Do More Ministry: Stewardship Archives

November 2, 2009

3 steps to increasing your church's giving capacity

We spend a great deal of time pointing to the faithful giving of the few and trying to convince those who will never give to "think about" giving. Neither one of those objectives is off base. In fact, they are necessary. What does get overlooked is the largest population among the people in our pews who ARE NOT giving at their maximum capacity.

Why not?
1. One segment is in so much debt they can't see straight.
2. One segment is out of debt but doesn't have a habit of giving.
3. One segment has a habit of giving but not tithing.
4. One segment is faithfully tithing but has never been challenged to be generous.

We need to spend more time unlocking the giving potential of the people already present in our pews. So what are three steps to increasing your church's giving capacity:

1. Know your giving data.

Sorry. There is no way around this one. You are going to have to look at numbers and segment your population and quantify the giving habits of your membership. The information that lies in the numbers will tell you more than can imagine. Pay close attention to one, three, and five year trends. You have to establish a baseline before you can begin to measure progress.

2. Implement a plan.

There is nothing new about this step. Define what steps you will take as church leaders to cultivate encourage the practice of stewardship and cultivate a culture of generosity in your church. No plan = More of the same. (And if you're satisfied with where you and your church are today, you should save your church the trouble and fire yourself!) Those churches who consistently realize fully funded ministry budgets are also insanely specific about how they teach and encourage faithful giving.

3. Measure the results.

You will need to establish a few metrics to use as a measuring stick to determine whether or not your plan is having a sustained impact on the giving habits of your church membership. Metrics are different for every church and should be tied to the overall vision and focus of the church. Measuring progress (quantitatively) is so important because you can't manage what you don't measure.

Bottom line, increasing the giving capacity is a year-round effort, doesn't "just happen," and is vitally important to your church's ability to fulfill the unique vision and purpose God intended.

Get to work! We have a Kingdom to fund and build!

Posted by bstroup at 8:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 28, 2009

When will giving recover?

I wish I knew the answer. I think Giving USAs findings are fascinating (and worth the cost of the report) but maybe because I'm a nerd (easy!) and love reading about statistics and research related to philanthropic giving. No doubt, this is the question on everyone's mind.

Here are five things that I hope DON'T change once giving is back to 2007 (or pre-recession levels):

1. The rise in strategic behavior surrounding how we fund our churches.
2. The challenge that if the Church were to practice generosity, we could ELIMINATE the tragedy of poverty, hunger, orphans, etc.
3. The shift in focus among churches from program-driven to missional in orientation.
4. A growing curiosity in the subjects of stewardship and generosity.
5. The drive to converge the profession of Christ follower with the practice of following Christ, especially related to the subject of money.

One last thought:

(Note: The purpose of Giving USAs research is to answer a very specific question, so I understand that the following thoughts exceed the scope of the research.)

I can't help but pause in concern over the fact that we are measuring back to 2007 levels. As someone who wrestles with a "holy discontent" about many things, I hope we are never satisfied with a benchmark established in the past. Rather, I hope we use that as a way (when reached) to celebrate God's faithfulness in difficult times and pause to consider the endless possibilities of what He has planned for us next. May we never stop striving to do more ministry.

Posted by bstroup at 8:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 26, 2009

The difference between "stewardship" and "generosity"

The Church rightfully owns the word "stewardship," and the Church rightfully owns the word "generosity." BUT I think many Christians (a.k.a people who should know better) have little understanding of the difference between the two.

Let me give you a hint: THEY DON'T MEAN THE SAME THING!

(I guess this reaction is what my English teacher was talking about when she used to get frustrated and say, "just because it sounds right to the ear doesn't mean it IS right grammatically.)

Stewardship is a Lordship issue. It has been stolen from the Christian's vocabulary and practice by just about everyone else. Passing the Plate calls the average American Christian's posture to church giving "discretionary obligation" (i.e. "I'll decide how much of God's money to give Him.) Further, The Bible (Jesus had "a few" things to say on the subject), money, and the Horatio Alger American myth presents a point of tension that the Church has yet to deal with strategically.

We, as Americans, pride ourselves in our ability to make something of ourselves. And when we do, we take all the glory. This is inherently inconsistent with a Biblical worldview of money and success, yet it is woven into the fabric of American Christianity.

Therefore:

1. We must address stewardship before we can even begin the conversation of generosity.
2. We must practice the Gospel we profess - that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of our lives - before we can begin to think about being generous.

Those who misunderstand stewardship will also misunderstand generosity. We must practice stewardship BEFORE we can be generous. We must exhibit a rule of life that says all that we have, are, and will ever become is God's and has been given to us in the form of assets to be managed for the Kingdom. Only then can we begin the conversation of generosity.

The trend and conversation that believes "generosity" is the new, improved, and "cooler" version of the "old" word stewardship is flawed.

Perhaps the strongest evidence of our lack of stewardship understanding and practice is our inability to be self-sustaining as individuals and churches in the midst of uncertain (really any) economic times.

Posted by bstroup at 8:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 23, 2009

A Week of Videos: Generosity Revolution Project

Posted by bstroup at 8:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 22, 2009

A Week of Videos: Generosity - pass it on

Posted by bstroup at 8:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 21, 2009

A Week of Videos: Generosity

Posted by bstroup at 8:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 20, 2009

A week of Videos: Doing Life Generously

Posted by bstroup at 8:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 19, 2009

A Week of Videos: My Generosity Story

Posted by bstroup at 8:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 16, 2009

Survey Says ... The Annual Campaign

Posted by bstroup at 9:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 15, 2009

Pastor's Podcast: A remarkable story about an "impossible" capital campaign

I had the chance to catch up with Alan Wildes and Blake Pitts who have an amazing story to tell.

