In our rush to be all things contemporary we in the church often throw out the baby with the bath water. I love new technology and am always thinking about how to use it in stewardship. I have written in the past about giving kiosks, social networking appeals etc. However in our desire to be so “with it” and up to date I fear that we are over looking a key tool for stewardship, offering envelopes. Don’t stop reading! Don’t hit the back button! Hear me out please!

I have been advocating the use of direct mail and offering envelopes to my clients for years. I have seen clients literally raise thousands of dollars through this tool. If direct mail and offering envelopes did not work why do you think every non-profit you get mail from has an envelope in it? If it works for them why will it not work for you?

I had coffee this morning with Ben Stroup who is the Envelope Service Coordinator for LifeWay Christian Stores. I was already a believer in the strategic use of envelopes but meeting with Ben makes me an even greater disciple. He gave me a piece of literature that talked about increasing giving by 12% - 26% using envelopes. Still want to hit the back button?

Why would you not considering something that might give you a return on investment like that? In these recessionary times it is in your best interest to do everything you can to keep contributions coming in.

Here are some ways to use envelopes…

Quarterly statements. You should every quarter mail giving statements to EVERY donor. It should include a thank you letter from you, a statement of their giving from your financial office AND a postage paid envelope.

End of year appeal. Your members will be flooded with end of year appeals from various non-profits. You should have your end of year appeal letter planned as a regular way to close out the year strong. Include a postage paid envelope.

Special appeals. Are the youth going on a mission trip? Do you need to replace the TV monitors or some other piece of equipment? Send a letter AND a postage paid envelope.

Snow days. Miss a Sunday service due to weather? Send a letter out appealing to your donors to make up the difference WITH a postage paid envelope. One of my clients did that last year and generated $50K with one mailing! This year he has the letter already written and on the shelf just in case.

I love new ways of raising funds like E-Giving, giving kiosks and others. Don’t dismiss an old technique simply because it is old. It still works and can work for you. For me it is not either or, but, both and.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

The following email from a Southern Baptist friend started my day yesterday…

“Mark,
The economic downturn has finally hit home. I heard that Bellevue Baptist in Memphis laid off 80 people;Immanuel Baptist in Little rock is behind budget for the first time in her history; First Baptist Bentonville has had to make some adjustments; and now we in our church are faced with laying some people off. Churches all over the state are cutting out denominational support. We are operating at about a 200K deficit this year.”

Can you relate? While we are seeing some signs that we might have hit the bottom of this recession and are on our way up the effects will linger on. That is particularly true when it comes to giving. My projection is that we will find that 2008 giving was not off all that much. The fourth quarter of 2008 really hurt giving as the election hype drove people into a more cautious mood. Then the opening days of the Obama administration added fuel to the nations fears and first quarter giving plummeted as the Stock Market dropped. Now the rhetoric seems to be easing and there are some positive signs of a recovery beginning. Yet the effects of this recession will linger on for many more months. Expect giving to remain a challenge for at least the next year. Here are some thoughts…

We ease into recessions and ease out of them. They start region by region and sector by sector. They recover the same way they start. There is not some finish line out there that will tell us when the recession is over. We probably will not know it is over for many months after the fact. Remember we were told all last year that we were “technically” not in a recession. So, some areas will rebound faster than others. The same holds true for churches.

Recession backlash often stays long after the recession is over. In at least two periods of recent recessions giving to religion went downthe year after a recession. I believe the explanation is that we are often late in accepting the fact that we are in a recession and late in adjusting spending. The same is true this past year. It was the fourth quarter that began the giving downturn despite the fact that the recession now is seen as beginning in December of 2007. We could be seeing another case of a down turn in giving the year after a recession. I expect the rest of 2009 to be a challenging year for giving.

A plan of action is essential to meet the challenges you will be faced with. Not every church is experiencing a decline in giving. Many that are, including my friend who emailed me, are taking steps of actions to avert a crisis. With a solid plan of action you too can weather this storm. I know you have a missions plan, and evangelism plan and a discipleship plan. What is your stewardship plan? Having no plan means you are planning to fail!

