Do More Ministry: January 2009 Archives

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January 29, 2009

Giving 2.0 - What your givers say about you matters

Social Media is changing everything. But what does that mean? For most organizations, social media is returning the control of the message back to the individual. There was a time when companies, organizations, denominations had spokespeople (more affectionately known as "spinsters") who would make sure the consumer, audience, church member, etc. heard a crafted, polished message that they in turn will repeat and spread.

In case you've missed it...

THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!

In a Web 2.0 world, it's not what you are saying about yourself it's what others are saying about you. In a Giving 2.0 world, your givers are your "evangelists." These are the people who are the most committed to your plan and goals. Those who consistently support your organization or cause financially do so because they believe you reflect their values and goals. They become the army that is sending the message to all your prospective members/givers--NOT YOU.

Two important questions:

1. Do you know what they are saying via their words and actions?
2. Does what they are saying/doing match the message you'd like to send?

If you don't like what your givers are saying about you, if you think it's unfair and inconsistent with the message and image you want to project, trying to hijack the communication is futile. You must either: initiate change or change your givers.

What does that mean?

If the values of your givers are inconsistent with the values you consider to be important to your cause or organization, that means something has to change. It's time to re-evaluate your plan based on the conversation OTHERS are having about you. When you change your message, you may change your giving base. That is, if they're not willing to "go there" with you.

Who will tell the story of your church's ministry? Is that story accurate and consisent with your values, goals, mission statement, strategic plan, etc.?

Giving 2.0 means the control is in the hands of the giver.

(Just to clarify, the control has always been in the hands of the giver. Anything else has only been an illusion.)

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January 28, 2009

Contributions down? Time to innovate.

When you experience a decline in contributions, you have two options:

1. You can go sit in a corner and cry about it.

2. You can innovate and rely on creative solutions to meet the present needs.

My hope is that Churches would choose the later rather than the former. Innovation is a big, scary word for some. Innovation has also been one of those "buzz" words the church leadership movement has borrowed from the business world and used so much that it has lost some of its appeal.

But innovation is important. In times when it's more important than ever to demonstrate what every dollar is received is accomplishing through measuring ministry results, it's time to consider news ways, better ways to yeild the same if not greater impact.

A Fresh Look At How Best To Get Food To 35 Million highlights how organizations that exist to feed hungry people in need are considering new mediums of distribution. Soup kitchens keep getting larger and larger yet are still not able to meet demands. Further, the social stigma of showing up at one of these locations typically found in a poorer area of the city prevents many from getting the proper nutrition they need.

In response, people who feel passionate about this are getting creative and finding new ways feed people in need. One shift in thinking is instead of waiting for the hungry to come to the soup kitchen, the soup kitchen is bringing the food to the hungry. (It's like the meals-on-wheels concept, only on steroids.)

I wonder what vital ministries are on the proverbial chopping block that could be maintained, dare I suggest strengthened, with a simple touch of innovation.

Even if your contributions are down, the need is the same if not more. So get up, dry your eyes and starting thinking about new ways to multiply your ministry. My guess is the same Spirit that inspires leaders to innovate will also ignite the giving of your membership.

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January 27, 2009

Why isn't the church leading the way in generosity?

The Bill Gates Foundation lost 20% of it's value in 2008. But in a recent announcement, Bill Gates said that his Foundation plans to give more in 2009 than in did in 2008.

So let me make sure I'm reading this right: Assests and total value are down but giving will increase.

The Bill Gates Foundation has every reasonable excuse to hold the purse strings tight, hold back and attempt to survive 2009 hoping economic conditions will improve. But this Foundation isn't hunkering down to survive, it's leading the way in generosity.

This should be the posture of Churches too. If we truly were people of faith, we would resist the temptation to survive, open our eyes to the increased need and respond with a spirit of generosity. (Remember the Gospel story of Jesus feeding the five thousand?)