What business does a brand new (at church less than SEVEN MONTHS and is only 29 years-old) pastor have in leading a young congregation through a major building campaign? Well...for most people, the answer is...

NONE!

BUT Blake believe called was calling him in this direction, so he followed God's direction. And what usually happens when God shows up in the midst of impossible situations? Yep...you guessed it...

only GOD-EXPLAINED things.

This young pastor led a young church with the help of Alan through an amazing campaign that contains all the hallmarks of a faith journey. You'll have to listen to the podcast to hear the rest of the story.

Related Posts:
Listen to other Pastor's Podcasts.

Posted by bstroup at 8:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 14, 2009

Would you tithe if it came with a 90-day money back guarantee?

A friend recently brought me a sample of a card that he received in church last Sunday. Here is the basic copy:

God's Guarantee

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test me now in this," says the Lord of Hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." (Malachi 3:10)

Belief: Believing that God owns everything and I am His manager, I, out of a heart of love and respect for God's blessing, so willingly, not under law but grace, give back to God 10% as a testimony of my faith in His provisional care of my life.

Conditions: Please note: Your part comes first.
1. You sign God's guarantee and give 10% of your income for a period of 90 days.
2. Each time you receive your paycheck, you take the first 10% out for the Lord and bring it to [your church].

Guarantee:
1. If at the end of 90 days, you feel your decision was a mistake, or that is created a financial crisis, or you did not receive a blessings, the money you gave will be given back promptly at your request.
2. That's all there is to it. Remember, this is not the pastor's nor this church's guarantee, IT'S GODS.

Money back guarantees are a proven technique when it comes to direct sales. (That's why you have all that stuff you just couldn't live without in your garage or basement. The guy on TV said you could get your money back if you didn't like it.)

I think there is an edge to an offer like this, though. If nothing else, it will create conversation. It will affirm those who are tithing and just might inspire those on the cusp of making the decision to give for the first time or give at a higher level. (I'm not convinced this is for the person who has no context for stewardship, giving, or generosity.)

BUT I like it!

Would your church do this? Has it already? What was the outcome? (Since most of you respond on Facebook, I'll be looking for your responses there.)

Posted by bstroup at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 12, 2009

Church Solutions Magazine features my article "Beyond the Offering Plate"

What started as a simple Friday afternoon blog post about multiple funding options for churches has turned into a full-fledged print article that Church Solutions published in the November issue.

Read the electronic version.

Posted by bstroup at 8:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 9, 2009

An honest question about tithing

Preview Document[1].gif

Posted by bstroup at 9:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 8, 2009

Church gives away a FREE house

Church Giving Away Free House on Oct. 11

I'll never forget something I heard growing up: "No one will ever care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Could generosity and stewardship not only be disciplines that ensure our hearts are not captivated by anyone or anything other that Jesus, the Christ, BUT ALSO provide measurable acts of ministry that demonstrate our lives, our priorities, our personal economy is different or an alternative to consider? Could our generosity build (and fund) a bridge to a lost world?

My guess is that what this church will do on Free House Sunday will expand the reach of its ministry beyond the walls of the church building and open the hearts and minds of the community to the message of hope entrusted to it.

Is your church reaching out with confidence in the Gospel and the faithfulness of the Creator, or are you postured to protect what you have, fearing for your own survival? The latter was never God's intention, and it NEVER (ever!) leads to fully funded budgets and long-term sustainable ministry.

Posted by bstroup at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 6, 2009

Scott Hodge (@scotthodge) talks about ministry funding ...

OK. Not exactly. But what Scott does share is an encouraging message for leaders.

Ministry funding is on the hearts and minds of every pastor as we enter the 4th quarter of 2009. Scott encourages us to keep our mind focused on being obedient and ... in the words of his father ... "stay close to Jesus."

It's a good word. There is no room for worry or fear in God's economy. We must believe - without reservation - that the ministry God has called us to accomplish will also be fully funded. It's our job as church leaders to cultivate the resources that He has already provided for us in the people in the pew ... resources of time, talent, and treasure.

BUT all that we need has ALREADY been provided.

Pray. Trust. Follow. Obey. BUT don't be afraid. God will provide all that we need if we stay close and follow Him.

I hope this encourages you as much as it encouraged me.

Posted by bstroup at 11:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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.

Posted by bstroup at 7:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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.

Posted by bstroup at 8:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 23, 2009

New! from The Change Group #thechangegroup

You absolutely have to check this out.

Casey Graham is someone who believes in empowering the local church to carry out Kingdom-building work.

As a church leader, you know that part of what you do is cool and exciting stuff and part of that means dealing with the "boring" stuff of church ... stuff like financial management and keeping the books. (Remember that class in seminary ... oh yeah ... there ISN'T one!)

(Note: Financial Management is only boring for people NOT like Casey. It FIRES HIM UP to help churches DO MORE with the resources God has given them.)

Casey started The Change Group with a clear focus to help pastors and church leaders STOP worrying about that stuff that distracts them from the stuff that builds churches ... relationships.

TODAY is the national announcement of The Change Group's brand-new, completely outsourced financial management and bookkeeping system. That means you get to do more of what you LOVE to do and less of what you DON'T. (Why not?)