So, here is the deal. You can read my free advice and get some help. You can go to our website, www.TheCharisGroup.org and hit the far right button that says, “Recession Proof Planning” and read how we can help. If you really think that paying some body a few dollars for strategic advice is unacceptable then hit the first button on our website and get my book, “Recession Proof Your Offerings” It is free! Just do something. How long are you going to hope this gets better? Hope is not a strategy!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

“We don’t want to offend anyone.” I get that comment often from pastors and church leaders. You ever worry about that? Now I know I am low on the mercy scale, I scored a four out of a possible fifteen on a spiritual gift survey. However, one of the great obstacles to moving forward in church life and in raising funds is the fear of offending a few people.

We, like all stewardship firms, recognize that leaders need to lead first in making commitments to a campaign. After all that is exactly what happened in II Chronicles 29 when David raised the funds to build the temple. The leaders responded first and the rest of the people rejoiced at the willing response of the leaders and then they gave. That principle has worked well.

It works until you then run into deciding who is a leader and who is not. We encourage churches to hold leadership early commitment events where leaders do what leaders do, lead. Being able to communicate that leaders are on board and have committed to the campaign builds momentum for the rest of the congregation. Yet I am often asked, “What if those not invited get offended?” So we strain at a gnat to try and appease a few hand full of people. My response is, “If they were leaders they would be invited. They are not leaders so why should they be offended?” I know I have no mercy.

Yet it is maddening, not only in this example, but in so many other areas of ministry how we are frozen in fear by what “they” will think or what “some” might do. Most of the time the discussion I have with leaders is entirely theoretical. We spend a lot of time thinking about what “might” occur and ways to avoid what “might” occur. It is literally the tail wagging the dog.

Many years ago my pastor asked a friend of mine the following question. He asked, “What would you do if fear were not a factor?” How often are you frozen into indecision for fear of what “they” will say or do? How many decisions get delayed, changed or simply put off for fear of what some element of the crowd might say? I am afraid that too many times we do not act upon what we know we should do for fear of what others might say.

One thing that I have noted about successful leaders is that they do the right things despite what “some” might think. It is not that they run rough shod over people, or ignore the counsel of wise people. It is simply that they know when a decision is right and are decisive in making the decision. That is effective leadership. They never let the tail wag the dog. Do you?

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

What? Increase giving during a recession? All you may hear is that giving is off due to the recession. Some claim its off 20% while others say its 10%. Mostly we have no clue how giving has been affected. Isolating a few examples here and there does not make a scientific study. As with the rest of this recession my feel is that a few years from now we will realize while a decline it was not as bad as we thought. We tend to have short term historical memories. We survived other recessions we will survive this one. I am not naive enough to say that it is not a challenge and that some ministries are not suffering. I am simply saying that not everyone is seeing such a decline in giving.

Christ UMC in Fairview Heights, IL a suburb of Saint Louis last year saw giving to their budget increase by 46%! In addition to that increase in the first nine months of their capital campaign $750K came in. They increased their true giving donor base by 50%! How were they able to do that and more importantly what can you learn from them?

Here are what I believe are the keys.

Compelling vision! People give to a compelling vision. Christ UMC through the leadership of Pastor Shane Bishop has a vision of reaching the lost and unchurched of their area. They are about doing exciting things and it is exciting to be a member there. Good vision trumps bad economy!

Kingdom accomplishment. Following a compelling vision this is the most important key in sustaining and increasing donations. People give where they believe their money is accomplishing something for the Kingdom. Christ UMC tells their story of reaching people. In turn celebrating those Kingdom “wins” produces stewardship funding. Show people you are a winner and they will want to join the team.

Pastoral involvement. Pastor Bishop does not relegate stewardship responsibility to another staff member or lay person. He keeps his pulse on what is happening with giving in his church. In my experience churches that do better in the stewardship arena are churches where the senior pastor is engaged. Good stewardship takes good leadership.

A Stewardship Plan. Churches have mission plans, evangelism plans and discipleship plans. Why do so few have a stewardship plan? Christ UMC has a stewardship plan that they work regularly. The success is obvious.

