December 4, 2009
Church Funding Friday: Fund your church by giving it away
One Houston area church gave away $20,000 to its members with instructions for them to - in turn - pay it forward. Pay close attention to what the pastor says about halfway through the story. He said that he's already received calls from other people in the community (NOT CHURCH MEMBERS) who want to donate and keep it going.
Maybe a tactic to incorporate into your funding strategy is how to give money away. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But as more and more churches are doing the same thing and seeing outstanding results, the cynics are silenced.
Read the story.
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December 3, 2009
3 Del.icio.us links on Thursdays about stewardship and giving
I'm trying something I've never done before.
Every Thursday during the month of December, I'm going to pick three links I've cataloged in my Delicious account during the previous week. (This site houses 100's of links related to stewardship and giving - and the list grows almost daily - that can be easily searched and used for sermon preparation, committee prep, funding strategy, etc.)
Here are my top picks for the week:
1. Top 10 Ways to Screw up Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign
Thoughts: Churches are in the best position to secure funding from the people in the pew. Sadly, churches are often the WORST at doing it. While each of the 10 items listed doesn't have direct application to the life and practice of the church, pay special attention to numbers 2-5.
2. 5 Trends Affecting Your Ministry in 2010
Thoughts: Funding is directly tied to the people in our pews. We need to ensure those of us who are called to the pulpits of churches are also in touch with the shifts of the people in the pew. I teach that giving begins with the worldview of the giver. This article highlights important shifts that church leaders must be mindful of as they develop a ministry strategy.
3. Giving to Receive: What Legacy Will You Leave?
Thoughts: Don't be confused by the title. This article isn't about planned giving. What it's asking the reader to consider is what point is it to collect and not share. The writer argues that we need to think about how we can invest what we do have in others today. How we practice this in our own lives will determine the legacy we leave behind.
I hope this link collection is helpful to you in your ministry. Be sure to visit my delicious account regularly for updates or subscribe via RSS.
And always feel free to send links to anything you think is missing.
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December 2, 2009
Pastor expects to end 2009 with $100k+ increase in giving
We first met Blake Pitts from Grace Baptist Church in Seneca, South Carolina earlier this year when we talked to him about his decision to lead his church through a capital campaign in the midst of a recession.
What I love about this story is that Blake broke all "the rules":
1. He isn't old enough.
2. He hasn't been pastor of the church long enough.
3. The economy isn't strong enough.
4. The church isn't big enough.
And I could go on an on...
Even though he could have held back, he chose to follow God's direction. His leadership and faith resulted in a growing spirit of generosity in his church. At the time of our conversation, he projected well over $100k increase in total giving for 2009.
Listen to the podcast to hear the whole story.
Looking for other podcasts about church funding? You can find more here.
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December 1, 2009
Church Giving: The rules have changed
I was invited a couple of weeks ago to present to a group of African-American pastors at LifeWay about church giving. I thoroughly enjoyed my time and am grateful to Jay Wells for the invitation. Below is the presentation.
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November 30, 2009
Compelling church giving statistic
"If members of historically Christian churches had chosen to give 10% to their congregations in 2007, rather than the 2.56% given that year, there would have been an additional $161 billion available for work through the church."
-- Empty Tomb, The State of Church Giving through 2007
How much MINISTRY are we leaving on the table when we refuse to talk about stewardship and generosity?
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November 25, 2009
Pushing the limits of church funding: Change the conversation
It's time to change the conversation of church funding.
STOP ASKING "What do we have to cut to survive?"
START ASKING "What does God want us to do next?"
If we believe...
...that the church is the only institution ordained by God on the day of Pentecost to carry forward the earthly ministry of Christ until His return...
...that the church should embody the hope the world needs to see in difficult times (anyone can be full of hope in good times)...
...that the God we serve today is the same God who provided bread and water for his people in the desert...used a small boy to slay a giant...allowed and old couple to become parents of "many nations"...and that God entered the world as a human, conceived by the Holy Spirit to come and set all people free from their sin forever...
THEN WHY...W-H-Y...
do we walk around as if we believe in a small God.