All it's going to take is a few minutes to figure out of this is right for you. So learn more about how this new service can offer you:

Quarterly CFO Consulting

Monthly Financial Dashboard

Weekly Bookkeeping

(Why haven't you clicked through already?)

Really. Do it NOW!

Posted by bstroup at 8:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 22, 2009

Celebrating post #500 ... Thank you ... Thank you ... Thank you

I noticed that today's post is #500 for the Do More Ministry blog. It's been an amazing adventure that has literally catapulted me into the middle of a conversation I intended to simply listen to, not participate in as a co-creator.

I now lead seminars on the subject of sustainable ministry funding and even ended up writing a book about all that we've discussed. This, in addition to, the best part of my job ... getting to work one-on-one with church staff and lay leadership as they craft a strategy and plan for funding the ministry God has called them to accomplish.

I've made many great friends and have been encouraged by all the notes, e-mails, phone calls, and Tweets, this blog has sparked.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to do so. Here's to another 500 posts!

(500 posts since July 2007. Wow! I can't believe it.)

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

September 21, 2009

The Future of Church Giving

I really appreciated Jason's post this morning, "Musings on the Future of Fundraising." I think he really drives home the point that it's the responsibility of organizational leader (NOT SOMEONE ELSE) to begin planning how the organization will connect and communicate with its core constituency as the means by which we interact with each other is rapidly changing.

There are only two things driving this change:
1. Technology
2. The acceptance of that technology

The rate of change in both catagories is happening so fast it is almost discouraging at time. BUT this is the work we have been given to do. We lead organizations and are responsible for ensuring the organization or cause's effectiveness and sustainabiliity for the present AND the future.

What are you doing TODAY to learn about new technology? What conversations are you and your core leadership staff having TODAY to plan for the shift that is already in motion?

No one knows exactly what this is going to look like when it's all said and done (if there is even a point in which we will be able to declare "said and done"). The difference - for the church at least - is that we can't rest in historical "slowness" of the church to adopt technology. The people in the pew are demanding it.

Are you choking your church's ministry impact because you refuse to learn and adopt new mediums of communication? If you are, then you are paving the way for an under-funded ministry that will be crippled today and perhaps paralyzed very soon.

The future is now. What are YOU doing about it TODAY?

Posted by bstroup at 11:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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!

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

August 19, 2009

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

Posted by bstroup at 8:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 18, 2009

The Money Song (that never talks about money)

Posted by bstroup at 8:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 27, 2009

God Pie

Posted by bstroup at 7:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 24, 2009

The Money Rant

Thanks to Bill Townes, church money management consultant with the North American Mission Board, for sending this to me.

Posted by bstroup at 7:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 20, 2009

Guest Post: Accountability and giving

In days past, almost every Sunday morning worship service across our Southern Baptist Convention began as follows. The Sunday School Director would stand and give the Sunday School report saying, "Our Sunday School enrollment today is 86. We had an attendance today of 43. We had 25 people who studied the lesson, 15 contacts were made, and we had 1 visitor. Our Sunday School offering today was $105.64." Since those early days of reporting most churches have dropped that report. The two reporting boards that decorated each side of the sanctuary have been removed. They were two visible boards that reminded us of our accountability to God and each other.

Please do not think that I am praying we go back to that record of reporting or that I think the boards should once again be hung in the sanctuary. I understand that if we do all of the points of any record system, it may not make us a better Christian and that you can do all of them and still not even be a Christian. I do know that doing them cannot hurt us. I believe that a Christian should do all of those things and that we should be held accountable for them by the local church.

Could some of the problems we face today in the local church dealing with discipline and discipleship be traced back to a time when we stopped calling for accountability? Since I work in the area of stewardship, I want to talk about one aspect of discipleship, and that would be stewardship. I would like to be a little more specific in stewardship and ask you to think of the area of giving. There is no doubt we are in strange waters with money in the church. I see a time that I have never seen before in America. There have been times when local giving was down in churches that I have served, but lack of giving today is not a local, state, or national issue; it is a global problem.

Giving is the white elephant in the room that most pastors do not want to talk about. You should be aware that your church members are talking about it every Sunday. Many forget that when you have no money, you have no ministry. Some pastors believe that dealing with giving, and especially the tithe, is not what God called them to do.

Pastors should think of themselves as a CEO. All CEOs are concerned with for the revenue needed to operate the business. Pastor, you are responsible, and your congregation will hold you accountable. When funds shrink, you may be out of there faster than a lightning strike. So let's talk about the stewardship of giving, accountability, and the tithe.

There is no doubt that over the years the tithe took on the idea of being a tax. In our Mother country stories were told of clergy who would knock on your door and if need be, knock on your head until you paid the tithe. I often hear people today say, "Are you prayed up and paid up?" I remember the day my father said he was going to name my dog Tax. When I asked why he said, "'Cause when I open the door, it's in come tax."

We had a revolution in this country over taxes from England, and I wonder if the tax attitude slowly drifted into the church. I believe when we discarded the Sunday School point record system on our envelopes, we lost accountability. Almost all of us today measure everything from our behavior to our bank account, and we count calories and cholesterol.

I remember one man in our country church was called into accountability for dancing on his front porch. When the deacons investigated, they discovered a lizard had run up his pants leg, and he was not dancing but jumping up and down.

We live in a time of multiple choices in everything from the color of our automobiles to the 360 channels on cable television. I believe many carry that over into giving. Many do not feel the church is the first choice for giving, and some believe they have the right to designate the tithe not only in the church but outside the church. There are thousands of ministries crying for us to support outside of our local church.

