Closing Costs: Reimagining Church Real Estate for Missional Purposes by
For decades, many different denominations have experienced devastating declines in attendance, finances, and influence. Thousands of church leaders have watched their congregations grow older, smaller, and, in many cases, whiter than their surrounding communities. Rising costs and decreased giving make it virtually impossible to sustain the staff and fabric of these organizations--let alone their spiritual mission. But all hope is not lost. In a clarion call that demands death to bring new life, the local church is tasked with evaluating and ultimately sacrificing all its resources--including underutilized real estate--to bring healing and hope to the poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised. Decades of decline do not foretell the death of the church, and by reimagining their church spaces, congregations can experience revitalization as they grow to better embody their missional purpose.
Making Housing Happen, Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models (2nd Edition) by
The growing housing crisis cries out for solutions that work. As many as 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year, half of them women and children. One in four renters spends more than half of their income on rent and utilities (more than 30 percent is considered unaffordable). With record foreclosures and 28 percent of homes ""underwater,"" middle and low-income homeowners are suffering. Many congregations want to address this daunting problem yet feel powerless and uncertain about what to do. The good news is that churches are effectively addressing the housing crisis from Washington State to New York City--where an alliance of sixty churches has built five thousand homes for low-income homeowners, with virtually no government funding or foreclosures. This book not only presents solid theological thinking about housing, but also offers workable solutions to the current crisis: true stories by those who have made housing happen. Each story features a different Christian denomination, geographic area, and model: adaptive reuse, cohousing, cooperative housing, mixed-income, mixed-use, inclusionary zoning, second units, community land trusts, sweat equity, and more. Making Housing Happen is about vision and faith, relationships, and persistence. Its remarkable stories will inspire and challenge you to action. This new edition includes significant new material, especially in light of the ongoing mortgage crisis. ""Shook and her colleagues powerfully blend inspiration and practical reality, weaving together the need for affordable housing, the teachings of the prophetic tradition, and the tangible accomplishments of churches and other faith-based organizations around the country . . . This book should be read by any person of faith ready to put that faith into practice."" --Alan Mallach, Senior Fellow of the National Housing Institute and Brookings Institution ""Making Housing Happen brings hope and delivers it to the non-expert in a clear, digestible, and comprehensive way. Drawing on the experience of housing providers all over the country, Shook blends inspiration and practicality in just the right proportions."" --Tim Iglesias, University of San Francisco School of Law ""Making Housing Happen captures the diversity of faithful approaches to addressing the wide range of housing needs in our nation. Jill's brings these stories together with a policy lens and a theological narrative that is unparalleled. Before reading the book, I struggled with how to address the deep wounds of the housing crisis in a faithful way. After reading the book, I was moved and inspired to work with communities of faith to find solutions to homelessness. Making Housing Happen is an incredible resource and reference tool for me as I mobilize congregations to create and advocate for housing with dignity in my community. It's stories and examples are full of inspiration, hard-earned wisdom and hope."" --Allison Johnson, Plymouth Church Neighborhood Foundation ""Making Housing Happen gives students inspiring examples of how they can participate in making a difference in the lives of people throughout the community. It is real, practical, and personal. Making Housing Happen brings the dry statistics of America's affordable housing crisis to life with moving stories of struggle and triumph."" --Dr. Russell James III, University of Georgia ""Shook has collected wise and astute commentary from the experts in the field of housing. Together they offer [the] theological and biblical insights we need to motivate us to address a crisis in America. Church people need to do something about this crisis, and this book will aid them immensely if they are willing to take up the challenge."" --Tony Campolo, Eastern University Jill Suzanne Shook works with churches to bring about housing justice in the United States. She has earned graduate degrees from Denver Seminary and Bakke Graduate School. Shook is a frequent workshop presenter and h
The Coming Revolution in Church Economics : Why Tithes and Offerings Are No Longer Enough, and What You Can Do about It by
Our entire understanding of funding and sustainability must change. Tithes and offerings alone are no longer enough to provide for the needs of the local church, enable pastors to pursue opportunities, or sustain long-term ministry impact. Growing financial burdens on the middle class, marginal increases in contributions to religious organizations, shifting generational attitudes toward giving, and changing demographics are having a negative impact on church budgets. Given that someday local churches may be required to pay taxes on the property they own and/or lose the benefit of soliciting tax-deductible gifts, the time to pivot is now. What's needed is disruptive innovation in church economics. For churches to not only survive but thrive in the future, leaders must learn to leverage assets, bless the community, empower entrepreneurs, and create multiple streams of income to effectively fund mission. You'll learn why you should and how to do so in The Coming Revolution in Church Economics.