How we respond as an organization as measured by our fiscal allocations and budget expenditures and the ministries we choose to invest in (or not invest in) over the coming year will say a lot about what we believe...more than ever will be heard from the pulpit.

And how we respond will either affirm for our members (that is, our contributors) that the Church is the best place to invest their funds or push them to consider other nonprofit options.

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January 26, 2009

Send a personal, handwritten note to your donors today

When someone receives a handwritten note, they remember.

Our mail boxes are cluttered. Our e-mail inbox's are cluttered. Our voicemail inbox's are cluttered. Even our family schedules are cluttered. (When was the last time you were able to spend a night at home with the family?...Exactly!)

Even though it's nearly impossible to do, it's absolutely vital that your membership, especially your best givers, hear from you on a regular basis. Your most generous people need to hear more than what you need from them. They need to know that you care for them more than their money and that you value their total contribution - not just their money - to your Church.

So how can you cut through the clutter? What could you possibly do to make an unforgettable impression? It's simple. In fact, I wrote about it a couple of years ago in Pastor Skills: A Simple, Handwritten Note.

When was the last time you sent a personal note to your best givers? If it's been more than a month, then get a list of all the consistent givers for the previous month and divide that number into daily increments to make it a managable process.

Just to clarify, this is not a task to delegate. The leader of the organization needs to communicate with those who have made an emotional connection with your organization and believe in your ministry to the point that they are moved to invest in and financally support and fund your budget. Anything less will "cheapen" the experience.

Personal, handwritten notes are memorable. And in the search for sustainable funding, being memorable in the eyes of your donors is absolutely vital to your existence.

Get writing!!!

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January 23, 2009

Connect the program with the outcome

Communication is an overused word. The practice of communication reamins underdeveloped in many churches. Too often the church leader finds himself asking for more money when the key to fully funding the ministry God has called you to do begins with connecting the program with the outcome.

Let's revisit the basic elements of communication:

1. The message sender.
2. The message receiver.
3. All the filters that exist between the sender and the receiver that often creates a variation between what is said and what is heard.

Filters can be complex and nearly impossible to overcome. What can cut through the clutter and ensure that the need is clearly articulated, understood and felt by the person in the pew?...

A plan that connects program, process and results.

There is no more compelling information you can provide than this: why a program is important, what it's intended to accomplish and what the measurable impact have been in the past and is projected to be moving forward. This is a discipline that the pastor will have to learn if he - like many who find themselves in the pulpit - finds himself gravitating toward philosophical concepts instead of measured results.

There is more competition for the dollar of the person in your pew from well-intentioned nonprofits outside the church than ever. If you want to ensure (and by the way you as the pastor are the one responsible) that every dollar possible will be available to fund the ministry of the church, then you will need to make the connection between the program and outcome. Doing so successfully and consistently, will ensure sustainable funding and will give you opportunity to increase that level of funding over time.

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January 22, 2009

On Wikipedia and church giving

I have had several conversations recently with pastors and church leaders where I found myself referencing the observations and conclusions in What churches can learn from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia raised one-third of its total 2008 annual contribution goal in December 2008. It did so with small donations from a large giving base. What if that model was applied to churches? Instead of waiting for the next big donor to come along, encourage the habit of consistent and generious giving - even in small amounts - from a broader section of your membership.

The end result will be a significant increase in giving.

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January 21, 2009

Teaching our children about money

What are we teaching our children about money? Whether we are talking about it or not, they are listening and watching and forming their first ideas and behaviors about money from us.

What are we telling them by our words and our actions?

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January 20, 2009

Should Do More Ministry continue the Pastor's Podcast?

I have one more Pastor's Podcast that I'll post soon. What I need to know is if you've found these helpful. In case you've missed the previous podcasts, here they are:

1. New podcast for pastors on leading churches in tough times
2. Pastor's Podcast: One pastor sees debt as ministry opportunity
3. Pastor's Podcast: Teaching Children About

Have you found these beneficial? Do you want to see us produce more of these? Send me your thoughts via e-mail or by leaving your comments on this post.