Stewardship plans must be multifaceted. It begins from the pulpit with positive preaching. It is carried out through stewardship education and even direct mail. What works for one church might not work for yours but you need to develop a working plan of action for success. Without a plan you are planning to fail.

Positive atmosphere. We tend to think of stewardship as tiresome and negative. If you approach it with chagrin don’t be surprised if your members don’t view it the same way. At Christ UMC the leadership does not shy away from talking about the responsibility of stewardship. They have simply found a way to make the message positive instead of negative. It helps that the health of the church is positive giving them a base to communicate off. Be positive in your approach and you will produce cheerful givers. Cheerful givers become repeat givers.

Could your church be another Christ UMC? Not every one can or will see the dramatic increases they have seen. However by applying these principles I do believe you can sustain and even increase your donations in this year. Study after study has shown that donors are willing to continue giving despite this current recession. The willingness is there. They are just looking for a reason to give. Develop your vision, create a plan to communicate that vision and work your plan. You too might become the next Christ UMC success story.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

The Pareto Principle states that in any given organization 20% of the people do 80% of the work. You have probably heard the same thing when it comes to giving. In fact I hear that comment all the time. It gets repeated over and over again and again. You can find the statement in articles and books. The one thing you will not find however is verifiable data to support the claim. So, is it really true or is it a myth? Is it like so many other urban legends that are believed simply because it sounds right and gets repeated by so many?

Years ago I made the 20% gives 80% comment to my boss who challenged me on whether it was true or not. I scoured every book I had on giving and stewardship and to my amazement found that while many used the quote, no one had done research to conclude whether it was correct or not. My bosses assertion, based upon the data of churches we were working with, was that the range was more like 30% gives 70% of the dollars given. While it might seem like semantics the distinction is important.

Here are some thoughts on tracking percentage giving…

The truth is that a few have always and will always give the majority of the money. Is it 20% or 30% or some other number? In “Passing the Plate” which came out last fall the authors, using data, found that roughly 5% of Protestant givers account for 56% of what is given! So, it is even worse than you may have thought. Frankly it has always been this way and most probable always will be. So, the principle is not that it is a percentage point but a realization that a few donors give the majority of the dollars.

So, what do we do with this knowledge?

Count what counts. True donors vs. The Band Wagon. I once had a pastor tell me he had over 1,000 giving units in his church. We pulled the giving data and found that he actually had just over 500. Why the difference in numbers? He was counting everyone that had put in anything as a donor. If you count donors that way you are including drive bys, looky lou’s and those that are just on the popular band wagon. We showed this pastor that when we pulled out those who had only contributed a few dollars it accounted for less than 1% of his churches total giving. In other words the 500 were giving 99% of the money. Which group in the long run will really count for your ministry?

Overly focusing on the percentage not giving, while important, could diminish your giving potential. It is my assertion that we are spending too much time, thought and effort to attract the un-attractable. You will be better served spending your time and attention with the top 5% to 10% of your donor base. They are typically financially better equipped to help your ministry and spiritually mature enough to sacrifice for your dream.

I read all kinds of articles and blogs that talk about how to get the 80% engaged in giving. Online approaches, giving kiosks, Twitter campaigns and on and on. The truth is that this is a maturity issue not a convenience issue. I am not saying we should just give up trying to develop new donors. I just think we waste too much valuable time in the effort and approach it the wrong way. I believe pastors and ministry leaders spend too little time with those that are making a giving difference as a result. The bottom line is that dollars that could go to your ministry go somewhere else or are spent at the movies or at the lake.

Don’t always believe what you hear or read. Incorrect data from myths, half truths and urban legends can lead to faulty conclusions. Faulty conclusions lead to ineffective or inaccurate actions. Ineffective and in accurate actions could result in losing thousands of ministry dollars!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

Yesterday I spoke at the McKnight Group’s regional i3 conference at The Gathering Church in New Haven, IN. I spoke on the topic of Navigating Through the Mine Field of Project Development. I have posted thoughts about this topic many times here. The one thing that I was impressed with in talking to the churches in attendance was the fact that they were making plans. While many are looking around and thinking how bad things are here were churches seeing instead an opportunity. In some cases they were months out from initiating any new project. Yet they were dreaming, thinking, getting information and planning.