It is true that many leaders have not asked the congregations for their input into the ministry budget. Many have failed to share results of member giving. We have not celebrated ministry. Many, if not all, are not pleased with how their money has been used, thus find other ministries to support.

There are some today who believe they have the right to give where they feel it does the most good. When we lost accountability, it affected our giving. We need a better accountability of our leaders to the congregation and a way to hold the congregation accountable for their giving.

In bad economies we can hope things get better, but remember, hope is not a strategy. We need to develop a conversation about giving with church members and staff. The Pareto Principle is active today, which is 80/20. Simply put that means 20% of our membership financially support the ministry and mission of the church. We have a need to remind the 80% of their accountability in giving rather than programs that ask the 20% to give more. In an age when we hold ourselves accountable for everything from losing weight to losing hair, we have to find a way to reach all of our members to support the work of the church first. We track our heart rate, take inventory at the end of the year, and monitor growth of weeds in our yard as well as cracks in our driveway. We hold politicians, teachers, and coaches accountable, but not our church members in the area of giving.

Accountability is important in families, schools, businesses, sports, and all walks of life. So what about the church? When are we accountable for Bible reading, witnessing, praying, giving, or anything else for that matter? I do not have all the answers, but I know we need to start this conversation on accountability, or we will be like the man who lived on a mountain of blessings. He threw dirt at all who tried to climb his mountain. After years of throwing, one day he found he was at the bottom of the mountain and the valley people were living on the mountain he threw away.

Jerry Mixon is the Director of Stewardship and Cooperative Program Development for the Mississippi Baptist Convention. He's managed to balance being a pastor, husband, father, and stewardship consultant with his love and passion for writing books and the occassional country music song. You may contact him directly via e-mail or by calling 601.292.3347.

Posted by bstroup at 3:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 10, 2009

The dancing tither ... believe it or not

Thanks to Tithe Stewardship & Church Tithing for this one.

Posted by bstroup at 7:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 8, 2009

Church Solutions highlights recent blog post

Church Solutions highlighted a recent Do More Ministry post as part of their Ministry Mindset Guest Blog series this week.

Posted by bstroup at 4:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 7, 2009

The validity of tithing testimonies

Tithing Video Testimony ... Manipulation or Education? raises an important question. Is it ethical to present tithing testimonies when encouraging others to give, or is it simply an evil scheme to stir up emotions and generate a response?

My friend Ken Hemphill says that there is a four-letter word being whispered in private hallway conversations and in staff meetings in nearly every church today ... cash. Church leaders are afraid to talk about money because it has been the bane of so many in such a public profession. No one want so to be the next one who gets tagged as a spiritual and emotional manipulator.

Refusing to discuss (or ignoring) the subject of money and ministry leaves the church, and particularly its leaders, is a peculiar situation. On the one hand, there are direct costs associated with ministry. There are operational/institutional costs as well as programming costs. Unless we want to abandon any church organization larger than what can been contained in a home and be supported through passing the hat around the room to cover minimal expenses, we must come to grips with the reality that ministry and money are connected. On the other hand, the fear of many church leaders is that if they are seen asking for money too often, then the ministry will be lost in their appeals for money to support the ministry. The risk is spending all money raised to raise more money.

For the church leader who find themselves at the epicenter of this tension, let me give you something to consider: The only person worried about talking about money is you. The person in the pew understands it takes money to run a business (and yes, the church as an institutuion is a business by pure definition). The person in the pew is also expecting you to articulate your needs and demonstrate measurable ministry results through past giving. This is where tithing testimonies come into play.

The word "tithing" has become one of those theological footballs that people like to kick around. At the end of the day, tithing is descriptive of how the ministry of the church is funded. (How you define and practice tithing is a theological issue and is outside the scope of this blog. I'll leave that debate for the halls of academia. My goal is to help church leaders fully fund the ministry they have been called to accomplish through the local churches they serve.) Giving is an emotional process, not an intellectual accent to an objective point of view. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to provide testimonies of how people's lives have been changed through the ministry of your church.

If someone opposed to the theological implications of tithing, listens to this testimony from yesterday's post again, what they will hear is someone who found a healthy alternative to deal with the stressful situation of unemployment through his church and his faith. The church he participated in was obviously a place where he was involved and committed. The fact that he stayed involved even during the few months he was struggling to financially support the ministry of the church demonstrates that the ministry of the church made enough of an impact that he clung to it in his time of need and found a solution to his very real and personal problem. This is a measurable act of ministry: a life that has been changed and empowered through the ministry of the church. This is the best ROI any church can hope to provide its membership.

I suppose one could argue that this video is pure manipulation, but then you'd have to say the same thing about every non-profit who tells its story through its participants and members who volunteer and financially support the work of the cause or organization. While another person may or may not arrive at the same conclusion regarding the practice of tithing, the video clearly illustrates that there are multiples ways to deal with money. If I'm in the same situation and see this video, it might cause me to begin asking questions and exploring what God has to say about money. And we know that many churches have used financial freedom as a gateway to discuss true, eternal freedom in Christ.

Show the video. That's my vote. If the act of giving in and of itself is an emotional process, then testimonies offer people the chance to share how their life has been changed through the ministry of their church. If giving is down in your church, start telling better stories that illustrate measurable acts of ministry.

Posted by bstroup at 6:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 6, 2009

Tithe rap with more than 173k views on YouTube...watch this...yo

Posted by bstroup at 9:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tithing Video Testimony ... Manipulation or Education?

