Do More Ministry: Offering Envelopes Archives

September 28, 2009

Special Offerings vs. Regular Offerings

Recently found myself in the middle of a conversation about the impact special offerings have on regular giving. The church is not a stranger to special offerings. For those not familiar with the term, a special offering is when an offering is designated for a special cause or event.

Churches take special offerings for many reasons. Some of the most common are evangelists and guest music leaders, big purchases such as purchasing a church bus or steeple, or even a special mission offering designed to fund a unique community initiative.

The conversation I stumbled upon involved two people who believed exactly the opposite. (Ever happen to you?) One said that special offerings negatively affect regular giving while the other contended just they did not.

Now, we could spend time reviewing statistics from general philanthropic research, but I want to draw attention to some common sense principles to keep in mind when considering special offerings in your church:

1. More options are confusing. Many people believe that more options lead to a great potential for satisfaction. The reality is the we are overwhelmed by multiple options. Making a choice between several "good" decisions leads to anxiety and then remorse, fearing we have not chosen the "best" option. (Barry Schwartz discusses this in his book, The Paradox of Choice.) Giving should be a positive experience.

2. Risk revealing a lack of planning in the budget. Capital improvements, large purchases such as buses and steeples, and mission trips or projects should be thought about in advance. Building your operational budget is your time to work through what those planned expenses will be for the coming year. It's important (and fiscally responsible) to make room for those allocations (including the unexpected) in advance. Taking time to plan on the front end will avoid much of the need for "emergency" special offerings throughout the year. (Good planning leads to confidence and trust in church leadership, too.)

3. Consider the community fund approach. Consolidate all your "smaller" special offerings into one large fund that your allow your membership to give to throughout the year. Be sure to explain what the goals and objectives are as well as how the money will be used. This provides a platform to create a habit of consistent, faithful giving over and above regular tithes and offerings while at the same time offering flexibility to fund specific initiatives defined at the beginning of each fiscal year. In short, it keeps things simple. (Be sure to protect the integrity of this fund and not say it will be used for one thing and then use the money in an completely different way.)

Remember, no one "rule" or practice fits every congregation. A church leader should know his membership and the practice of giving within the church well enough to provide a contextualized plan for funding whatever ministry God has called his church to accomplish.

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September 24, 2009

Georgia Baptist Pastor's Conference: 5 steps to funding a sustainable ministry

I'm leading two breakout sessions today for Georgia Baptist Pastor's at the State Convention Office. I thought I'd share with you the PowerPoint presentation I'm using.

I hope you find this helpful!

GBC 09 Pastor's Conference - Sustainable Funding

View more presentations from Ben Stroup.

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September 18, 2009

Education for Ministry: Mobilize Your Membership for Ministry

You've never seen offering envelopes like these!

We are launching new collection of offering envelopes called Education for Ministry. The idea is to create a multi-purpose offering envelope that serves as a critical systematic giving tool as well as an educational piece that reinforces core Christian education goals your church is already teaching. We want to partner with you to help you mobilize your membership for ministry to the person in the pew.

More information about this collection will be coming soon. I wanted the Do More Ministry readers to read this first.

1. Cooperative Program "Every Number Has a Story" Series. Available Now!

This series provide a pew strategy to reseed the conversation about the Cooperative Program by quantifying its impact using the Executive Committee's "Every Number Has a Story" Campaign. This is a three year emphasis and clearly communicates the measurable acts of ministry being accomplished through Southern Baptist cooperative missions efforts.

FREE Supplemental Offertory Moments available here.

2. SPLASH Personal Evangelism Series. Available Now!

This series is based on SPLASH by Dr. Ken Hemphill, an innovative evangelism training resource that has sold more than 20k copies over the last year. Dr. Hemphill crafted 52 applications and associated them with 52 key ideas from Scripture or the SPLASH book. This series provides the church the ability to reinforce the concepts and practices surrounding the subject of the how and why we share our faith with others.

(Note: This stand-alone series can be used by the church whether or not the church decides to use the SPLASH study itself.)

3. Personal Money Management Series. Coming Soon!

This series is based on the book "I Was Broke. Now I'm Not." by Joe Sangl which empowers individuals to deal personal debt and develop a biblical view of money. 52 practical suggestions related to personal money management will be associated with 52 Scriptures or key ideas from the book. This book also, like Dr. Hemphill's SPLASH, has a small group study option and has been geared toward churches. This makes it easy for the church to teach good money management habits while at the same time reinforcing the need for Christians to faithfully offer their tithes and offerings to support the ministry of the local church.

4. Read through the Bible Challenge Series. Available Now!

This series provides an offering envelope that outlines a daily reading plan for the church member to follow each week. Each offering envelope will have daily reading suggestions as well as identify a key verse to focus on or memorize. The daily reading will be printed with check boxes. Ideally, the church member will keep this in their Bible as a bookmark, and then will turn in their completed offering envelope during the weekly Worship service. This series will be available in King James Version (KJV) and HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) formats.

The Education for Ministry Collection represents months of feedback from church leaders looking for creative ways to educate and empower Christians for ministry. Further, it is an attempt to partner with the local church to help accomplish existing Christian educational goals. Each of these series represents an opportunity to provide a renewed emphasis on cooperative missions, personal evangelism, biblical money management, and daily Bible reading.

We hope you find this new collection of offering envelopes helpful as you seek to mobilize your membership for ministry!

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September 10, 2009

Donor Power Blog (@jeffbrooks) comments on post about offering envelopes

I recently posted about the "cool factor" of offering envelopes. I was honored when Jeff Brooks wrote Why trying to be cool is self-defeating which centered around this particular post. Jeff's Donor Power Blog is one of my "must-reads" and is a well-respected and well-known source of all things related to fund-raising.

Thanks Jeff!

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August 31, 2009

Vote on a new campaign slogan

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August 24, 2009

Offering envelopes aren't cool ... so what?

I recently read The Uncool Offering Envelope and thought Kevin's "cool" chart was pretty interesting. In the chart, churches who used offering envelopes were at the bottom. (Wow! That's shocking!)

I know. I know. I lead a business unit at LifeWay related to offering envelopes. BUT I'm not offended. In fact, I welcome Kevin's thoughts. For the sake of discussion, I do feel the need to point out that his thoughts (not him, this is NOT a personal attack) represent an uninformed constituency that has little experience and training in funding non-profits.

So when I read the that the "cool factor" is a reason NOT to use offering envelopes ... I'm confused. When did "cool" become a requirement ... for anything ... everything ... in church?

Is it "cool" to cut the grass each week?
Is it "cool" to deal with security systems, liability, and insurance?
Is it "cool" to manage the financial and accounting functions?
Is it "cool" to make sure Sunday School literature is available?
Is it "cool" to recruit and train volunteers?
Is it "cool" to prospect for new members?
Is it "cool" to manage the details of any ministry program?
Is it "cool" to make sure the church van has the oil changed and is serviced regularly?

(I think you get my point.)

No. OF COURSE NOT. It's boring. It's mundane.

But all of these realities are present in almost every ministry, church, etc. I work with. And if no one took care of these details ... no MINISTRY would take place.

Here is what is cool. More than $300 BILLION in charitable giving dollars was given in 2008.

So who are the organizations that benefit from this generosity?

World Vision
Samartian's Purse
Bread for the World
(To name a few.)

Are they cool? Yes. Is the work they're doing important? ABSOLUTELY!

And what does every letter from World Vision and Samaritan's Purse include ... oh yeah ... an envelope!

Why? BECAUSE IT WORKS. It's the single most EFFECTIVE (non-human) response tool EVER employed to raise money.

Tell World Vision the envelope isn't cool and they'll say ...

I don't care about COOL. I care about FUNDING!

I can't pay staff with COOL.
I can't build programs with COOL.
I can't develop leaders with COOL.
I can't recruit volunteers with COOL.

Of that $300+ BILLION in total charitable giving dollars in 2008 ... $100+ Billion was given to religious organizations, that is houses of worship ... more commonly known as ... CHURCHES.

And do you know what the most popular tool churches use to fund their budgets is? Yep ... you guessed it: Offering Envelopes!

(Note: For those of you into online giving, an an increasing number of the churches we serve are using online giving options. I'm all for it. But you should know only 9% of all charitable giving contributions in 2008 were given using these electronic channels. And those 9% only gave 11% of the $300+ Billion. Growing medium? Yes. Highest producing channel? No ... at least not yet.)

MINISTRY COSTS MONEY ... and LOTS of it! And most people still choose traditional (yes, I know that's a four-letter word for some who believe in "cool") methods of financial support such as cash and checks to underwrite the ministry of the churches and organizations they believe in.

Yes, every church needs to decide whether or not offering envelopes are right for them. But only careful evaluation and consideration will tell whether or not offering envelopes should be a part of the systematic giving strategy of your church's funding plan.

But please ... PLEASE ... don't make your decision based on whether or not the offering envelope is ... well ... cool!

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August 19, 2009

What you don't want your members to know ... Tithing Tricks

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August 18, 2009

The Money Song (that never talks about money)

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August 17, 2009

Survey Responses Needed ... Technology and Tithing

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August 6, 2009

20 reasons why you should use offering envelopes

Someone recently challenged me to come up with 20 reasons why a church should use offering envelopes.

I took the challenge.

Posted by bstroup at 9:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 10, 2009

The dancing tither ... believe it or not

Thanks to Tithe Stewardship & Church Tithing for this one.

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May 29, 2009

Crown's Chuck Bentley talks about children and money

Children and money continue to remain in the top 5 keywords people use in search engines who end up at the Do More Ministry blog. With that in mind, I want to point out a two part series from Chuck Bentley, the president of Crown Financial Ministires.

Teaching Children About Money, Part 1

Teaching Children About Money, Part 2

Posted by bstroup at 8:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 19, 2009

4 new Delicious articles about church giving

I want to take the opportunity to remind you about the Do More Ministry Del.icio.us page that is a collection of articles and videos related to stewardship and giving. Almost every link I use in a blog post can be found on this page along with a few extra. Let me encourage you to bookmark this page and visit it regularly as you look for information about church giving.