In over a decade of working in the stewardship field I would say that the biggest mistake churches make is waiting too long before they pull the trigger. Is it fear? Sometimes that is the case especially during recessions like the one we are going through. Ignorance? Sometimes, we need to realize that what we don’t know will hurt us. Laziness? While that might be harsh the truth is that many leaders are too busy with the tyranny of the urgent to do planning on the future. Project development is hard work and I find that sometimes we farm out that task because we simply don’t want the added work it entails. Sometimes the party or parties that the task gets assigned to do not have the same passion as the pastor has. Whatever the reason, too many leaders and churches put off planning for the future and pay dearly for that indecision.

The average project takes twelve to eighteen months from start to finish to build. You can count on at least six months to a year of preparation and planning before you ever break ground. There are architectural plans to be drawn up, zoning issues to deal with, financing to line up and funding to pay the financing back. All that takes time and planning. The dream you have today of a new project to enhance your ministry ability could take two years to realize. Do you have two years?

This is why wise churches are not letting this current economy stop them from moving forward. While starting construction today might not be the thing for you, planning for future facilities, if you are growing, is something to do today. What are you doing today to help achieve the dreams and visions God has given you?

Start planning!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

In the 1980’s when I was involved in the Southern Baptist conservative resurgence we would often say about a particular issue, “That is a hill worth dying on.” It sounded good and made us feel brave. Indeed there are hills worth dying on. I am grateful for the men and women who have stood on principles and values that are worth sacrificing to keep. The real key is defining which hill is worth dying upon. Too often we make mountains out of mole hills and then make a stand upon that supposed mountain.

My friend Shannon O’Dell the pastor of Brand New Church in Lead Hill, Arkansas is involved in a tussle with his local Southern Baptist Association. Shannon’s church is doing incredible things in the middle of nowhere. His heart is to reach those in rural areas. He has a unique concept of multiple campuses around the state of Arkansas where he beams in live the preaching at the main campus. They are now running over 2,000 in the various locations. Yet despite reaching many unchurched and lost people in Arkansas and inspiring countless others around the country Shannon finds himself being called into question by the local Association. It appears that the cause of this rift is in the fact that they have called a female staff member and chosen to give her the title of pastor.

You see in Southern Baptist life you can hire a female staffer to run the youth program, the children’s ministry or the women’s ministry and be fine as long as you call them Directors of…, or even Minister of…, but never Pastor. That will get you in trouble and a visit from the Credentials Committee. So, Shannon, who adheres to all 18 Articles of The Baptist Faith and Message is in trouble.

As those of you who read my posts know, I am not shy at expressing my opinion. So, I posted a note on Shannon’s blog in support of him and decrying gossiping pastors. Now I find myself, an outsider living in Georgia, catching flack from my former Arkansas buddies. The Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist Convention even called to express concern over my blog statements! Does anyone not have a job to do? Are there no other lost people in Arkansas? Is this really a hill to die on?

So, since I seem to have stepped into it here are the thoughts of a former grenade throwing conservative.

Belief in the Inerrancy of Scripture does not mean your interpretation of Scripture is inerrant. We tend to get the two mixed up. My interpretation can be wrong and so can yours.

Not every church benefits from being in an association of churches. If I were Shannon I would just walk away. Why bother? If I were the Association I would not waste my time on this issue but others that are far more pressing. Let’s focus on what we agree on not on what we don’t agree on.

The local Association will not let this go but will continue to press the issue. Look out Shannon they will not let this die. Unless cooler heads prevail they will make this for them a hill worth dying upon and vote to exclude you from the Association. Then they will take it to the state convention. The best way to avoid a fight is to not show up in the ring. While many churches need an association yours does not. Just walk away. You have gone the second mile on this now ignore them.

No one will win after the dust settles on this hill. I know you boys think you are fighting for the faith but the truth is you are just fighting. Trust me I have been there and done that.

