Earlier this week, average U.S. gas prices reached an all-time high at $4 per gallon. The Energy Department predicts gas prices to remain this high through 2009. And if storms affect the oil industry, U.S. gas prices could go as high as $5 or $6 per gallon this year.

How will this affect your church?

Two years ago, when gas prices reached $3 per gallon, 70% of drivers planned to compensate by adjusting their daily lives. And three years ago, when the national average reached $2.50 per gallon for the first time, even Wal-Mart struggled. After 25 years of Americans driving more and more, the Federal Highway Administration reports that Americans are finally decreasing the total number of miles driven on roads each year.

There is no way to be certain about how high gas prices will affect your church. But I do have some theories about what might happen.

10 Theories About Church & High Gas Prices

1. An Unaffected Core
   I believe that most people who are considered core members of a church are not likely to stop attending church to save money on gas. They may make adjustments in their lifestyles, but cutting church from their lives is not an option. However, core members who live especially far away may have no other choice but to find a new, closer church.
2. Worse Attendance from the Uncommitted
   For every-other-Sunday church attenders, going to church just gets harder when gas prices make it $2 more expensive to go. It is just one more excuse for their long list of excuses.
3. Greater Challenges in Reaching the Unchurched
   Agnostics, Muslims, Buddhists, and non-church-attending “Christians” are rarely, if ever, motivated to visit a church service or event. In fact, many would try their best to avoid anything church related. As gas prices increase, the likelihood that the unchurched will drive to your church decreases. Your best chance at reaching this group is to give them transportation (e.g., bus ministry or church members bring them).
4. Weakened Advertising Results
   Your postcards, billboards, and radio ads need to be interesting enough to create a desire to attend your church. Rising gas prices are like raising the admission price to your church. Even if someone is interested enough to take the time to attend your church, is he interested enough to spend the money to attend your church.
5. Difficult Volunteer Recruitment
   The financial cost issue can even be a factor for prospective volunteers. They may be willing to give their time, but they may not be willing to pay $4 per gallon to get there.
6. A Shrinking Radius
   As gas prices rise, I think a church’s radius of reach will shrink when it comes to reaching new members. Core members may still be willing to drive 40 miles to attend, but first-time visitors will probably come from the nearby areas surrounding your church. So if people are currently willing to drive 20 miles to attend your church, would they only be willing to drive 12 miles if gas prices reached $6 per gallon?
7. Multi-Site Church Advantage
   One of the many advantages of a multi-site church format is it can strategically shorten the distance people have to drive to attend church. And in the big picture, it increases a church’s scope of reach. For example, a one campus church might be able to reach a 20 mile radius, but a two-campus church might be able to reach a 40 mile radius.
   
8. Internet Church Advantage
   Churches with an Internet campus can obviously avoid the gas prices issue altogether. Some examples of this church model are LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK), Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC), and Flamingo Road Church (Cooper City, FL).
9. Revitalized Ministry Opportunities
   Rising gas prices may cause bus ministries to return as a popular and effective method. After all, what better way to solve the gas problem than to bus people to church.
10. New Ministry Opportunities
    Although rising gas prices create a number of problems, they also create some opportunities. Mosaic Church (Charlotte, NC) gave away $2500 worth of free gas ($15 per car) to bless their community and create awareness for their church. And Fellowship Church (Miami, FL) created a direct mail piece that could be redeemed at the church for a $5 gas card.

For Discussion:
- How are rising gas prices affecting your church?
- How can a church minimize the negative effects of high gas prices?
- What are some ministry opportunities in a world of expensive gas?

[via Ecomodder, FHA, & Gas Buddy]

This fall, I will be speaking at two ministry conferences – MinistryCOM and The Internet Ministry Conference. I would love to meet you if you can make it to one or even both.

MinistryCOM :: September 18-19 :: Oklahoma City, OK
MinistryCOM is a church communications conference designed to give those in church communications encouragement, education, resources, and networking opportunities. I will be teaching a session called:

1. Balance
   Without question, marketing can help a church better fulfill its mission. But if a church is not careful, marketing could actually distract it from its mission. This workshop discusses the importance of distinguishing between mission and marketing and how to strike balance between the two.

Other speakers include Mike Foster, Scott Hodge, Dawn Nicole Baldwin, Anne Jackson, and many more.

The Internet Ministry Conference :: October 20-23 :: Grand Rapids, MI
The Internet Ministry Conference caters to anyone with a passion to make an impact for Christ online. I will be teaching two sessions:

1. All You Need to Know About Internet Ministry Marketing
   Get a well-rounded lesson in marketing your ministry on the Internet.
2. Tailored Internet Marketing
   How to create an Internet ministry based on your calling and not what other ministries are doing.

Other speakers include Gabe Lyons, David Russell, Brad Abare, and many more.

