The latest edition of Leadership Network Advance had this headline – Freeze of Hire! The headline followed with examples of how some churches are handling the economic crunch the country is experiencing today.

It wasn’t long ago a survey was done by I forget who, but they were reputable, in which the conclusion was drawn that most churches weren’t being affected by the economic downturn. I think perhaps the survey was taken too early.  Most of the churches I hear from are experience financial declines up to 20% or more. These churches range from very small to mega churches.

Every financial guru I hear from says we are entering a jobless recovery that will take as much as three to five years to rebound enough that some jobs will be added back. And most of them are saying it will be longer than that, if ever, before we return to the levels of jobs and consumption we saw before the bubble burst.

That’s why my partner and I wrote the book, Doing Ministry in Hard Times, and published it online while waiting for my publisher to get it in print. The book is designed to bring churches through the crunch much stronger on the other side by knowing how to strategically dream. Instead of across the board cost-cutting the book shows what to always cut in hard times and what to always add to in hard times.  It seems the book is still needed some 9 months after its release in digital form.  You can find the book at http://21stcenturystrategiesinc.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_1&products_id=372 .