

This article helps male clergy understand and identify the risks of clergy sexual misconduct while discussing healthy boundaries and preventive strategies.

This resource offers survivors of sexual abuse a scriptural interpretation that helps them heal and recover while addressing prayer, gender, and contemporary films and books.

Written in four parts, this resource gives readers clarity about emotional abuse and paths to healing.

This volume examines clergy sexual abuse from several angles based on a series of conversations with abuse survivors, combining their stories with insight from experts in social work, psychology, religion, and other fields.

This resource tackles the difficult topic of abuse and religious communities --- how to educate the congregation about abuse and how to respond to allegations.

This comprehensive book offers a systemic approach to clergy and congregation recovery after clergy sexual misconduct, discussing topics such as treatment, the effect on the church, prevention, and intervention.

Written by a journalist, this resource argues for a Roman Catholic church that is open, honest, and accountable, offering concrete solutions to combat the breakdown of community and trust in the church.

This resource tackles the systemic, spiritual, and communal problems of addictive and co-dependent behavior by clergy and congregations.

This comprehensive guide looks at spiritual abuse by clergy and lay leaders through a lens of scholarly literature, interviews, and scripture to provide a deeper understanding of the topic and how to recover from it.

This resource offers tools and practical applications for ministry to embrace healthy boundaries, clarifying "where I end and you begin" to help protect clergy and lay leaders.

This United Methodist online resource has links to articles, webinars, and contact information for denominational staff persons assigned to help churches create safe environments for vulnerable populations.

This short article lists nine steps to create a narrative budget that communicates the congregation's impact.

This web resource promotes areyvut, a term that means “mutual responsibility”, as a foundational Jewish faith value and goal with respect to youth and teenagers. It provides resources to a variety of synagogues, families, and Jewish community centers and schools for helping youth “become thoughtful, giving members of the Jewish community of tomorrow.”

Based on an interfaith research study of more than 1,300 Philadelphia-based congregations, this resource examines the social service needs that congregations in the area fulfil.

This free web resource is a public service of the University of Kansas and its KU Work Group for Community Health and Development, and teaches the skills needed for building healthier communities by addressing topics such as leadership, finance, communication, and more.

This book provides a variety of Jewish voices and opinions on the topic of money --- how it relates to employment, debt, and the caring for children.

Based on interviews of numerous families, this resource provides readers with ideas for engaging in familiy ministry.

This resource simplifies church staffing into the "Four Core Processes": evangelism, retention, discipleship, and mission.

This web resource, provided by the youth division of the 1989 President George H.W. Bush Points of Light initiative GenerationOn, seeks to empower children and youth to grow into being community leaders, live lives of service to others, and "make their mark on the world" by offering hands-on projects, internships, and scholarships.

This practical resource gives readers helpful approaches and suggestions for engaging laity in congregational leadership, and would be helpful for Christian congregations that struggle with finding and keeping lay leaders.

Part of a three-book series, this specific resource focuses on volunteers and covers topics such as evaluation, communication, and the role of leaders.

This resource uses an ethical and legal perspective to examine common and difficult employment issues church boards may face.

This resource contemplates the identity of the synagogue as a religious center for Jewish life, delving into topics like internal and external relationships, governance, and financing.

Part one in a three-book series, this resource focuses on helping leaders recruit and train volunteers.

This resource views missional churches as the best response to modern-day malaise in many congregations. It offers values of missional churches as well as solutions to overcoming challenges that go along with congregational transformation.

This five-part resource equips congregations with the tools and information needed to find and nurture leaders for the next generation and beyond.

This book examines the effectiveness of megachurches by addressing myths and concluding that megachurches offer a compelling representation of the gospel.

This resource tackles the ins and outs of vibrant worship, and provides suggestions on how to organize a worship team that can create dynamic and spiritually grounded worship.

This resource paints a detailed portrait of American congregations from a variety of religious traditions.

