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December 20, 2010

10 to Remember From 2010

These Your Church Today articles drew the most traffic.

 by Matt Branaugh


As 2010 comes to a close, it’s time to get all nostalgic and look back at the year that was. That includes reviewing the articles that interested readers throughout the year. Based on Internet traffic patterns, these 10 articles from YourChurch.net (Your Church Today magazine’s website) led the way:

10. Is My Church Covered? We noticed many church leaders seemed to be taking a hard look at their church insurance policies, their premiums, and any possible savings they could make in light of tightened budgets. Our Summer 2010 cover story reviewed the changing landscape of church insurance, including key coverage changes to note, terms to know, and a brief look at the biggest church insurance providers.

9. State of the Plate Results A detailed look at the results from the 2010 State of the Plate survey, which Christianity Today International conducted with Maximum Generosity to see how 2009 ended for American churches. Among the findings: More churches missed their budgets in 2009 compared to 2008.

8. Debunking the Clergification Myth Respected author and researcher Ed Stetzer examines the prevailing models of church staffing structures and argues for changes that place less emphasis on paid staff and more emphasis on an empowered lay leadership base.

7. Why the Church Library is Still Relevant With iPads, Nooks, and Kindles preoccupying much of the culture’s attention these days, it’s easy to forget that a church library remains relevant as a ministry to congregations, especially in tight economic times. Here’s more on how to start and establish an effective one.

6. What’s Changing—and What’s Not The Leadership Network’s Dave Travis shares several trends—or lack of trends—from larger churches, and what that means for churches of all sizes.

5. Four Policy Mistakes Churches Make As a part of our Summer 2010 issue’s package on “Protecting Church Leaders from Porn,” this article forewarns church leaders about four computer-policy practices that often lead to problems.

4. A Closer Look at “Lean” Church Staffs A joint survey conducted by Christianity Today International and Leadership Network identifies some helpful patterns and practices at churches where less than 35 percent of budgets are spent on personnel (the typical percentage for many American churches is about 50 percent).

3. ’Tis the Tax Season What church leaders needed to know before filing their 2009 returns (find out the same again this year for 2010 returns in the January/February issue of Church Law & Tax Report).

2. Preaching about Homosexuality How Obama’s 2009 Hate Crimes Act does—and doesn’t—affect the way pastors can preach about homosexuality.


1. Racing the FCC Mic Deadline Churches, businesses, and other organizations that used wireless microphones operating in the 700 MHz band (698-806 MHz) had to stop by June 12, according to a decision by the Federal Communications Commission.

Matt Branaugh is Director of Editorial for Christianity Today International's Church Management Team.

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Posted by Matt Branaugh on December 20, 2010 8:00 AM

Related Tags: administration, administrators, Budget, business administrators, church, church budgets, employment, executive pastors, giving, insurance, leadership, liability, Management, money, office, pastors, Preaching, staff, technology, training

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