But the tables had Bibles next to the beers and popcorn, and Kevin Brown, a pastor at Crossroads Church, was sitting behind a keyboard on the stage.

"We hope you didn't bring any of those non-Christian people tonight," he said to the dozen members of the audience. "Tonight is about getting all the kinks out."

The next hour would be a trial run, preparation and practice for how an evangelical congregation might do services without prayers or hymns or altar calls.

Because The Loft is on the second floor of a building on Michigan Avenue, Crossroads is calling the project The Upper Room. Because they want people to come whose relationship with church is tenuous or non-existent, the pastors have promised to buy a drink for every first-timer.

The drink is a gesture of friendship, said Noah Filipiak, the 31-year-old founder of Crossroads.

"We think it communicates something to people that are very leery of church and very leery of the church being very judgmental about things," he said.

Two summers ago, Filipiak spent a three-month sabbatical from his small downtown congregation playing safety for the Capital City Stealth, Lansing's minor league football team. He invited other players to come to Sunday morning services.

"I feel like our church is 'cool,' you know," he said. "We serve coffee and pie, and we're laid back and you don't have to dress up, and the things that Christians normally think, 'Oh people who don't go to church will come because we do these things.'"

Only the people he invited mostly didn't come and, when they did, they mostly didn't come back. It got him thinking about one of the perennial questions for pastors and church planters: What was it about church, even a casual church with pie, that kept them away?

"There are concentric circles of people," he said. "I think that your blue jeans and coffee and rock and roll band on Sunday morning church plant is reaching a certain concentric circle, and that demographic has now been pretty saturated."

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Lansing bar scene includes church service

Fairview MB Town Church Construction 1948
This 1948/49 home 8mm movie is of the building of the Fairview OK Town Church located across the street from Fairview Hospital at 10th and Beck. The south MB...

By: Garen Martens

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Fairview MB Town Church Construction 1948 - Video

Huawei donates sh10 million to a Church construction project
In this day and age, corporate companies have to give back or support communities that they operate in to stay relevant. It is under this vision that Huawei ...

By: NBS TVUganda

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Huawei donates sh10 million to a Church construction project - Video

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) November 19, 2014

Ziegler, a specialty investment bank, is pleased to announce the successful closing of the $2,250,000 Series 2014 Bond issue for First Baptist Church of Clovis. First Baptist Church of Clovis was founded in the early 1900s in Clovis, California.

In 1974, the church acquired the existing church site in an undeveloped area of Clovis. In 1978, construction of a new sanctuary began and in late 1979, the church occupied the site and relocated its ministry operations. During 1980 and 1981, the church continued expansion of its facilities and constructed two additional buildings that are currently used for the childrens ministry program and preschool program that was established in 1981. The preschool program continues to be an essential ministry of the church. In 2006, the church completed and dedicated a new sanctuary. Today, the average weekly worship attendance is 553 and there is a preschool enrollment of 148.

Proceeds of the 2014 Bonds were used to redeem a series of 2007 Bonds which were issued to refinance existing debt incurred to complete the construction of the new sanctuary. The 2014 Bonds lowered the churchs average coupon to 5.69% and lowered its annual debt service by an amount that will save the church approximately $14,000 per year and $425,000 over the term of the 2014 Bonds.

We appreciate the help and direction we received from the Ziegler team. Every step of the way, they kept us informed and engaged. This refinancing allows our church to accelerate our desire to be debt-free by reducing the interest rates and the terms. One of our existing pursuits concerns being faithful as stewards, and Zieglers counsel and help will allow us to be just that, stated church Lead Pastor, Ken Hendrix.

Bill Dodson, senior vice president in Zieglers religion & education practice and lead banker on this transaction along with Erin Wait, commented, First Baptist Church is a healthy, well-managed ministry with great growth potential. We were pleased to present the church with a refinance proposal, because we knew we could help them generate real savings with a new bond issue in this low rate environment. Working with their leadership team was a true delight.

Since our first financing in 1913, Ziegler has become a recognized leader in providing creative, tailored solutions to religious and educational institutions. Focusing on multidenominational places of worship, charter schools and K-12 private schools, Ziegler offers long-term, fixed-rate financing, tax-exempt financing and short-term, variable rate financing.