Here are four articles I added today that you don't want to miss:

Church gives fresh meaning to 'offering' plate

Women Take the Lead in Couples' Charitable-Giving Decisions

Raising Money from Outside the Church

Church Raises $1.5 Million in $20 Increments

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May 5, 2009

Sustainable Ministry PowerPoint Presentation

I've received several e-mails asking for the PowerPoint presentation I used during last week's seminar on sustainable funding. I'm also learning my way around Google Documents as a way to share, present, and collaborate on documents. I thought this might be natural opportunity to attempt to address one request and experiment with technology all at the same time.

So, here it goes.

Let me know if you have any difficulty accessing the presentation.

Also, I'd welcome any feedback or questions you might have related to the presentation itself. (Maybe one day I can learn how to merge a recorded audio version of this presentation with the slides itself...maybe.)

Posted by bstroup at 3:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 24, 2009

State Convention sponsors sustainable funding seminars

Next week I'll be touring through the great state of Arkansas with Denny Wright, the Stewardship Director for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. We have partnered together to provide a seminar for pastors designed to help them build sustainable funding models for ministry.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, April 27

Park Hill Baptist Church
Arkadelphia
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 28

State Convention Office
Little Rock
9:30 a.m. - Noon

Concord Associational Office
Fort Smith
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 29

State Convention Office
Little Rock
9:30 a.m. - Noon

Thursday, April 30

Highland Drive Baptist Church
Jonesboro
9:30 a.m. - Noon

Harmony Associational Office
Pine Bluff
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

There are meals scheduled before every event intended to facilitate one on one conversation in a relaxed environment. Everyone who has registered has been given the participate in the dinner (or lunch). If you'd like to attend but haven't registered, call Cindy Smith today at 501.376.4791x 5114.

I'm looking forward to a great week. I enjoy spending time with those people God has called to lead local churches, the basic building block of our denomination and the primary unit through which God intended that Christians fulfill the Great Commission.

Note: I will be offline next week. So my next post will be May 4.

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April 1, 2009

Offering Envelopes are "an old technique that still works"

Mark Brooks and I sat down to talk about church stewardship and giving. (By the way, you need to e-mail him about the financial analysis tools he created and uses with his clients. It's one of the best I've ever seen. The level of detail and intelligence it gives the pastor is unmatched.)

One of the things I learned during our conversation was how much he believes in offering envelopes, contributions statements, pastoral letters, etc. He believes these systematic tools - when used strategically - will significantly impact a church's ability to collect the amount pledged during a capital campaign. But he doesn't stop there. He also encourages the church to continue using these tools after the campaign is over.

Occassionally, I come across people who are skeptical of the offering envelope. They believe it is of little value and merely a relic of a previous generation. My intuition used to lead me to the same conclusions. But here is where that theory breaks down:

1. Many who think offering envelopes are "useless" are also faithful givers. They will give no matter what - even if they were asked to give only in pennies. The strength in the offering envelope is in its ability to expand your giving base and inspire a response.

2. Nearly every other traditional nonprofit organization spends a great deal of money printing and using envelopes as part of their fundraising strategy. Why? They work! (Even if a member gives online, the offering envelope is a subtle prompt to log on and donate.)

The results speak for themselves. Based on my experience and the data I've seen, those churches who use offering envelopes typically have a larger giving base (stability) and generate more contributions consistently when compared with those that don't (sustainability).

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March 20, 2009

Teaching children stewardship

I was completely surprised this week as I was reviewing the analytics Google provides me for the Do More Ministry blog. Three of the top five key words people searched on and found my blog were related to teaching children stewardship.

I have a couple of questions for those of you searching on this topic:
1. What specifically are you looking for?
2. Are you finding it or frustrated that you can't?

Posted by bstroup at 8:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 19, 2009

Church Marketing Sucks considers the message of giving

Church Marketing Sucks posted some great thoughts about how giving functions with the Worship experience at your church, what message it sends to your membership, and what - if any - changes should be made. I would encourage you to go read the post, read the comments, and consider how you can become more strategic about giving in your church setting.

Note: Sometimes becoming more strategic means building in educational opportunities to teach and remind our membership why we give, the giving options the church makes available to them, and what those gifts accomplish.

Related Posts:
See Pulpit vs. Pew on Tithing

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March 11, 2009

9 steps to survival in a challenging economy

Mal Warwick writes about Fundraising in Tough Times for the Stanford Social Innovation Review, a publication from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. This fundraising giant points out 9 things that every nonprofit (that includes churches) should do RIGHT NOW to hedge against the impact our spirialing economy will have on giving.

One suggestion that jumped off the page for me was implementing online giving. If you're not already - at the very least - talking about online giving, you are leaving money on the table. Electronic transfer of funds is quickly replacing the use of paper money and checks. Churches should be seriously considering adding this as an option for your membership.

Remember, giving is not about you but your membership. Offering Envelopes, Online Giving, etc. are all systematic tools you can strategically use to encourage faithful, consistent giving among your membership base.

Are you currently using online giving? I'm interested in how you're using it as part of your overall funding plan and what level of acceptable or use it has reached.

Review the entire E-giving catagory.

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February 25, 2009

Do special offerings negatively impact regular giving?

I came across these thoughts on a user's group that I am a member us for church business administrators. The question is an important one: do special offerings detract from regular giving?

Below is the copy of an e-mail from a conversation thread attempting to answer this question. (No, I won't identify this person for two reasons: one, they don't know I'm writing this and two, identifying the individual or church irrelevant to the purpose of this post.)

"To convince your pastor you might want to follow giving when special offerings are taken. We have found that even though you mention to the congregation that this giving is after the normal giving; in most cases we will see the normal offering drops by a like amount as was given to the special offering.
I might add that giving toward a vision (like a major building project)
doesn't seem to affect the normal giving negatively. In fact, it seems to
help normal giving. (Something about giving the people a vision, I guess)"

Here are my initial thoughts:

1. Special Offerings don't inherently cause regular giving to go down. The fact that a better appeal or "ask" has been crafted for the special offering and that the assumption has been made that whatever is given will be over and above a member's regular giving is the real causal factor.

People like to know how their contributions will be used. Special Offerings make a connection between need and opportunity. Giving is an emotional response to a cause or organization that helps others do something they couldn't do on their own.

The answer is not that we should stop using special offerings to meet short-term immediate needs. The answer is that church leaders need to do a better job demonstrating how regular offerings are being used and connecting need with opportunity in measuralbe ways.

2. Giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment. In the second paragraph, the writer highlights that "giving toward a vision" doesn't negatively impact regular giving. My only response to that is this....exactly! There is a strong connection between giving and vision because giving is an emotional response to a passionate appeal to meet a compelling need.

There is a lot of energy and storytelling surrounding any type of major capital campaign. This naturally translates into more dollars because people see themselves as participating in something larger than themselves. Casting a vision results in commitment, sacrifice and action.

What do you think? Do you agree? Are special offerings the problem or is a lack of vision for regular, undesignated giving the real culprit in this scenario?

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December 19, 2008

Pastor's Podcast: Teaching Children About Stewardship

A couple of key words that consistently lead people to this blog are children and stewardship. After doing my own searching, I found very little material or resouces that would help churches teach children about stewardship and giving.

My solution was to dive deeper into this subject that seems to be on the mind of a good bit of my readers with a professional - Jerry Vogel, Director of Childhood Ministry Publishing at LifeWay (and my former Children's Minister growing up in Texas).

Check it out and tell me what you think.

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December 10, 2008

Good reminders and best practices about year-end donations

The end of the year is quickly approaching. It's time to refresh your memory of all the rules related to year-end donations. In Gift or Gaffe? How to get the full benefit from year-end donations the writer outlines what the IRS has to say on the subject and identifies some real world examples and advice from church leaders.

You might want to consider making this information available to your membership through your Web site, bulletin insert, etc. It may help hedge against a series of like questions and may even prevent some of those uncomfortable post year-end contribution conversations in the hallway between Sunday School and Worship.

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November 25, 2008

Individualism, Self-deteremination obstacles to church giving

"Many American Christians simply seem to have a hard time putting together two discordant ideas. On the one side, many seem to genuinely believe in the biblical notions of stewardship and discipleship, who are profoundly challenging to the autonomous individualistic self. But at the same time, most of them are also deeply committed to American autonomous individualism and accompanying notions of self-determination, absolute private property rights, and consumer sovereignty."

Passing the Plate, pg. 119.

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November 12, 2008

Free E-giving and Event Manager service generates interest

Lots of conversation today about our E-giving and Online Event Manager service.

Below is a collection of the top posts related to E-giving in no particular order.

1. Is online giving a growing trend?
2. The results of online giving are in...
3. Electronic Giving Part 1: The Forbidden Conversation
4. Electronic Giving Part 2: Future or Fad?
5. Revisitng E-giving
6. Book Review: Digital Giving
7. Church increases use of onling giving
8. Concerns about E-giving
9. Study reveals that 50% will donate online this holiday season

Review the entire E-giving catagory.

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November 11, 2008

Book Review: Not Your Parents' Offering Plate

Note: Craig recently commented in an online forum for Church Administrators about this book. It sounded interesting, and I wasn't aware of it. He was gracious and wrote a review for the blog. Thanks Craig. Great job. (And now I have one more book to add to my "must read" list.)

Not Your Parents' Offering Plate
by J. Clif Christopher

This is a short, very direct book that will challenge many of us who have been involved in raising financial resources for our churches. The author takes the position that our biggest "competition" for our people's giving dollar in not other churches but other 501 (c) (3) organizations that do a much better job "targeting" those they hope to receive money from. He spends a whole chapter and many parts of other chapters suggesting that the Senior Pastor must be the primary fundraiser in our churches. He challenges the opinion of many by insisting that the Sr. Pastor must know and cultivate a relationship with those in the church that have the resources to support the mission of the church.

One of the features I found very helpful was at the end of each chapter he asked questions directed at the way we fundraise and gives actions steps. His final chapter deals with the first ten steps he believes we need to take to position our churches to beginning to receive the funding we need to fulfill our mission. This book helped our leadership and financial teams take a different look at and come up with a plan for our next year. We will approach our people in a different way because of the insights of Dr. Christopher.

Craig Zastrow is the Executive Pastor of Central Christian Church in Beloit , WI . Central Christian Church is a nondenominational church with a weekend attendance of over 1900. Central Christian Church was one of the churches featured in Dr. Thom Rainer's book Breakout Churches. He has been in this position for 15 years following 15 years as the director of a county wide paramedic system and 8 years as the executive director of a two county outpatient mental health clinic.

