Church leaders are being asked to do more with technology than ever before. They must communicate across generations, manage giving, protect children and volunteers, coordinate events, support staff, maintain websites, and keep members connected between Sundays. Each task may look separate, but together they shape whether a church can operate with clarity and serve its community well.

That reality explains why Ministry Brands has become a visible church technology leader. The company supports more than 90,000 purpose-driven organizations with technology and services designed to help them grow, protect, and engage their communities. Its platform reaches across giving, communication, websites, media, events, background checks, donor management, and church management software.

For churches, the larger issue is not whether they use software. Most do. The question is whether their tools work together in a way that supports ministry, or whether disconnected systems create more work for teams already stretched thin.

The Value of One Technology Partner

Many churches begin their digital growth by solving one need at a time. They add one tool for online giving, another for email, another for events, another for check-in, and another for websites. Over time, however, the result can become fragmented.

Disconnected vendors often mean separate logins, separate data, separate support teams, and separate workflows. Staff members may spend time reconciling information instead of using it. Volunteers may receive inconsistent instructions. Leaders may struggle to see a full picture of engagement, generosity, and participation.

A comprehensive church software platform changes that dynamic. When technology is integrated, churches can organize people, communication, giving, events, and operations through a more connected system. That does not remove the human responsibility of ministry. It gives leaders better tools to carry it out.

Ministry Brands has built its work around that kind of connection. Its faith-based technology solutions are designed to help leaders manage both the operational and relational sides of ministry. A church can use technology to process donations, plan events, share messages, screen volunteers, and understand member engagement without forcing each function into a separate silo.

That matters because church operations are not merely administrative. They shape trust. Giving tools affect donor confidence. Background checks affect safety. Communication tools affect belonging. Event systems affect participation. Websites affect first impressions. When these functions work together, ministry teams can focus more attention on people.

Technology That Supports Mission

The strongest church technology does not ask churches to become technology companies. It helps them become more effective in the work they already feel called to do. This distinction is important for any organization evaluating ministry software.

Churches operate with limited time, volunteer capacity, and staff resources. Even larger congregations face the challenge of coordinating multiple departments and ministries. Smaller churches may rely on part-time staff or volunteers who need systems that are clear, practical, and reliable.

Ministry Brands positions its tools around those realities. The company states that its purpose is to help clients create positive impact by making passion actionable and raising technology standards for the industry. Its view is that churches remain the experts in their mission, while the company helps them reach it through technology.

This approach reflects a broader shift in church digital transformation. The goal is not to adopt every new tool. It is to select systems that make ministry more consistent, secure, and measurable. A church can communicate more effectively with families, follow up with donors, register volunteers, and understand participation patterns when its data and workflows are connected.

Integrated church operations software also helps leaders make better decisions. When information is scattered, staff may rely on instinct or incomplete reports. When systems connect, leaders can see trends in attendance, giving, registrations, and engagement. That visibility can support planning, staffing, stewardship, and outreach.

Innovation With Practical Purpose

Innovation in the faith-based technology sector cannot be judged only by the number of features a company releases. It should be judged by whether those improvements solve real problems for churches and ministries.

Ministry Brands has continued to invest in product innovation, research, customer education, and long-term client partnerships. Those investments are important because churches face changing expectations from members and donors. People now expect digital giving to be simple, communication to be timely, websites to be clear, and registration processes to be convenient.

At the same time, churches must handle sensitive information responsibly. They manage donor data, family information, background screening records, and financial activity. Reliable technology must balance ease of use with security, support, and compliance awareness.

A mature church technology partner can help leaders think through those concerns. Product development may produce better tools, but education helps churches use them wisely. Research helps companies understand how congregations are changing. Long-term partnerships help churches adapt without feeling forced into constant reinvention.

This is where Ministry Brands’ scale is relevant. With nearly 700 associates supporting many organizations, the company has exposure to many types of ministry environments. That experience can inform how it builds products, trains clients, and supports churches that differ in size, structure, and digital maturity.

Improving Engagement and Communication

Member engagement is one of the clearest areas where integrated technology can improve ministry effectiveness. Churches are not only trying to reach people on Sunday mornings. They are trying to maintain connection during the week, welcome new visitors, support small groups, coordinate volunteers, and help members take next steps.

Communication can become difficult when data lives in several systems. A family may attend an event, give online, volunteer, and fill out a form through different tools. Without integration, staff may not easily understand the family’s full relationship with the church.

A connected platform can make communication more relevant and timely. Leaders can segment messages, follow up after events, remind volunteers of assignments, and support donor engagement with greater consistency. The outcome is not communication for its own sake. The outcome is stronger connection.