For more information about Ziegler, please visit us at http://www.Ziegler.com.

About Ziegler: The Ziegler Companies, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: ZGCO), together with its affiliates (Ziegler), is a specialty investment bank with unique expertise in complex credit structures and advisory services. Nationally, Ziegler is ranked as one of the leading investment banking firms in its specialty sectors of healthcare, senior living, religion, and education, as well as general municipal and structured finance. Headquartered in Chicago, IL with regional and branch offices throughout the U.S., Ziegler provides its clients with capital raising, corporate finance, FHA/HUD, strategic advisory services and research. Ziegler serves institutional and individual investors through its wealth management and capital markets distribution channels.

Certain comments in this news release represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This clients experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, nor is it indicative of future performance or success. The forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, in particular, the overall financial health of the securities industry, the strength of the healthcare sector of the U.S. economy and the municipal securities marketplace, the ability of the Company to underwrite and distribute securities, the market value of mutual fund portfolios and separate account portfolios advised by the Company, the volume of sales by its retail brokers, the outcome of pending litigation, and the ability to attract and retain qualified employees. # # #

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Ziegler Closes $2.25 Million Financing For The First Baptist Church Of Clovis

The beginning of construction for the Outlet Shops of the Mid-South, to be located at the intersection of I-55 and Church Road in Southaven is still happening, just not as soon as earlier reports indicated.

"We're waiting on drainage plans to be approved," said Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite late last week. "A goal for the project to start in December is still possible, but it is still about 3-6 weeks away."

Josh Poeg, an official for Poeg Shopping Centers, the Memphis-based company building the project, also recently said the project was not close to a start-up date.

Once construction begins on the Outlet Shops of the Mid-South, Musselwhite said completion of the mall project's first phase should take about a year.

Both comments from the Southaven mayor and the mall developer contradict earlier reports the mall project was close to beginning.

Poeg Shopping Centers has developed what they term as "lifestyle centers" in several states across the country, which it terms as having an open-air design, contrary to indoor shopping malls, that offer shopping, restaurant and entertainment venues.

The company, founded in 1984, manages the Carriage Crossing shopping center in Collierville, Tenn. and developed the Shops at Saddle Creek in Germantown, Tenn.

According to the company website, Poeg is also developing another property in Memphis which they identified as Highland Row.

When it opens, the first phase completion for the Outlet Shops of the Mid-South will include approximately 90 upscale stores, three restaurants and a hotel at the northeast corner of the I-55/Church Road intersection.

Approximately $34 million of the $114 million price tag for the mall will come from the Mississippi Tourism Rebate Program of the Mississippi Development Authority. The remainder of the funds come from private money through the creation of the mall area as a Public Improvement District.

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Mall construction delayed

Construction of three new Habitat homes started over the weekend in Woodstock, bringing one man to tears.

Habitat for Humanity North Central Georgia began construction Saturday and Peter Uk could not have been happier.

We had a lot of difficulty in my country and in Malaysia, Uk said as tears ran down his face.When we came to America to start a new life, we didnt have anything.But by the grace of God we were able to get to the United States, and now we can have an affordable home.

Uk and his wife, Yung Niang Uk, moved to the U.S. in 2010 after living in Malaysia for three years. The couple fled their home country of Burma when their Christian faith brought them persecution.

The family now lives in Cumming as they wait for their home to be built in Woodstock. The couple are parents to Betsy, 4, Zahaala, 2, and a 1-year-old son, Samuel.

Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church, Northbrook United Methodist Church, Roswell Presbyterian Church, Roswell United Methodist Church, Saint Aidans Episcopal Church, Saint James United Methodist and Zion Missionary Baptist Church jointly helped to support the Uks new house.

Construction also began on houses for the Navarro and Afidegnon families.

Abigail Navarro was 9 years old when she and her family immigrated to the United States from El Salvador, Central America, in 1990.She and her three daughters now live in Alpharetta, in an overcrowded townhouse with family members.