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January 19, 2009

I have a dream...about stewardship and giving

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He will forever be remembered for his "I have a dream" speech. It continues to inspire people to pursue things like justice and mercy and peace. Those things that are larger than life and worth fighting for.

Likewise, I wonder what our churches would be like if we had a dream for stewardship and giving? I wonder what our churches would look like if we restored the theology of stewardship to its rightful place, the centerpiece of our belief in and practice of the Lordship of Christ. I wonder what our churches would look like if we consistently taught that everything we have and are is from God and given to us not to posses for our own gain but to invest in Kingdom building activities.

Our ability to build sustainable funding for the churches we lead begins with a dream. It's in the telling and retelling of that dream where others are invited to share the dream. And when people share a dream, they become emotionally connected and committed to our cause and organization. And the natural response to that commitment is generosity with our time, talent and treasure.

Is there any greater organization to commit to than the local church? Is there any greater mission to follow through on than the Great Commission?

Fully funded budgets begin with a dream. What's your dream, pastor?

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Honesty trumps fear when it comes to giving and the economy

Jeff Brooks writes a blog that I really enjoy reading. He is also the author of Easier Said Than Done: Face Hard Times Without Fear. In this article for Fundriaising Success Magazine, he says that acting like nothing has changed and refusing to talk about the economic crisis that is reshapping everything is the WORST thing to do.

My guess is that we as church leaders fear that talking about church giving will do one of two things: one, it will give permission not to give because everyone will understand given the state of the economy or two, it will be viewed as tacky and inappropriate given that so many seem to be struggling to keep their cards in play much less worry about giving to the church.

Let me clear this up for you: Both are absolutely NOT true.

People appreciate honesty. And my guess is that the people in your pew want to see that you're thinking as carefully about church finances as they are about their personal finances. In fact, if you'll be brave enough to let them in, they'll listen. (I promise.)

Here is the irony of the situation. What you fear talking about the most, the people in your pew already know with certainty. They're just not sure you undersand. And until they know you understand, they will not be as generous as they could be.

Related Post:
Fear should not be an option

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January 16, 2009

Pastor is shepherd and organizational manager

The more time I spend the pastors the more apparent it becomes that many do not seperate their role as shepherd from their role as an organizational manager. In fact, most wouldn't even think to consider themselves an organizational manager.

In Business Before Pleasure, Jason points out that it's important to balance the process and the results. In Jason's world, fundraising professionals are trained to connect people with organizations and causes. Before a donor becomes a donor, he/she must identify with the organization you represent. It's easy to build relationships but never connect the person with your organization or cause. And thus, never ask for a commitment in time, talent or treasure.

"With a donor I find that sometimes we lean so heavily on making a personal connection that we lose the opportunity to connect them to our nonprofit. It is vitally important that we take enough time to know what passions our donors have are i.e., kids, family, jobs. I often find this is where the best prospect research happens. But don't forget to find ways to connect the donor personally to your organization. Have stories, quotes, or bring them on a tour, just make sure that they are connecting to more than just you."

The pastor must remember that while he is called to function in the traditional roles of priest and prophet, he is also the leader for a complex (complexity and size are not necessarily related) organization that he must lead in such a way that people are inspired to make commitments of time, talent and treasures. An organizational manager is focused on making connections with people, driving programs and activities that inspire and embody the values of the organization and ultimately ensuring fully funded budgets and long term sustainable ministry.

Sound overwhelming? Well it is. Though often ignored, it's a vital aspect of what it means to pastor a church. And that's the conversation we're having. So if you know someone who might benefit from this conversation too, please invite them to participate. We are all working toward the same goal: to build up the ministry of the local church to ensure the leadership and funds exist to sustain that ministry until Christ comes again.