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November 4, 2008

Local church promotes giving in tough economy

"If this economic crash has taught us anything, it is that it is an illusion for us to think that we can find any security in anything material," said Stephen McSwain, author of 'The Giving Myths.'

This church brought in a noted author to encourage believers to "keep the faith" in the midst of uncertain times.

What is your church doing?

(Hint: Panic isn't an option. Hope is not a strategy.)

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November 3, 2008

October 30, 2008

What's really happening to churches and church giving

There is a lot of speculation that church giving will plummet and as a result we'll see mass closings of churches all across this nation due to the decrease in individual/family discretionary income which directly impacts church giving.

As of yet, this is not the case. In fact, some churches are reporting little direct impact on church giving due to our current economic crisis.

The LA Times recently picked up an the AP story Churches could be facing hard times financially, just when congregants need help, too.

Here are some interesting quotes from the article:

Among the congregations faring best are those with a strong tradition of tithing -- the biblical mandate to give at least 10 percent of one's income to the church.

Churches who teach Biblical principles related to personal finances and church giving have prepared their congregations for situations just like the one we find ourselves in now.

What is your church doing to provide practical financial solutions for families? You might consider making these classes part of your core christian education goals - maybe even a requirement for your new member classes.

Plan and prepare is the best strategy to hedge against uncertain financial times.

A recent report by the Christian research group Empty Tomb Inc. studied six recessions since 1968 and found that donations by church members declined in three and increased in three. Another study, by Giving USA Foundation, found that religion-related charitable giving fell slightly in six of 11 recession years since 1968.

Despite our "intuition" telling us that we are in the worst position in history, church giving is just about as cyclical as the economy. There are ups and downs. Yes, we are in a down. If we know that church giving is cyclical, we can address it in a comprehensive, systematic way.

What's your long-term strategy to provide for fully funded ministry budgets and sustainable ministries?

However, many churches rely on income from investments for their financial health and are already slashing their 2009 budgets.

Our current economic situation is largely driven by the stock market. Those churches who have placed a significant percentage of their operating expenses in one catagory (i.e. the stock market) ought to consider expanding their portfolio.

Maybe it's time to get some organizational financial planning advice?

A wise person once told me, "It's never as bad as it seems, and it's never as good as it seems."

I think that sums up our current economic situation - especially as to its impact upon church giving.

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October 27, 2008

Study reveals that 50% will donate online this holiday season

A new study on charitable giving revealed that nearly 50% of online consumers plan to donate during the holiday season in 2008. Further, the donations are estimated to be similar to the 2007 holiday season.

This is good news given the fact that most non-profits (this includes churches) aren't exactly sure what to expect over the next several months.

What was most interesting was the emphasis on online donation tools being identified as an essential medium to collect a majority of those donations.

"More than 50 percent of online consumers say that they plan to donate via the Internet during the 2008 holiday season," said Vinay Bhagat, Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of Convio. "This level of online support shows that nonprofits of all sizes need to make sure that their web sites and other electronic communications meet consumer expectations. It is also important to make sure that traditional appeals such as direct mail, television and events provide people with the option to give online. If it is difficult to give to your organization online consumers will find an alternative."

Does your church currently offer online giving? If not, maybe it's time to have that conversation.

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LifeWay Envelope Service at Missouri Baptist Convention

I'm exhibiting at the Missouri Baptist Convention for the next few days, but you won't find me in my own booth. I'm actually in the Cooperative Program/Stewardship booth for Missouri. Spencer (the State Executive for Stewardship) asked me to come and be present in his booth to talk to pastors about our new Cooperative Program Offering Envelope Series.

So if you're attending also, stop by booth #43 and say "Hi!"

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October 24, 2008

Save a tree. Download out latest catalog.

In an effort to be a good citizen of this earth, we have made a commitment to promote the eletronic version of our 2009 catalog. It's easy to download.

Step 1 - Go to LifeWay Envelope Service.
Setp 2 - Find Download Our New Catalog. Right click on your mouse to save.
Step 3 - Open with Adobe Acrobate Reader.

Thanks for your help!

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October 23, 2008

Best comprehensive church giving research available

If you're looking for the best comprehensive research on church giving in one book, look no further than The State of Church Giving through 2006.

(Note: I recently purchased my copy direct from Amazon.com.)

Posted by bstroup at 9:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Get strategic about church giving

If you're the pastor, church business administrator, executive pastor, stewardship/finance committee chairperson, etc., you're probably feeling completely underprepared for this moment in time. Unfortunately, you are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the NPO (a.k.a. Church) that you're leading will have enough resources in 2009 to keep things churning at least the same level they were in 2008.

What are your options? What can you do? In my opinion, you have two:

1. Go sit in a corner and cry about it.
2. Roll up your sleeves and make something happen.

So what if it's going to be a tough year for church giving? Advertisy often creates innovation which creates brands which creates loyalty...you see where I'm going with this. 2009 might be a difficult year, and it might be scary to think about an interruption in the "easy" and "predictable" giving habits of the last 6 years or so.

Experts weigh in with some suggestions for leaders of NPOs to consider as they're hammering out their strategy for 2009 and wondering how they are going to fund it.

Most interesting one to me is: Focus the mission, focus the message. If there is any NPO best positioned to do this, it's the church. No other NPO is in front of their donors (a.k.a. church members) as frequently as churches get to be. (The rest of the NPO world is very jealous of this.)

So take advantage of your strengths. Be proactive. Commit to survive and thrive. The opportunity for ministry will be great, so it's imperative to act strategically to fully fund the ministry God has in store for your church in 2009.

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October 22, 2008

3 ways Church Administrators will respond to economic crisis

Is the world of church giving headed for doom and gloom for the next 12 months? Exactly how bad is it? It's easy to allow ourselves to include ourselves in "group think" and begin believing that these are the worst times ever. Below are three contrasting ideas/insights about giving in tough economic times and what this means for the church.

Insight #1 - Church giving will plummet in light of the current economic crisis.

Donors Start Cutting Back is some of the worst news a Church Business Administrator wants to read. If we believe this, then we make the assumption that ALL people give out of their excess instead of out of their first-fruits.

Insight #2 - Church giving will remain consistent in light of the current economic crisis.

One wealth expert believes that the stock market has little to do with people's regular disposable income or the source of much of philanthropic (that includes church) giving. His claim is the the stock market only impacts a nominal percentage of the average households monthly income. This is good news for Church Business Administrators

Insight #3 - Church giving will increase in light of the current economic crisis.

Ok. I realize this might be a tough sell. But one investment firm is claiming an increase of 12% in grant-giving to NPOs from its benevolent investment funds. If church adminsitrators have done their homework and managed the church business conservatively, then there will be a pile of money somewhere to assist the church during an interruption in normal giving habits.

Perhaps there are some who don't want to use these funds. My question is: Why not? That's what these funds are for. Once we emerge from the recession or crisis or whatever you want to call it, the funds will be replenished.

If the church coffers are choked and ministry is suspended for fear of not having enough, then the church won't be able to help or assist faithful members who now find themselves in need and members of the community who are turning to the church for help.

How you respond says a lot about what you believe. Adequate business management should have prepared all churches to thrive even with short-term interruptions in normal giving levels.

This too shall pass.

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October 15, 2008

3 brutal facts about giving grounded in the Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle is more commonly known as the 80-20 rule. In other words, 80 percent of the result is generated by 20 percent of the effort.

This can be applied to church giving habits too. 20% of your congregation is driving 80% of your funds. This will either paralyze you or motivate you to become more strategic.

The reality is the it's the 20% who end up on stewardship and finance committees. These leaders can't imagine or understand why 80% of the congregation doesn't give.

What I've found true is the often the 20% thinks they are actually 40% or 50%. Most church leaders think their church is different (i.e. better) than the average. (Ever run into that before?)

Here are the brutal facts:

1. When your long-term funding strategy is hung on the giving habits of a small percentage of your entire congregation, you are tempting fate. Someone in that small group will leave the church, change jobs, loose their job, die, etc. If you're not building giving habits with the 80% group, you are leaving yourself wide open for disaster to happen.

2. Providing things like e-giving and offering envelopes are primarily to encourage giving and make it easy for the 80% to do so. The 20% don't need offering envelopes or e-giving. They are going to give anyway. If the pastor requested all donations be made into pennies, the 20% would take off from work early to stop by the bank and exchange paper for pennies. (Over dramatic, yes. But you get my point.)

3. Stewardship is more important than your sermon preparation. (I'm anticipating getting some negative feedback for this one. So I'm ready.) Stewardship is about discipleship. It speaks to giving of ourselves - our time, talent and treasure - because we recognize that everything we have is from God and is designed to be used to multiply kingdom efforts. While years are spent preparing pastors to preach, without a consistent stewardship education program pastors won't have a pulpit to preach from. (Pulpit can be symbolic if you are natually opposed to the piece of furniture that usually is found center stage at tranditional churches.)

Now more than ever pastors and church leaders must concern themselves with the fundamentals of organizational funding, stability and sustainability.

Let me sum it up by saying this: More Money. More Ministry. No Money. No Ministry.

That's the brutal facts.

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October 14, 2008

Anne Jackson talks about tithing

Anne Jackson, blog celebrity and author, talks about a very negative experience she had while on church staff regarding the subject of tithing.

Below is my response. I'd welcome your comments too.

You have uncovered a powerful paradox. Churches are the only God-ordained institution designed to continue and sustain the earthly ministry of Christ until his ultimate return. Churches are also non-profit organizations who are exponentially becoming more complex in structure and needs as the demands from members and communities are becoming more complex.

I've summed up my work with churches in this area into a simple phrase: "More Money. More Ministry." It's essential the we begin bringing a level of sophistication to Church as an organization to ensure that it's fully-funded and sustainable over time. Like it or not, this takes money. So the burden falls upon the church leaders (aka "non-profit managers") to ensure long-term sustainability. Our secular and religious non-profit brothers and sisters have been doing this for a long time. It's time the church steps up to do the same.

It sounds like the conversation you had while on a particular church staff was very inappropriate and most likely is the result of the wrong person being in the wrong position (or at least given the wrong task and strategy). However, that doesn't discount the reality that church leaders should be modeling the behavior that they expect from the membership. It's sounds like you were the victim of poor communication habits.