Composed by a variety of contributors, this book examines spiritual formation from the missional church perspective, giving readers a clearer idea of the purpose behind a missional church.

This article focuses on how to keep children safe while they are in church facilities.

This article equips clergy and lay leaders with tips and information to prepare for the reality of gun violence in houses of worship.

The goal of this online set of articles from Christianity Today is to reduce the risk of financial malfeasance in congregations. The book's contributors accomplish this by teaching congregations about internal accounting policies and procedures, how to implement them, and how to reduce their risk of being deceived. Oversight of donations and disbursements, the rationale behind outsider-performed annual audits, and implementing an accounting system with check and balances are a few of the strategies offered. The article further promotes separation of duties and responsibilities, only non-family members working together as donation counters, and multiple signatures on checks above a specified amount. Additional emphasis is on continuing education and training, and creating a manual that specifies accounting processes and procedures. All of these efforts reduce the likelihood of honest mistakes and financial malfeasance. This highly accessible and helpful book provides numerous examples and suggestions. It is appropriate for all religious traditions.

This resource addresses a range of topics to help youth ministers navigate issues of safety, liability, and accountability.

This article argues for a health ministry team that can be integrated into the congregation and provides suggestions for how to do so.

Having forms that protect the integrity of a religious organization and its participants, volunteers, and staff can seem a bit alarmist and such a laborious task that procrastination is easy. Christianity Today author John Throop helps resolve this dilemma by providing a rationale for waivers, releases, and permission forms that addresses handling confidential information. He then specifies ten categories of forms that can be utilized once the download is purchased. Four forms are employment applications or for securing background checks. Several forms are for children, youth, and those who work with them, including camps and summer programming personnel. A "health history disclosure form" pertains to trips where medical care is not readily available. Although this resource is from a Christian source, the forms and information provide proactive protective steps for congregations from all faith traditions.

Seven authors contribute to this resource from Christianity Today that addresses the responsibilities of church office personnel. Among other topics, the article discusses confidentiality, record keeping, and communication, and includes many suggestions and issues to consider. Communication, for example, includes determining the appropriate medium, how to improve printed communications, and how to manage a prayer list. With respect to confidentiality, the article distinguishes between printed, electronic, and oral information. A section about record keeping offers guidelines for document disposal and retention, such as immigration records, incorporation papers, donations, and pledges. Two sample job descriptions are helpful starts for a congregation that needs to create a job description for office personnel. The section on "roles and responsibilities" accounts for both the practical and spiritual aspects of the job. Though Christian in perspective, this is a must-read and useful training tool for clergy, staff, personnel committees, and judicatories from various religious traditions.

This comprehensive article is a review on what constitutes as a church record, which records should be kept, and how to assure confidentiality.

Religious people and their facilities are not immune from emergencies. This resource from Christianity Today helps congregations develop plans that lead to an effective response to an emergency situation. The assessment tool evaluates a congregation's readiness to handle various emergencies, whether internal or external. Readers can then create "emergency response plans" via the provided "modules" that address weather, illegal behavior, violence, and other events. Specific topics include managing an evacuation, dangers in a damaged facility, and communication. Among other things, the communication module suggests a phone tree, direct alarms to police and/or fire department personnel, and a "need to know" basis for handling "sensitive information." Leaders share what they learned from their church fire in another section. Ideas include "record all offers of help." Christianity is the article's perspective, but clergy, trustees, and leaders from many religious traditions can use this practical resource with little or no adaptation.

Attorney and CPA Richard Hammar contributes heavily to this article that addresses "unrelated business income" and a church's tax obligations. Hammar first offers an explanation of "unrelated business income," saying, it is the "gross income derived from any unrelated trade or business regularly carried on less the deductions directly connected with such trade or business." That is just the starting point, as other considerations, such as what constitutes an appropriate deduction, impact tax liability. Among the income producing activities reviewed are: 1) renting or leasing property or space, 2) selling ads for a publication, and 3) publishing materials. A church's tax-exempt status is discussed, and examples and case studies are offered throughout. The article cautions religious organizations to always seek professional tax and legal advice. Understanding this part of the tax code is important, making this article a must-read for clergy, lay leaders, and judicatories from any religious tradition.