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January 15, 2009

Ashley Clayton reflects on SBC and overseas missions giving

(Note: Ashley Clayton is leading a stewardship revolution in the Southern Baptist Convention by equipping churches and church members to deal with debt. Read other posts related to Ashley Clayton here.)

The most recent Empty Tomb report presents exhaustive survey results from 100,000 churches, one third of all congregations in America, representing 34 denominations. The report reflects The State of Church Giving through 2006.

Southern Baptist giving ranks first in dollars...but 19th in percentage of church revenue
Southern Baptists were one of 34 denominations reporting. The total overseas missions giving, by the national offices for all denominations, topped $700 million dollars. Interestingly, the SBC overseas missions giving made up more than one third of total dollars given by all denominations reporting. The SBC gave $270 million dollars to overseas missions through Lottie Moon Christmas offerings and Cooperative Program (www.sbc.net) contributions.

No doubt, the dollars given to overseas missions by the SBC clearly are significant, but when you look at the overseas missions dollars as a percentage of total church revenue, the SBC is in the bottom half of all denominations surveyed. The Empty Tomb tables show Southern Baptists gave 2.4% of total church revenue, which topped more than $11 billion dollars, to overseas missions. This ranks the SBC 19th out of 34 denominations reporting in percentage of total church revenue given to overseas missions.

There's more to this story for Southern Baptists
What the Empty Tomb report does not reflect are dollars given directly to overseas missions by individual congregations. Many SBC churches implement missions projects that are participant funded ventures, paid for by church members going "on mission" building churches, providing medical and technical services and etc. The Empty Tomb report does not include the missions dollars which are part of the ongoing church budget, dollars dedicated to missions apart from Lottie Moon and CP giving.

The Good News
Southern Baptist churches uniformly support overseas missions, as well as state and national missions, through Cooperative Program (CP) contributions. Church CP contributions, processed through state conventions, where on average 60% of the CP dollars remain in the state, exceeded $500 million for 2007 -'08. That means upwards of $210 million dollars reached the SBC Executive Committee, where using a funding formula approved by the convention at large, 50% of every dollar was given to the International Mission Board. The remaining CP dollars at the national level, again directed by the approved funding formula, support six SBC seminaries, ERLC, NAMB and the Executive Committee ministry assignments, including It's A New Day For Financial Freedom, CP Development, Baptist Press, Convention Relations and the Executive Committee.

When I step back and consider the good work that we as Southern Baptists are doing (even if there is room to do more), I'm overwhelmed and grateful for the faithful giving of our people and the generosity our churches.

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January 14, 2009

"They" want to know your church's spending habits

People want to know how the money they donate is being used. The Dallas Business Journal reports that the State Attorney General's office has just launched an online tracking service to let interested people know how the charities they support are spending the money they receive.

Technology is changing everything. And it's not limited to how we communicate and collaborate. The social media revolution is returning the power back to the smallest common denominator, the individual donor.

What if an independent source began tracking the spending habits of your church and publishing that information for everyone (i.e. the world) to review? Would your church's financial decisions stand the test of public scrutiny?

Traditional non-profits are already being watched closely by sites such as Charity Navigator. It won't be long before churches might find themselves being tracked and watched in a similar way too.

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January 13, 2009

A call to action for all church leaders

The title of the first Chapter of Not Your Parents' Offering Plate is Survival of the Fittest. The first two sentences capture the inherent need to rethink our approach to church giving.

"In American today, there are over 1.8 million nonprofit organizations, and over one million of these are 501(c)(3)s. There are about 370,000 churches. Just ten years ago, in 1995, there were 600,000 501(c)(3)s and about 370,000 churches." (pg. 1)

The author continues with some sobering words for church leaders:

"If you are not prepared to compete with over one million nonprofits, you will lose." (pg. 7)

The people in your pews are paying attention - perhaps more now than they have in a long time - to where every dollar goes. They want to know that every dollar given in the name of charity is being squeezed and spread as far as possible. If you're church isn't demonstrating measurable results, then you'll lose dollars. In turn, those dollars will be redirected to other charitable alternatives.