As church members are becoming less convinced the their tithe should be entirely allocated to the Church, it becomes the Church's responsibility to justify why the tithe should be given completely to the church. They "you-should-give-to-the-church-just-because argument" no longer works--if it ever did.

Thanks for the dialog on the essential subjects of stewardship and church giving!

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October 13, 2008

Exploring the impact of American Idol on church giving

"Participatory Philanthropy" may be the next revolution in charitable giving. TripAdvisor.com is asking the public to decide which cause the company should support.

Here is how the program works: TripAdvisor.com is offering five options for the public to choose how the $1 million dollar pledge will be divided. Polls close on a certain date, and then the results will determine how the money is spent and which organizations/causes are supported.

I wonder what this might look like in church. What if the initial budget presentation to the church body signaled the opening of the "polls" where members could pledge their monetary gifts for the specific ministries they want to to support? Then after a certain period, the "polls" would close and the results tallied. The end result would be any ministry that was significantly underfunded would be cut from the budget.

This works for American Idol which is arguably the most successful talent-seeking competition in history. It has also produced multiple pop stars who have been and continue to be very successful.

The dark side of the process is that sometimes, even the talented get cut. This would also have to be considered within the church setting. It may mean the a long-standing ministry might end up so underfunded that it would also be subject to the proverbial axe.

The appeal for me (even as a church leader) is that it puts the power back in the people in the pew - the ones who are giving the dollars to fund the budget. And people tend to be more committed and give more when they have a say in how their donations are used.

Given the precedent of undesignated giving within church settings, would an "American Idol" approach to giving work?

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October 8, 2008

USA Today features charitable giving trends

I was so proud yesterday. USA Today added a complete section to their Tuesday, October 7, 2008, edition of their newspaper that shed a spotlight on Sharing in the USA.

For someone who lives and breathes in the world of philanthropy, church giving, fundraising, stewardship, etc., this was like a candy store experience.

Here are a couple of articles that I hope you'll take the time to read from this section:

1. The new face of giving - Electronic giving methods such as giving via text messaging and online giving are opening the world of charitable giving to younger audiences. And electronic giving options are also increasing the speed at which the donations are being received.

Charitable giving is a serious subject. The article cites that in 2007, giving exceeded $300 billion for the first time. There is also a growing interest among younger givers that don't simply want to write a check to an organization. They actually want to know how there money is being used and see giving more than extending a hand to a fellow human being and less of supporting the causes of an institution.

2. Offerings make up a third of U.S. donations - This article features a LifeWay employee and his family who've made a commitment to tithe. It also discusses the importance the act of giving is within all the major Western religions.

What was very interesting to note was a digram printed in the bottom right hand page (6E) that illustrated a striking reality: personal incoming giving to charity has remained the same (2.3% of disposable income) from 1967 to 2007.

Wow! What a day of news in the world of giving and stewardship.

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October 7, 2008

Teaching children stewardship

I've noticed over the past two weeks that the top five keywords/phrases people are searching for which results in finding Do More Ministry are different variations of teaching children stewardship.

I'd like to hear from you. What exactly are you looking for? Are you finding it? If you could wave your magic wand and have the "perfect" resource/solution to help you teach children about stewardship and giving, what would it be?

I'll wait to hear from you.

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October 6, 2008

4 tactics to consider for your next contribution catch up letter

We are quickly approaching the end of the year. Many churches will be looking at their ministry budgets and contributions to date closely as well as reviewing past trends in giving during Q4. About this time of year many churches make a final "catch-up" contribution appeal as a final push to ensure contributions fully-fund all ministry expenses.

As more and more people experiment with online giving, I found this research on the success rates of online giving appeals quite interesting.

The internet seems to carry with a sense of urgency. This can translate into an opportunity for your church members to respond immediately to your next "catch-up" contribution appeal.

It's worth trying.

And if you do try it, let me know how it works.

(Shameless plug: we offer churches who purchase their offering envelopes through us e-giving with event manager for FREE!)

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September 30, 2008

Consider stewardship for your next evangelism emphasis

LifeWay News recently featured It's A New Day, the national stewardship inititative of the Southern Baptist Convention. At the head of this movement is Ashley Clayton.

Ashley, Phill Burgess with Holman Bible Outreach International (HBOI) and yours truly with LifeWay Envelope Service developed a set of resources that we believe will support a church's effort to address debt as systemic within our society and thinking.

Debt relief may be one of the most effective bridge-building opportunities the church has with a lost world. Our modern, western, super-sizing American culture is literally squeezing the life out of believers and non-believers alike. And people are looking for a way out. It's critical that the church respond with practical help that will lead to a larger dialog of spiritual as well as financial transformation.

Why not see this campaign as an evangelism opportunity? Crown logged more than 17k salvations in 2006 from people who completed their program.

Who would have ever thought that stewardship might very well be the theme of your next outreach strategy?

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August 5, 2008

Free Webinar on Church Giving in a Struggling Economy

I just registered for a free Webinar exploring how church giving is being impacted by our struggling economy. It's Thursday, August 7th, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. I'm interested in hearing how they approach this very sensitive subject and what practical solutions they provide for churches to ensure that their ministry remains fully funded throughout this difficult time.

You can register here.

In the meantime, feel free to browse previous "Do More Ministry" posts on the same subject:
The economy and ministry in review
The Church emerging from a spiraling economy
LifeWay Research looks at economy and giving
Thom Rainer asks which economy are we trusting in
10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times
Will the economy impact church giving?
Ministry impacted when church giving drops

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July 3, 2008

The economy and ministry in review

Earlier this week, my post Thom Rainer asks which economy are we trusting in centered on how Christians should approach economic questions from a different, Kingdom perspective. With that in mind, I'd like to point to two previous posts to help us in our conversation.

The Church emerging from a spiraling economy
LifeWay Research looks at the economy and giving

What are you doing in your church to help your members form a Kingdom perspective on our current economic outlook?

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June 18, 2008

Increasing interest in offering envelopes

As gas prices continue to rise along with other living expenses, my conversations with churches are changing. They are asking better questions about financial integrity and ways to hegde any loss of contributions from their membership. I'm excited about the increase in interest from church leaders about becoming more intentional about their stewardship and giving practices.

I wanted to point back to 8 qualities of church financial health for quick reference.

I'm curious. What are you doing to ensure that church giving doesn't become then next line item cut in your members' budgets?

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June 6, 2008

LifeWay Envelope Service at the SBC in Indy next week

I'll be attending the SBC Convention in Indy next week. That means I'll be taking a week off from posting content. I'll pick back up again the week of June 16. Until then, feel free to browse around. There's a lot to read.

By the way, LifeWay Envelope Service will have a booth in the LifeWay area of the Exhibit Hall. I encourage you to stop by to say "Hi" and introduce yourself.

I'd love to meet you.

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May 28, 2008

Online giving poll

Please take a moment to cast your vote with respect to your position on online giving. The results will be used in an upcoming feature on the discussion and use of online giving within Southern Baptists Churches today.

Voting will just take a few minutes. (And I know you already have an opinion.)

Look for the poll question in the lower right hand side of your screen. You may have to scroll down to find it.

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April 21, 2008

Think Christian on The Tithing Minority

Think Christian is a blog that I read frequently. Their mission is to engage Christ, culture and faith in the context of everyday life. (A very worthy goal.)

The Tithing Minority asks the same questions I raise in Barna reveals trends in tithing and church giving.

The reality is this: the level and volume of contributions that the church depends upon is at risk of being diverted to other like-minded organizations as more choices become available to the people in our pews. I'm consistenly surprised at how few church leaders approach this subject with a sense of urgency.

Unfortunately, most are dealing with the tyranny of the urgent instead of establishing an intentional strategy moving forward. Another force that I believe is working against this larger conversation is that most people only respond to "pain."

For a lot of churches, they are currently fully funded or only slightly down in giving. The levels of contributions are enough to sustain the ministry of today. My contention is that our responsibility is not only to ensure that our ministry is fully funded today but also sustainable over a long period of time.

Most complex organizations understand that sustainability is one of the key ingredients to long-term success. The church may be the most complex organization to ever exist. And yet it's also the least likely to be concerned with sustainability.

What does all this have to do with tithing? Money offers churches the ability to accomplish the ministry that God has laid on the hearts of the people. Where the people in the pew place their dollars demonstrates what they believe about the church's ability to accomplish the ministry or work that they are most concerned with.

If that place isn't the church, then we as church leaders must take a step back and evaluate the places of ministry we've decided to invest in to ensure that it matches what God has placed on the hearts of the people in the pew.

But most church leaders aren't likely to do that. Why? Because most church leaders are highly skilled at talking--not listening.

And the irony is that what the people in the pew are asking of church leaders is the very thing church leaders are asking of the people in the pew.

Maybe it's time we start listening to each other. Can we really afford not to?

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April 15, 2008

Barna reveals trends in tithing and church giving

A shift is taking place. We have some important decisions to make.

Barna confirms the trend in tithing and donating is just as we expected. People are choosing to donate a portion of their charitable giving to non-church organizations.

The church is worth fighting for. It's time to get our "A" game on and give people measurable results with our ministry decisions. It's time to make our case that the church is the primary vehicle God has designated to empower and expand the Kingdom until His return.

Choosing silence or choosing to do "more of the same" will encourage this trend.

How are you planning to address this trend in your church?

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April 9, 2008

Book Review: Digital Giving

In his book Digital Giving: How Technology is Changing Charity, author Richard C. McPherson seems to be responding to the challenge of Leonard Sweet in Soul Tsunami: Sink or Swim in New Millennium Culture. Leonard Sweet writes about the massive wave of change rolling toward the church. His advice is to grab a board and ride the wave or, refuse and be buried beneath it. Both McPherson and Sweet are strong proponents of embracing change, not as a negative force, but as a positive step toward being more effective and in sync with where society is.

Digital Giving was written after the author conducted a large number of interviews in which he asked two questions: "what are the big technology needs facing charity?" And "how can organizations embrace them to find public support?" McPherson wrote the book Because as he wrote, "I believe enormous technological changes, daunting as they may seem to busy organizations, will be for the better." Several interesting statistics are noted in this work, from the Pew internet and American Life Project, that support the author's view of rapidly changing technology. About 30 percent of the day is spent specifically using media. In addition, the project reported that 66 per cent of an individual's working day finds that individual immersed in some form of electronic media. The report also finds that the average American home has 26 electronic devises and that the average American spends more time using media than any other activity.