This resource offers a history of the arts in Christianity and shows readers how to establish an arts ministry in their congregations.

This collection of essays promotes a rethinking of the developmental model of interim ministry while offering new and innovative interim ministry ideas that can be applied to specific congregational contexts.

This DVD curriculum allows youth pastors to train volunteers remotely by sending video trainings via email.

This resource walks readers through a 30-day boot camp in order to secure youth volunteers.

This slim guide offers principles and accompanying tips that can easily be applied to any form of collaboration, covering topics such as boundaries, efficiency, mistakes, and timelines.

This book offers solutions for congregations who hope to grow a vibrant faith community despite declining resources and attendance, addressing potential challenges and questions they may have about change.

This resource uses the Bible, brain science, and psychology to depict the uses of emotional intelligence within a ministry setting, offering clergy strategies for becoming more emotionally intelligent.

Using the Old and New Testament, this book provides readers with ten practices or "commandments" for how to connect with Post-Civil Rights generations.

Written by a social media pastor, this book makes a case for viewing social media as a helpful congregational tip and offers tips on how to use a variety of outlets.

This resource will increase the effectiveness of your congregation by providing a guide to planning for efficient meetings, covering basics such as promoting discussions and different communication methods.

This user-friendly resource encourages congregational leaders to use the Spiritual Discovery Method for decision making, promoting open and honest questions in order to practice discernment.

This comprehensive guide outlines how to create bylaws and is easily adaptable for congregational use.

This resource provides the history and basics of The Circle Way, a structure of conversation that can be used to collaborate and make decisions.

This practical book teaches facilitation for anyone interested in coordinating group work or looking to increase effectiveness through facilitation --- what it looks like and how to keep a conversation moving forward.

This comprehensive resource teaches the nuts and bolts of facilitating group decision-making by breaking the process down into four parts and illustrating ideas through charts and graphs.

This book for associate staff encourages growth and well-being, focusing on four areas: personal, relational, professional, and church leadership support.

This resource uses the lens of worship music to explore the culture of a Black Catholic parish in San Francisco.

This book argues that small congregations offer relevant lessons appropriate for any size of congregation, and focuses on how a tight-knit community can serve as the perfect foundation for close relationships.

This comprehensive guide looks at the theory and practice of facilitating conversations as a way to "help groups become more effective."

Written by an artist and seminary professor, this resource bridges the divide between the two worlds of Christianity and art, exploring art's relationship to biblical values.

This collection of essays offers an expansive vision of the arts for the church.

This resource provides theological reflections and suggestions for clergy seeking to provide healing after a death.

This user-friendly resource equips leadership teams with various techniques to reach consensus, no matter the topic. Divided into four sections, each one contains hints, examples, and activities that can be implemented.

This resource examines all aspects of ministry teams --- how they function, benefits, and challenges that can impede effectiveness, all of which combine to offer congregations insights on how to implement this organizational structure within their ministry.

This resource covers a range of broad to specific topics relating to the building or renovation of worship spaces, ranging from how to create a construction team to hiring outside consultants.

This resource assesses both traditional Evangelical and emerging Evangelical perspectives to offer a solution to their differences that requires trust and dialogue.

This book combines theology and practical instruction to start or improve a contemporary worship service.

This collection of essays discusses the future of the Christian church, drawing upon current cultural and religious contexts in the U.S. and the U.K.

This collection of essays explores Christian worship from different vantage points, such as the role of music, liturgy, media, and dynamics of worship.

This book focuses on worship renewal by examining faithful worship and how history shapes worship practices.

Designed for small membership Christian congregations, this resource explores new ways churches can share God's vision through mission and worship.

Designed to serve the musical and liturgical needs of emergent communities of faith, this resource applies psalm singing to a contemporary setting.