Sometimes (not always) I think church leaders...don't dream enough...profess in a BIG GOD and practice as if He is small...and far too often miss the opportunity to lead their congregations to a generous lifestyle in the name of...
efficiency...expense management...and practicing "as good as it gets" theology.
People want to be apart of organizations that represent something larger than themselves.
People want to fund causes that are larger than life and embody their core values.
People want to believe that the church is God's plan to build the Kingdom but are too often disappointed by small thinking.
Before the greatest leaders of our faith became GREAT LEADERS OF FAITH...they had to take a deep breath and make a critical decision to change the conversation from what they think they could accomplish to what they BELIEVED God could accomplish through them.
Every one of them took a second to pause (probably more than once) and yet they still chose to follow through.
Even Jesus paused in the Garden and asked if there was another way.
BUT after the question was asked...the decision made...there was no backing down. All the world (and our faith) depended upon it.
The same is still true for Church leaders and all Christians TODAY!
We must change our posture and practice the Gospel we profess. Otherwise we will forfeit our opportunity to share the Good News we have received with a world yet to believe.
Change the conversation. Ask God what's next for your church? Then believe that what God has called you to do, He has already provided everything you'll need to bring that vision into reality.
The CATCH is we must cultivate the gifts of time, talent, and treasure of the people he has given us to accomplish HIS vision.
(Did you really think He was going to give it to you on a sliver platter?)
Read Matthew 9:36-38. Only think about it through the lens of stewardship.
Church leaders...MUST...inspire every community member to change the conversation in their own lives and acknowledge all we have been given, are, and will ever be as God's assets entrusted to us to invest and build the Kingdom.
Only then...can we change the "meta-conversation" and bring into reality the vision He has given to His church.
The CHOICE to operate in survival mode is a decision to G-I-V-E U-P.
Bottom line...survival mode is NOT an option.
What are you doing to change the conversation, inspire generosity among those entrusted to you, and direct all available divine assets toward Kingdom investments?
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November 24, 2009
Pushing the limits of church funding: Build investors
People don't have a GIVING problem. They have a giving to YOUR CHURCH problem.
The fact of the matter is...the person in the pew is the one God has endowed with the resources to fund His church. And that person takes his or her role seriously. They are looking for the best place to "invest" those resources.
Sometimes it's in stuff that is self-serving.
Sometimes it's in other like-minded organizations that look and feel like things the church should be doing.
Sometimes...but not always...(and maybe less and less these days)...it's in their local church.
WHY?
Americans don't have a money problem. At least not compared to...well...um...the REST of the world.
So where does that money go?
Most of the time?....Somewhere else!
It goes to hospital and educational systems. It goes to civic organizations and political campaigns. It even goes to para-church organizations.
BUT far too often (YES...FAR TOO OFTEN) it never makes it's way into the offering plates (or whatever collection device of choice) of the church.
I think it stems from one reality. We aren't treating the people in the pew like the INVESTORS they are.
They...just like we do in our personal investing...want to see a ROI. Maybe that looks different than a quarterly 401(k) report. SO WHAT?
The church leader still has to PROVE an ROI. Why? Because if we don't, we RISK LOSING the dollars God intended for the church due to our own effort and not God's intention.
What are you doing today to offer a "Kingdom investment plan" that returns eternal dividends?
If you don't...well...let's face it...someone else already is.
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November 23, 2009
Pushing the limits of church funding: Check your numbers
We measure everything. EVERYTHING.
Personally...we have bank statements...investment returns...utility bills based on cost per use...etc.
Corporately...we have P&Ls...D&Bs...trends...etc.
Why do we STOP MEASURING when we come to church. I'm not talking about "pastoral" perception that begins with..."we think" or "it seemed."
We should expect more from ourselves. We should demand MORE accountability.
The pastor is in a unique spot. He is trained to parse the Hebrew and Green language of Scripture and to preach. BUT (and this is a big one) he is held accountable for...
dollars in the plate...
and people in the pew.
Don't believe me. Does the finance committee get blamed when giving is down? Does the assimilation commitee get blamed when the attrition rate exceeds the rate of acquisition?
NO. T-H-E-Y don't. The pastor DOES.