Navarro works for the Interactive College of Technology in Chamblee, where she has been employed for about two years.

I would like to thank every single person here, and naturally, God; and Habitat for giving me the opportunity to have a decent home for my kids.You have no idea how happy I was when they gave me the call that I was approved for a home.I thank everybody for the work youre going to put into my house,Navarro said.

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Construction starts on 3 Habitat for Humanity houses

Stung Treng Church Construction

By: sovanda keth

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Stung Treng Church Construction - Video

A rendering of the courtyard view of the Provo MTC expansion. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the rendering Tuesday night and announced it has finalized its plans to begin construction in the summer of 2015. When complete, the MTC's capacity will rise from 2,800 missionaries in training to 3,500.

LDS Church

PROVO The LDS Church released renderings Tuesday night of its final plans for the expansion of its Missionary Training Center in Provo.

A site plan also shows the new oval that will change the way families drop off their missionaries at the MTC, one of the church's 15 training centers around the world.

Construction will begin in the summer. When complete in 2017, the MTC will be able to train, house and feed 3,500 missionaries at a time, up from 2,800, according to a news release.

The Provo MTC has been in flux since October 2012, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lowered the ages at which men and women can serve missions. The age change led to a flood of new missionaries that overwhelmed the Provo MTC.

To accommodate the rush of new elders and sisters into the mission field, the church leased an apartment building and nearby housing at BYU about a mile away from the MTC. It also closed a church school in Mexico and converted it into an MTC.

The Mexico City MTC, opened last year, now hosts many of the church's Spanish-speaking missionaries during training, easing pressure on the Provo MTC.

Also, the number of missionaries is normalizing after the boom caused when LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson announced that men could leave at 18 instead of 19, and sisters could serve at 19 instead of 21.

Those men who were between 18 and 19 and women who were between 19 and 21 who decided to serve immediately created a bottleneck that now is abating.

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LDS Church releases renderings of final Provo MTC expansion plans

By TAYLOR M. LIER

Staff Writer

HOWELL A half-century of worship is being celebrated as a house of worship rings in its 50th anniversary.

The Church of the Master, 110 Salem Hill Road, Howell, will celebrate 50 years of serving the community at 11 a.m. Nov. 23 with a special worship service to be followed by a luncheon at Our House Restaurant.

For Howell native Phil DeFusco, the 50th anniversary of his childhood place of worship is exciting.

I grew up in Howell and still live here today, and I have been going to the church since I was about 4 years old. I am so proud of what it has become, DeFusco said.

The Church of the Master began as a mission church of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, Newark, in 1961, according to DeFuscos wife, Kathie.

At the time, Howell was a growing community, and money was approved to begin a church in this area, she said.

The churchs first service was held at the Land O Pines School on Jan. 6, 1963. The congregation grew and plans were eventually made for the construction of a permanent home. On Nov. 24, 1964, the Church of the Master, being approved by the Board of Missions, was opened.

In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church combined to form the United Methodist Church, according to DeFusco. The Church of the Master became part of the Southern New Jersey Conference.

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Church of the Master to celebrate 50 years

A construction worker allegedly stabbed his co-worker to death in a church in Sampaloc, Manila yesterday.

Police identified the victim as Mario Gorpedo, 27, stay-in at Flashbuilt Construction Inc. and of Northern Samar.

Case officer PO3 Marlon San Pedro disclosed that the incident happened at around 4:30 a.m. at the construction site of Grace Gospel Church on Mangga Ave. corner Buenos Aires St. Initial investigation said that the suspect, Jonard Caberte, 35, of Negros Occidental, stabbed the victim while he was sleeping. A witness, co-worker Anito Galias, saw the suspect fleeing.

Galias saw Gorpedo gasping for breath on his wooden bed. The victim was taken to the Ospital ng Sampaloc where he died.

Police are eyeing revenge as the motive of the killing.

(The reason for the killing) may be out of revenge, because last Friday, the victim, along with his unknown companion, ganged up the suspects brother (who is also their co-worker), San Pedro said. (Rachel Joyce E. Burce)

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Laborer stabs co-worker