It is on the basis of statistics or information amassed from numerous interviews that McPherson wrote Digital Giving. From the results of his interviews the author sites three "Whopping Big Trends." The three trends deal with democratization. In the first trend, the "Democritizing of Media" he points out the trend toward more and more information sought from blogs, podcasts, personal web pages, and social networks. In the second trend the "Democratizing of philanthropy" McPherson writes that donors are assuming roles, once held by fund raisers, in deciding what gets funded. In this trend the donors demand more ownership, understanding, accountability and responsible relationships with the charities. The third trend noted in the book is the "Relentless demand for convenience". Here the idea is presented that, for charities to be effective and successful they are going to have to find ways to make donating easier. The answer to the need for "easier" giving is to be found in technologies' offerings.

McPherson sums up the three trends by writing "as the competition for donations intensifies, successful charities will be the ones that offer the most engaging variety of donation choices, endorsed and promoted by friends and peers, with the most convenient paths to involvement."

In presenting the opportunities for dealing with the trends he has noted the author turns to practical applications. His explanation of "Web 2.0" is easy to understand. In explaining that "Web 2.0" is writeable he opens the possibilities for greater donor involvement and access. He quotes Sheeraz Haji:president of Convio.com, "Nonprofits should actually dominate Web 2.0 because it's all about passion and interest." Sheeraz suggests that, before technology, a charity should develop its story. He states "To get people involved, your organization has to tell a great story." To McPherson it is important to focus on the message before worrying about delivery channels.

Only when the story is perfected should the best channel for delivery be chosen. The author writes that the "blogosphere" is a phenomena that can target groups of people inexpensively and credibly. McPherson quotes Jon Abbott of WGBH "It is getting much easier for people to share what they care about." The strategy of WGBH is to "follow the rhythms of our consumers."

McPherson quotes Pew Internet reports that "91 percent of all Internet users send e-mail and 91 percent use search engines. He writes that a successful charity will not necessarily go looking for people but will attract attention in such a way that people will "look" for them. How a charity might tap into the multiple listings and directories to attract interested and potential donors is one of the many topics covered in this work.

An interesting phenomena also discussed is the evolution of the cell phone and the not too distant reality of having a total information and computing center in one hand-held devise. This reality may be much closer or arriving faster than even McPherson visualized in 2007.

Digital Giving is a clear call to rethink old ideas of charitable giving and fund-raising. It seems, from the practical advice, based on trends observed from multiple interviews, that any charitable non-profit organization will want to read and reread McPherson's call to grab a board, with Len Sweet, and learn to ride the surf. With McPherson's well documented work in hand it will be a great ride.

Don Campbell is the State Stewardship Director for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Thanks Don for a great book review!

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April 2, 2008

Seminary students talk about stewardship

I'm on my way to visit my friends Dr. David McQuitty and Dr. Scott Preissler at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. David has asked me to come speak with his students about what we've been discussing on the Do More Ministry blog.

I'm not an expert, nor do I bill myself as one. But I'm pleased to see that the conversation of stewardship and giving is expanding. It's a converstaion worth having, and it's nice to know that I'm not just talking to myself.

I'll let you know how everything goes.

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March 26, 2008

Ken Hemphill believes tithing is biblical

Ken Hemphill responds to CBS Sunday Morning's recent headline story on tithing. (See CBS Sunday Morning weighs in on Tithing.) He takes issue with the historical and theological presentation of the principles behind tithing as they were represented in the news story.

What I most appreciate about Ken is that he brought the focus back to where it should be.

But "tithing" is not the entire story. The Bible teaches that the stewardship of all of one's life -- time, talents and treasurers.

We tend to take tithing and make it the "big" issue. The reality is that God is interested in all of our lives. And stewardship is lens through which we see everything as God's--that includes our time, talent and money.

(If you're intersested in more about what Ken has to say on this issue of stewardship, read Ken Hemphill talks about making change and Ken Hemphill on pastors, preaching and money.)

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March 19, 2008

Revisiting E-giving

I've had several conversations recently about churches and e-giving. I thought it might be helpful to review some of what we've already discussed.

Is online giving a growing trend?
The results of online giving are in...
Electronic Giving Part 1: The Forbidden Conversation
Electronic Giving Part 2: Future or Fad?

I think people like talking about e-giving because it's new and "cool." I also think its a response by churches to address two cultural trends: 1) how we exchange funds and 2) the fact that the average regular attender in church today comes two times a month.

But the reality of service fees, transaction fees and implementation challenges will keep many churches at bay until it becomes more mainstream. Plus, most churches will need to become more sophisticated in their reporting and financial management tools before they will be able to provide enough data to identify e-giving as the source of increased contributions over time.

I still find myself coming to the same conclusion as I did in my previous posts. It will eventually become a hybrid model where e-giving is just one more option churches make available to its members. Just as printed newspapers and books didn't disappear with the advent of the internet and eletronic file transfers, neither will traditional means of cash and check contributions disappear from churches with the introduction of e-giving.

I'd be interested to hear from you. What has your experience been with e-giving in churches?

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March 4, 2008

CBS Sunday Morning weighs in on Tithing

The lead story on CBS Sunday Morning was on tithing--an unexpected way to begin their broadcast. I was in the process of flipping over to Sesame Street (a new Sunday morning tradition at my house) when the story overview began. I was hooked.

I'm not sure that any of the information presented is new. But I'm impressed that enough people are talking about it that it made the headlines on this major news network.

Tithing has always been a hot topic of debate within the church. Now it seems to be the subject of national news as well. Just last November the Wall Street Journal wrote "The Backlash Against Tithing."

And last fall, we discussed the series "The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing."

Read the entire series:
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing, an Introduction
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (continued)
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (Part 3)
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (Part 4)
The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing, in Conclusion

With the conversation already in full swing both inside and outside the church, this is a great atmosphere to open a dialog with those whom you're spiritually responsible.

If someone asked you "Why should I tithe?", what would you say? (And "just because" doesn't count as a valid response. It doesn't work with children; why do we think it will work with adults?)

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February 27, 2008

15 Ways to Increase Your Church's Offerings

More than 19,000 people are concerned about stewardship and giving. That's the number of hits this article has received.

Remarkable.

With numbers like that, it's difficult to call the conversation on stewardship and giving "marginal."

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February 25, 2008

Offering envelopes increase giving

We've talked a lot about stewardship and giving. And I think offering envelopes (yes, I'm biased) are instrumental and critical to any holistic strategy to increase church giving. They are the most proven method to "make the ask" and provide a compelling reminder that each person is responsible for giving a portion of the monetary resources God has given them to provide for the ministry of the local church in which they participate.

Here is one pastor and State Convention president who agrees:

During our annual planning and budgeting, I ran across your article in the September/October 2007 Facts and Trends article that featured LifeWay Envelope Service. I copied the article and handed it to my finance team. We looked at it as an investment that was sure to bring a return. After our first month, we had one of the largest regular offerings we've ever had. We expect to come in about $1,500 more than our weekly average in January 2008. It’s pretty crazy. I would have never thought that mailing offering envelopes to our members would have such an impact on our giving. There is a good chance we could come in over budget! This will be a first in 12 years as a Pastor! I’m a believer.
Travis Smalley, Senior Pastor
Lakota Hills Baptist Church in West Chester, OH
Current President, Ohio State Baptist Convention

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February 13, 2008

Teaching children about stewardship and giving

I had the opportunity to meet with my former Children's Pastor yesterday. It's interesting how our paths have crossed at two different points in our lives. He was the Children's Pastor at my church in Houston. And now 20 years later, he is one of the director's of childhood ministry publishing at Lifeway.

I was sharing with him about what I'm doing now. I took the opportunity to express to him how difficult it was to find curriculum to teach children about stewardship and giving. He pointed me to a children's stewardship lesson series that is absolutely FREE.

I'd be interested in your feedback once you've had a chance to review and "try it out" with children.

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February 12, 2008

10 ways to increase church giving 10-25%

The Christian Stewardship Association is a professional organization of Christian stewardship professionals. I stumbled across 10 steps to better church giving while searching their site for something completely different. I was impressed at how simple and practical the suggestions were.

The only step that I see missing is implementing an offering envelope mailing program. (But maybe that's because I'm a little biased.) That aside, offering envelopes may be the most effective "call to action" tool that any church can consider as part of their overall strategy. Helping people understand the "what" and "why" to give isn't enough. You have to give them a way to respond--a way that is simple and instant.

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February 11, 2008

The jackpot of church fundraising resources

As you work toward building your church giving plan, you can browse the jackpot of church fundraising resources that I found on Michigan State University's Web site today.

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who put this together. This bibliography of Articles, Books, Web sites, etc. will be invaluable to you as you educate yourself about the "whys" and the "hows" of church fundraising.

Have fun browsing! And if one of these proves to be very helpful, let me know. I'd be happy to draw attention to it on the blog.

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February 7, 2008

Develop a church giving plan

Yesterday we looked at how the loss of senior leadership at two different churches affected church giving. And I raised this question: is there was anything that churches and church leaders can do to ensure that the necessary money is be available to continue the ministry of the church with or without senior leadership?

Before we go any further, I need to make the observation that it will always be eaiser to raise money or increase church giving when stable, senior church leadership exists. Particularly when that senior leadership has the support and trust of the congregation. But what happens when the situation is less than perfect?

Perhaps we could consider treating this scenario just like we do our own investment portfolios--with a plan. More often than not, stewardship is only invoked and the stewardship committee active when building projects are in progress. Such behavior and thinking is short-sighted.

Stewardship Committees should be bearing the responsbility of working with church staff to develop a holistic plan that speaks to the contiuation and growth in church giving no matter the circumstances.

I think I found some information that will contribute to this dialog. I came across an article written by a seasoned fundraising professional. It speaks to a personal giving plan, but I think it can be easily translated into a corporate terms and used by churches.

Calvin writes:

Religious givers who see themselves as stewards of God’s resources should be even more careful to ensure that their giving is effective and well planned. One way to exercise the kind of care of which Rockefeller speaks is to develop a written giving plan.

I suspect that the hard work it will take on the front end to put together a comprehensive church giving plan will be worth the effort and will ensure that the ministry of the church continues with or without senior leadership.

