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As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to inspire generosity in your church and finish strong towards your year-end giving goals for 2020. 30% of annual giving happens in December alone, and 10% of giving happens in the final 3 days of the year. It’s also the perfect time to set the stage for 2021 and look at how year-end giving can help your church plan for the future.

If this year has taught us anything, it’s that adaptability is a key component to survive and thrive going forward. While church websites have been essential for years, many churches are seeing huge spikes in traffic from members and their families staying home to shelter in place. On the other side, some churches have seen a huge drop off in engagement due to lack of content or on their websites for their people to stay connected and know what’s happening at their church.

The term “unprecedented” has been used a lot to describe the events of this year. And that theme continues into the Christmas season with so much uncertainty around lockdowns and self-quarantines. All those family gatherings and church functions are going to be put on hold or drastically reduced in response to the ongoing battle against COVID-19 breakouts. This means that more individuals are going to be stuck at home for the holidays, while churches are cancelling or modifying Christmas traditions in an effort to slow the spread and protect the health and well-being of their congregants.

We recently surveyed 1,400 customers asking how COVID-19 has impacted their church, and we are pleased to share the results with you.  

With the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering into the final quarter of the year, decisions are looming for many churches as they consider reopening their campuses. Whether you're in the planning stages, or already in the process of reopening your church, it's important to make sure that your parishioners know what to expect. For their safety and the community's, lay out each step in detail so there’s no surprises. Each church is unique in how and when they’ll reopen, so use the 5 considerations listed here as a guideline for your own communication. 

Over the last couple of years, advancements in technology have dramatically changed the way that all of us handle our finances and pay our bills. However, this does not apply to just phone bills, car payments, and online shopping. Technology has also changed the way people donate and tithe with their church.

One of the biggest struggles churches are facing in the wake of COVID-19 has been inspiring and recruiting volunteers. Ministry leaders around the nation have expressed frustration with everchanging guidelines and expectations around shelter-in-place and what it means for those attending (and volunteering) in-person and online. Many churches are now working with hybrid models of ministry that involve in-person and online components, such as live streaming, chatting, social media engagement, and more. This means that there are more jobs that need the help of volunteers and new ways of doing things to engage and connect with people in-person and online.

When it comes to church volunteers, many churches will shout open opportunities from the rooftops in hopes their pleas will land on a few willing ears. Some churches even beg in desperation. These actions beg the question, is there an easier way to get church members to volunteer? Praise be, yes! Lucky for us, scripture gives us a hint to get us started in the right direction.

Introducing the latest church website theme from CloverSites: Tradition!   The CloverSites team has been helping churches of all sizes and denominations build beautiful websites for years! We know that you want your site to reflect the message and values of your church. With the release of Tradition, your church can showcase your history and traditional values embodied in an elegant, simplistic design that makes it easy for your visitors to find what they’re looking for.

In the wake of COVID-19, churches have had to make adjustments to their approach to communication and ministry, heavily leaning on digital tools to help them stay connected to their audience. Cross City Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas is one of those churches that has made changes to the way they do things for the sake of meeting their people where they are. We caught up with Josh Merriott, Communications and Technology Pastor for Cross City Church to hear about what they’ve done differently and how they plan to use what they’ve learned moving forward.