Chasing down comments for stories has shown me something about pastors and church business administrators.

Those are some busy folks.

Whether the church is large or small, the demands on their time are enormous. It's amazing how these leaders are able to juggle the many intrusions they encounter and how they are able to accomplish the myriad tasks of running a church.

If all of their time was spent ministering to their congregations or reaching the lost for Christ, wouldn't it be a wonderful thing? Certainly, but much of what they have to do -- such as talking to pesky reporters and editors -- is considerably more mundane.

Like deciding what kind of chairs to buy to replace those in the foyer or sanctuary. How about upgrading that sound system? What about researching advances in video equipment?

Quick, Easy Info

Have you noticed our Personal Vendor Assistance link near the top right of our homepage in the light blue panel?

That link directs your browser to Church Central's product and service request form. There, we offer to track down the information you want. Looking for those chairs? Have a seat -- we'll do the searching for you. That sound system? We'll play sweet music by finding an affordable price for you. Video? Watch us go to work on your behalf.

Just take a few moments to fill out the information request form. Tell us what it is you need and let one of our staff members sort through the many vendors that can fill that need. You can fill out as many requests as you like. It's a great way for a busy leader to research products and services with a single mouse click.

It's really quite simple to use and the service is free. Church Central does not charge any middleman fees.

So, save yourself some time and let us go to work for you.

News You Can Use

While we're on the subject of our Web site features, let me point you toward one of our newest and most exciting.

Church Health Today is a free, weekly e-mail newsletter we've developed to give pastors and church leaders access to the vast research conducted by Dr. Thom Rainer and his staff.

Rainer, dean of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., has spent years researching church health. He and his team interviewed more than 4,000 people to compile data on the unchurched in the United States.

Based on his research, Rainer writes a weekly article centering on his insight into the unchurched and how they interact with churchgoers.

As a church-health consultant, Rainer visited hundreds of churches and developed the Church Health Survey, which measures how well members perceive their church is meeting the six purposes outlined in Acts 2:42-47: worship, discipleship, fellowship, prayer, ministry and evangelism.

This newsletter gives church leaders access to Rainer's research findings so they can gain a deeper understanding of just what motivates the unchurched around them.

Church Health Today directs readers to other enlightening and informative articles written by some of the top thinkers in the Christian world. We point you to the writings of people like Rick Warren, John MacArthur, Bob Russell or Max Lucado.

We include a Required Reading list of books that examine the issues facing the modern church and provide solutions to obstacles of church health and growth. Our list gives you the information you need to decide whether a book is a must for your library. We even make it simple for you to purchase the book right from our Web site.

Treasurable Resources

The research Rainer developed is often like nuggets of golden information, so we've included a Research Bit pointing out a small detail that can have a big impact when it comes to reaching the lost. For instance, did you know that children have twice as much influence in a person making a decision for Christ than other family members? Or that location was an insignificant factor in why the unchurched return to a church for a second visit.

The newsletter gives church leaders easy access to our growing network of Church Health Consultants. If readers have specific questions, they can get answers from the experts.

Church Health Today, like the vendor assistance feature, is designed to make life easier for busy church leaders. We know the demands on your time and want to save you a few steps.

So, spend more of your time on other things and let us do some of the legwork for you.