Church Leaders Rev Up for Five Inspiring Keynotes at WFX Charlotte

Worship Facilities Conference & Expo (WFX) has announced its lineup of keynote presentations for WFX Charlotte, October 27-30, 2009, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C.

The keynotes are sponsored by Charlotte-based Audio Ethics and include:

• Rick Bezet, Senior Pastor, New Life Church, Greater Little Rock, Ark.
• Claude Alexander, Bishop, The Park Ministries, Charlotte, N.C.
• Dino Rizzo, Pastor, Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, La.
• Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor, National Community Church, Washington, D.C.
• Chris Hodges, Senior Pastor, Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, Ala.

Now in its fifth year, WFX is hosted by Church Production and Worship Facilities magazines and EH Events. The event brings together over 3,500 church and industry leaders and over 200 exhibitors from around the world to guide facilities and technology investments and opportunities for houses of worship. For more information and to register, visit www.wfxweb.com.

New Company Devotes Services to Helping Churches Extend Building Life

Cool Solutions Group of Charlotte, N.C., helps churches save money by offering professional preventive maintenance management. According to President Tim Cool, a church builder formerly with Cogun Inc. of North Lima, Ohio, his company can help church staff not only save money but stretch out the useful life of their facilities.

Cool reports that any building will deteriorate at a rate of 1%-2% per year. Yet if preventive maintenance is not performed on schedule, the rate of deterioration is compounded to a factor closer to 5% per year.

For more information on preventive maintenance and the company's services, visit www.coolsolutionsgroup.com.

School Gym Gets a Lighting Makeover with Acrylic Block Windows

Hy-Lite's Acrylic Block Windows are one way for facilities under renovation to gain natural lighting. Photo courtesy of Hy-Lite/U S Block Windows.

Originally constructed in 1935, the children's gymnasium at Central Elementary School in Nevada, Iowa, was dark and unappealing inside due to a shortage of natural light. The original glass windows had been boarded up to prevent the distracting glare of sunlight while games were played in the gym. That changed in 2007 when the gym was renovated and 28 custom-made acrylic block windows were added to the 650-seat facility.

"Installing the obscure acrylic block windows from Hy-Lite/U S Block Windows [Pensacola, Fla.,] has made a dramatic difference in this gym," says Jim Walker, superintendent of the Nevada Schools system. "It was a shame to board up the original windows, but we felt there was no other option because it was simply too bright in the facility. Now the gym has indirect sunlight flowing through the acrylic blocks that adds warmth and vibrancy to the gym setting."

The new design feature of the gym was brought to life by the installation team at Woodruff Construction of Ames, Iowa. "I'd recommend these acrylic block windows to anyone who wants to achieve a diffused light feature in a building," says Nick Ford, project manager with Woodruff Construction. "As we installed each window in this school, we immediately saw a difference come over the interior of the gym. The softness of the light coming through the Hy-Lite/U S Block Windows products helped energize the entire facility. And, as a bonus, the exterior appearance of the gym has now improved significantly with these windows."

For more information, see www.usblockwindows.com.

Twubs.com Announces Free Live Event Streaming for Churches

Twubs.com of Riverside, Calif., a social media aggregator of Twitter, YouTube, TwitPic RSS and other feeds around hashtag(s), has announced that it will provide churches its Event Suite, free of charge, to stream online church events and conferences. Using the Twubs.com Event Suite, churches and church events can extend their message and ministries to potential and existing members around the world.

"Twubs has helped us make the whole GMA IMMERSE experience more 'personal,'" says Jason Whitehorn of http://www.gotworship.net, the official blog for IMMERSE. "Participants are able to easily follow the hashtag messages and see each other's pictures from one page. It adds a whole new dimension and helps others experience the event through their own eyes, as well as those of others. Twubs is an awesome tool and simple to use."

Since its launch one month ago, the Event Suite has been used by more than 30 churches and organizations to stream live events and conferences in the United States, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Iran, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Russia and Spain.

For more information, visit www.twubs.com. To register a hashtag, administrators must complete a form at http://twubs.com/registerhashtag. Within 48 hours, Twubs will either register or deny the claim based on its legitimacy.

Simple Tactics to Make the Most of Your Ministry Dollars
By Kregg Hood

Kregg Hood, senior vice president, AG Financial Solutions, Springfield, MO

When money is tight, remember this: financial success comes from keeping spending under control. While it's seldom easy to reduce expenses, careful planning and determined effort will work wonders, even during the current recession.

Here are a few of the best tactics you can take right away:

Eliminate as many expenses as possible. Most ministries struggle to prioritize when money is tight but once you discover what you need to do, do it quickly. If you need help, ask a member who is also a successful business person to help you clarify and evaluate your options. They often have objective insights you need but have a hard time seeing when you're under pressure.

1. Delay or reduce as many expenses as possible. If necessary, ask your creditors for a payment plan. Many will be happy to help.

2. Carefully follow a realistic ministry spending plan (AKA, "Budget"). Base all ministry spending on the church's current income, not your past expenses. Be tough now and, when [attendee] giving increases (and it will), you can reevaluate and possibly readjust. Learn all you can through the tough times you are going through because they will make you a better leader for the rest of your life.

3. Make your ministry's financial needs clear and simply ask people to give what they can. Always avoid "guilt trips" because giving is a grace (gift). While a significant number of people may be struggling with reduced income, others can "step up" and help. Read 2 Cor. 8:10-15 for fresh strength from wonderful examples of faith. As the Lord leads, keep giving to other ministries, too. This is the biblical pattern.

4. Pay your bills on time. Your integrity is at stake and God will not bless you if you ignore or stiff your creditors. If your ministry truly can't afford to pay its mortgage, utilities, or other essentials, do all you can and then talk honestly and respectfully to your creditors.

5. Emphasize fellowship and volunteering more than ever. Ministry takes time and effort more than it takes money. When your people know that money is tight, they will appreciate your efforts to cut back or eliminate "church-sponsored expenses."

6. Commit your heart and your plans to the Lord. You ministry needs Divine Favor more than it needs money. The Lord will guide you and you will develop a greater testimony of faith, wisdom and perseverance that will empower your ministry in more ways that you can imagine.

Dr. Kregg Hood is a senior vice president with AG Financial Solutions in Springfield, Mo. He is the author of five books on stewardship, giving and personal finance, including, "From Debt to Life: 10 Proven Steps to Beat Credit Crisis and Build Financial Freedom."

www.agfinancial.org