Churches and Church Leaders Making Headlines

KENTUCKY CHURCH DOES MORE GOOD WITH LESS MONEY

GALESBURG, Ill.--Servant evangelism is something members at Zion Baptist Church in Henderson, Ky., take very seriously. In this city of 27,000, they make every effort to distribute shampoo, flower seeds and small gift items to people in need--all of which could be an expensive proposition but isn't. According to the Rev. Gary Cobb, his church has found a way to leverage the cost with the National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources (NAEIR), a unique not-for-profit resource.

NAEIR collects donations of new, overstock inventory from United States businesses and redistributes those goods to churches and other nonprofits in need of office supplies, everyday household items, gifts and other amenities for their congregation and the underprivileged children and families they serve. NAEIR has collected and redistributed more than $1.6 billion in donated goods over the past 25 years and operates a 10-acre warehouse of $120 million worth of inventory from its headquarters in Galesburg, Ill. Businesses who donate these goods earn a federal income tax deduction for their gifts.

According to NAEIR President and CEO Gary C. Smith, members receive an average of $18,000 worth of new supplies each year--a return that is roughly 30 times their investment dues, which range from $475 to $575 per year, plus shipping and handling. After that, he adds, the merchandise itself is free. Church leaders can choose what they need from 200-page catalogs, monthly fliers and the group's online shopping site, www.naeir.org.

Cobb says his church uses its membership to distribute gifts for children as well as "survival kits" to pregnant teenagers and women and children at a local children's shelter. The church also uses NAEIR products (light fixtures, paint brushes, hand tools, vacuum cleaners and more) for its building and maintenance needs.

CHURCHES RESPOND WITH CARE TO ONE OF LIFE'S GREATEST STRESSES

PHOENIX--When unemployment strikes, there is no shortage of helping government hands--but what about healing the spiritual wounds? Thousands of churches across the country are discovering that no matter what a person's occupation, the outcome of losing a job is the same across the board: a struggle with faith. In response, thousands of churches have stepped up to the plate with unemployment ministries. Here's a look at just a few.

Geneva Presbyterian Church
Laguna Hills, Calif.

Led by Director Floyd Rhoades, the ProNet! group meets one evening per week for support, training and networking opportunities unique to professionals in Orange County.

According to Rhoades, unemployment among local professionals is at an all-time high. Moreover, many of the people who have never had difficulty finding unemployment before are discovering firsthand the shortage of appropriate opportunities.

Cannon United Methodist Church
Snellville, Ga.

CUMC leaders are blazing the trail with their unemployment ministry. They provide spiritual, emotional and informational support to those affected with job search roundtable discussions; two job boards placed in strategic locations within the church; and volunteers to provide writing services such as writing cover letters, resumes and word processing.

Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
Menlo Park, Calif.

Last year at this Silicon Valley church, Marketplace Ministries Director Katherine Leary launched PrayerWorks! Once a week, members and neighbors who are out of work--and those who simply want to offer their support--gather to pray.

"We've been looking for a way to connect with and serve those in our midst who are out of work in the downturn of the Silicon Valley economy," Leary says. "While the circumstances are different for everyone, a common bond is the need for prayer."

A LITTLE RELIGION GOES A LONG WAY WITH ENVIRONMENTALISTS

WASHINGTON--Religious institutions around the world are "going green" and providing a push to the environmental movement, according to a new report from the WorldWatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research group. Invoking the Spirit: Religion and Spirituality in the Quest for a Sustainable World documents how these unconventional alliances are growing in frequency and significance to address issues from deforestation in Thailand to green investing by stockholders in New York.

Partnerships are successfully happening, and Invoking the Spirit provides examples from around the world of religions using their influence to promote sustainability. For instance, in the '90s, environmentalist monks in Thailand opposed shrimp farming and dam and pipeline construction and protected mangroves and bird populations. They even preserved trees by "ordaining" them within sacred community forests.

Religions are also tapping their extensive grassroots presence and economic resources to engage issues of sustainability. In the United States, 3,500 Lutheran, Presbyterian, Unitarian and Quaker congregations have committed to purchasing fairly traded, shade-grown, often organic coffee. Just five years old, the Interfaith Coffee Program now supplies about one percent of the country's congregations and is the fastest-growing source of revenue for the Equal Exchange Coffee Company, the program's sponsor.

Meanwhile, Episcopal Power & Light offers its United States customers the opportunity to purchase electricity generated from solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources, and helps congregations to "green" their houses of worship.

To download your free copy of Invoking the Spirit, log on to www.worldwatch.org/press/prerelease/EWP164E.pdf.

Is your church doing great outreach? Tell us about it!

E-mail the editor at rslaybaugh@vpico, or write to:
Church Business
3300 N. Central Ave.
Suite 2500
Phoenix, AZ 85012