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February 6, 2008

Ministry impacted when church giving drops

I was talking to a staff member of a large church in a metropolitan area today. He expressed to me that they've had to make some difficult decisions recently. Giving has dropped, so they needed to control their expenses. And the easiest way to make up a loss is to cut personnel--which is typically the largest line item in any church's budget.

It's an unfortunate situation that this staff member feels horrible about. I asked him why he thought giving was down. He speculated as most people do and then revealed what he believed to be the true answer: they are without a senior pastor.

This is contrasted with another conversation I had recently with a completely different church--still large in size and located in a metropolitan area. They recently lost their pastor too--only church giving has grown. In fact, they collected more money than they needed this year. They are moving forward with finding a new pastor and carefully considering how they'll invest the additional contributions to grow the Kingdom.

These are two different churches in similar demographic settings who are both without senior leadership. Only one is suffering deeply from a decrease in church giving while the other one is continuing to thrive.

A church's ability to minister to others is directly connected to its level of giving. That's a given. That being the case, I wonder what a church can do to protect itself from the loss of its senior leadership to ensure that when that happens (for whatever reason) the ministry and giving habits of the church continue to thrive.

Any ideas?

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January 8, 2008

Is online giving a growing trend?

A friend e-mailed me a post he read on Think Christian - a blog that attempts to address the collision between faith and everyday life. This particular post is about online giving. David's thoughts have also incited a good bit of discussion representing a variety of positions.

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through.

If you're not already thinking about online giving and how this cultural trend IS ALREADY impacting church stewardship and giving, you're behind. So catch up!

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January 7, 2008

The results of online giving are in...

I found this post very interesting. It analyzed 70 non-profits to evaluate the overall effectiveness of their online giving strategies. The prevailing theory is this: online giving will increase donations and overall effectiveness at raising the funds necessary to support the operational needs of the organization.

Here is a piece of what the survey revealed in the area of retention:

The groups we surveyed retained 70% of their online monthly donors in their first year, but retention rate dropped to 52% the second year.

On average, 12% of online monthly donors missed at least one monthly payment in two years.

People's behavior appears to be the same--whether donations are electronic or via paper. So for the average non-profit (or in our case the church), is online giving the "magic bullet" that will yeild a more consistent stream of income and increase giving, or is it simply another medium for people to choose from?

You decide.

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December 31, 2007

Intelligent Giving

I'm just getting caught up on the RSS feeds I missed over the holidays. I read this great post on the Get Rich Slowly blog.

It raised an important question in my mind: If an independent source was set up to evaluate churches and their worthiness of donations, what type of rating would your church get?

That may be a difficult question to ask or even consider. The reality check is this: your memebers are already evaluating the ministry of your church and deciding themselves if you are worthy of their donation.

It's a scary thought. But consistent with the trends we've been discussing in "The Pulpit vs. The Pew" series. If you haven't read it, click on the December archives to review.

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December 18, 2007

The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing, in Conclusion

We've talked a lot about the inherent need to revisit how we deal with the teaching and preaching about stewardship and giving over the last four posts. As we bring this string of posts to an end, I'd like to conclude with some practical steps that should be able to make a measurable difference in re-claiming the most essential need for any ministry, money. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: No Money. No Ministry.

5 Steps to Ensure More Money for More Ministry

1. Establish a systematic strategy.

Any strategy should be in writing and should be agreed to by both staff and lay leadership. You may also want to consider getting "buy in" from key influencers who may or may not be lay leaders. Their assitance will be invaluable.

This strategy should exist on a macro and micro level. Those churches who have been the most successful at getting the money they need for the ministry they feel called to do establish an annual stewardship and giving strategy that is comprehensive in nature. In addition, each element of the macro strategy is outlined. This provides a road map. Just follow the path and at the end of the road you'll most likely end up where you intended to be.

One thing is for sure: if you're unsure about your plan, you'll certainly fail.

2. Start Talking About It.

Communication theory tells us that ideas are not "real" until we speak them outloud. This is one reason why talking is essential to the human development process. Take the marriage relationship for example, successful marriages have open lines of communication. This is an intentional decision and doesn't just happen by accident.

It's the same with tithing in the church. Talking about it makes it less scary and provides the opportunity to deal with objections from the pulpit and the pew. This is the only way to overcome the assumptions many make about church giving.

The more we ignore the subject, the more mysterious it becomes. And the more removed we are from the truth on the subject.

3. Set Expectations.

Tell your church from the beginning that you don't pay the light bill with a note of prayer. People need to remember that it takes money to operate any organization. Believe it or not, the people in the pew are very busy. And even though you give them a monthly operational budget in review, it's easy to forget the daily needs to operate the church. It's important that people are reminded that just like it takes money to operate a home, the church needs money too.

Plus, as expectations rise for churches to provide programs to meet the needs of the community, those programs have an expense associated with them. Quantify those costs and justify them. If the program doesn't warrant the investment, then don't do it. If it does, then your people will understand the fiscal investment necessary to launch and sustain this new program or ministry.

Another undervalued area is church assimilation programs. Set expectations with new members that you expect them to contribute their time, money, and talents. And then explain why. Be sure you can explain the "how?" and the "why?".

4. Make the Ask.

Give people a way to contribute. And teach them how to use those tools. Offering Envelopes are the most proven method used by churches to generate and deliver the contributions necessary to do the work of the church.

There is a reason why our secular, non-profit brothers and sisters spend money executing donor campaigns and purchasing envelopes. It's not because they think envelopes are "cool." They use them because they work. And they deliver. Bottom line, you have to consider the results.

Of course, offering envelopes aren't the only response mechanism used to contribute to your church. Whatever giving tools you use, make it easy for your memebers to use.

Those organizations who are most successful at generating the contributions for the ministry of the church are those who are not afraid to make the ask. Even Jesus said, "You have not because you ask not."

5. Report the results.

As church leaders, we are responsible for taking the "pains" necessary to report the effectiveness of the ministry of the church. Yes, this involves the principles of accountability. Every organization should be examining every program or effort funded to ensure that it's the best use of the funds. When you consider the non-profit world, one that exists on the donations of its members or the public, it's absolutely essential to prove that the money donated accomplishes the advertised goal.

Why is this so important? Because the people in your pews DON'T have to give to you. We know that they have money to give. We also know that a majority of charitable giving in the U.S. is made through religious organizations. And every day new opportunities arise and present themselves to the people in your pew. So why should they give to you instead of someone else? (Again, the "just because" argument doesn't work.)

This can be done through annual reports, testimonies, bulletin inserts, goal boards, etc. Get creative. But know that people expect results.

In the end, the responsibility to teach stewardship, giving and, more importantly, tithing, falls upon the leaders of the church. That means being unseccessful in this area is a direct result of our efforts. Those of us given the responsibility of managing the affairs of a local church have a lot on us, but that doesn't absolve us from the responsibility of stewardship and giving. Perhaps we should re-evaluate where we are spending our time and our teaching. If we have no plan, we can't be upset if we don't like the results.

Hang in there. And if I can help, give me a call or send me an e-mail.

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December 17, 2007

The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (Part 4)

Alan Gotthardt writes in his book The Eternity Portfolio that:

"We all know that children learn by example. This is particularly true with giving; children of generous givers become generous givers, often because of the example they witnessed growing up."

Let's assume that we continue to ignore tithing. We won't talk about it from the pulpit. We won't discuss it in Sunday School. And we won't even dare bring it up during discipleship training. What is the net result? The next generation--our children--will have absolutely no context for giving to the church.

It is short-sighted of church leaders to believe that ignoring the subject will just make it go away. Ignoring it will exponentially increase the negative impact of the absense of the conversation on stewardship and giving in the local church. Why? Because our children will never know what it means to give of their money to grow the kingdom of God. They'll never see an offering envelope with their name on it. They'll never know a time when the Pastor made the connection between money and our belief and confession of Jesus as Lord of our life.

Our fundraising friends in the secular, non-profit world understand this. They aren't afraid to claim the value and benefit their organization can bring with the necessary donations. Why are we?

Are we so timid about God's ability to influence and transform the world through the ministry of the local church that we don't have confidence to ask for and teach the tithe?

This is a sad commentary. Perhaps the most compelling reason for us to reignite the conversation on tithing is that our children are depending upon us to show them how to live and how to give. If we don't show them that the ministry and work of the church is worthy of our contributions, then we risk the dollars our children generate from their own income and investments in the future going to support other organizations who didn't shy away from the challenge.

The question is not "if" but "when" will we begin the work of ensuring that the ministry of the local church is funded appropriately today and moving forward.

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December 12, 2007

The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (Part 3)

We ended the last post with the need to explore how we can begin to address two things: the "Why?" question when it comes to tithing and church giving and the need to prevent a trend of charitable giving from becoming a crisis.

The brutal facts are well stated in Barna's book on How to Increase Giving In Your Church. People want to know how there money is being used and what type of impact it is making.

Churches need to begin to evaluate their investments. A close look needs to begin with those ministries that are being funded by the church, are they:

1. surrounded with excitment and particitpation
2. encouraging the spiritual growth of the believer
3. producing measurable results (a.k.a. impacting kingdom growth)
4. leading to new ministry opportunities

People in the pew know that they have the ability to make an international impact even with a small sum of money. And people want to be inspired and encouraged that their donation--however small or large--is making a measurable impact.

Most non-profits who are supported by a donor base must give continual feedback as to their ability to accomplish their intended work with the donations given. This affirms the work of the non-profit itself and ensures that those providing the donation deem it worthy to continue to do so.

What if the assumption of the church moved from "We expect you to tithe." to "How can I show you that investing in this ministry is your best chairtable giving option?" I know it's a radical concept. But we must be willing to look at this absolutely critical issue from every angle to learn what it will take to continue to build up the church--God's designated and designed vehicle for ministry on earth.

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December 11, 2007

The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing (continued)

The heart of this issue lies in the options we have available to us. There was a time when the church was the most obvious place for charitable donations because of the commitment it carried to local, social-based ministry as well as global endeavors. Outside the church there were very few options available.

Over time this has changed. And people now have to decide not just between one or two options but an unlimited number of choices and organizations to donate to. In the meantime, other organizations have perfected the work of raising funds. The church has been doing this very well for centuries. Now other non-profits are paying attention to what churches are doing to attract people and raise funds. In response, churches are now paying close attention to successful non-profits too.