This church hymnody resource identifies, describes, and discusses seven categories of Christian music since Vatican II, going in depth to explore characteristics and histories of each.

This resource uses theory and practices to counter the "restlessness" among young people in relationship to the church, specifically worship practices.

This resource generates new language and meaning to change how readers view worship service and preparation, introducing concepts like worship curators and reemerging church.

This resource offers different perspectives of worship and responses from voices outside of the tradition being presented, resulting in a lively exchange of theological and practical ideas.

This article describes an event designed to help young adults connect with their Jewish heritage on High Holy Days through social and educational components.

A plethora of information about small churches is available on this website that is maintained by small church veteran and Assemblies of God ordained pastor Karl Vaters.

This easy to follow guide contains helpful information relating to congregational and nonprofit taxes, including how to maintain tax exempt status and accounting for charitable gifts.

This organization provides resources that help congregations reach more men and boys, such as articles, blog posts, consulting, and training events.

This organization provides online resources and in-person services for food and gardening, urban forestry, and land preservation.

This organization offers a list of artists, architects, and liturgical consultants who are dedicated to creating beautiful spaces for faith communities.

This organization provides conferences, trainings, and assessments to help nonprofit board members become exceptional leaders and accomplish their organization's goals.

This organization provides workshops, online resources, and assessment tools focused on church planting, church health, leadership development, and conflict resolution.

This article discusses five motivations people have for volunteering so that leaders can guide volunteers to a section of ministry that fits with their personal motivations.

This four-day conference is dedicated to advancing Christian stewardship, Catholic philanthropy, and resource development in North America.

In this web resource, Church Law Group attorney David Middlebrook conducts an interview with author and church consultant Jim Tomberlin and focuses on questions about church mergers, with Tomberlin arguing that mergers can create healthier congregations.

This five-step plan from the Christian Church is for congregations who have already identified real estate to purchase, covering legal considerations and getting congregational approval.

This article offers best practices for maintaining a church facility with the goals of safety and efficiency in mind.

This article helps congregations assess how their signage adds or detracts from their identity, mission, and values.

This organization promotes and teaches the principles of servant leadership through conferences, trainings, an e-newsletter, free blog posts, and a podcast.

This web resource offers a YouTube video narrated by Eric Swanson, author and Leadership Network’s Community Director, which describes externally focused or what are called “missiona” congregations and shares stories from missional churches where service to “outsiders” is integral and where expressions of love of neighbor are evident by the service rendered.

This organization offers an e-newsletter, conference, and articles to help congregational leaders strengthen their catechumenal process.

This three-page document is full of practical suggestions for making your congregation welcoming and user-friendly for guests.

This article describes 25 practical and easily implemented ways for congregations and individuals to create a missional presence in the neighborhood.

This article equips congregations with ways to prevent child abuse and what to do if abuse is alleged.

Secretaries and administrators who serve their congregations as volunteers or as paid staff will find much to appreciate in this article offered by Christianity Today. Communicating effectively with the media, your supervisor, and others is discussed. Tips for handling confrontational conversations are offered, and responding to "complainers" is also addressed. Another offering, "Ten Rules for Respect," is clear, honors boundaries, and can be implemented in many places outside of the office. Listening and discernment as both skill and art-because there is always a story behind the story-is also covered. This article is relatively brief, but its many hints and suggestions can serve as a teaching or assessment tool or as a how-to for clergy, staff members, and lay-leaders from a variety of religious traditions.

This article helps churches identify dangerous behaviors and outlines strategies for keeping staff and parishioners safe.

In this article, Kansas Interfaith Power and Light offers a five-step process to help congregations save energy costs.