There really are more important issues for us as a church to deal with than this. We are in a struggle here in America where morality, family values and countless other important issues are being fought. Compared to these issues frankly I think those snipping at Shannon have over reacted and over reached.

Yesterday someone called me and said they were concerned that my post might cost me business with churches in Shannon’s Association. I inwardly laughed. Here was a person concerned about supposed doctrinal purity who was telling me I should not support Shannon in part because it might hurt my business. Well, for me, that is a hill worth dying upon. As president of The Charis Group the day we start biting our tongues for the sake of business is the day we need to go out of business.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

You can find out more about Shannon and this issue at his blog.

Shannon’s blog

Christmas night 2003 my son Jon was nearly killed by an Improvised Explosive Device while driving through the streets of Baghdad. The bomb was a near miss and he and another soldier were only slightly wounded. Still to this day he bears the marks of that blast. Fragments of concrete or shrapnel remain in his knee. His back and hearing were affected. While mild compared to many other wounded veterans he none the less is rated 50% disabled. My concern is that as he ages those wounds which now in his youth he takes in stride will become more of an issue.

So you can imagine my horror when I read the headline that said, “The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President’s Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment.” The lead paragraphs tell the story. I have copied them below.

“The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, “This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘ to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!”

I am not sure that I can say it any better than Mr. Rehbein. Our troops did not ask to be sent into harms way. They certainly did not ask to be shot at and blown up. They served believing in our country and believing that our country would honor their service by fulfilling its promises to them. What are we saying not only to today’s soldiers but also those that served in years past? In our rush to save a dime are there not some things that should be off limits? The care of ALL veterans but especially those who belong to the fraternity of the Purple Heart should be sacred and secure.

Just a few days ago our politicians were telling us that our concern over earmarks that totaled billions of dollars was unfounded. We were told that the earmarks were only a fraction of the cost of the bailout bill. At the time I wondered if our politicians were so removed from reality that they thought nothing of another $7.7 billion that the thousands of earmarks total up to. Yet when questioned about the earmarks they had submitted they without shame explained the absolute necessity of why all Americans needed to pay for beaver control in North Carolina and countless other programs.

So I have an idea. Since our law makers think nothing of inserting a few million here and a few million there why can they not find another $540 million to help veterans? After all when added to the trillions they have already voted for what is another $540 million? Tell me what is more important, fulfilling our promise, “to care for him and her who shall have borne the battle,” or 9,000 earmarks?

I for one would not mind if my taxes went up to support those that have sworn an oath to defend me and my freedoms. I would gladly pay my part without hesitation not just for the sake of my son but the countless others who have so selflessly sacrificed for our country. On April 15th I could have some sense of satisfaction that the tax I pay goes to something worthy and worthwhile. Now I am left to wonder what we really value and what the future holds for not only the men and women in our service but for our nation.

Good stewardship means taking care of those that have taken care of you!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

This past weekend I met up with one of my best friends from Arkansas to run the Little Rock Half Marathon. At the expo on Friday afternoon I saw a booth that was selling ear buds for your Ipod called isoBuds. I met the inventors and came away impressed with what I saw.

Runners love to listen to tunes while they run. As a long distance runner, believe me I can tell you that my tunes have helped pick up the pace for me many a time. However, finding ear phones that will stay in your ear is difficult. It is not that I am moving so fast, I have just never found anything that really stays put in my ears. isoBuds while simple and cheap do the trick.

I happened to strike up a conversation with the owner of isoBuds. I asked him if he invented the product and he told me his wife who was there with him and himself did indeed invent it. He has a day job and simply came up with a great idea and is out there selling his wares at races and on the web. I found out they lived in Jackson, TN where I have a friend who pastors a church there. So I asked where they went to church. They go to Fellowship Bible in Jackson, TN.

As I have been reflecting upon my conversation with them it dawned on me that this is how you stimulate the economy. You create products that people want and can afford. This has been the genius of our economy, our ability to create. Our fore fathers took this rough land and turned it into the world’s greatest producer of goods and services. Much of that is due to our work ethic that comes straight from our biblical world view. We never in the past looked for an entitlement program. We produced our way to greatness. What worked in the past will work in the future if we will just let it.