This is especially important as churches serve people with different habits. Some members respond to email. Others prefer text. New visitors may first encounter the church through a website or livestream. Families may expect online registration and digital giving. Older members may still value personal calls and printed information.

Church technology should support all of those pathways without forcing leaders to choose between digital tools and personal ministry. A strong platform gives staff better information so that personal connection becomes more intentional.

Operational Efficiency as Ministry Stewardship

Efficiency can sound like a business term, but in churches it is often a stewardship issue. Every hour a staff member spends correcting duplicate records, manually tracking registrations, or switching between systems is time that could be invested in people.

Integrated church management software can reduce administrative friction. It can simplify event setup, giving reconciliation, volunteer screening, communication planning, and reporting. For church leaders, those improvements can support both accountability and care.

The same principle applies to financial stewardship. Churches need giving tools that are easy for donors to use and reliable for staff to manage. They also need reporting that helps leaders understand trends without unnecessary complexity.

Safety is another operational area where technology has ministry implications. Background checks and volunteer management help churches protect the communities they serve. When these processes are part of a broader technology ecosystem, leaders can maintain clearer records and more consistent procedures.

The point is not to replace discernment or leadership. It is to create systems that help good leadership function at a higher level. In that sense, operations and ministry are not separate. Strong operations make ministry more sustainable.

Helping Churches Adapt Without Losing Focus

The pace of technology change can be challenging for churches. Tools promise efficiency, but they can also create confusion. Leaders must evaluate what is useful, what is secure, what is affordable, and what aligns with the church’s mission.

Ministry Brands’ long-term value is tied to helping churches navigate that complexity. As a church technology leader, the company is not simply offering products. It is helping define what modern ministry infrastructure can look like when giving, communication, management, media, safety, and engagement are viewed as connected parts of one mission.

That perspective matters because technology should not become the center of church life. It should support the center. Churches grow and thrive when they can serve people, communicate clearly, steward resources, protect communities, and adapt to changing needs without losing sight of their purpose.

The future of church digital transformation will likely depend on this balance. Churches will need modern systems, but they will also need partners that understand the human side of ministry. Ministry Brands has built its position on that intersection, helping organizations use technology in ways that make mission more actionable.

For churches evaluating their next stage of growth, the central question is not simply which software has the most features. It is which partner can help them operate with clarity, engage people more effectively, and stay focused on the work they were created to do. That is the standard Ministry Brands is working to set.

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Taylor Swift showed off a dramatically shorter hairstyle over the weekend, appearing at a U.K. wedding alongside a group of close friends and collaborators just weeks after marrying Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

The 36-year-old singer attended the wedding of longtime recording engineers Oli Jacobs and Laura Sisk on Saturday, Aug. 15, held at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios outside Bath, Gloucestershire. Swift’s shorter hairdo was on full display throughout the celebration, with her signature bangs still intact, as she wore a navy blue dress embroidered with golden floral designs, paired with her classic red lip.

Swift also wore her engagement ring and wedding band during the event, marking one of her more visible public appearances since marrying Kelce earlier this summer in a ceremony held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The wedding brought together a notable roster of Swift’s close friends and musical collaborators. She was joined by pop star Sabrina Carpenter, 27, and producer Jack Antonoff, 42, both of whom have worked extensively with Swift on various projects over the years. Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers was also among the guests photographed at the event.

Swift’s shorter hairstyle did not come entirely as a surprise to fans following her recent appearances. A first glimpse of the new look emerged several days earlier, on Wednesday, Aug. 12, when Swift was photographed exiting the private members-only club Annabel’s in London with a friend. In those photos, her long hair appeared cut into a shoulder-length style, offering an early preview of the more dramatic transformation she debuted fully at Saturday’s wedding.

The shift marks a departure from Swift’s hairstyle choices in recent years, during which she has largely worn her signature blonde hair long and straight. More recently, however, she has increasingly embraced her natural hair texture in public appearances. When Swift announced a new single tied to “Toy Story 5” earlier this year, promotional imagery for the song showed her sporting a textured, banged hairstyle with a boho-Western aesthetic, suggesting the shift toward a more textured look had been building for some time.

One of the last instances of Swift publicly wearing a similarly textured style dates back to 2024, when she was seen out in Sydney, Australia, with Carpenter following an earlier reintroduction of the look while supporting Kelce at one of his NFL games that same year.