But when people have choices, they struggle to make the right choice. Barry Schwartz contends in his book The Paradox of Choice that more options often leads to less satisfaction and more anxiety when it comes to decision making.

If you only have "x" number of dollars to donate, it can become an overwhelming task for someone to decide where that money should go. This puts the church in a position that for the most part it has avoided up to this point. The position is this: every church must now justify to its members and regular attenders why they should donate.

After the fall of Enron and similar organizations, the "heat" was turned up on churches as well. Many people who see their pastors and staff members driving nicer cars and living in nicer neighborhoods than they could ever dream of struggled to adopt the worldview that they must give their "tithe" to the church. So these people respond in silence to the pleas from the pulpit to give, give, give.

Perhaps some have decided that the church already has enough. I'm not against pastors being compensated fairly for their work and expertise. But we are attempting to uncover the perception of the person in the pew. And just like Tom Peters says, "Perception is everything."

I suppose some pastors would object to the idea of having to justify why their members should give. Many might continue to carry forward the "just because" argument. But the brutal facts tell us that--like it or not--church leaders have the responsibility to generate the contributions necessary to build the ministry of the church. Even if that means entertaining the question "why?"

So now the ball in the the church leader's court. The people in the pews have an unlimited number of choices and options when it comes to giving their time, money and talent. Why should they give it to your church?

Another important question is this: what can be done to ensure this change in behavior doesn't become a crisis in the near future?

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December 10, 2007

The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Tithing, an Introduction

Scott Preissler pointed me to a great article in the WSJ recently on tithing. It catalogs the conversation as to whether or not the tithe (or 10%) is a Biblical mandate that carries forward to present-day Christians or is simply a dated model recorded in ancient Biblical history.

What I found to be particularly interesting is the "great divide" that exists between formal statements from denominations and the local church on tithing. It seems that every denomination has a conservative, traditional stance on the issue. But that message is not so clear from the pulpit and even less clear in the minds and practice of the person in the pew.

If we take a step back from the situation, it seems clear what the issue is. And it has nothing to do with theology.

Churches for centuries have commanded their members to give to the support the ministry of the church. For the most part, congregants responded in turn. I believe the primary question that church members have been asking is, "how?" How do I give my time, talent and money?

But now the question has changed to "Why?" first and then "How?" A new generation is non-responsive to the assumption made by church leaders that 'if you are a church member, then you will tithe'. And church leaders are foolish to expect people to tithe "just because." That line is only reserved for parents. (And even in that scenario it rarely works as a long-term strategy.)

I'd like to flesh out my ideas over the next few days on the subject in a series I've entitled "The Pulpit vs. The Pew on Titihing."

See you tomorrow! (And your comments are always welcome.)

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December 7, 2007

Envelope Service gets mention on Townhall.com

Townhall.com mentions LifeWay Envelope Service.

OFFERING ENVELOPES TOUTED -- The offering envelope, though sometimes overlooked, can be an effective way to encouraging faithful giving...

Read the entire brief here.

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December 4, 2007

Growth and Giving

One of the favorite parts of my job is getting to work with churches who are growing in numbers and in their giving. That means what they are doing is leading to more ministry--every day it seems.

I always ask what they attribute their success to. And all of them come back with an answer that echoes a simiar principle: intentional.

Churches who are reaching out to their communities and experiencing a high rate of growth are intentional. They know where they are going and the steps necessary to get there.

So why isn't every church growing and giving more? Because it's much safer to keep things the same. Growth is hard work. And it can be overwhelming at times. But God didn't call the church to manage its assets for the highest net return in dollars. He called the church to be the form and function of ministry on earth until his return.

Giving does matter. Because giving directly impacts a churches ability to grow. That being the case, it could be said that the state of your giving is a direct reflection on the state of your growing.

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November 29, 2007

New web design

We (LifeWay Envelope Service) launched a new web design this week. Take a look and tell us what you think.

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November 26, 2007

Church stewardship resource page

I thought this was a great example of how a church's Web page can be used as an effecitve stewardship tool to clearly explain how people can give to the church and to offer some excellent excel spreadsheets and pre-calculated tables to help people determine how much they will commit to give.

I think we assume that people already know this stuff. Not true.

It strikes me odd that this approach is so under-utilized by churches. We expect to find this attention to detail on our financial planner, broker, or bank's Web site. Why not our church Web site too?

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November 12, 2007

7 practical reasons to use offering envelopes

At the end of the day, a church is a faith-based non-profit organization that exists on the contributions or donations of its members. In the non-profit world, 20% of your responsibility is to set goals and define an operating budget to help you meet those goals. The other 80% of your energy is finding the donations to support your budget.

What is interesting is that even though offering envelopes are not "cool" to talk about or use in most churches today, they are and continue to be one of the most critical elements in any donor or contribution strategy. This is true in the church and in the secular world as well. Bottom line, offering envelopes deliver results.

So, here are 7 practical reasons to use offering envelopes.

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November 8, 2007

Study reveals that giving is tied to the heart not head

"The researchers found that if organizations want to raise money for a charitable cause, it is far better to appeal to the heart than to the head. Put another way, feelings, not analytical thinking, drive donations."

Well said. Maybe the reason church giving is decreasing is because we're trying to fight the heart with the head. New flash: it doesn't work. Facts won't increase giving. Evidence doesn't compel someone to respond. Only when we appeal to the hearts, the center of our beings, will people respond sacrifically.

Maybe the problem isn't the people in the pew. Maybe the decline in church giving lies in our inability to tell great stories that inspire sacrifical living and sacrifical giving.

Read a summary of the study here.

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October 24, 2007

Regular attenders and offering envelopes

There is a new class of membership that exists in churches today. This group has been given the title of "regular attenders." These are people who seem to act like members in that they are present at church functions and may even volunteer for church activites or leadership positions. In fact, some "regular attenders" may attend for years before they ever decide to formally join the church.

So the question remains: if members are expected to give of their time, talent, and money to support the growth of the Kingdom through work of the local church, then how does this apply to "regular attenders"? Do we give them a "Regular Attender" packet that is somewhere between our Visitor packets and our New Member packets. Does this packet include a sample set of offering envelopes and explain how they are to use them?

I think this is a simple question: should those who are "getting" something from the work of the local church also have a responsibility to "give back" to the work of the local church? Yes. And one of the principle ways we do that is with money. Yet that rarely is discussed or taught. And most pastors and church leaders are careful to address the subject of money. This baffles me, especially when their paycheck is tied directly to church contributions.

It takes money to run any organization. And at the end of the day, the church is an organization with fixed and variable expenses that must recover those costs through contributions. And where should those contributions come from? Where else, those who attend and receive the "benefits" of the organization. Using that definition, then the responsibility of giving and stewardship carries forward to the regular attender as well as the church member.

So, why aren't more pastors eager to address this subject in public and private. Among the many reasons that we will not address, there is one that is often ignored. Pastors are "graded" on their ability to put people in the pews. And there is a school of thought in church growth strategy that emerged about a decade ago that says that if you talk about money, people will leave and never come back.

If that's the case, then I say let them go. In business, it's not about the number of customers you have. It's the number of profitable customers that you have. If you have twice as many customers as your competitors but aren't making any profit, then you'll never be able to sustain the business let alone dream of growing. Yet, if you have half the number of customers as your competitors but those customers are twice as profitable, then you are head and shoulders above your competition.

Now, church members or regular attenders shouldn't be managed like customers. But what use is a member or a regular attender if all they are doing is taking and never giving back through time, talent, and money? It's just like having a customer that is not profitable or worse--one you're losing money on. And that is no way to build a business or grow a church.

The Gospel is a message grounded in sacrifice. Our lives should reflect the message we speak. So find the courage to speak the truth, take a deep breath and watch your ministry grow.

As a good friend says frequently, "Look it in the teeth. Even if it bites back."

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October 23, 2007

IRS and Cash Donations

The end of the calendar year is quickly approaching. It's a good reminder that the guidlines have changed when it comes to cash donations to churches. Gone are the days when you could just drop cash into an offering plate and expect to be able to deduct it on your tax return as a charitable donation. Every penny must be accounted for and documented from the organization who receives the funds.

September 27, 2007

Sermon Help: Our giving directly impacts our ministry

I want to share a video called The Plate with you. I found it at SermonSpice.com. This would be a great tool to use during a Worship service to remind believers that God takes what we give and multiplies it.

The video is 3:54 minutes in length. And well worth every second.

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September 6, 2007

Offering Envelopes highlighted in Facts & Trends

Just an FYI...Offering Envelopes are a featured subject in the September/October 2007 edition of Facts & Trends. Just turn to page 38.

Links to additional information such as the feature of the Ghana Bandage Project (previously discussed here) and other information on Stewardship and Offering Envelopes have been included in the online edition.

Be sure to look for your copy in the mail soon. (And check out the online edition and other resources sooner!)

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August 30, 2007

4 Creative Uses of Offering Envelopes

A pastor told his congregation one morning that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that the church had all the money it needed. The bad news was that is was still in the pockets of the people.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, offering envelopes have consistently provided a vehicle for the church to generate the contributions it needs to accomplish the ministry God has placed on its heart and mind. The difficult job is keeping offering envelopes exciting for church leaders and the people in the pew.

So, here are some creative ways that offering envelopes can be used to multiply your ministry opportunities.

1. Add personal information. Stock offering envelopes are convenient. You can walk into almost any Christian Supply Store or Christian Bookstore and buy them right off the shelf. It’s easy. But it’s also what everyone else does. Adding your personal information to your offering envelopes ensures that the information directly reflects your church. It has your name on it along with the funds that are important to your church—not just any church.

But that’s just the first step. Adding information that’s important to you helps you communicate the ministry God is already doing in and through your church. It offers visitors a way to see what’s important to you. It also reminds the membership how God is working through the congregation.

Consider this. A teenage girl visits your church this Sunday because she just found out she was pregnant. She’s not sure what to do or where to go for help. But she knows that she can’t tell her parents. She looks at your offering envelopes in the pew that have a special Scripture about the love of God along with designated funds for a community crisis pregnancy center that the church helps support. She realizes that she has found someone who can help her along with a hint of hope.

All this because you took one extra step to add your personal information to your offering envelopes.