Church Tithe & Tithe Stewardship revisits an ongoing conversation about tithing testimonies. They point to the video below and then ask you to participate in an online poll to capture your immediate reaction to the video. I want to encourage you to watch the video and vote.

I plan to discuss the validity of tithing testimonies tomorrow.

Posted by bstroup at 9:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 18, 2009

Guest Post: The Silent Middle - Planting seeds

With times being economically lean right now, it seems home gardens are on the rise. More Americans are inspired to get their hands dirty as they plant seeds in their backyards with the hopes of growing fresh food and saving money.

I often tell my husband that we are also in a season of planting seeds - not physically, but financially. Even though we have limited resources at the moment, we seem to have unlimited ways in which we would like to spend our money. I'm sure many in "The Silent Middle" can relate. Even though you may be free from consumer debt and credit card payments, your car could use new brakes or your house could have more insulation. Your local furniture store is having a sale and you'd really like a new coffee table. And that long weekend at the beach really seems to be calling your name.

None of these ways to spend money are necessarily bad, but considering where we are economically, what is the best way to spend our paychecks, for those who still have them? My husband and I are trying to spend money by planting seeds. We continue to invest in our retirement fund, trusting God as we plant seeds for our future. Instead of buying a new coffee table, we chose instead to put that money in savings, planting seeds of savings in case an emergency comes up.

My husband has his own business and opportunities seem to appear every week that might be good investments. Praying through each opportunity, we select a few to invest in, planting seeds in businesses that may temporarily reduce some of our cash flow, but God-willing, will result in future income.

But we don't just want to plant seeds for our future here on earth. We in "The Silent Middle" need to plant seeds for our eternal future - through giving. Giving may not necessarily provide more income right now or enable us to retire, but giving does plant seeds for God's glory as we use the resources He has entrusted to us to further His name and help those in need.

With so many people hurting, right now is an incredible opportunity to plant seeds of love through giving. And here's a news flash - even if you save all of your pennies and one day have what seems like unlimited resources, there will always be unlimited ways to spend those resources. Go ahead and start learning today how to intentionally choose to plant seeds with your spending and giving. The fruit that will result will be greater than you ever imagined.

Jenny Wingard is passionate about God, local church ministry, and giving. She can be reached via Twitter or e-mail.

Posted by bstroup at 8:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 1, 2009

"Church Giving Matters" strikes balance between money and ministry

I'm excited to tell you that my first book, Church Giving Matters, was released last Friday. Currently, it's only available through the CrossBooks Bookstore. It will be available through Amazon and other online retailers in about 2-3 weeks. It should appear in retail stores in a couple of months.

(If you're attending the SBC Convention later this month, it will be available at the Convention LifeWay Christian Store.)

This book captures and compiles my conversations with pastors and church leaders across the country related to money and ministry and is the product of more than two years of concentrated effort to help churches fully fund the ministry God has placed on their hearts. The ever-increasing complexity of local church ministry is demanding more money while the rules of funding ministry are changing. It's the responsibility of the pastor to strategically evaluate and implement a plan to ensure the funding exists to fulfill the ministry God has placed on his heart.

I covet your prayers as the ideas I've been working out on this blog are now available in book format with hopes that those who don't read blogs might also benefit from the collaborative and collective effort to empower church leaders to generate more money for more ministry.

(Special pricing for bulk orders and for non-profit organizations is available. Call 1.866.879.0502 or e-mail Matt Monroe for more information.)

Posted by bstroup at 11:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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 27, 2009

Stewardship in Arkansas: Help & Hope for Tough Economic Times

I noticed an update on Denny Wright's Facebook page that he was preparing a one day emphasis to encourage and empower churches to react bodly to the current economic conditions. I immediately contacted him (via Facebook, of course) to see if he'd be willing to expand on what he is doing. Below is what he shared with me.

Help & Hope for Tough Economic Times

I'm in the process of writing a new one day stewardship emphasis called "Help & Hope for Tough Economic Times." Four churches have agreed to pilot this new project. It is based on the same schedule as the very successful "How to Take the STEW out of Stewardship" which has been taught in over 300 churches. The schedule is: a large group teaching time during the Sunday School hour with adults and youth; a sermon during the morning worship hour; and a 90 minute seminar on Sunday night.

The new "Help & Hope" Sunday School hour is based on Romans 15.13. It directly addresses the fear, worry, and anger many people are experiencing. Due to job loss, injustice, and shrinking retirement accounts, the pain of unwelcome change is addressed with biblical passages that give hope in what God does when He is the priority of life.

The sermon time uses Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25 to provide wisdom for living in tough times. This "use it or lose it" sermon focuses on what people of God CAN do instead of what they have lost or can't do.

In the evening we look at insights and practical advice gathered from various Christian sources. It addresses the issues that always are critical in family finances: debt, credit cards, spending plans, saving, investing, prayer, giving, and work. It is all introduced with a short commentary on today's economy compared to the Great Depression.

Over the past 10 years "How to Take the STEW out of Stewardship" has resulted in as average increase in giving for the three months following the event of 15%. The Sunday School hour explores 10 myths the world believes about finances countered with scriptural truth. The sermon is a Malachi 3 tithing sermon. The Sunday evening time deals with getting out of debt and living frugally with a budget. The conclusion is 10 reasons to be a cheerful steward.

Denny, keep up the great work! If you are a pastor in Arkansas, you need to know Denny Wright. (Judging by the week I spent with him talking to pastors about sustainable funding, I think he knows just about everyone in the state already.)