Disruption : Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community by
Current church planting, growth, and development strategies cannot be sustained. We need to work smarter in our rapidly changing world. We must become disruptive. And yet we typically hesitate to embrace change. We like our traditions. We prefer our familiar patterns and comfortable ruts. Still, America has dramatically changed. And make no mistake, such change is affecting the church, and more change is coming. So the way we understand things must also change. We must disrupt the status quo, create new patterns, embrace new models, and promote new forms to advance the gospel in our increasingly diverse and cynical society. In Disruption, thought-leading author and pastor Mark DeYmaz presents a proven, practical guide to help you rethink your approach to church. Whether your congregation is currently growing, plateauing, or declining, if you are a church planter or pastor, or a denominational or network leader, this book is for you. Mark will help you understand why we need to challenge conventional wisdom, learn what new practices to establish and how current metrics are not the primary measure of a church's influence. Disrupters turn the way we do things on its head. They . . . break the mold, change our thinking, and then hand us new rules for how things work can see and sense what lies ahead, around the next corner not only envision the future, but create and establish it challenge what is and inspire what is to come Mark DeYmaz is a disrupter. And in Disruption he challenges you to join him in preparing the American church for the unpredictable future. To advance spiritual, social, and financial transformation in your city, read this book to become more like Christ--a disruptor.
We Aren't Broke : Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry by
What if everything you need is already there? Many Christian churches and related institutions in the United States are struggling or, in some cases, facing imminent crisis, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance is down. Funding is harder to come by. People are no longer drawn to traditional church services and programming in the ways that they once were. Often, we feel broke and powerless to do much about it. We settle for doing more with less: Less money. Fewer people. Fewer churches. But if we reexamine our perceived limits and our assumptions about how resources are supposed to be used, then something remarkable and beautiful comes into view: we aren't broke at all but have enormous resources at our disposal. Church and missional organizations nationwide own billions of dollars of prime property and investment assets, which, when combined with social enterprise and new expressions of mission, can be put to work for innovation and transformation. And these resources are often available to us right now. This book is an invitation to envision a different way of putting God's gifts to work in the world. It draws upon a remarkable story of rebirth at a Presbyterian affiliated campus ministry center at the University of Wisconsin, along with profiles of other creative social enterprises, to describe how church property and investment assets can be put to work for innovation, transformation, and financial sustainability. Theologically rooted but practically minded, it provides guidance and tools for church and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors of all kinds who are seeking new ways to fund and participate in God's work in the world.
Funding Forward: A Pathway to More Sustainable Models for Ministry by 
Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future by
What might God be up to amid the seismic changes the church and our culture are undergoing? What opportunities will congregations encounter if they rediscover and follow God's leading? Leading Faithful Innovation offers a practical, hands-on approach to addressing this challenge, a process that culminates in the hope that comes from following the Spirit. Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, and Tessa Pinkstaff build on Scripture, theology, and the latest leadership and change theories to guide church leaders on a journey toward grassroots, participatory spiritual growth. This faithful innovation begins with a three-step process: listening to God and to each other, acting so we can learn, and sharing our stories in community. Real-life stories and supportive spiritual practices make each step toward effective change accessible and actionable. The book then examines how these steps change the culture of a church, establishing a new, biblically grounded way of being church. The authors present leadership practices that invite readers to redefine their leadership identity, accept the loss of their role as the primary driver of their congregation, and discover new hope and possibility. These topics are again fleshed out with real-life stories and undergirded by suggested practices. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate that faithful innovation is not another program or an add-on to what readers are already doing. It is a path to a new normal. It is an ongoing way of following God that allows the Spirit of God to drive the energy among the people of the church.
"Passing the Plate.” by Mark Rogers, Christianity Today. March 12, 2009.
“Before You Rent Church Space, Calculate the Costs” by Partners for Sacred Places, Lewis Center for Leadership, July 25, 2023.
Parish Properties (2020)
“How to Rent Well: Helping Congregations Navigate Their Economic Future”, by Rooted Good, Oct. 12, 2022.
“How to Develop Well?: A Guide to Help Churches Work with a Property Developer”, by Rooted Good, April 14, 2022.
“Introducing How to Sell Well,” by Rooted Good, July 31, 2023.
“What About Taxes!? A Guide for Churches Starting to Generate Revenue”, by Rooted Good, April 14, 2022.