2. Implement a color system. In addition to your standard white envelopes that are used for weekly contributions, throw some color into the mix. For example, let’s say your church is currently in the middle of a capital campaign. You’ve added a new line on your standard envelopes for your members to designate funds for capital improvements. But you’re not seeing the results you had hoped for.

Instead, pick a different color envelope for the capital improvement fund. Customize the content to match your church’s campaign title and goal. It’ll be much easier to remember to place “the pink envelope�? in the offering plate than to designate funds to a specific line on your standard envelope.

Everyone will notice as pink envelopes are placed in the offering plate during the worship service. The use of the pink envelope will serve as a silent reminder to those present that this fund is just as important as the general fund.

3. Enroll in a mail program. Many churches have purchased boxed sets of standard envelopes for years. Each January they distribute these boxes to their membership and hope (yes, hope) that they don’t misplace or accidentally dispose of these envelopes before the end of the year. If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s difficult for anyone to keep up with anything for an entire year—especially offering envelopes.

A mail program allows you to mail your offering envelopes directly to your membership monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. This provides a way for the church to maintain accurate mailing information and serves as a reminder to church members to be faithful givers.

A mail program has consistently proven itself to be one of the most effective methods you can employ to increase per capita membership contribution.

There is another advantage a mail program offers. If you’re already mailing offering envelopes on a regular basis, why not add additional communication pieces to the mailing? These communication pieces can say what you want to say and look like you want them to look. What a great opportunity to communicate the vision and activities of your church to your membership on a regular basis! At the same time, it reinforces the church’s need for regular contributions.

4. Customize per age group. The discipline of Stewardship should begin early. The earlier a child learns that giving back to God a portion of what he or she is given, the more likely they will become life-long givers. But children like colors and pictures. Not boring black and white envelopes. So make it easy for children to get excited about giving. Add Bible verses, graphics, trivia questions, etc. to your offering envelopes for children. The content on the envelope is only limited by your imagination. Maybe you could even let your children design their own envelope for the entire Children’s Ministry to use?

This same concept can be applied to youth, young adults, married couples, senior citizens, etc. When you make giving fun and interesting, you’ll see participation in the giving process grow.

Giving is as much as a stewardship discipline as it is a discipleship process. These are just four creative ways to use offering envelopes in your church. I would encourage you to include and apply at least one of these in your church’s annual stewardship strategy plan. Then, watch as your membership contributions grow.

Offering envelopes are more than a piece of paper used to seal a member’s contribution; they are vehicles for discipleship and ministry.

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August 27, 2007

Electronic Giving Part 2: Future or Fad?

Visa's "Lunch" commercial visualizes the cultural shift that's the driving force behind the conversation on electronic giving.

"Part of Visa's ongoing "Life Takes Visa" campaign, the "Lunch" national television spot opens with an illustration of efficiency: a busy deli with staff and customers in a series of swift, synchronized movements to the rhythm of "Powerhouse," composed by Raymond Scott. Customers move throughout the deli line, placing orders that are delivered in perfect timing. They check out quickly and easily, swiping their Visa check cards and moving on without having to sign. When one customer reaches into his wallet to pay for his lunch with cash, the entire line grinds to a halt, food is dropped and customers collide. It is only after he receives his change and moves on that the deli returns to its perfectly orchestrated rhythm."
Visa's "Lunch" Ad - The Benefits of Speed

In spite of what you think, feel or believe about electronic giving, the more important question is: Is it here to stay? Is e-giving the future or just a fad?

"Some estimates indicate the 60% of people on the U.S. (and the percentage has been growing every year) handle at least part of their financial lives through electronic transactions (i.e. paychecks deposited electronically into their bank account or paying utility, mortgage, car, insurance or monthly bills on-line through electronic fund transfer (EFT) or through website on-line payments."
Brian Kluth on Electronic Giving

The answer is "Yes!". E-giving is here to stay. The implementation process is what still needs to be worked out.

Does that mean that one day we'll no longer use paper offering envelopes or exchange paper money? Maybe. But it's highly unlikely. The bottom-line (no pun intended) is that e-giving will eventually become one more standardized option rather than the only option.

When newspapers began publishing an online version of their printed piece, the charge was made that people would no longer buy newspapers. The same with books. When e-books were introduced, some claimed that e-books would replace the purchase of printed books. Neither of which has happened. Nor does the market bare any evidence to support either theory.

People want options. And it's no different when considering how we give to the church. We want options because we all live different lives. It's an aspect of the "iPod" revolution that is changing the rules of the game. It puts the choice of how people give into the hands of the giver--not the church. (Just the clairify, the decision has always been with the giver.)

Electronic giving is not the future; it's the present. And without a doubt, it's definitely more than a fad.

Even though I personally pay for almost everything via electronic debit of my checking account or my debit card, I'm not sure I'm ready to see anything that remotely looks like an ATM machine in my church foyer. Or a debit card reader attaced to a brass offering plate. Or even an usher holding a cordless scanner.

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August 23, 2007

Electronic Giving Part 1: The Forbidden Conversation

The Christian Science Monitor highlights a growing interest among churches to experiment with forms of electronic giving. E-giving has been a topic of much controversy in recent years. For some it's a forbidden conversation. Churches are, however, attempting to respond to a cultural shift in how people are exchanging funds. One that consistently supports that the use of paper money and checks is diminishing.

We live in a plastic world where it's easier and more convenient to carry a debit or credit card than to carry a checkbook or cash. This, of course, impacts how people are giving to the church. And churches are becoming more aware that when people are able to give electronically they sometimes tend to give more consistently.

The most popular types of e-giving are credit/debit cards, re-occuring electronic funds transfer from an established checking or savings account, and private booths set up in the church foyer for members to give before or after the worship service.

But this isn't a solution that comes without its own baggage. Some of the difficulties churches are facing are practical and theological.

Perhaps the theological ones are the most obvious. Do you believe that paper offeirng envelopes support the role of giving as part of the worship experience? Do you believe that people should give to the church using credit cards? Some churches know exactly where they stand on the issues surrounding e-giving. And it's not something their open to. But that doesn't keep many churches from entertaining or even experimenting with the concept.

Some of the practical obstacles are integration of financial giving records with the churches existing membership management software. Often times these files are not easily interfaced with existing databases. So giving records may post incorrectly. And that can spell disaster.

Another practical obstacle for those wishing to allow giving via credit cards are the transaction fees that credit card companies charge. These fees typically fall between 1%-3%. That means your giving has to increase by the same amount of the percentage charged by the credit card company just to break-even. If you can't feel good you'll see the immediate increase, then you could risk a negative return or losing contribution dollars trying to "look cool" or relevant.

So, is e-giving the future or just a fad? We'll discuss that in the next post.

Posted by bstroup at 1:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 21, 2007

Free Children's Envelopes

I find it interesting that we spend so little time trainig our children to give. The spirit of generousity is something that I hope to demonstrate in such a way that my own son develops a generous spirit himself.

And giving a portion of what we have been given back to the church is a habit we should begin teaching by example and opportunity at an early age. Enid Ablowitz writes, "Children learn what they are taught. They mimic what they see."

If we do not spend the time and energy to teach our children to give, then we cannot expect them to understand the importance giving plays within the life of a disciple.

I have a challenge for those of you looking to encourage giving within your children's ministry. Design a contest between your children's Sunday School classes to see who can come up with the best original offering envelope design. Then, turn the winning class' artwork into custom offering envelopes to be used to teach giving through participation.

And if you're the first to respond to this offer, LifeWay Envelope Service will cover the cost of the first 1,000 custom offering envelopes displaying an original design from a child within your church. Yes, FREE!!!! (And you can't beat free!)

So....I'm waiting for the first church to take me up on this offer. Any takers? (My contact information is on the left-hand side of your screen.)

Posted by bstroup at 2:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 23, 2007

Offering Envelope Testimonial

Just thought I'd share this testimony with you from Jim Baker, Associate Pastor, Brentwood Baptist Church. It's very encouraging. I think the greatest contributor to success of envelopes at Brentwood is that they teach the use of envelopes as part of their overall stewardship strategy. What would happen if every church had an annual stewardship strategy and plan of action?

Jim writes:

The LifeWay Offering Envelope Service has become an integral part of the stewardship education and giving strategy for Brentwood Baptist. Sending the envelopes into member's homes on a monthly basis has helped contribute to an annual average increase in giving of over 20% a year for the the past five years. Further, by continuing to insert Building Campaign Envelopes each month after the three year campaign concluded has netted an additional $500,000 in contributions toward our Building Fund. Emphazing the offering envelopes in Sunday School Classes and adult and children's worship services has created ongoing opportunities to teach regular, proportional, generous and joyful giving and giving as an act of worship.

Posted by bstroup at 9:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 13, 2007

Ghana needs offering envelopes

The Ghana Bandage Project wins the award for finding the most creative use of offering envelopes ever!

LifeWay Envelope Service provides offering envelopes to Tabernacle Baptist Church, and the church ships them to Ghana as one of their ministries. (Learn more about Ghana Bandage Project.)

This project collects bandages and unused offering envelopes. The bandages are sheets torn into strips and rolled together to form a bandage. The offering envelopes are used to dispense pills through the hospital pharmacy.

For more information e-mail Vicki Barnes or call 770-386-2890.

Posted by bstroup at 8:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 12, 2007

A theology of offering envelopes

One of the first questions I ask my customers is "do you have a theology of offering envelopes?" Most of the time, the reaction is a blank stare followed by smirk as if I had just asked a trick question.

I intentionally created the phrase "theology of offering envelopes" because I believe it helps uncover why a church uses offering envelopes and the role they see envelopes play within the worship service.

The answer to this question is critical to uncovering whether or not churches will use offering envelopes next month, next year, in five years, etc. (And since I'm in the business of offering envelopes, I'm very interested in the answer to that question.)

So, do you have a theology of offering envelopes? Or maybe I could ask it this way: Do offering envelopes even matter?

Posted by bstroup at 11:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 10, 2007

Creative ways to use offering envelopes

I'm in the offering envelope business. And I know how boring the conversation can be when subject of offering envelopes comes up. But I've discovered that my customers (church leaders and pastors) are some very creative people. I pass along some creative ideas that I learned from them in a recent article.

You can read the article here.

Posted by bstroup at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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