Church Executive Jan / Feb 2020 | Page 4

JAN / FEB 2020 | CONTENTS 6 MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED ON THE COVER: MATT KAUTZKY / DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES / BLACKHAWK CHURCH / MIDDLETON, WI INTUITIVE. PROACTIVE. PEACEFUL. Spanning more than 130,000 square feet, Blackhawk Church transitioned from a (scraps of) paper-based facilities management system to an intuitive platform — all with zero downtime. The platform’s implementation has even fostered the pursuit of a guiding principle for the church: providing a peaceful place of worship. RaeAnn Slaybaugh Editor in Chief 24 > INSURANCE ESSENTIALS 3 potential threats to your church as it expands To keep their communities safe, church leaders must be vigilant and address potential new threats — in particular: employment practices, religious expression when providing services, and security concerns. By Shawn Yingling 25 > TECH-DRIVEN CHURCH “That’s just the way it is.” But does it have to be? Examining the current state of technology in the Church — and challenging lack of innovation, fear of change By Joel Guthrie SERIES 10 > CHURCH FINANCIAL WELLNESS If you are late starting to save for retirement … consider these steps Everyone is familiar with the advice that most financial planners share about saving for retirement — the best time to start planning and saving for retirement is in your 20s. For any number of reasons, far too many people do not get started that early. By Rev. Dr. Patricia L. Hunter, CFP ® 18 > STOP SEXUAL ABUSE Effective screening: keeping the wolf out of the sheep pen To effectively protect children and youth from sexual abuse, the Church must learn to recognize the offender’s ‘grooming process’ and undertake effective screening practices to weed out offenders. Gregory Love & Kimberlee Norris 4 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | JAN / FEB 2020 18