From the Desk of Our Executive Director

Is it essential that Christians attend church physically? We will deal with that question in this edition of The Stewardship Journal. Recent studies are showing the impact of the Lockdowns and the move by many to embrace the virtual church. Is that effective or not? This Journal raises some good points and questions about this issue.

“The American Church made a huge mistake when it accepted the notion that physical church attendance was not essential for Christian growth.” That is a quote from Mark Brooks’, The Stewardship Coach, column entitled The Physical Church IS Essential. Mark shares his views on the impact of the Lockdowns with new studies and data.

The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, part of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, recently reported that “the more a church emphasized online and electronic giving, the greater their per capita giving rose.” That’s a quote from our Bonus Section, entitled The Future of Giving is Hybrid. This post gives up-to-date information on the impact online giving can have on the financial future of a church.

Our final post is a positive report on the value of long-tenured pastors. In a post entitled The Stewardship of Time. We interviewed Greg Fine, the Senior Pastor of FBC Higginsville. Greg has been a frequent contributor to our Missouri Baptist Pastors Speak post. Recently, Greg announced his plans to retire after twenty-nine years at First Higginsville. In this post, we probe into the value of pastoral longevity.

Once again, let me remind you that the Stewardship Journal will be going national on January 8^th, 2024. We are in the final stages of implementing this change. We believe this will help us improve not only the reach of the Journal but also the quality of what we can offer. Stay tuned for the best is yet to come!

Advancing the Gospel!