Mendham Hills Community Church (MHCC) in Chester, New Jersey, has a unique approach to outreach: before inviting their neighbors to church, they first invite them to the dump.

While more than 15 major pieces of tax legislation have been enacted into law since the year 2000, the current tax planning environment has been heavily shaped by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, passed in January 2013, and the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, passed in late 2015. Together, these legislative acts made permanent a number of significant tax provisions that had previously existed only in temporary form. Therefore, 2016 planning takes place in a relatively stable tax environment, although there is some degree of uncertainty regarding the potential availability of specific provisions heading into the 2017 tax year.

Last year about this time, I wrote about the volatility that the financial markets were experiencing. While volatility waxes and wanes as part of financial market cycles, it can be very scary to observe and experience. As that volatility continues, it seems like a good time to reiterate some of what I said back then.

A friend of mine gave me a very good little book by Rick Dunham entitled, If God Will Provide, Why Do We Have to Ask for Money? Mr. Dunham covers some good basic ground on the biblical view of money, giving, and asking. These are important topics for those involved in Christian leadership and fundraising, but also for Christians in general. As a local church treasurer and financial ministry leader, these are topics I give particular consideration to.

Growing up as an Alliance missionary kid in West Africa, I learned from an early age about Kingdom investing. I watched and participated as my parents and other missionaries gave their time, their resources, their very lives for Kingdom work — and I saw the Kingdom returns. But this kind of work with eternal returns doesn’t only happen overseas.

Imagine being a Chinese student just arriving in the United States to study in a small college town. Imagine stepping off a bus, overwhelmed with an entirely different culture, thousands of miles from home, where nothing is familiar. Imagine your astonishment when, suddenly, you hear someone speaking your own language!

This quarter’s topic addresses several risks when it comes to your retirement income. It’s not uncommon to overlook some of the factors that can affect how much you’ll have available to spend. For example, consider how your retirement income can be impacted by investment risk, inflation risk, taxes, and catastrophic illness or long-term care that may keep you from enjoying the retirement you envision. In this article, we will look at those first three areas.

As I approached a recent surgery and the testing that preceded it, I was asked numerous times if I had the documents listed below or would like information about them. I sheepishly had to admit that I knew about them but had yet to complete some of them. I needed to move quickly since the hospital likes to keep the medical forms in your record in case they are needed. (They destroy them once you are released.) In light of my experience, I thought it would be helpful to pass this information along to you.

Financial professionals typically recommend that you review your retirement savings plan both annually and when major life changes occur. If you didn’t revisit your plan in 2015, this may be an ideal time to do so. This past year saw greater stock market volatility, which may require you to re-examine your risk tolerance. Risk tolerance refers to how well you can ride out fluctuations in the value of your investments.

Sometimes God works outside the box — at least from our perspective. Sometimes He gifts people to join Him in work outside the box. Pastor Brian McMillan is one of those outside-the-box kind of guys, and the story of CenterPoint Church in Massapequa, New York, is an outside-the-box kind of story.

Some studies suggest a congregation’s average age will be the age of its pastor, plus or minus 10 years. “Guess I blew that theory,” chuckles Pastor Bill Vaughn (age 78). In the past five years, Oasis Community Church in Fallon, Nevada, has grown more than ten-fold under his shepherding. From a dying 20-person Bible study to a thriving congregation of more than 200, Pastor Bill is proof that God still uses His people during the golden years.

During the summer of 2012, the Waldo Canyon Fire swept through the city of Colorado Springs, devouring real estate and devastating the lives of thousands. For days, members of Front Range Alliance Church (FRAC) watched news coverage showing the flames approaching their building and wondered if it would still be standing when the fire died down. But God spared their building and left a visual mark of His hand of protection. The burn line showed that the fire had crept right up to the parking lot — and stopped. He had work for them to do.

We’ve all seen bikers—black leather, tattoos, Harleys— but have you ever seen 9,000 of them in a church parking lot on Sunday morning? It happens every year at the Blessing of the Bikes at Murrysville Alliance Church (MAC) in Pennsylvania. Pastor Dan Lawrence prays for a safe riding season and then invites them to return any Sunday. They always feel welcomed and loved. Over the years, many have joined MAC’s Biker Ministry before hitting the road on a mission to share the love of Jesus.

Endalkachew Tefera was raised in a morally conservative home in southern Ethiopia. Christ became the center of his life in high school, and in between semesters at Bible college, he served as a full-time evangelist. One summer at home, he was asked to preach to a church of thousands.

The C&MA excels at taking the gospel to the nations, but what about when the nations come to us? Do we welcome them as brothers and sisters? What if their worship style and culture are distinctly different? Do we simply assume that ethnic churches prefer to “stay among their own”?

Before he was President John Stumbo, leader of the C&MA, he was Pastor John Stumbo, at one time a leader of Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon. And before he sought God’s vision for the national church, he sought it for the local one.

One Halloween night a few years ago, a small inner-city church intended to kick off a Bible study on the Holy Spirit. The building was decorated. Activities were planned. You could bob for apples while learning about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or eat pie while considering the fruit of the Spirit. It was designed to be a fun “in-reach,” a fellowship event for the congregation. But the turnout was far less than they had hoped. Were the young men teaching the class discouraged? Perhaps, but not for long.

Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church (SVA) in Fall City, Washington, is making a difference for the sake of Jesus Christ. Although not the largest church in the valley, it may just be the most impacting. As a means to completing its evangelistic and disciplemaking mission, the church has become a valuable resource to the city. SVA supplies sleeping bags to the homeless living under nearby bridges. It operates a clothing bank in the city administration building. It partners with the Red Cross to be a flood relief center. And with CarePoint Clinic staffed by 20 medical volunteers, SVA cares for those without insurance. Senior Associate Pastor Marty Benedict serves as chaplain for the fire and police departments and the public high school. When there’s a need, the Snoqualmie Valley calls Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church.

“Life is not an endless number of experiences to get it right; life is a limited amount of opportunities to glorify God.” When Mike Dryburgh became senior pastor in 2009, he wanted to make the most of the opportunities given to King of Kings Community Church in Manahawkin, New Jersey. He would tell you the church’s focus is missional, and to him that means getting your hands dirty. He believes there are serious implications if a church claims to be missional, and he has experienced first-hand how God just may give you big opportunities to prove it. 

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico is notable for the presence of our nation’s atomic research operations. A high concentration of scientists has resulted in significant atheism in this area, making evangelism a long and difficult process, but Crossroads Bible Church is up to the challenge.