November 6, 2009

Guest Post: 5 Reasons To Start A Debt Ministry - Part ONE

Part One: People Are Hurting

Job losses, pay cuts, and massive home price deflation has been felt across the nation. Those who have had 401(k)'s have seen them reduced to 201(k)'s. People are hurting. Statistics show that over 70 percent of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. From surveys conducted in the Financial Learning Experiences our team teaches, we have learned that 24 percent are already behind on at least one bill.

We are called to help the hurting and broken. A debt ministry will help equip people with biblical principles and practical tools so that they can gain traction in their financial journey and honor Him with 100 percent of their money! It is a practical way that church leaders can serve their church and community.

People are hurting. They are asking questions. The Bible has the answers.

The I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. team is passionate about helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible. We provide full personal finance ministry solutions including development of money messages, speaking on Sundays, teaching live personal finance workshops (2-hour Financial Learning Experience; 6-hour Financial Freedom Experience), and training financial counselors on-site (Financial Counseling Experience). We also provide books and group studies, including Joe's book, I Was Broke. Now I'm Not. and its related six-week group study. For more information, contact their team HERE.

Learn more about Joe Sangl.

Posted by bstroup at 8:17 AM | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack ( 0 )

November 5, 2009

Guest post series from Joe Sangl (@jsangl) begins TOMORROW

I'm really excited to announce that tomorrow begins a new guest blog post series from my friend and fellow Kingdom Crusader Joe Sangl, founder of I Was Broke. Now I'm Not.

I've asked him to give pastors and church leaders...

5 Reasons To Start A Debt Ministry

(Do you REALLY need to be convinced of the need? Amazingly...too many pastors still don't GET IT!)

Just in case you're still "on the fence" about the potential ministry opportunity involved in starting an ongoing debt ministry, here is a sneak peak at his five reasons:

1. People are hurting
2. The Bible
3. Broke people cannot give (share the numbers if people were debt-free)
4. Schools are not teaching it
5. Evangelistic opportunity
BONUS!: What does a full-functioning debt ministry look like? BONUS

I am so excited about this series! Joe is passionate about helping people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances. He believes that when people are financially free, they are much more likely to do exactly what they have been called to do - regardless of the income potential.

With that intro...

see you tomorrow...and the next day...and the next day.

You don't want to miss this!!!

Posted by bstroup at 8:05 AM | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack ( 0 )

November 4, 2009

"Multiple funding options" on the mind of church leaders

What began as a blog post included in the "Guest Post" section of Church Solutions turned into an article ("Beyond the Offering Plate") in the November issue, and will now be featured again as the "top clicked through" content for "Guest Post" features in the December print edition.

A special thanks to the readers is in order!

I may have found the subject matter for book #2. It seems that others are looking for ways "outside" the often fickle funding that comes from the offering plate to support the growing complexity of local church ministry.

I'm grateful for the opportunity the editors at Church Solutions and the readership have given me. It confirms that I'm not just some crazy guy "crying out in the wilderness" eating weird food and wearing funny clothes like John the Baptist. (OK. So maybe I am.)

Posted by bstroup at 8:57 AM | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack ( 0 )

November 3, 2009

Allen Walworth presents on funding ministry in tough times

Allen Walworth presented to Cornerstone Knowledge Network (a group of church leaders and people who support church leaders) on the subject of funding ministry in the midst of tough economic times. Great material. Great message. I wanted to share it with you. I hope you leave as hopeful as I was knowing that God is NOT bound by our present economic condition.

Here is his presentation in slides.

Here is the audio version of his presentation.

Enjoy!

Posted by bstroup at 8:42 AM | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack ( 0 )

November 2, 2009

3 steps to increasing your church's giving capacity

We spend a great deal of time pointing to the faithful giving of the few and trying to convince those who will never give to "think about" giving. Neither one of those objectives is off base. In fact, they are necessary. What does get overlooked is the largest population among the people in our pews who ARE NOT giving at their maximum capacity.

Why not?
1. One segment is in so much debt they can't see straight.
2. One segment is out of debt but doesn't have a habit of giving.
3. One segment has a habit of giving but not tithing.
4. One segment is faithfully tithing but has never been challenged to be generous.

We need to spend more time unlocking the giving potential of the people already present in our pews. So what are three steps to increasing your church's giving capacity:

1. Know your giving data.

Sorry. There is no way around this one. You are going to have to look at numbers and segment your population and quantify the giving habits of your membership. The information that lies in the numbers will tell you more than can imagine. Pay close attention to one, three, and five year trends. You have to establish a baseline before you can begin to measure progress.

2. Implement a plan.

There is nothing new about this step. Define what steps you will take as church leaders to cultivate encourage the practice of stewardship and cultivate a culture of generosity in your church. No plan = More of the same. (And if you're satisfied with where you and your church are today, you should save your church the trouble and fire yourself!) Those churches who consistently realize fully funded ministry budgets are also insanely specific about how they teach and encourage faithful giving.

3. Measure the results.

You will need to establish a few metrics to use as a measuring stick to determine whether or not your plan is having a sustained impact on the giving habits of your church membership. Metrics are different for every church and should be tied to the overall vision and focus of the church. Measuring progress (quantitatively) is so important because you can't manage what you don't measure.

Bottom line, increasing the giving capacity is a year-round effort, doesn't "just happen," and is vitally important to your church's ability to fulfill the unique vision and purpose God intended.

Get to work! We have a Kingdom to fund and build!

Posted by bstroup at 8:22 AM | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack ( 0 )