Peachtree City, GA (PRWEB) February 25, 2015

Building God's Way will launch the spring season of its popular Momentum Summit seminar series with events in Atlanta, GA on March 10 and Charleston, SC on March 12. The March 10 event will be held at Heritage Sandy Springs, just north of downtown Atlanta and the March 12 event will be hosted at Charleston Southern University, a Christian university that has become one of South Carolinas largest accredited, independent universities. The events are free and are scheduled for 8:30am - 12:30pm, followed by a complimentary lunch.

The seminars in Georgia and South Carolina will be the first of 15 events scheduled throughout the U.S. this spring. More than 900 ministry leaders attended a Momentum Summit event in 2014 and this year's events are expected to draw even more. The speaker panel will feature experts and consultants who have worked with hundreds of ministries across the country in the areas of church leadership & growth; church design, construction & remodel; capital fundraising; for-profit integration, biblical entrepreneurship, A/V technology and more.

Churches and other non-profits are facing ever-increasing financial challenges to sustaining their ministries, including cultural shifts in attitudes toward church, changing tax legislation and generational changes in charitable giving. The focus of Momentum Summit is to introduce new paradigms and to transform the way ministry leaders think about how their facilities are designed and utilized, how they can effectively reach all generations and how they can integrate for-profit enterprise to expand ministry opportunities.

The keynote speaker for the seminars will be Pastor Eric Bahme, a cutting-edge entrepreneur, passionate preacher and author of the book, The MBE (Mission-Based Entrepreneur) Revolution / Developing Economic Engines that Drive Mission-Based Movements. Eric and his stories of successful for-profit integration with churches have been featured on the 700 Club, Harvest Show, and in several local and national publications and television broadcasts.

A representative from BGW Architects will present sessions on designing authentic, flexible and community-based church buildings as well as a revolutionary & biblical approach to the construction process. BGW exclusive contractors from each region will also be on hand during the seminars to share their expertise on church construction & remodel. In Atlanta, representatives from Group VI Construction, one of Georgias leading family owned and operated full service construction firms, will be in attendance. In Charleston, SC, executives from Clayton Construction, a family-owned firm that has been serving clients throughout South Carolina for more than 30 years, will share their expertise in the area of faith-based construction.

For more information or to register for Momentum Summit, visit the website or call 866-249-8484.

About Building Gods Way (BGW) - BGW has become a recognized leader in ministry design and construction through its extensive experience in working with hundreds of churches, Christian schools and colleges across the U.S. BGW's trademark programs based on Biblical stewardship and ministry on the construction job site have set them apart in the industry. BGW clients typically save 20-30% compared to average construction costs (based on RS Means construction cost data). BGW's broad network includes the most experienced church architects, church builders and engineers, as well as experts in the areas of funding, leadership & church growth, for-profit integration, A/V technology and more.

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Building God's Way to Host "Momentum Summit" Seminars for Church Leaders in Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC on March 10 ...

Theres yearning in Fannie Deans voice as she walks the halls of her unfinished church and talks about her mission to complete it.

Ive been walking this building for so long, Dean said last week.

Started in 2009, the church is littered with sawdust, construction equipment and unsecured flooring tiles.

And while its complete in the sense that it has doors, windows and walls, the church has a long way to go before it can hold a congregation.

After 40 years in the Oak Harbor community, Dean said she has faith that this year, 2015, is the year they will finally finish their church.

Dean also celebrated her 60th birthday Monday.

Youll see, its gonna be a celebration when we get in here, said Dean, pastor of Mission Ministry Outreach, standing in the churchs vaulted meeting room.

Known primarily for organizing the annual Martin Luther King Jr., celebration at the missions Goldie Road location, Dean has spent her life in Oak Harbor building a religious community and trying to further the cause of racial equality.

The church, along with the citys race relations, both can use some work, according to Dean.

Its still a project, Dean said. I know we can get it done.

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Oak Harbor pastor isnt about to give up on dream

First Congregational Church sponsors Saugus student

Rev. Martha Leahy, center, minister of the First Congregational Church in Saugus, presents a check to Joelle Fabrizio, left, a UMass student who will be traveling to Guatemala to aid families who live in poverty. Also pictured is Cheryl Panico, a member of the churchs Pumpkin Patch committee.

Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2015 3:00 am

Church sponsors Saugus students aid trip to Guatemala

The First Congregational Church in Saugus Center will help sponsor Saugus resident Joelle Fabrizio, a student at UMass, who will join a group of UMass students traveling to Guatemala to aid families living in poverty conditions. A portion of the money raised from the churchs annual Pumpkin Patch, held every October, is traditionally given to sponsor a person or community group through donations or scholarships.

Fabrizio has donated her spring break time to help those in need in Guatemala as part of UMass Beacon Voyages. Members of the group will aid in the construction of new stoves and ventilation in poverty-stricken homes. As a result of poor ventilation of stoves, many poor Guatemalan women and their children suffer from premature blindness, tuberculosis and a variety of both debilitating and fatal lung conditions. Other projects will also help improve the quality of life of these Guatemalan people who were born in poverty.

Posted in News on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 3:00 am. | Tags: Saugus

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Church sponsors Saugus students aid trip to Guatemala

St Mary's Church, Tarrrant Hinton, receives 7,000 from Dorset Historic Churches Trust towards conservation work (L-R): Barry de Morgan, Hilary Fildes, Bishop Graham Kings, Rev. Michael Foster, Tim Smith

EXTENSIVE conservation work on a North Dorset church has been completed in time for this years Easter celebrations.

A grant awarded by Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DHCT) has helped stabilise the Eastern Sepulchre monument at St Marys church in Tarrant Hinton.

The Easter Sepulchre is located in the north wall of the Chancel and is considered unique for its carved Caen stone, architectural style and lateness of its construction.

The DHCT contributed a grant worth 7,000 to help fund the project. Similar sized grants were also given by the Erskine Muton Trust, the Churches Building Council and St Andrews Conservation Trust.

Work was carried out by Sally Strachey Historic Conservation and J.A. Coombes Ltd, including internal cleaning, stabilising and recording of the Easter Sepulchre.

The Easter Sepulchre is thought to date back to 1520 since the style of its carving is influenced by the early Renaissance.

To celebrate the completion of the project, the parish held a well-attended blessing and service of dedication.

Reverend Dr. Michael Foster of St. Marys Church, added: It was a pleasure to welcome so many visitors to the churchs dedication service. Wed like to say a big thank you to DHCT, the Erskine Muton Trust and the Churches Building Council for their generous grants and to all others who have contributed towards this project.

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Church conservation work completed in time for Easter

The Wayside Chapel on Wednesday, Feb 18, 2015, in Winger, Minn. The chapel in Melland Park was dedicated to the town in 1975. (Grand Forks Herald: Logan Werlinger)

FOSSTON, Minn. -- Members of Fosston's Athenian Club have heard a lot of comments about the Wayside Chapel since they built it 40 years ago.

"One of the ladies that got married there said, 'My tree stand is bigger than this chapel,' " club member Clara Manecke said.

Each of the chapel's four pews seat two people. Its shallow altar allows only a few people to kneel, but the limited space hasn't stopped the tiny white church from being the site of numerous services and community gatherings.

Built in the mid-1970s, the little chapel is due for some big repairs, including replacing wood rot around its windows and installing new siding. The Athenian Club, a women's service club, is raising funds to complete the work.

"It's just starting to show it's age," said Vicki Olson, the club's historian.

The group has about $3,000 in grants and donations raised, though they said they're looking for more to fund other projects, such as buying new windows for the church.

"And we're not afraid to ask," Olson said laughing.

Repairs are expected to start this spring with help from local high school students enrolled in building and trades courses at Fosston Public School. Manecke and Olson said they hope to see construction finish up before school ends.

The chapel has been an integral part of the Athenian Group's 90-year presence in the Fosston community.

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Tiny Minnesota church undergoing repair work

A dozen families gather in Dover, Del., for a house church meeting. Everyone brings something, either a dish for the potluck dinner or a conversation topic for the informal worship service. Eleanor Klibanoff hide caption

A dozen families gather in Dover, Del., for a house church meeting. Everyone brings something, either a dish for the potluck dinner or a conversation topic for the informal worship service.

At most churches, it's embarrassing to show up late. But if you arrive early at Greg Stultz's church, you might interrupt the hosts' last-minute preparations as they put away homework or toss shoes up the stairs.

Stultz and his family are part of a house church. They typically meet on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, though the week that I visited they were meeting in Dover, Del. Each week, their small group crowds into a private living room for dinner and fellowship and their church is no rarity.

