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.
]]>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!!!
]]>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.)
]]>Here is his presentation in slides.
Here is the audio version of his presentation.
Enjoy!
]]>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!
]]>I have been honored to get to know David from a distance via social media and in person. One of the things I enjoy most about David is that he is honest. He recently posted I apologize as he prepared his readers for a new series on money that began October 18. When I read this, all our conversation about ministry and money ran through my mind. I was very proud of his courage and conviction.
I wish more pastors would realize that while they may find it easier to talk about things like "faith, hope, and love" or even "sin and salvation" the conversation of money needs to be injected with the Word of God. There are so many competing messages that are influencing Christians in ways that are paralyzing our ability to be the Church as God originally intended.
I hope to hear David's message from more pulpits: You can't be right with God and wrong about money.
]]>Here is his criteria for someone to be able to "rightfully" claim to be a donor:
What comes to mind is the stream of conversation surrounding an increased level of expectation surrounding the expectations of church membership. I want to limit the scope of that conversation directly related to funding.
While I believe there is room to increase the giving expectations of those who sit in the pews, I'm not ready to discount anyone who is willing to contribute to funding the work of the Kingdom. What I do think there is room for is to segment a church's membership and begin to strategically move people toward a more Biblical practice of money management and stewardship.
Some will object to this idea saying that what a person gives is between the individual and God. I can certainly see where that objective comes from, but I think that perspective is dead wrong. Money is a spiritual issue, an outward sign of an inward commitment. Therefore, it fall under the "jurisdiction" of those charged with facilitating the spiritual growth of Christians, specifically pastors and church leaders.
Whatever your position is on the subject, I know we can agree that raising the expectations of church members in the area of giving, stewardship, and generosity, is part of the transformational process Paul so clearly articulated in Romans 12:1-2. If the church leader doesn't talk about money and raise the expectation of Christians to match a Biblical orientation toward money, then we have failed in our role as spiritual leaders.
]]>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.
]]>Here are a few interesting observations from BlackBaud's release 2009 online giving trends (current through Q3):
1. Significant growth in money given via online channels means every church should implement an online giving option for its membership.
Blackbaud: "Online revenue in the third quarter of 2009 was up 41% compared to the same time period in 2008."
Analysis: Stop ignoring online giving as a viable means for people to support your church. AND stop thinking that just because you introduce online giving then you're giving will automatically increase. The same "cultivation" principles still apply. Nevertheless, this medium or platform for giving is here to stay.
2. Just because online giving is not as established as traditional methods of giving doesn't mean it should be discounted as a viable platform for contribution to your cause or organization.
Blackbaud: "Our research suggests that the majority of nonprofit organizations are still in a growth phase for online giving, compared to well established offline channels, and the impact of the recession is largely masked."
Analysis: Don't expect online giving to be the "magic bullet" that solves all your church funding issues. Many people in your church will continue to give via offering envelopes and other more established giving platforms for at least the near future. Expect more of the same while anticipating what's coming. I'm sure people used this objection to cars when the "majority" still used a horse and buggy.
3. Sustainability means we must uncover multiple avenues that provide a foundation for growth in transactional giving to hedge against an unanticipated change in any one type of giving transaction or platform.
Blackbaud: "Online transactions are still growing at 56% year-over-year and this volume growth overcomes any declines in gift amounts. The emerging trend in the data is that a nonprofit's online fundraising mix might influence their year-over-year results."
Analysis: Two things are important in any giving transaction analysis: total amount given and frequency of gift. If online donors give less per transaction but at a higher frequency than offline donors, the organization is still better off to spend the time (and money) it will take to cultivate this group of donors.
4. Year-over-year growth matters. (A LOT!) The performance of online giving on a whole should provide enough evidence that online giving must be a part of your church's funding strategy.
Blackbaud: "The analysis looked at a sub-group of 1,274 nonprofits to compare their online fundraising results for the first six months of 2008 to the same period of 2009. These nonprofits had a 22.13% year-over-year growth in online revenue."
Analysis: In a time when most churches are satisfied to break-even between operational expenses and funding, any giving mechanism that yields growth in consecutive years should indicate opportunity to cultivate a currently non-supporting segment of your church's membership and perhaps increase the overall giving capacity of other, established donors who aren't contributing at maximum capacity. (Hint: Growth is good.)
I hope you take the time to read the entire analysis from Blackbaud (that means clicking through the ancillary links too). Online giving is here to stay. The conversation in your next staff meeting should NOT be "are we going to implement online giving?" but "when will we?"
]]>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.
]]>