Posted by bstroup at 3:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 20, 2009

Pastor tells church members to take the money

Pastor Toby Slough led Cross Timbers Community Church to give away more than $500,000 through the practicing of a reverse collection plate that he said is important to teach people to be good givers. Pastor Slough believes that before anyone can be a good giver, they have to learn to be a good receiver.

So has the church ever run out of money on a Sunday morning? No.

This is something worth talking about and a church, honestly, I would visit simply because of their practice of generosity. Not because I want the money. Rather, I'm inspired that this church encourages behavior that matches what we read about money in the Bible.

What can your church do this Sunday to inspire a climate of generosity within your membership? Casey Graham with The Change Group says, "The cure for fear of economic disaster is to give, give, and then give some more."

The church should be leading the way in generostiy. The world is watching.

Posted by bstroup at 1:41 PM | 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

Posted by bstroup at 4:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 18, 2009

Preview new book Church Giving Matters by Ben Stroup

My first book, Church Giving Matters, will be available very soon. I wanted you to have the first opportunity to preview the book. My hope and prayer is that this book will ignite a conversation on stewardship and giving that results in more churches operating with fully funded budgets. It's time to stop asking what we have to cut to survive and start thinking about what God wants us to do next.

Click here for a PDF Preview of Church Giving Matters by Ben Stroup.

Church Giving Matters will be available to purchase June 1 through the CrossBooks Publishing bookstore. It will soon (could take up to 30 days) be available on Amazon.com, Google, etc. but there is a slight delay in that process.

If you're planning to come to the SBC Convention this year, I'll be there signing books. (Specific times will be announced soon.) I'd love for you to stop by and say hi. I always enjoy talking to people who follow the blog.

While a national sales campaign will soon launch featuring LifeWay's new imprint, CrossBooks Publishing, and Church Giving Matters, I hope you'll take a few minutes to preview the book and pass it along to a few people you think might benefit from this material. Word of mouth marketing is still the most effective way to promote anything.

Note: If you have a blog that focuses on church administration, leadership, financial development, stewardship, giving, etc. and would like to review the entire book, please e-mail me. Once the book is "live," I'll forward you a complete electronic version to read and review. And be sure to send me a link to your review too.

Posted by bstroup at 4:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 15, 2009

What do online giving and weather the economic storm have in common?

The answer is nothing.

But there are two blog posts that I want to point you to that do:

Online fundraising growing, but slower; Donors giving but less

Weathering the (Economic) Storm Podcast

Posted by bstroup at 11:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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

May 4, 2009

A tribute to state convention stewardship leaders

Denny Wright (@dennythestewguy - for those of you who use Twitter), Stewardship Director for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, invited me to come last week and tour Arkansas. I led six two-hour seminars in five different cities.

By Friday, I had touched every corner of the state. It was an exciting week! I gained a new appreciation for every state convention staff member who carries the banner of stewardship. It is tireless work.

My days consisted of getting up early to meet the associational missionary and a few key pastors for breakfast (if not breakfast then we had lunch after a morning session), a trip to the presentation location to set up, the seminar, tear down, pack up, drive to the next location, eat with another group, and do it all over again that evening. We were in constant motion as we drove more than 500 miles last week (and that didn't include the trip from Nashville to Little Rock).

In the audience were pastors of small churches (25 members) and large churches (1,000+) members. Some pastored traditional churches and some multi-ethnic congregations. We even had church staff members from a non-Baptist church. (They had heard about the conference from some peers.) These pastors live in completely different worlds, yet they share the struggle to consistently fund their ministry budgets and accomplish the ministry God had placed on their hearts.

I can't begin to describe all the responsibilities these state stewardship directors carry on their shoulders. After all, if churches don't have money, the denomination - at least as we know it - ceases to exist. My hat is off to each and every state denominational leader (and their support staffs) who help churches answer the tough questions and navigate the uncertain waters of funding and ministry.

I know our churches are in good hands.

Posted by bstroup at 4:16 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.

Posted by bstroup at 8:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 23, 2009

One church choses hope in the midst of economic despair

This recession has been a nightmare for some churches.

USA Today reports church giving in America dropped somewhere between $3 billion and $5 billion last year. Another report said as many as 20 percent of all churches have cut staffs.

It was no different for Cape Christian Fellowship according to Pastor Gingerich.

The giving increased each of those 20 years, overflowing in the past five years of that run to the tune of a spectacular 23 percent increase each year.

Then, the recession.

But this church's reaction to the economic climate was different; they chose to trust in God. They made some hard decisions: cutting staff, pastor took a voluntary 30% cut in pay, etc. Perhaps the most visible was the looming discussion about their new building project: would they continue to move forward and build or put it on hold?

After weighing their options and a good bit of due dilligence, the church decided that moving forward with their building project would not only stimulate the economy in their community but would be a sign of hope.

"We ought to be the people who bring hope to the world. If we can do that by putting up this building, well, wow! What a statement that makes."

What an unusual (and refreshing) response: hope in the midst of despair!

Pastor, are you hopeful or doubtful that God will continue to be faithful to you and the ministry of your church in spite of the current economic circumstances?

Your people will mirror your response.

Posted by bstroup at 4:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 20, 2009

Pastor's Today highlights important articles on church and money

Pastor's Today e-newsletter highlights some important articles related to church and money in this week's issue. If you haven't signed up to receive this e-newsletter, you should consider doing so.