Swift has spoken previously about the unpredictable evolution of her hair texture over the years. In a 2019 feature for Elle published around her 30th birthday, Swift reflected candidly on the transformation her hair had undergone since childhood. “I learned that your hair can completely change texture,” she wrote. “From birth, I had the curliest hair and now it is STRAIGHT. It’s the straight hair I wished for every day in junior high.” She added a lighthearted note about the shift away from her natural curls, writing at the time, “But just as I was coming to terms with loving my curls, they’ve left me. Please pray for their safe return.”

Swift’s attendance at Saturday’s wedding reflected years of close professional collaboration with both Jacobs and Sisk, who have served as some of her longest-standing studio engineers across multiple albums throughout her career. According to information from Jacobs’ professional website, he began his career as an assistant engineer at Real World Studios, the venue where the wedding itself took place, and spent eight years working his way up to the role of head engineer before relocating to Los Angeles in 2022.

Sisk, meanwhile, has continued working as a recording engineer across both Los Angeles and New York. She had previously attended Swift’s own wedding to Kelce in July at Madison Square Garden, underscoring the close personal and professional ties between Swift and the couple being celebrated at Saturday’s event.

The wedding also highlighted the broader web of creative relationships connecting Swift, Carpenter, Antonoff, Jacobs and Sisk, all of whom have collaborated closely across various music projects in recent years. Antonoff, in particular, has served as one of Swift’s most frequent co-writers and producers throughout multiple album cycles, while Carpenter has similarly worked alongside Swift on various musical and touring projects.

Swift’s appearance at the wedding comes amid a broader stretch of public attention surrounding her personal life following her marriage to Kelce, with the couple’s relationship continuing to draw significant media coverage even as both have maintained active professional schedules. Kelce has continued preparing for the upcoming NFL season with the Chiefs, including participating in the team’s preseason schedule, while Swift has continued to make public appearances tied to both her personal life and ongoing creative projects.

The dramatic hair change has quickly become a talking point among fans and entertainment outlets tracking Swift’s evolving public image following her wedding, with many drawing comparisons between her current shorter, more textured style and earlier points in her career when she similarly experimented with departures from her long, straight signature look. Whether the shorter hairstyle represents a lasting change or a temporary style choice tied to the summer wedding season remains to be seen, though Swift’s history of gradually reintroducing more textured looks over the past several years suggests the shift may reflect a broader, ongoing evolution in her personal style rather than a one-off appearance.

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• Special publications and industry reports
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Data & Insights is a research tool built specifically for the WA market. It draws on more than 30 years of Business News reporting, updated regularly to reflect what’s happening now. Use it to:

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• Find decision-makers and track their career movements
• Research live and completed projects across WA industries
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Only subscribers have full access to all content on the Business News website.

If staying informed about the WA economy is part of your job, and/or you’re looking for networking opportunities in WA, Business News is built for you.

Business News subscribers are:

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• Business owners looking for leads, context and market intelligence

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As economic uncertainty continues, many workers are becoming more cautious about taking the next step in their careers. Vishala Sri-Pathma examines who’s staying put and why.

Presenter/producer: Vishala Sri-Pathma

You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Programme WebsiteShow less

Following the death of actress Hayden Panettiere at age 36, many fans have been asking whether the “Heroes” and “Nashville” star had children. The answer is yes: Panettiere is the mother of one daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, whom she shares with her former partner, Ukrainian professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Kaya was born in December 2014, and her arrival came during a period when Panettiere and Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion, were together as a couple. The two had been in a long-term relationship before eventually separating, and Kaya has remained primarily in her father’s care in the years since.

Panettiere has spoken publicly and candidly over the years about the extraordinarily difficult period surrounding her daughter’s birth and the months that followed. She has described experiencing severe postpartum depression after Kaya was born, a condition she said profoundly affected her ability to care for herself and her newborn daughter during that time. In interviews and in her recently published memoir, Panettiere detailed how those struggles, combined with a broader battle with substance use, ultimately shaped one of the most painful decisions of her life.

In 2018, when Kaya was 7 years old, Panettiere made the decision to relinquish custody of her daughter to Klitschko. Panettiere has described the choice as devastating, reflecting years later on just how difficult it had been to formalize that arrangement. “I mean it was the worst signing those papers and like the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever, ever had to do in my life,” Panettiere said in a 2022 interview, looking back on the decision.

Despite no longer serving as Kaya’s primary caregiver, Panettiere continued to speak about her daughter publicly in the years that followed, and she remained candid about the complicated emotions tied to co-parenting from a distance while continuing her own recovery journey. Her openness about the custody decision became a significant part of the broader public narrative surrounding her personal struggles, alongside her disclosures about addiction and mental health.

