For as long as I can remember my parents' church has put together a book with pictures of every family every 3-5 years, and the process always goes something like: -Choose a national company to take photos (they don't charge for the session or the resulting book) -Family schedules a time to come sit in front of a neutral screen, all lay their hands on eachother's shoulders or arms and smile for the camera. -The national company tries to sell them photos beyond what will go in the book. -Several months later everyone in the church receives a book. I understand that this is a very cost...

I am a first term elder and council clerk who is now going to be partly responsible for guiding discussion and voting on a few "hot button" issues - selling a parsonage in order to fund new ministries and a renovation/addition, as well as gathering perspectives now and voting in May on building a small barrier-free addition to our church. Do those of you who are experienced in conducting and fielding questions in this type of situation have any hints for keeping the discussion on a helpful track, or any words of wisdom on what to say and what to avoid? I am starting to sweat!

Let's face it, having a child with a disability affects the whole family. As parents, we legitimately need to give extra time and attention to a child who struggles with physical, intellectual, or emotional challenges. What are some ways you've dealt with resentment from your other children for the amount of attention your special needs child is given? I would love to hear not only from families whose children are still at home, but also from families whose children are grown. Parents of adult children with disabilities still continue to give them a large percentage of their time - especially...

When a pastor leaves a church, for any reason, such as taking a call to another church, retirement, leaving the ministry, what are the implications for the remaining staff at that church? How do they continue doing ministry? Do they now have a new "leader?" Where do they look for direction? If you have experienced that situation and could guide others going through it, I'd like to hear from you, and I think others would, too. Are there resources, such as articles or books, that might inform that time of transition? This topic came up at a recent meeting of the Staff Ministry Committee (SMC)...

I am just wondering if there is a central website where those who are interested in CRC Leadership Development Networks can share best practices and the like when it comes to ministry training. I would love to hear updates, celebrations, etc. from those who have felt God's call on their lives to be more involved in ministry.I hear LDNs referred to occasionally, but is there a central online "meetingplace" for those involved?

Greeting, I thought I would post something here right away. Yes I am ordained as a Ministry Associate. Have been for about 4 years. Curious how this forum will work. I am also especially curious to hear about how people are doing ministry are doing ministry as a Ministry Associate. I work as an community worker and evangelist in a type of 2nd staff position in an established church. Mark Van Drunen

I have been thinking for the past couple of years now, about how connected I feel to my local church. I am an Army Chaplain, so I am geographically removed from my sponsoring Church. In some ways, this has led to a sense of disconnection. It places a burden on my heart to stay connected with the families that I love, yet I struggle with the best way to do that. So far, connection has consisted of sending in the occasional prayer request or update when something is changing and submitting my annual report and having a telephone conference with the board. Duty and Deployment messed up my...

Crown Financial Ministries says that "when we take a portion of our tithe and divert it to keep our children in Christian schools, it's really a gift in self-interest. Educational costs are your normal responsibility. Therefore, if God wants your children to attend private school, He will provide the funds without your having to divert His tithe for that purpose." Do you agree? Admin Note: This topic has been cross-posted to our Stewardship network. Please add your comments there .

First, do you have a membership class targetted to adults coming into your church as new believers, from other CRC's, and/or denominations? Second, what materials do you use for that (self-made, denominational resource, video, etc.)? I've been using Louis Tamminga's booklet Church Membership and You . But it has recently gone out of print. I know it's been made available in PDF format, but it's inconvenient and expensive to print/copy/assemble. Still, I like the organization of the booklet, and the brevity with which it covers the topics. My practice is to invite everyone wanting to explore...

We have had members of council become wary of using the category of inactive members. Even explained as a category for accounting purposes it seems to carry a disciplinary tone. What are people doing about decdlaring members inactive and ministering to them?

Just finished filing some sermons. It made me wonder, "How many people file a hard copy of their sermons anymore?" I'm wondering if I need to consider a well-backed up copy on my computer good enough. What are some of your practices? I currently: 1)File the hard copy of the preached sermon. 2) Enter the text, sermon title, date, location, series (if applicable), and some quick topic notes in a spreadsheet. Looking forward to hearing from some of you. Or else will listen to the crickets chirp as a wait.