LifeWay Research finds economy challenging churches but providing opportunities
15 Ways to Increase Your Church's Offerings
Keys for Overcoming Your Church's Financial Crisis
Five Ways to Prevent Conflict over Church Finances
How to Establish Financial Policies for Your Church
Overcoming Four Coming Church Financial Firestorms
How to Establish Financial Review Practices for Your Church
5 Ways Your Church Can Help Individuals during Hard Financial Times
Church Financial Health Can Reduce Skepticism and Cynicism in an Older Church

Posted by bstroup at 8:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 17, 2009

Church makes compelling stewardship appeal via e-mail

I subscribe to e-mail blasts from many different churches. It helps me stay in touch with what's happening in local churches.

I received this particular e-mail recently from a church who I've worked with personally. They have been incredibly successful at funding their budget year after year. Judging by this letter, you can see why.

I thought I'd share it with you. I've removed any specific names because I think other churches could use this as a template to do something similar. Traditional nonprofits are consistently making these types of appeals. It's time the church did too. AThose churches who are sending these types of appeals are seeing very positive results.

[My wife and I] are in the throws of refinancing our house. I genuinely hate dealing with money stuff. Yes, I know, we don't say "hate," but there's just no other four letter word I can use. Some folks can sketch an idea on a dirty napkin and turn it into a small fortune. I can take a small fortune and turn it into car repairs. But love 'em or hate 'em, money issues are a big part of life.

We've all heard how the Bible talks about money more than heaven or hell and that the issue isn't personal poverty or wealth but stewardship. Our volunteer leaders and staff are working so hard to be the best stewards we can possibly be of all the resources freely given to Kingdom work at [this church]. So many people sacrifice so much to support the work of this church family and for that we who serve here are eternally grateful.

During this down turn, or crisis, or recession or depression or whatever the media is calling it this week, the staff and volunteer leaders on the stewardship and personnel committees have identified numerous ways to save in programming and personnel dollars. Savings in programming include decreases in Sunday School literature, childcare support, seminars, conferences, camps, volunteer leadership training and appreciation events. We've cut events such as mission trips in high school, staff training in preschool, and dozens of other needed programming investments in every ministry area between and beyond.

In personnel, we've worked with extra care to find ways to save money without deleting positions. That's been a challenge for us - as it has been for so many of you. In support of the effort our staff has forgone raises, a long standing Christmas gift, and contributions to retirement. We've instituted a hiring freeze and are dividing time between ministries to get the job done. Some people think we have too much staff. If [this church] were the little church they grew up in years ago they would be so right. But it takes a lot of hard working dedicated people to lead a small city like [this church] on a mission to change the world. We are blessed with an amazing group of selfless servant-leaders.

Through all the challenges we've faced over the past two years, we have continued to reach people for Christ, to see growth in Sunday School and in worship, and we haven't lost one staff member to another ministry (though I know our staff is heavily "courted" by other churches).

We are so close to turning the page and beginning a new chapter in the life of our wonderful family. To those who have been so giving and faithful and supportive through the years, thank you. That's not enough to say, but it's all there is to say. Thank you.

To those who attend regularly but have yet to take even the very first step toward God's call to biblical stewardship, I do understand. Really, I do. My mortgage guy suggested I sell an organ to decrease one of our many college loans. In spite of the challenges, I have never met anyone who regrets choosing biblical stewardship over some other plan for handling God's money.

Please continue to pray for your staff and volunteer leaders as we walk through these days of deeper faith. We need you prayers and your faithful support. God is so faithful. Thank you for your faithfulness to Him and His dear Church.

See you Sunday,
Mr. Executive Pastor

What are you waiting for? Get writing!

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

April 7, 2009

Ed Stetzer talks about money and ministry

LifeWay Research recently released the results of the impact our current economic state is having on churches. It's positive and consistent what we have previously discussed on the blog.

One might think that churches are barely staying alive, but the opposite is true. Stetzer's research shows that evangelical churches are doing surprisingly well in these tough times. Certainly, churches need to manage the organizations they lead wisely. But tough times force us to ask the hard questions that often lead to more strategic ministry practices.

I still fear that many church leaders are tempted to slip into "group think" and give up. The most important posture we can take to settle the uneasiness of the people who sit in our pews is to show what it means to "faith" our way through life.

Paul wrote, "Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen." (Heb 11:1, HCSB)

It's time to change the conversation from "What do we have to cut to survive?" to "What does God want us to do next?"

Do you agree with the research? Is it descriptive of your church?

Posted by bstroup at 2:54 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 31, 2009

What stewardship and giving books are you reading?

Some of the pastors and church leaders I meet with have a "deer-in-the-headlights" look when I begin talking about stewardship and giving. For many, they expect a conversation about capital fundraising campaign. They are surprised when I start talking about fully funded budgets and long-term sustainability.

Part of the reason I started this blog was to capture and broadcast a vital conversation related to the viability of local church ministry that is currently happening within small pockets of people, of which many didn't realize anyone else was having the same conversation.

To stay current and feed my need for good content, I'm constantly reading books about stewardship and giving. Some of them are directly related to church ministry; some are about traditional nonprofit management and fund development.

Here are the three books I've recently read that I think everyone pastor and church leader should read:

1. Passing the Plate
2. Not Your Parents' Offering Plate
3. ROI for Nonprofits

What are you reading? What should I read next?

Posted by bstroup at 9:23 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 30, 2009

Andy Stanley on money

Personal money management is not the primary focus of this blog, but I have to share this video that Generous News posted last week. It's the first in his sermon series "Balanced" where Andy approaches the competition God faces in our lives because of our obsession with money and stuff.

Andy Stanley challenges those in attendance to be "know'in where your money is "go'in" because that's where your heart (i.e. treasure) is.

