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August 6, 2008
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #6
Law #6 is Church Members can't fake (or fabricate) sincerety of belief or commitment.
If giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment, then consistent, generous giving is an indication of sincerety of belief or commitment to your church. It's easy to find reasons not to give. And it's easy to fake a habit of giving but only for a period of time.
When you look at your giving records, do you see an increasing number of people consistently giving, a stagnate group of people consistently giving or a decreasing number of people consistently giving?
If you're seeing an increasing number of consistent givers, congratulations! Your doing all the right things to communicate your message, get "buy in" from your members who are in turn responding measurably with their financial support. (I would also guess that you've seen a rise in volunteerism and ministry activites.)
If you're seeing a stagnate group of people, then you know that you're doing almost all of the right things. The part of your plan that's missing is the replication or multiplication of church members who are learning the habit of giving consistently.
This is where most churches are today. And there is little energy spent on creating new givers or growing stewards simply because churches are meeting their budgets and satisfying their expenses. But that's not enough. Such a perspective is also short-sighted as replicating and multiplying givers creates more money for more ministry. The church doesn't have the option to say "that's enough" until Christ's return.
If you're seeing a decreasing number of people consistently giving, it's time to face the brutal facts. There is a breakdown in your stewardship development strategy. Again, the tough part is that too often churches wait until the giving decreases measurably before they respond aggressively.
I can't emphasize enough that giving is just one measuring tool; it's interconnected with how excited your church members are about the ministry of your church, their willingness to volunteer and take on leadership roles, how they talk about the church to their friends and neighbors, etc.
If you want to increase the ministry of your church, focus on growing stewards--people who give of their time, talents and treasures. This involves a holisitic plan that will ultimately create balanced, healthy church members and will result in balanced, healthy church growth.
Previous posts in this series:
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Introduction
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #1
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #2
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #3
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #4
Giving and the Church Member Experience, Law #5
Posted by bstroup at August 6, 2008 8:21 AM
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