In Sermon Illustrations: "Closed churches" showing 161-180 of 8,450

Live Churches Verse Dead Churches! (Adapted, ...  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 10, 2003

LIVE CHURCHES VERSE DEAD CHURCHES! (adapted, WRITER UNKNOWN) Live churches constantly change, --- dead churches resist and refuse change... Live churches love to try, dead churches feel they don’t have to... Live churches have youth that are noisy and can’t be still, dead churches are very ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Church General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Church Finances: The Average Church Budget Size ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Church finances: The average church budget size is $292,790 (median: $203,590). Senior pastors earn a median base salary of $31,006 and a median housing allowance of $15,250. 66% of church treasurers are responsible for the oversight of church expenditures. 57% of churches use debt only as needed ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Church Debt: Your Church Magazine Reports That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Church Debt: Your Church magazine reports that 54% of all churches carry some kind of debt. 32% of small churches (annual budget up to $100,000) carry debt versus 69% of churches with budgets over $500,000. The median debt is 64% of the annual budget with larger churches carrying the highest ...read more

Tags: Church General

Church Shopping Online Church Consultant Tom ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2008

Church Shopping Online Church consultant Tom Bandy says that as tools for reaching potential worshipers, church Web sites are growing in number and getting more sophisticated. One sign: 5 years ago, churches made up only 5% of clientele for StreamGuys, an Arcadia, CA based provider of streaming ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

I Have A Close Friend Who Tells The Story Of How ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Mar 31, 2007

I have a close friend who tells the story of how used to live next door to a poor couple who had a little girl about five years old. He knew that she didn’t have many toys and she played by her self often in the back yard. One day my friend went to the neighbor and explained that the church ...read more

Denomination: Christian Church

Importance Of Church Friendships  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2010

IMPORTANCE OF CHURCH FRIENDSHIPS A new Gallup study commissioned by Group Publishing shows that people with close friendships in their church are very satisfied with their congregation, less likely to leave their place of worship, and have a strong friendship with God. Church members who have a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The Church's Identity And Purpose

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2009

THE CHURCH'S IDENTITY AND PURPOSE In his book, The Family of God, Batsell Barrett Baxter says the following: "There are some who think of the church as an organization like other organizations. It is true that the church is an organization, but it is not primarily an organization. Rather, it is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 1:21-23

Tags: Church Purpose Of

The Church As A China Cabinet

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

THE CHURCH AS A CHINA CABINET Bryan Wilkerson talks about a sterling silver tea set that a family member gave him and his wife as a reminder of her love for them. It’s quite old and beautifully made, and it sits on a stand in their dining room. There's only one problem: they can’t use it. The ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Let Me Close An Excerpt From Sharon Jaynes' Book, ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on Dec 16, 2002

Let me close an excerpt from Sharon Jaynes’ book, Celebrating a Christ-centered Christmas: An African boy listened carefully as his teacher explained why Christians give presents to each other on Christmas day. "The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship for ...read more

Tags: Gift, Christmas, Easter Resurrection

Denomination: *other

Don't Seek God In Temples. He Is Close To You. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2006

“Don’t seek God in temples. He is close to you. He is within you. Only you should surrender to Him and you will rise above happiness and ...read more

Tags: God The Father

Only Alone Can I Draw Close Enough To God To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

Only alone can I draw close enough to God to ...read more

Tags: Suffering Loneliness

A Christian Surgeon Once Said, "I Feel So Close ...

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Mar 31, 2009

A Christian surgeon once said, "I feel so close to God when I am operating that I don’t know where my ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Wesleyan

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens, But We ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Sep 2, 2009

When one door closes, another one opens, but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

91% Of Young People (Ages 16 To 25) Have A Close ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

91% of young people (ages 16 to 25) have a close relationship with their mother vs. 65% with ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Web Churches 83% Of Churches With Web Sites Say ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Web Churches 83% of churches with Web sites say their use of the Internet has helped congregational life and 83% report e-mail communication from the church staff has helped ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Web Churches 83% Of Churches With Web Sites Say ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2006

Web Churches 83% of churches with Web sites say their use of the Internet has helped congregational life and 83% report e-mail communication from the church staff has helped ...read more

Tags: Church General

Black Churches: A Study Of 2,150 Black Churches ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Black Churches: A study of 2,150 black churches by C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya in their book "The Black Church in the African American Experience," report that “nearly 70% of black churches are involved with social service agencies and non-church ...read more

Tags: Church General

Video Church- About 1,000 Churches, Mostly ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Video Church- About 1,000 churches, mostly evangelical, use remote feeds, live or via DVD. In ‘05, 91% of mega-churches used the technology, up from 65% in ‘00, states a Hartford Seminary survey. Many Christians have taken to “godcasts” through video churches. Video technology allows leaders of ...read more

Tags: Church General

Can You Recall A Time When You Were Close To God? ...  PRO

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 20, 2004

Can you recall a time when you were close to God? So close, I mean, you could swear you heard the rustle of angels’ wings? Maybe there was an expansive feeling within, perhaps a tear at the corner of your eye? I recall such a time. Believe it or not, I was in church. I was a student at Austin ...read more

Tags: God's Provision, Creation

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

There Was A Little Church Located In A Small ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There was a little church located in a small town and there were few people attending. They didn’t want to close it down because there wouldn’t be any church for miles around. The church board decided to go to every house in the community and ask, “Would it matter to you if we closed the church ...read more

Tags: Ot Characters