Panettiere’s memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” published in May of this year, offered an extensive and intimate account of the years surrounding Kaya’s birth and the custody decision that followed. According to a publisher’s synopsis of the book, the memoir provided what was described as a rare and intimate glimpse into Panettiere’s life behind closed doors, addressing her experiences with postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse and loss. The book arrived just months before Panettiere’s own death, adding renewed public attention to the personal history she had chosen to share.

Panettiere’s relationship with Klitschko, who won multiple heavyweight boxing titles during his career and remains one of the most recognizable figures in the sport’s history, had drawn significant media attention throughout its duration, in part due to the high profile of both partners. Following their separation, Klitschko has continued raising Kaya, now 11 years old, with the two maintaining a life largely outside the public spotlight in the years since Panettiere stepped back from an active caregiving role.

News of Panettiere’s death broke Sunday, when her representative confirmed the news to ABC News, and her father, Skip Panettiere, released a statement describing his daughter as “an incredible light and a force of nature” to everyone who knew her and to the millions who had watched her on screen throughout her career. The statement did not address Kaya directly, and the family asked for privacy as they process the loss.

Authorities in Greenville, South Carolina, where Panettiere was found unresponsive at an apartment complex Sunday afternoon, have said their preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances, though the specific cause of her death has not yet been publicly released by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. As of this report, no additional statements have been made regarding Kaya or how the young girl and her father are processing the sudden loss of her mother.

Beyond her role as a mother, Panettiere built an extensive career in both television and film that began in early childhood. She rose to widespread fame playing Claire Bennet, an indestructible cheerleader, on NBC’s science-fiction series “Heroes,” before later starring as country music singer Juliette Barnes on the ABC and CMT drama “Nashville,” a role that earned her two Golden Globe nominations. Her film career included roles in “Remember the Titans,” the “Scream” horror franchise, and voice work in Disney and Pixar animated features, among numerous other credits spanning nearly three decades.

Panettiere’s openness in recent years about the difficulties of early motherhood, including her postpartum depression diagnosis and her subsequent decision to give up custody of Kaya, was frequently cited by mental health advocates as a valuable contribution to broader public conversations about the often-hidden struggles new mothers can face, particularly public figures navigating those challenges under intense media scrutiny. Her willingness to discuss those experiences candidly, both in interviews and in her memoir, was widely credited with helping normalize conversations around postpartum mental health difficulties that many parents experience but few discuss as openly as she did.

As tributes to Panettiere continue to circulate following her death, much of the public reflection on her life has centered not only on her professional accomplishments but also on the personal journey she shared so openly with the public, including her relationship with her daughter and the profound emotional weight of the choices she made during one of the most difficult periods of her life. Kaya’s current circumstances following her mother’s death have not been publicly detailed, and representatives for the family have not indicated whether further statements addressing Kaya specifically will be issued in the coming days.

While recent economic data suggests South Florida has lost its cost advantage over New York, top real estate developers argue the numbers fail to tell the full story.

Key executives behind major residential skyscrapers in Manhattan and Miami argue South Florida is playing long-overdue catch-up after decades of underpriced real estate, while still offering buyers significantly more long-term value.

“Miami has earned a seat as one of the greatest cities in the world,” Naftali Group EVP of marketing, sales and design Danielle Naftali told Fox News Digital. “As people have migrated down here, [and] made it a location that people are living permanently, obviously, things have become a bit more expensive… world-class restaurants opening here, the most amazing cultural institutions, entertainment, hospitality groups — everything that people really experience in major cities around the world. And, you know, those truly go hand in hand.”

“Globally, Miami was playing catch-up to New York for long periods of time, and you can do this by price per square foot, you can do it by total dollars, what they sell for, but Miami used to trade at — as a local myself — I almost thought it was weird how inexpensive the real estate was here comparatively to cities like New York or London or LA,” PMG managing director Ryan Shear also told Fox Digital.

FLORIDA NAMES N.Y.C. MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI ‘ECONOMIC DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR’ IN TIMES SQUARE CAMPAIGN

“A lot of people have moved down here, not just people, but companies and a lot of high-profile people, and you’re seeing big headlines about big trades and big sales and that’s true and that is great for the city. I don’t think it tells the whole story. I think Miami is still a value city,” he added. “I still think it’s a bargain play down here.”

A view of Miami’s skyline and Biscayne Bay. (Getty Images)

A recent Bloomberg analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data found that the overall cost of living in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area has surpassed that of greater New York. The analysis separately found that housing costs in South Florida are roughly 5% higher than in New York and its suburbs. Additionally, consumer prices in South Florida have risen 36% since 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, representing the second-highest inflation surge among major American markets, trailing only Tampa.