If you're held accountable, then you are responsible. Thus, this "numbers stuff" is not SOMEONE ELSE'S problem...it's yours! (And if you don't take ownership, it will own you!)
When was the last time you reviewed the giving habits of your membership? (Not to see if there is enough money to pay the bills and last until next Sunday. BETTER! Am I (as pastor...spiritual leader...the primary one responsible to facilitate spiritual formation in the lives of my congregants) ensuring I'm cultivating a generous people - in time, talent, and treasure.
That's measurable. And...news flash...generosity is a matter of the heart, not the pocketbook. BUT the pocketbook is the best tool we have to measure the behavior of the people who profess "saved by grace."
Maybe...just maybe...if you're people aren't generous...or aren't becoming generous...you should revisit the whole "salvation as free gift from God" conversation and use that as an introduction to generosity.
C-H-E-C-K Y-O-U-R N-U-M-B-E-R-S. NOW.
It will tell you more than you ever imagined. Even about stuff that is...well...hard to measure.
This is KINGDOM business.
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November 20, 2009
Push the limits of church funding: Break the Silence
Read this:
"Money has demonically usurped the role in modern society which the Holy Spirit is to have in the Church" - Thomas Merton
Wow! Wonder how that happened?
When the church is silent on the subject of money and funding, the Christian has no alternative lens to compare what others are saying.
(Yes, the church is responsible to talk about money. Period. There is nothing to argue about.)
Start TALKING. Get LOUD.
If we remain silent, the end result is this:
Money God intended to fund the work of the Kingdom...
will find its way to other organizations...doing good things...lead by good people.
BUT it won't go to fund the work of the Church. Don't believe me? Just ask a few people you know if they split their tithe between the church and other organizations.
You'll be surprised at their response. And they see nothing wrong with it.
Why? (Really, why should we be surprised?) Because we've been SILENT.
H-E-L-L-O. Problem. Major Problem.
What will you say...this weekend...at your next gathering...to break the silence about money, stewardship, and generosity?
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November 19, 2009
Push the limits of church funding: Survival Mode Off
Survival Mode...now that is a great strategy for funding. NOT!
Here is the problem with survival mode. In the NPO world (that includes churches) we place a high degree of value on efficiency which means we do as much as we can on as little as possible.
There is NOTHING inherently wrong with that. It's always important to ensure our expenses are in line with our revenue.
What IS inherently built into that mode is a LACK OF investing. Investing involes risk. Risk sometimes leads to REWARD...
and sometimes it leads to the "F" word...F-A-I-L-U-R-E.
For-profit companies believe in RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT. They know that have to build in a system of failing if they are ever going to SUCCEED.
When churches decide to slip into survival mode...they STOP innovating...being creative...looking for new opportunities...new ventures. And they simply exist.
Wonder why you're having trouble finding leaders who are passionate about what your church is doing? (Are you passionate about what your church is doing?)
Maybe you've flipped the switch (even unintentionally) to survival mode.
Let me give you a hint: TURN IT OFF. Right now...And after you've turned it off...
BREAK IT OFF so you never have that option again.
There is nothing that will kill a church's ability to fund its ministry than operating in survival mode.
Rule #1...(It doesn't really matter what Rule number it is.)...People don't want to fund an organization that is only interested in self-preservation.
Better...people WON'T fund self-preservation.
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November 18, 2009
Push the limits of church funding: Get beyond small thinking
After spending nearly a MONTH in the field talking to pastors in various part of the country talking about church funding, I'm convinced that FAR TOO MANY are thinking...
small....
instead of T-H-I-N-K-I-N-G B-I-G!
We say we are people of THE WORD. Our Bible is full of the impossible:
Abraham and Sarah are too old to have a son.
David is too small to fight Goliath. (Later, he's too young and ordinary to be King.)
Paul is an unlikely champion of the faith.
(There's more. I promise. Read it for yourself.)
Yet these stories fade when we are asked to believe the impossible. When we are asked to believe that God can fully fund (and over fund) our ministry budgets WITHOUT REGARDS for the American or World economy.
So what do we do? We SEAL OUR FATE by professing a big God and live as if He is small. We...