Don't assume that those who have always faithfully given to your church will continue to so. And the belief that the tithe is only for the church is quickly disappearing as well. Many Christians see little difference in giving to your church and any other NPO. Right or wrong, it's our responsibility as church leaders to act on what we know and ensure that the organizations we are called to lead are fully funded and sustainable.

The ball's in your court, pastor. What's your next move?

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January 12, 2009

Stewardship humor

Can stewardship be funny? Apparently the people at Luther Seminary think so. I found this on their Stewardship Resource Database. Enjoy!

Generous Donation
"Thanks for the generous donation," the church treasurer said, looking at a check she had just been handed.

The donor smiled. "Well, you can thank the Holy Spirit."

The treasurer rolled her eyes. "C'mon. It wasn't that generous."

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January 9, 2009

Reposting last three weeks of December

I recognize that many readers were not in the office and reading blogs during the last two to three weeks of December. I thought it might be helpful now that we've concluded the first full week of the new year and are back to our routines to make them easily available for you to browse and review.

End of year giving projections
LifeWay envelopes reinforce 'Every Number Has a Story'
Economic crisis affecting capital campaigns
Let's be honest about tithing
Church giving thrives despite economy
Pastor's Podcast: Teaching Children About Stewardship
LifeWay Research and Executive Committee study CP
7 member family lives debt free on $44k income
Stewardship principles encourage celebration in tough times
Era of easy money ends for churches too
Churches most optimistic about reaching contribution goals
My New Year's Resolution
Church giving historically strong even in recession

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January 8, 2009

Online contributions increased in 2008

How Did Online Fund Raising Fare In 2008? highlights these thoughts:

Online giving grew four times as quickly in December as it did in other months, a trend that is consistent with the past several years. Despite the economic turmoil, December accounted for 21 percent of the total transactions made during the year and 48 percent of the total dollars raised....

Maybe it's time to consider one more way for your members to support the ministry of your church: online giving.

Review the entire E-giving catagory.

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January 7, 2009

What churches can learn from Wikipedia

Wikipedia met its goal to raise $6.2 million dollars. Most of the total amount raised was in the last six months of the year and nearly one-third was raised over eight days in early December. (Yes, as in a few weeks ago Decemeber...the December that was right smack dab in the middle of this big problem we're calling a recession.)

So what can churches learn from Wikipedia?

1. Wikipedia involves people in its work. The contemporary Church model is designed to fund a small group of staff members to do the work "on behalf of" the membership.

Wikipedia finds its appeal in "user generated content." That means the "user" is generating content that other "users" will find helpful and will...for lack of a better word...use.

Church leaders tend to cut the church member out of the creative planning and decision making process. Often, church leaders just want members who will say "yes" to whatever they have determined is right.

The people in your pews want to be more involved in EVERY aspect of your church's ministry. They want a say in EVERY level of decision making. And we know that the more involved people are in this part of the process, the more ownership they feel which results in high levels of satisfaction and commitment.

2. Wikipedia depends on small donations from large groups of people. Churches thrive off the faithful giving of a few.

In the article (see link above), it mentions that 125k people contributed to the goal of $6.2 million. That's an average donation of $49.60 per person. Let's take just the 50,000 people who contributed during an eight day rush in December to make up the remaining $2 million needed. That small group alone averaged only $40 per person.

What does all this mean? Stop looking for the big windfall. Start expanding your focus on growing stewards across a broader section of your membership. The problem is that we've hitched our funding models in churches on only 10-20% of our membership. That's dangerous and financially unstable.

3. Wikidpedia's founder made a personal appeal to its community. Church leaders have bought into the myth that it's membership won't tolerate straight-talk about contributions.