Christianity Today offers helpful information and ideas about financing a building project. The numerous authors are both creative and practical in their approach. They address various topics, including borrowing and debt and the impact on congregations, hiring fundraising and capital campaign experts, and securing funds when the economy is down. The "finding grants" section may be of particular interest for those congregations who feel like securing grants is a bit like maneuvering a maze. Among other things, author Joy Skjegstad demystifies the process, offers a national website for finding grantors, {{United Philanthropy Forum | https://www.unitedphilforum.org/}}, and identifies the documentation, plans, and information to have prepared in advance. Context issues throughout the article are small versus large congregations, the role of faith, and fiscal responsibility. Hints for sharing the article with others and additional resources are provided. Any congregation considering a building project will find this conversation starter helpful and enlightening.

This article identifies and details five strengths of smaller congregations while providing anecdotal evidence for each.

This article offers research and insights to help congregations attract and recruit new and old congregational participants.

Maintaining a church calendar is simple, right? Rarely, say the contributors to this article from Christianity Today, though they also say that answering basic questions is a helpful starting point. Some questions are the number of calendars needed-one master calendar or multiple ones specific to time, function, or group? What is the best format-printed or electronic? What calendars are public? Private? What about the church's website calendar? What is the process for altering the calendar? The authors wisely recognize that all churches are not alike, and one solution does not work for everyone. A strength, therefore, of this resource is that it offers readers information, options, and issues to consider about the basic questions, such as ways to handle facility reservations, a review of available software programs, and methods of gathering calendar items. This practical resource is appropriate for all congregations and their staff, regardless of tradition.

This article offers congregations topics to consider before selecting a piece of property to purchase.

This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of converting your facility into a flexible space.

This article offers eight practices of a missional church while inviting readers to consider their own ministry and obstacles to growth.

This article describes a brief history of the missional church movement and discusses the rationale of authors and theologians who are proponents of the movement.

This montage captures the spirit, mood, and tone of the alternative worship movement in one United Kingdom religious community.

This less than three-minute video from YouTube has no spoken words, but speaks volumes about England’ s Calvin College's alternative worship and its many facets and elements. Viewers see informal and formal gatherings where participants are both prone or standing in reverence.

This web resource offers a YouTube video that contains a labyrinth meditative prayer walk which guides you through the stages of "a journey toward God", including reflection time for contemplating and meditating on loss, fear, and gifts.

This intergenerational worship experience example offered on YouTube by Laura Lenander shows participants worshipping through a myriad of artistic media, which produces a myriad of artistic products and focuses on participants speaking and working from their own concerns, questions, and contexts.

This website, provided by Prayerscapes, a group of Christian musicians, dramatic readers, and worship and prayer creators, offers videos and films that have both spoken and musical content and include daily prayers, a house blessing, and well-known prayers, such the Lord’ s Prayer and Psalm 23.

This web resource by Steve Collins, who is a creative thinker and artist who cares deeply about the church and its identity, theology, and future, explores the church from numerous angles to enrich the church's relationship with its local culture.

Anglican Church Music Director Neil Barker created this website to explore and discuss the past, present, and future of church worship.

This article identifies the foundation of the missional church outlining six characteristics that explore what missional churches do, how they do it, and why.

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This practical and adaptable guide for building an annual budget starts by emphasizing the relationship between a congregation's mission and vision and its budget. The chapters that follow include steps to passing a budget, a brief list of definitions, a discussion of biblical ethics in relationship to a budget, a section for small congregations, and a suggested schedule for completing a budget on time. Several samples of documents that can be used as templates are included. A budget worksheet for committees, a mission statement, and a chart of accounts are just a few of the samples available. This downloadable and free resource was first published by the former Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1999 and later updated by the Union for Reform Judaism. Many congregations from a variety of faith traditions will find this document helpful and easily adaptable for their own context.

