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May 5, 2008
Research connects church giving and attendance
Secular reserach suggests a connection between church giving and attendance. It's not a surprise that those who feel the most connected emotionally to an organization are also those who are most likely to financially contribute to that organziation.
This research paper compared two groups of people: Pre-WWII and Post-WWII individuals in different life stages. The conclusion was that people from the Post-WWII group gave less to religious institutions than the Pre-WWII group. And it was no surprise that the Post-WWII group who gave less at similar life stages also attended religious services less than the Pre-WWII group.
So what does this mean for those of us in church leadership? We must recognize that church involvement is directly related to church giving. Those members who are most active are also those who are the most consistent--if not the greatest--givers in our churches today.
Thus, if we are successful at increasing church involvement and participation, we should see a natural increase in church giving.
We can't ignore the correlation between church giving and participation. This highlights the importance of measuring the effectiveness of every assimilation program or intitiative we have in place today. It is of no long term benefit to have a great acquisition strategy if you are not prepared to anchor your members by finding a place for them to serve and live within your faith community.
In light of the confirmation this research brings as to the connection between church giving and church attendance, how are you ensuring new and existing members are encountering opportunities to get involved?
Your ability to fully fund and sustain the ministry of your church depends upon how you answer that question.
Posted by bstroup at May 5, 2008 1:30 AM
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