I was impressed that a couple using good old American ingenuity and hard work to get ahead in life. By creating multiple streams of revenue they are being good stewards of the gifts God has given them. Let’s just hope that the government doesn’t tax them for their success. At any rate meeting them gave me hope in America.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

PS. For those that care I ran a 1:53:07 half marathon. I listen to movie sound tracks when I run.

PSS. For those that want to find out more about isoBuds

isoBuds website

“WASHINGTON (AP) - Confronting misgivings, even in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the economy Thursday, declaring the national crisis is “not as bad as we think” and his plans will speed recovery.”

That was the headline going into the weekend. To ad to this new found optimism is the fact that the Stock Market saw three days of growth and climbed back above 7,000. Also, the government reported that retail sales decline in February less than was anticipated, “suggesting that the economic deceleration may at least be slowing.” Also in the headlines was the fact that “Citigroup Inc Chairman Richard Parsons said on Thursday that the bank does not need any more capital injections from the government and expressed confidence that Citi would remain in private hands.” Banks are talking about making a profit once again!

So, does this mean that we have hit the bottom and are on the way up? More importantly does this mean that your members will see a light at the end of the tunnel and start giving money to your ministry that they might have been hiding under their mattress? The answer is maybe and maybe. Or as I like to answer most questions, “It depends.”

First, let’s talk about whether we have hit the bottom and are on our way up. Frankly, no one knows. I do think that we are so tired of bad news that we will grasp now at any good news that is out there. Also, I have been pointing to the fact that it is an age old political trick for one administration to blame the out going administration for all the ills of the economy. At the same time the trick is to say that things were worse than you thought. Then you get your bills passed and presto suddenly there is hope. Now before you Obama disciples start emailing me just know that Republicans and Democrats both play that game. It is what it is. For whatever reason we now have our president talking up the economy not talking it down. Thank you!

What I do think we all need to realize are these truths:

Recessions do not start at a point in time and they do not end at a point in time.
Recessions start region by region and sector by sector. They end the same way.

So, my point is that there will not be some point in time, say June 1st, that suddenly bells across the nation will ring that victory has been won and we are now out of a recession. Remember for nearly all of last year the “experts” said we were not “technically” in a recession. It was not until around November that they suddenly said we were in a recession and had been since December 2007.

For many parts of the country this recession started long before December 2007. For other parts of the country they still do not feel the recession nearly like folks in say, Flint, Michigan do. If you build houses you feel it differently than the guy who owns a tire store. New homes have fallen and car sales have plummeted so people buy new tires for the old car instead of buying a new car. Sector by sector recessions come and go.

So, what does all this mean? I think what this means is that we are settling into our understanding that this is a recession not a depression. I sense that the mood is changing ever so slightly. We are getting used to the realities of a recession and finding ways to cope and survive. Our expectations are coming into a more realistic balance. While we are not ready to totally relax and order our dream car or go shopping for a house on the beach, we are beginning to spend some money. We are not going crazy like we did a few years back but we realize life might just go on.

What does this mean for the church? First, we have seen just this last week a shift in pastors mentality towards planning for the future. They are beginning to stick their heads back up and consider the next project. After putting off projects for 12 to 18 months they now see that they have to move forward. Again, like consumers, they are not going crazy building Crystal Cathedrals but they are beginning to move forward.

What it also means for the church is that giving will remain steady for those that have seen it increase throughout this time. For those that have seen declines it will level off and begin a slight up tick. Why? Sadly too often the people in the pews are affected by the news and consumer confidence. Even a slight hint of optimism from Wall Street and the President can have an impact.

So, don’t go crazy just yet or have the church bells start playing. We are still in a recession and will be most probably through the rest of this year. BUT, we just might be over the angst of thinking that the demise of our country has begun. There is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel.

You know what? There has always been a light at the end of the tunnel. Consider John 8:12 where Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” In bad times and in good our job is to proclaim that Light to the world living in darkness.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group