South Florida home prices have jumped 79% since the pandemic, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, while Florida’s average annual homeowners insurance premium stands at $8,292, roughly four times the average in New York state, according to Insurify.

“There’s definitely a price gap that has changed. But what we see ultimately is that buyers are less sensitive to the price per square foot as the buyers have become more sophisticated,” Naftali countered. “We see our buyers thinking about everything from lifestyle, services and amenities, finished pallets, and really the best quality. So this is something that people are really willing to pay that premium.”

“Anyone that’s buying in our development today will be able to see their appreciation over the next five to ten years,” she said.

Beyond homebuyer costs, developers also face nationwide borrowing and insurance pressures. However, Shear emphasized that constructing a high-rise in Florida remains vastly more accessible than doing so in New York.

“It is still less expensive to build in Florida than New York. And not by a little, by like a decent, significant amount,” Shear said. “Debt in Florida is the same as debt in Texas… Banks lend nationally and globally. So it’s still affordable to build in Florida.”

“Everything’s relative. You know, we’re relative to the world we live in. So, relative is South Florida trading at faster paces, absorption greater than what we see in a lot of markets… It’s not a Miami thing. I think Florida in general is having a very good moment. And it’s been going on for a while, and I don’t think it’s stopping,” Shear said.

The Manhattan skyline is seen at sunrise from the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building on April 3, 2021, in New York City. (Getty Images)

Florida remains one of nine U.S. states with no individual income tax, whereas top earners in New York City face combined state and local income tax rates of nearly 14.8%. ATTOM data show Miami-area property taxes have jumped 62% since 2019. Florida voters, meanwhile, will consider a constitutional amendment in November that would exempt the first $250,000 of a homestead’s value from property taxes other than school district levies.

“There is definitely still tax incentive to Florida. That’s very obvious. What we see, though, especially in the luxury sector, is that global luxury buyers, it’s not that they’re either going to New York or either going to Florida. Most of those buyers have a home in both locations. So there’s definitely a tax benefit to being in Florida, without a doubt,” Naftali said.

“It’s just math. The effective tax rate, I believe, in New York, if you’re in the top tax bracket, is somewhere between 50 and 55%, depending on what borough and so forth. There’s no state income tax and there’s no city tax here. So the top tax bracket is set by the federal government, that’s it. That’s the math. If anybody would tell you different, it’s not an opinion, that just factually is the truth,” Shear argued.

“I think people have finally figured out that like living in Florida may just be a better life that they want, and that’s invaluable.”

– Ryan Shear

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“I’ve read countless articles saying how real estate taxes are going through the roof. Well, it’s not the real estate tax going through the roof. There’s just more expensive real estate. It’s not that the tax rate is changing,” he continued. “But if you want to go to city that’s checking all these boxes that somebody’s looking for — massive growth, massive job[s], large population, high rises and so forth — I think it’s impossible to find one. So again, to the point of relativity, it’s all relative to the next option. I think as an option, it does not get better than South Florida.”

U.S. Census Bureau figures show the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area’s median household income was $80,625 in 2024, about $1,000 below the national median of $81,604. The developers also pointed to infrastructure, permitting and school expansion as efforts to accommodate future population growth across South Florida.

While local median incomes may lag national benchmarks, Shear noted the region’s economic engine is fundamentally changing as major employers relocate their corporate headquarters, rather than just opening small satellite branches.

“It’s not just the people that are moving down here. People are moving their companies down here,” Shear explained, noting that PMG shifted its primary headquarters from New York to Miami. “We’ve reached a tipping point where you’re seeing companies… that are planting their flag in Miami and building companies or taking their existing company and moving them to Miami.”

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“I think specifically in Miami, people will continue to move down here. As we said, this is no longer a seasonal location, right? You have everything here,” Naftali said. “It’s a continuous progression. So when you talk about the next five years, it’s only going to continue to get better. So if you’re able to get in now and invest in a new development down here, I think it’s a great investment opportunity.”

“Ask people, where do you want to spend the rest of your life?” Shear said. “Not everything’s about price per square foot, and I still think it’s a value play down here, but I think it is about a lot more down in Florida… Work hours, quality of life, weather, state income tax, restaurants, who’s down here. I mean, Miami’s culture now is incredible… how lucky are we to experience the world’s cultures in one city? Fundamentally, people are moving down here and still are continuing to, not just because you save on taxes or there’s good sun. I think people have finally figured out that living in Florida may just be a better life that they want, and that’s invaluable.”

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