“… to make an end is to make a beginning.” –T.S. Eliot

So another year is nearly finished and a new one awaits our plans. A quick glance at Yahoo’s summation of 2008 shows the economy and the election dominated the news this year.  According to Time magazine and CNN the Top 10 Religious Stories of 2008 included Rick Warren’s hosting of then presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barak Obama at a forum at Saddleback Church. This, the news outlets said was a sign that the economy had trumped religion in the presidential election.

Time slated at No. 7 the story about a new evangelicalism, one with broader concerns than abortion and homosexuality.  I don’t think the Christian concern with poverty began in 2008, but at least the mainstream press took note of it this year as bigger players became involved with overseas outreach as well as environmental concerns.

At No. 5, Time noted the Pew report that revealed nearly a third of Americans have left the faith in which they were raised and nearly half have switched Christian denominations from the one in which they were baptized. This isn’t earth-shattering news to anyone involved in a non-denominational or community type church where former whoevers sit next to former whatevers every weekend. However it does document the trend away from the “faith of our fathers.”

Whoever is sitting in the pews these days, churches across the country are looking for better ways to minister, to reach out and to make a difference. Christian faith is an especially important message of hope during difficult economic times. And there are undoubtedly more of those to come. So ministry in your church in 2009 may look different than it did this year. Perhaps 2009 will be your year for focusing on biblical essentials: the ministry, discipleship, fellowship, prayer, worship, and evangelism in your congregation, to make it the most effective outreach possible. This is part of the focus of Church Central as well, in part through the training of church consultants.

Church Central’s sister organization, the Society for Church Consulting, is looking back on seven successful consultant training sessions . We held events all over the United States this year—from Louisville, Ky., to Glen Allen, Va., Ashville, N.C., Ft. Worth, Texas, and Springfield, Ill.

Some 166 consultants trained this year and 34 completed all five levels of training to become certified through the Society for Church Consulting. In addition, 33 consultants renewed their certification through the Society since July of 2008.

We look forward to training more consultants in 2009 at multiple locations, via DVD and online.

In 2008 we welcomed Dr. Bob Whitesel to the distinguished list of instructors for consultant training. He brings his fresh take on healthy churches from years of consulting, teaching and writing experience. 

Also in 2008 the ChurchCentral.com Web site underwent a complete overhaul to make it more interactive for members, more blog-centric, yet still filled with content to help church leaders make the best decisions for their ministries.

We are excited about what’s coming up for Church Central in 2009. Right now we’re reinventing the way users interact on the site to include a revamped Church Health Today newsletter that’s becoming an even more practical weekly tool for our 7,000 readers.

We are also excited to announce a new partnership with Thrive—the conference for churches, pastors and others interested in how church consultants can make their church healthier and more effective for the Kingdom of Christ. Church Central’s publisher, Tom Harper, will be speaking at the annual gathering of Thrive this spring, April 30-May 2 in Granite Bay, Calif.

Then in the fall of 2009 we anticipate the first ever conference for Society trained consultants as we link up with the American Society for Church Growth in November.

We hope you’ll join us as we continue to journey together toward building better churches.