ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2026--
Ministry Brands, the leading provider of church management software and online giving solutions, today announced its upcoming Healthy Church Summit: Leading for the Long Haul, a free online event on Wednesday, May 13, featuring keynote sessions, breakout discussions, and practical training from church leadership voices, a mental health clinician, and accounting and financial stewardship experts.
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The summit will notably feature two keynote sessions from Dr. Jason Young and Arthur James, two trusted voices in church leadership who will address topics such as building a ministry people do not want to leave and strategies to avoid burnout in ministry. Their sessions reflect the heart of this spring’s theme and will help attendees think more deeply about resilience, leadership health, and how to sustain healthy ministry in every season.
“Church leaders play such a vital role in shaping healthy communities, and I’m thrilled to contribute to an event that strengthens the people who carry that responsibility every day,” said Dr. Jason Young, leadership consultant, professor, and author. “Paired with insights from Arthur James and the other wonderful speakers, Healthy Church Summit attendees will leave with greater clarity about how to build ministries people do not want to leave, care for their teams well, and discern which tools can truly support their mission.”
Summit Highlights at a Glance
“Building on the success of our last Healthy Church Summit, we wanted to create a follow-up event focused on the real challenges church teams face today and what it takes to lead with clarity through every season of ministry,” said Brandon Sharrett, Chief Revenue Officer at Ministry Brands. “Church leadership is a spiritual calling that requires endurance, wisdom, and healthy rhythms over time. With our longest Summit yet, more breakout sessions, and new prizes and giveaways for attendees, we’re excited to offer an experience that brings practical encouragement and actionable insights to ministry leaders and their teams.”
Full Event Details
The Healthy Church Summit: Leading for the Long Haul event will take place online on Wednesday, May 13, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Registration is now open at www.healthychurchsummit.com, where attendees can access the full agenda, speaker list, and additional event details.
Healthy Church Summit Speakers and Sessions
About Ministry Brands
Ministry Brands helps more than 90,000 churches and non-profit organizations grow and increase their impact on the world. The company provides integrated solutions covering member and donor management, digital giving, accounting, websites, mobile apps, communications, media content, event planning, employee, and volunteer background screenings, and more. Together, their nearly 700 employees help clients transform how they operate and create positive ripple effects that drive the real human impact for which we all strive. With over $6.45 billion in charitable giving managed annually, they exist to help mission-focused organizations thrive.
Healthy Church Summit: Leading for the Long Haul
BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday in the 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, accusing the Singapore-based operator of a ship and a key employee of making critical decisions that led to the ship crashing into the span and killing six people.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called it a “preventable tragedy of enormous consequence.”
The indictment names Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd., based in Chennai, India. Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who was technical superintendent for the Dali container ship, was also charged.
The Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span as it moved to sea from the Port of Baltimore, causing it to crash into the Key Bridge on March 24, 2024. Investigators say a loose wire in a switchboard likely caused the first power loss.
If the Dali had used the proper fuel supply pumps, according to the indictment, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely get under the bridge. It crashed instead, killing six construction workers who had been filling potholes.
“As alleged, the bridge was struck and collapsed because those who were responsible for the ship’s operation deliberately cut corners at the expense of safety,” said Jimmy Paul, head of the FBI’s Baltimore office.
The companies and Nair are charged with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding and false statements. Messages seeking comment were not immediately returned.
The Synergy companies are also charged with misdemeanors for the release of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers and their contents.
The FBI investigation into the crash focused on the vessel’s operations and whether the crew knew of critical systems issues before leaving port.
The National Transportation Safety Board found last year that two electrical blackouts — one caused by the loose wire and another by problems with a fuel pump — disabled the controls of the huge cargo ship before it crashed into the bridge.
The Dali was leaving Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of the power loss. The ship crashed into a supporting column of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m.
Maryland officials estimate it could cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion to replace the bridge, which is expected to be open to traffic in late 2030.
“The altered skyline is a constant reminder of this tragedy,” Paul said.
But the true cost of the collapse was far greater, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. It halted shipping at the Port of Baltimore, disrupted the livelihoods of thousands, rerouted road traffic through communities already bearing disproportionate burdens and triggered economic problems statewide.
The indictment comes on the heels of a settlement in principle between the State of Maryland, Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean Private Limited, the Singapore-based ship owner, Attorney General Anthony Brown announced in April.
That lawsuit alleged the crash was the result of negligence, mismanagement and the reckless operation of a vessel that was not seaworthy and should never have left port. Plaintiffs include the families of the six construction workers who died, owners of cargo that was on the ship and local governments seeking damages for economic losses. The details of the settlement haven’t been disclosed and some portions of the lawsuit remain unresolved.
The state sought damages on behalf of its agencies for the destruction of the bridge, harm to the Patapsco River and surrounding environment, lost revenues and economic losses to Maryland and its residents.
The settlement does not resolve any claims the state has against the shipbuilder, Hyundai, the attorney general’s office said in April.
The bridge, a longstanding Baltimore landmark, was a vital piece of transportation infrastructure that allowed drivers to easily bypass downtown. The original 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) steel span took five years to build and opened to traffic in 1977.
White reported from Detroit.
FILE - The cargo ship Dali is stuck under part of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