With new church construction at its lowest point since 1967, and with more religiously unaffiliated Americans than ever before, many congregations say they've become more committed communities by losing the pews and stained-glass windows of a central building.

Stultz himself explains that he'd long felt a dissatisfaction with the church hierarchy.

"The Bible says, 'What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has has a hymn, a word of instruction, or an interpretation' all of this done for the strength of the church," Stultz says. "Where is that being done?"

Nowhere at least as far as Joleen Zimmerman could find. Three years ago, she had been praying for a close-knit church community when she met Stultz. He had quoted that same verse to her.

"That was the verse that God had given me," she says, "that when we come together, not to come to pew sit but to actually come to give."

During their new church's meetings, anyone can call out a song suggestion or read a Bible verse. Instead of a sermon, everyone just talks about what's been weighing on them that week. This group says that the only guidance they need to run a church can be found in the New Testament.

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House Churches Swap Steeples For Sofas, And Say They've Never Been Closer

A CHURCHS 16th century Easter Sepulchre monument has been renovated with the help of grant money.

The monument at St Marys Church in Tarrant Hinton is unique in Dorset and a rare example nationally because of its carved Caen stone, architectural style and the lateness of its construction.

Sited in the north wall of the Chancel, it is thought to date from 1520, since the style of carving is influenced by the early Renaissance.

The charity Dorset Historic Churches Trust contributed 7,000 to the project, along with similar grants from the Erskine Muton Trust and the Churches Building Council. St Andrews Conservation Trust also provided a significant sum.

The conservation work, carried out by Sally Strachey Historic Conservation and JA Coombes Ltd, included internal cleaning, stabilising and recording of the Easter Sepulchre, carrying out external drainage improvements and re-pointing the north wall to reduce damage from damp.

The grants also paid for building safe access to the top of the tower and alarms to protect the lead roofs of the church.

Completion of the work was sealed by a blessing and service of dedication.

The Rev Michael Foster of St Marys Church said: It was a pleasure to welcome so many visitors to the churchs dedication service at the weekend.

Wed like to say a big thank you to Dorset Historic Churches Trust (DCHT), the Erskine Muton Trust and the Churches Building Council for their generous grants and to all others who have contributed towards this project.

Now that our beautiful Easter Sepulchre has been conserved for future generations, we shall bring it back into Tarrant Hintons celebrations each Easter.

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Conserved for future generations: the church monument thought to date back to 1520

US AMBASSADOR Philip Goldberg and architect Tina Paterno with Recollect friars

Corrosion due to 300 water leaks is eating up the San Sebastian Church in Manila, the only all-steel church in the Philippines and one of only a very few in the world.

A P4.3 million scientific study in support of the restoration and conservation of the church located in Quiapo, Manila, has concluded that the gothic structure is suffering from heavy corrosion as a result of extensive and severe water infiltration, said architect Tina Paterno, executive director of the San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation.

Although destroyed by the earthquake of 1880, the church under the care of the Augustinian Recollects was declared a minor basilica in 1890 by Pope Leo XIII. This was the year when the prefabricated steel sections were shipped from Europe to Manila so that the Recollects were able to erect the all-steel gothic structure, said to be the only all-steel structure in Asia. The new church was consecrated the following year.

Designed by the Spanish architect Genaro Palacios, who was supposedly inspired by the gothic cathedral of Burgos, Spain, the conceptualizing of the steel structure reportedly also had the participation of Gustav Eiffel, builder of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Like a shipwreck

In a press conference held at the church itself, Paterno placed the cost to check the corrosion, restore the structure, and conserve its liturgical art and other appurtenances at upwards of P100 million.

A US$97,000 grant by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) funded the technical study.

As the only all-steel building in the Philippines, and one of just a handful of all-steel churches in the world, the San Sebastian Basilica in Manila, is an engineering marvel, said US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg.

I am proud that the United States Embassy was able to support the first phase of the restoration of this amazing structure, he added.

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Rust corroding all-steel San Sebastian Church

Faith Community Church's newly constructed building near the corner of El Fuerte and Poinsettia Lane in Carlsbad.

CARLSBAD Faith Community Church is holding an opening service Sunday in its newly constructed building near the corner of El Fuerte and Poinsettia Lane in Carlsbad.

