WASHINGTON—Calvary Baptist Church, a 150-year-old congregation in the heart of the nation’s capital, is emerging as the destination of choice for an increasing number of mission trips and summer camps for churches in the Mid-Atlantic. Calvary Baptist Church This summer…
Camp will benefit from generosity of disbanded church
HARTFIELD, Va.—Piankatank Camp and Conference Center will benefit from the generosity of a Petersburg, Va., church which disbanded last year and gave its property to the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, Piankatank’s owner. Funds from the sale of the 60-year-old Walnut…
Choices abound for summer camps, mission trips
Hot fun in the summer sun is just around the corner. The end of the school year and the long days of summer will bring a variety of summer camps and mission opportunities for all ages, and the experiences can…
Churches conflicted when it comes to social media engagement
By Robert Dilday It’s not about hunting. It’s about farming. That’s how bestselling author Ivan Misner, founder of one of the world’s largest business networking organizations, describes social networks, which he says attempt to do one thing—cultivate relationships. For church…
Text message donors represent new category of giver, study shows
By Bob Allen One in 10 Americans have made a charitable donation using the text messaging feature on their mobile phones, according to a newly-released study produced by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Harvard’s Berkman…
So your church is on Facebook. What now?
By Robert Dilday While about half of Protestant churches have Facebook pages, many essentially use it as a bulletin board, missing out on the potential to nurture relationships with congregants and its community. “It’s OK for a church to use…
Beyond Facebook: Scanning the social media landscape
By Robert Dilday Facebook has become the social network of choice for the vast majority of people—it’s hard to argue with 850 million users around the globe—and it’s not likely to disappear any time soon. But some specialists see a…
Video blog offers deeper connection between pastor and church
By Robert Dilday When a church consultant recommended to Second Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo., that its senior minister needed an additional venue—other than the pulpit—to connect to its members, the church’s media minister pushed Pastor Jason Edwards to consider…
TRENDING: Heterogeneity and frequency
Recently, the Rainer Research Group released a futurist study on what they believe to be 10 unexpected trends in church-life by the year 2020 (www.churchexecutive.com). In coming issues, I want to explore a few of those trends. John Chandler Heterogeneity…
VITAL SIGNS: New clergy deserve a chance
A recent column on the surge of churches calling pastors in their fifth decade evoked a wide range of responses. Many came from mid-career clergy who offered a hearty “Amen” and were grateful for the news that their sense of…
OPINION: Imagining a statue of forgiveness
A few weeks ago my family toured the battlefield of Gettysburg National Military Park. About a month beforehand, my 14-year-old son read Killer Angels, a classic novel of the Civil War and he surprised all of us, including our licensed…
OPINION: As Baptists, it’s time we had the talk
As Baptists, the time has come for us to have the talk. The talk. The talk about which everyone has an opinion, but no one seems to have the courage to address. Yes, that’s the talk I’m referring to. The…