Are you going to either conference? If so, post a comment and let me know. I look forward to meeting you in person.

Further Reading:
View upcoming church conferences.

I spent part of my childhood as a missionary’s kid in Lima, Peru. The home we lived in was a tall and skinny red three story concrete building squished like a townhouse between two other houses. From the outside, much of it looked like a castle turret. This is where the staircase was, and underneath the staircase, at the very bottom of the house was a cold, dark, and dusty bathroom with a low ceiling.

The kitchen was across the hall from this bathroom, so we frequently passed by it without giving it any notice. But one night as I was in the kitchen opening a bottle of coke, I heard a ploop.

I paused and listened…

Ploop, ploop.

The noise sounded like it was coming from the bathroom. So I quickly rushed across the hallway, turned on the bathroom light, and looked into the toilet.

What appeared to be a big brown worm was swishing around, and then it shot down the hole towards the sewer. But it wasn’t a worm. It was a rat tail. And all around the toilet seat were rat paw prints. I was surprised. I did not know rats could come up from the sewer to the toilet. It was an unexpected problem but easily fixed by placing a weight on the toilet lid.

MINISTRY LESSON
Expect and plan for unexpected problems in unexpected places.

This may sound impossible, but it is really quite simple. You can never completely prevent problems from occurring. But you can budget resources (time, money, & skills) so that they are available when an unexpected problem arises.

In others words, create margin for your ministry’s time, money, and skills by not scheduling every minute of your day, not spending every dollar in your budget, and not overcommitting yourself to one specific task. Then when an unexpected problem shows up in an unexpected place, you will likely have the resources to solve the problem quickly and effectively.

For Discussion:
- How to you prepare your ministry for unexpected problems?

Other MK Ministry Lessons
1. Speaking Another Language
2. Big Numbered Intis
3. Timoteo’s Fly Eye Kaleidoscope
4. Christmas Tacos
5. Worm Pills
6. The Presence of Guns
7. Cusco Limits

I spent part of my childhood as a missionary’s kid in Lima, Peru. And a couple of times, I got to travel to Cusco, a city in the Andes Mountains located more than two miles (10,800 feet) above sea level.

To avoid getting altitude sickness, it is recommended that visitors rest on their first day in Cusco to let their bodies adjust to the decreased oxygen levels. I always tried to rest, but I was a fairly active child and could not resist exerting some energy. Of course, I always paid for it, and I experienced a day or two of altitude sickness every time I visited Cusco.

I knew what the limits were, but I pushed them. Because I did not want to rest on the first day, I was always physically forced to rest on the next day.

MINISTRY LESSON
If you push yourself past your limits, you will have to pay for it sooner or later.

It is good to maximize your life, but you need to know your limits and stop when you reach them. It is good to be a hard worker, but if you push past your limits, you will burn yourself out. This concept is easy to understand in financial terms. If you spend money past your financial limitations, you will get yourself into a pit of debt and potentially lose all that you have.

If you spend energy past your personal limitations, you will have to pay for it somehow – illness, burnout, a bad marriage, suffering relationships.

The Israelites learned this lesson the hard way in Leviticus 25:4-5 when God commanded them to let the land rest on every seventh year. Unfortunately, they did not obey this commandment for 490 years (missed 70 Sabbath years), and consequently, they paid for it during the 70 years of Babylonian captivity mentioned in Jeremiah 25:11.

If life is a marathon, don’t ruin it by sprinting your hardest from the starting line. Know your limits. Pace yourself.

For Discussion:
- How do you keep yourself from pushing past your limits?

Other MK Ministry Lessons
1. Speaking Another Language
2. Big Numbered Intis
3. Timoteo’s Fly Eye Kaleidoscope
4. Christmas Tacos
5. Worm Pills
6. The Presence of Guns

On May 12, a devastating 7.9 earthquake hit China. Reports claim:

• 45,000,000+ people have been affected by the earthquake
• 5,000,000+ people are now homeless
• 360,000+ people have been injured
• 65,000+ people have died
• Thousands are still missing

You can help China. Buy a shirt.

A graphic designer named Steve has partnered with World Vision to sell 50,000 t-shirts and raise $1,000,000 to help China. It is called FiftyThousandShirts.com.

After beta testing in a few select cities, ROOV.com has officially launched nationally for the U.S. But what is it?

ROOV is a new Christian social network that connects you with others in your church and community that have the same ROOVs – shared passions, experiences, and goals. Although it is an online tool, its goal is to connect, motivate, and mobilize people locally and nationally to pursue ROOVs together.

In other words, it is an online community creating offline community. It is easier said than done, which is why ROOV’s development team is keeping the site simple and focusing their efforts on protecting and nurturing the online experience.

Within the next month, more features and capabilities should be added to help you better interact with “friends” and your ROOVs.

Check it out. You can search for “Kent Shaffer” and add me as a friend.