Many congregations seek leadership development resources, but finding them can be overwhelming. An internet search on leadership development renders millions of hits; a search on Amazon.com provides more than 40,000 hits. To help congregations in their search, Rev. Drs. Janet Hoover and Nancy DeMott combined their pastoral, educational, and research experience to discover and select the "best" leadership development resources for congregations. Their eleven-page report defines leadership development, identifies the "best" twenty-eight resources, and explains what makes a resource a "best" in the eyes of the Center for Congregations. The resources vary from books to blogs, organizations to articles. Each resource is annotated and includes contact or publishing information. Some resources are secular in approach; others reflect various religious traditions. Specific topics covered include leadership and power, leadership theory, communication, conflict, educational programs, and student leadership. Congregations of all types and sizes will want to begin their search for resources here.

Suicide, accidental, and violent deaths are three kinds of tragedies that Editor Marian Liautaud addresses in this resource. The article includes an "overview" on responding to tragedies, an assessment tool, and how-to and pastor sections. The assessment and how-to sections focus on preparation. These cover topics such as death of a child, steps for building a "crisis team," and communication, including legal considerations and handling the media. One pastor section offers advice for caring for individuals and the congregation, and notes "the uniqueness of various crises." The other pastor section discusses teen suicide. It offers suicide "warning signals," makes suggestions for counseling suicidal people, and has ideas for suicide education. Ways to use the material and additional resources are also given. Tragedy does not limit itself to a particular religious group, making this user-friendly training tool a must-read for clergy, lay leaders, and judicatories from any religious tradition.

In this resource, Your Church Resources editor Marian Liautaud has compiled a set of shorter articles that focus on various aspects of church fire safety. Both the introductory overview and the assessment tool help churches determine their level of vulnerability, such as electrical or chemical fires. The how-to sections offer suggestions for responding after a church fire, emphasize having an evacuation plan, and explain how electrical wiring and some appliances contribute to kitchen fires. Readers are given a process for "choosing a fire-detection system" that includes a discussion of working with contractors and experts. Readers can also review the provided checklist for "preventing arson," offering tips about lighting, locks, and handling combustible products. Ways to use the article as a training tool for leaders, additional resources, and "thought provokers" that serve as conversation starters are also provided. This brief article is appropriate for clergy, lay leaders, and judicatories from all religious traditions.

Written by a Grammy-winning sound engineer, this resource shows how congregations can achieve excellent sound systems using available resources.

The annual Traditional Building magazine is targeted to professionals in architecture, interior design, construction and landscape design who specialize in traditional design and offers congregations an extensive list of vendors that provide products and services that are sometimes hard to find.

This article discusses the role that miscommunication plays in congregational conflict and offers an intervention process for reducing conflict and enhancing communication.

Karen Arneson is a former youth worker who edits this article aimed at helping congregations implement policies and procedures for youth ministry that can help prevent sexual abuse occurrences and help ensure healthy ministry boundaries. Arneson identifies six topics for consideration. One is an assessment tool that invites leaders to review their current "safeguards." Another is a how-to that offers ideas and suggestions for keeping youth safe, such as worker selection, oversight, and conversation. Still another section addresses liability, supervision, and youth volunteers with respect to "youth-to-youth sexual abuse" and "harassment." The article also discusses legal and ethical obligations of church leadership when accusations of abuse are made. Additional aids are as follows: "thought provokers," tips for using the information, and a list of optional resources. Though the source of this article is Christian, the issues addressed are relevant for clergy, lay-leaders, and judicatories from any religious tradition.

Daycare centers can be an effective outreach tool, but daycares must be safe places that are carefully and legally managed. This Christianity Today resource helps churches establish and improve their centers and keep a child's welfare as primary importance. The assessment tool and how-to's review the basics, such as following state and local regulations, purchasing toys and equipment, handling chemicals and cleaning products, and playgrounds. Additionally, one section discusses what may be signs of child mistreatment or intentional harm. Sharing faith with children is explored in another section. One easily overlooked danger is the risk of poisons, and a number of tips are offered to decrease accidental poisoning incidents, including storing materials in their "original containers." "Thought provokers" are sprinkled throughout and ways to share the information and additional resources are offered. This article is appropriate as an assessment tool or for those starting a daycare, regardless of religious tradition.