Learn More About the Ministry Innovation Awards Application Process

From Steeple to Sanctuary: Keeping Your Church in Top Shape-

Rev. Dr. David S. Bell

Churches across the nation are grappling with the challenge of deferred maintenance. They are postponing necessary repairs often due to competing priorities. This practice can lead to escalating costs and potential disruptions in ministry. Addressing deferred maintenance is not merely about repairing structures; it's about ensuring that church facilities remain safe, welcoming, and functional for congregational activities.

Understanding Deferred Maintenance

Deferred maintenance refers to the postponement of repairs and upkeep of church facilities. While some tasks may seem non-urgent, neglecting them can result in more significant issues over time. For instance, delaying roof repairs can lead to water damage, compromising the integrity of the building and increasing repair costs.

Deferred maintenance can also affect the mindset of the congregation. When visible signs of wear and neglect accumulate, church constituents may perceive the church as struggling or disorganized. The result can diminish confidence in church leadership and even reduce engagement. A sense of apathy or resignation can abide and make it harder to rally support for giving or volunteer initiatives. Addressing deferred maintenance proactively, therefore, is not just a financial or operational concern – it is also critical to maintaining trust, morale, and a sense of shared responsibility among congregants.

Read Full Article

Special Year End Brochure Offer

The United Methodist Foundation of Michigan is excited to offer an opportunity for your church to enhance their year-end giving campaigns with no-cost, customizable brochures! Imagine the impact you can have to inspire generous living and stewardship during this vital season.

We are offering a special grant that is limited to the first 20 churches that respond. Reach out to Marian Coles by 11.05 to secure your free, personalized printed brochures (Up to 200) and make your campaign truly shine. If you miss this offer, feel free to reach out to receive a PDF file that you can print locally. We can personalize and add your organization's contact information.

Turning the Ship: How the Courageous Congregations Collaborative (C3) Helped One Church Embrace Change-Rev. Gary Step

Change rarely comes easily in a congregation. Traditions, cultural shifts, and generational differences often lead to what one pastor called “if only” thinking: If only our church would do this, if only the leadership would do that, if only a certain generation acted differently. But authentic ministry requires more than quick fixes, it begins with exploring deeper hopes, naming challenges, and staying open to learning.

Rev. Paul Hahm from Orchard Lake UMC shared how his church’s journey through the Courageous Congregations Collaborative (C3) helped them shift this mindset. “Too often, we externalize our problems, thinking the problem is over there and the solution will come from here,” he said. “Instead, C3 helped us ask: How can we act in alignment with our values and take responsibility for meaningful change?”

Read Full Article

Charting New Territory- Rev. Joel Fitzgerald

I have grown up in the Unted Methodist Church my entire life. As the son of two pastors, I have been steeped in our method and way of being. And we love rules. After all our name comes from the “method” the Wesley’s developed. Our organizational manual is called the Book of Discipline.

This tendency to set up rules is endemic in organizations. Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan, in their surprisingly funny book The Org, detail why organizations emerge in the first place. Rules and standards are crucial for organizational health and survival; allaying risks and creating redundancy so the organization can survive. Their basic point is that humans will make organizations, and organizations will make rules and standards.

The problem arises when new situations require organizations to change. Sometimes new political, cultural, or technological realities make an organization’s rules obsolete or even counterproductive. This was the case of the Church of England in Wesley’s day; an organization whose rules may have made sense at one time but were ill-equipped for a changed world.

So how can organizations innovate? How can they retain the benefits of standards but innovate around a new reality? There are no easy answers, but Fisman and Sullivan give one example: Skunk Works. Skunk Works is an internal division at Lockheed Martin that, while being part of a giant monolithic corporation, is given a great deal of autonomy and freedom. Skunk Works engineers think up crazy designs and are unburdened by many of the requirements of other divisions. Their freedom is not unlimited, but they are given space to dream crazy dreams and think up innovative ideas.