Imagine this, your Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. You get a memo end of November that says you are one-third away from your annual goal. What do you do?

We know what Jimmy did. He went to his audience and asked for their support. And they gave it to them.

Pastor, if you're like most of your peers, you were trained to cut expenses, pray and hope for the best. None of that is inherently bad. But it's missing an important element. People give based on felt and perceived need. And the people who are most "plugged in" to what you're doing are statistically most likely to "kick in" a little extra when times are tough. (And no one was going to argue that times were tough in December...and not much as changed in the first few days of the new year either.)

My guess is that fear left a lot of dollars on the table in churches all across the country. What that means is that there is ministry that needs to be done but won't be because the funding won't be there.

I'm thrilled for Wikipedia. I only wish the headlines read that churches were as successful funding their ministry budgets too. Our work is of eternal importance.

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January 6, 2009

Fear should not be an option

In Nonprofit Groups Must Avoid Fear During Recession, an experienced NPO development consultant writes:

"Sadly, the economic and financial crisis will continue to dominate the minds of non-profit boards and executives," Mr. Craver writes. "'Sadly' because fear masks opportunity. The opportunity that comes from being aggressive when others are pulling back. The opportunity that comes from experimentation when times are tough."

Paul - way before Mr. Craver - says it like this:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment."

Pastor, which response will you choose: fear or faith?

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January 5, 2009

Searching for your next stewardship sermon?

If you're looking for some ideas for your next stewardship sermon or sermon series, Church Tithe Stewardship & Church Tithing has four good suggestions:

Saving

Debt

Budgeting

Faith and Trust

I agree that we need to focus on developing the "process" instead of focusing on the "results." Too often we settle into "you must give to the church or God will curse you..." type rhetoric when in fact we need to turn our attention to what creates and cultivates generous givers.

This will no doubt require a change in presentation and vocabulary on the part of the church leader. (See Pulpit vs. Pew.)

How can church leaders develop sustainable funding models that provide for fully funded budgets and long-term, sustainable ministry? That's the conversation we're having. And if you've just stumbled upon this blog, feel free to search the catagories to the right of this post for past material.

If you're a an avid reader, thank you. (And I'd appreciate it if you'd pass on what has been helpful to you to your friends and peers. The more people involved in the conversation, the more likely we are to address the pressing needs you are facing.)

This is an important conversation. It always has been. Given the current social and economic climate, perhaps this conversation has moved from "important" to "vital."

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January 2, 2009

Church giving historically strong even in recession

Even though total contributions for 2008 have yet to be tallied, Church financial giving shows signs of recession. As nearly every church leader in the country takes a deep breath before they hit the "Answer Bar" or "=" key on their calculator, we can feel confident that church giving should remain consistent and strong through 2009.

Historical evidence indicates that church giving does not necessarily decline during recession years, according to an analysis of church giving from 1969 to 2008 on Emptytomb.org, an organization that researches church giving patterns on a local level. In fact, the analysis found that church-member giving decreased in only one of the three one-year recessions. Further, giving did not decrease any first years of three multiyear recessions during the period.

The "gloom and doom" stories that seemed to saturate the headlines of the final months of 2008 are likely to continue for the time being. What's important is how we lead our churches through this time. How we handle ourselves will either encourage or discourage faithful giving; it will also have a lot to say about the substance of your faith.

We must remember that God is faithful, and he often uses the most difficult circumstances to realign our focus and reposition our lives. I believe the best days of the Church are ahead of us. As leaders, we have the responsibility to lead this God-ordained and empowered institution to continue the earthly ministry of Christ until his return.

I'm excited about what God has planned for you and your church in 2009. I hope that this blog will encourage conversation about how we can establish processes and systems that will provide more money for more ministry.

Also, I'm beginning to receive invitations to work with local churches and State Conventions as we seek to provide sustainable funding models for churches. If you're interested in exploring how I might be able to work with your church, local Association or State Convention, let me know.

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