Worry. Fret. Pace. Sweat. Wonder. (All over the WRONG STUFF!!)
Where will the money come from? And when that happens we take our focus off of vision...direction...purpose...context...(the core necessities of funding)
AND we allow ourselves to be trapped by what we can see. We fight over how we will split the dollar instead of believing that God has intended MORE for us.
We can only DO MORE MINISTRY when we practice our profession in a BIG GOD.
NEWS FLASH...NOT EVERY CHURCH IS STRUGGLING.
Some churches are posting ridiculous gains in overall giving...and investing in more ministry than they ever have. I heard from one pastor recently who is nearly $100k over in receipts to date!
Get beyond small thinking. And you'll find a VERY B-I-G G-O-D who is able to help YOU...
DO MORE MINISTRY!
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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!
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October 28, 2009
When will giving recover?
I wish I knew the answer. I think Giving USAs findings are fascinating (and worth the cost of the report) but maybe because I'm a nerd (easy!) and love reading about statistics and research related to philanthropic giving. No doubt, this is the question on everyone's mind.
Here are five things that I hope DON'T change once giving is back to 2007 (or pre-recession levels):
1. The rise in strategic behavior surrounding how we fund our churches.
2. The challenge that if the Church were to practice generosity, we could ELIMINATE the tragedy of poverty, hunger, orphans, etc.
3. The shift in focus among churches from program-driven to missional in orientation.
4. A growing curiosity in the subjects of stewardship and generosity.
5. The drive to converge the profession of Christ follower with the practice of following Christ, especially related to the subject of money.
One last thought:
(Note: The purpose of Giving USAs research is to answer a very specific question, so I understand that the following thoughts exceed the scope of the research.)
I can't help but pause in concern over the fact that we are measuring back to 2007 levels. As someone who wrestles with a "holy discontent" about many things, I hope we are never satisfied with a benchmark established in the past. Rather, I hope we use that as a way (when reached) to celebrate God's faithfulness in difficult times and pause to consider the endless possibilities of what He has planned for us next. May we never stop striving to do more ministry.
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October 26, 2009
The difference between "stewardship" and "generosity"
The Church rightfully owns the word "stewardship," and the Church rightfully owns the word "generosity." BUT I think many Christians (a.k.a people who should know better) have little understanding of the difference between the two.
Let me give you a hint: THEY DON'T MEAN THE SAME THING!
(I guess this reaction is what my English teacher was talking about when she used to get frustrated and say, "just because it sounds right to the ear doesn't mean it IS right grammatically.)
Stewardship is a Lordship issue. It has been stolen from the Christian's vocabulary and practice by just about everyone else. Passing the Plate calls the average American Christian's posture to church giving "discretionary obligation" (i.e. "I'll decide how much of God's money to give Him.) Further, The Bible (Jesus had "a few" things to say on the subject), money, and the Horatio Alger American myth presents a point of tension that the Church has yet to deal with strategically.
We, as Americans, pride ourselves in our ability to make something of ourselves. And when we do, we take all the glory. This is inherently inconsistent with a Biblical worldview of money and success, yet it is woven into the fabric of American Christianity.
Therefore:
1. We must address stewardship before we can even begin the conversation of generosity.
2. We must practice the Gospel we profess - that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of our lives - before we can begin to think about being generous.
Those who misunderstand stewardship will also misunderstand generosity. We must practice stewardship BEFORE we can be generous. We must exhibit a rule of life that says all that we have, are, and will ever become is God's and has been given to us in the form of assets to be managed for the Kingdom. Only then can we begin the conversation of generosity.
The trend and conversation that believes "generosity" is the new, improved, and "cooler" version of the "old" word stewardship is flawed.
Perhaps the strongest evidence of our lack of stewardship understanding and practice is our inability to be self-sustaining as individuals and churches in the midst of uncertain (really any) economic times.
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October 23, 2009
A Week of Videos: Generosity Revolution Project
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October 22, 2009
A Week of Videos: Generosity - pass it on
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October 21, 2009
A Week of Videos: Generosity
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October 20, 2009
A week of Videos: Doing Life Generously
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October 19, 2009
A Week of Videos: My Generosity Story
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