The 18,000-square foot sanctuary with 250 seats was completed this month and includes a childrens wing.

The congregation broke ground on the church last March and construction began shortly after.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Carlsbad Chamber on Thursday, Pastor Doug Baker briefly recapped the history of the church over the last 18 years, including its numerous moves up the coast, renting facilities from Del Mar to Encinitas before finally landing in Carlsbad and building their own campus debt free.

A ribbon cutting for Community Faith Church's new building was Thursday at 2700 Rancho Pancho in Carlsbad.

Faith Community Church formed in November 1996 as a coastal offshoot of Emmanuel Faith Community Church of Escondido, with the mission of Reaching the Coast for Christ.

The church first held services at The Del Mar Hilton, then at Ada Harris Elementary School in Cardiff and later at the Encinitas Community Center. Over the past year, the congregation gathered at Bressi Ranch Clubhouse, Boys & Girls Club in Carlsbad.

Were a non-denominational Christian church where everyone is welcome, said Justin Windham, associate pastor of Outreach & Discipleship. We look forward to serving the community in any way we can.

Sunday services are 10:30 a.m. at 2700 Rancho Pancho, Carlsbad.

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New church opens in Carlsbad

Church of Our Lady of Peace To Serve Christian Community of Sharm El-Sheikh New York, February 20, 2015 (Zenit.org) Oliver Maksan | 927 hits

"The Church in Egypt has been strengthened by the murder of our brothers in Libya." Such was the reaction by Coptic Catholic Bishop Youssef Aboul-Kheir of Sohag to the beheading of 21 Orthodox Coptic men in Libya by ISIS.

The guest workers in Libya "suffered a holy death with prayers on their lips. They went to their deaths just like the early Christians, the bishop said in an interview with Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need.

As fate would have it, ISIS released a gruesome video of the executions on the very day,

Feb. 15, 2015, that Egypts Catholic Coptic Church celebrated the consecration of the first ever church in Sinai, in the community of Sharm El-Sheikh, Our Lady of Peacea name chosen by Susanne Mubarak, wife of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Mrs. Mubarak, who was educated by Catholic nuns, ensured that construction of the church could proceed after years of delay and opposition by local political leadership.

This is a great day of joy for Catholics in Egypt, the local ordinary, Coptic Catholic Bishop Makarios Tewfik of Ismailia, said at the consecration ceremony. We have a number of places of worship in Sinaia famous tourist destination where hundreds of hotels line the coast known for its spectacular coral reefbut these are chapels or even just rooms in normal houses. The church of Our Lady of Peace is the first proper church building that was built for the sole purpose of worshiping God, he said.

Father Bolos Garas, the local pastor will celebrate three services in the church every Sunday. I am a Coptic Catholic priest. However, there are very few Coptic Catholics here, just a handful of families. Most of our faithful are tourists or foreign workers. For this reason, I not only celebrate Sunday Mass according to my Churchs rites, but also according to the Roman rites, in both Italian and English, he said. The English-language service will primarily cater to Filipinos, guest workers in the local hotel industry, while a sizeable community of Italian retirees who spend winters in Sharm El-Sheikh will hear Mass in their own language.

Patriarch Ibrahim I Sidrak, head of the 200,000-member strong Egyptian Coptic Catholic church, presided over the consecration ceremony.

Meanwhile the brutal killing of the 21 men hangs like a cloud over Egypts Christian community, which already faces home grown Islamic extremism "I am afraid of the Salafists in the country, said Bishop Aboul-Kheir, who added that they speak with forked tongues. The Muslim Brotherhood is opposed to society anyway. So there exists an internal danger in Egypt itself." Egypts Christian leaders are concerned that extremists may be voted into power during upcoming parliamentary elections.

The new Parliament should ensure that Christians will finally be able to live as equal citizens," the bishop said, stressing that, among other rights, religious liberty for all should guarantee the freedom to construct new churches. The prelate called on the countrys Muslim community to choose moderation. Its highest theological and intellectual forum, he said, the Al-Azhar University, is regarded as a moderate force. However, he continued, there are many aspects of the institutions teachings and programs that are anything but moderate. For example, the use of force in cases that are considered apostasy by Muslimsincluding their conversion to Christianityis justified. This contradicts moderate views.

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In Wake of ISIS Horror, Egyptian Christians Consecrate First-Ever Church in Sinai