Extremely practical. Very compelling.

Posted by bstroup at 6:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 27, 2009

Need your vote on upcoming Pastor's Podcast topics

I'm gearing up for another round of Pastor's Podcasts. I have some suggested topics. I'd love to do this "American Idol" style. Please look at the list below and vote by commenting on this post with your first, second and third choice.

(Note: If you are one who refuses to comment on a blog, e-mail me your choices.)

List of Topics

Keys to Strong Giving in a Weak Economy
Building the Kingdom Instead of the Castle - Ministry expansion projects beyond the building
Emerging Trends in Ministry Expansion Campaigns - changes based on the economy and other trends
Overcoming the Challenges of Multi-site Expansion
Finding New Money: The Role of Asset-based Giving in Ministry Expansion Campaigns
All Givers Great and Small: How to Engage All Types of Givers
Ministering to Major Givers
Tax Changes and What They Mean for Giving
Creating a Family Stewardship Philosophy
Let's Hear It For (and From) the Givers - A campaign from the givers' point of view

Previous Pastor's Podcasts:
New podcast for pastors on leading churches in tough times
Pastor's Podcast: One pastor sees debt as ministry opportunity
Pastor's Podcast: Teaching Children About Stewardship
Pastor's Podcast: Capital fundraising in a tough economy

Posted by bstroup at 3:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 26, 2009

One church uses video to capture their stewardship challenge

I stumbled upon Providence Baptist Church's video presentation of their annual stewardship campaign. I was struck by the use of the words "opportunity," "participation," and "personal calling" rather than the typical langugage and vocabulary of a stewardship campaign. The script even says that financial stewardship - giving our tithes and offerings - is just the beginning.

This church "gets it." Providence provides a holistic presentation of stewardship - one that teaches that being a steward means giving our time, talent, and treasures. It connects ministry needs with ministry opportunity and in just three minutes provides a simple, effective call to action.

By the end of the video, I wanted to sign up for something. This is a great example of what is means to creatively "make the ask."

Posted by bstroup at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 24, 2009

Exciting week for LifeWay Envelope Service

This has really been an exciting week.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Doyle Chauncey with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. They have designed some very innovative approaches to stewardship, particularly as it relates to new church starts. I'm grateful to Jerry Sutton (now a preaching professor at Liberty Theological Seminary) for opening the door for this conversation and look forward to the opportunities ahead.

Last Saturday, I presented at a one-day Pastor's Conference hosted by Don Campbell at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. It was a great time. My presentation centered on building sustainable funding models for ministry. After my session, several leaders expressed interest in exposing their church leaders to this message. I was very encouraged.

Today, I made a trip to Kentucky to visit with Alan Witham at the Convention office. He and I met recently at the Stewardship/Cooperative Program meeting in Nashville in February. We talked at length about what we are doing to provide churches with systematic tools that -- when used in concert -- work together to produce measurable results. Alan is building a "best practices" guide for Kentucky Baptists as it relates to stewardship and isleading his team of strategists through a comprehensive approach to stewardship and giving that will offer pastors what they need to be successful in funding the ministry God has called them to do.

More good things to come.

Posted by bstroup at 8:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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

Posted by bstroup at 8:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 16, 2009

Stewardship and Giving Video: Top tithing tunes

Thanks to Tithe Stewardship & Church Tithing and to Monday Morning Insights for pointing to one of the funniest "infomericals" I have ever seen.

Enjoy!

Posted by bstroup at 11:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 4, 2009

Pastor's video testimony on the results of stewardship emphasis

One pastor describes the measurable impact a four week stewardship emphasis had on his church. The church was considering closing its doors, but ended up with a surplus of available funds.

Have you had a similar experience? Send me your story or video or use the "comments" option at the bottom of this post.

(Note: This video was recorded by Denny Wright, Stewardship Crusader for the Arkansas State Baptist Convention. Keep fighting the good fight and helping pastors lead their churches to fully fund the ministry God has placed on their hearts.)

Posted by bstroup at 11:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 24, 2009

Mark Brooks asks "What are recessions good for?"

Mark Brooks is president of The Charis Group and a friend. He e-mailed me about a conversation he had with a pastor recently about how to interpret our current economic condition in light of Romans 8:28.

Here are the conclusions Mark came to, but I want to encourage you to read his entire post.

What are recessions good for?

1. Recessions expose what we really love.
2. Recessions give us a chance to glorify God.
3. Recessions allow the church to be what God called us to be.
4. Recessions make us sensitive to the rest of the world that continually lives in recession.
5. Recessions wean us from materialism.

If you were asked the same question, how would you respond?

Posted by bstroup at 8:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 16, 2009

A multi-ethnic approach to stewardship

The State Convention Stewardship Directors are in town for the Winter Stewardship Development Association meeting and the Cooperative Program annual meeting. I had lunch with Frank from the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He and I talked about the challenge of providing stewardship education and tools to churches not only of various sizes but cultures.

Given the rise in the non-anglo church population in Texas, he is forced to contextualize his approach for nearly every ethnic group. There is no similarity in language and idioms even among the general Latin American population. It never occurred to me how challenging his work must be. I was impressed to hear about the sophisticated approach he has taken to addressing this issue.

He has built networks of people who help him accomplish the task of resourcing churches to be successful in the area of stewardship and giving. And when he begins a campaign or the development of a new resource, he brings in leaders from the ethnic group he is trying to reach and involves them in the entire process...from the very beginning.

I know that Texas is not the only state with this challenge. I'd like to hear more about how you are addressing this in your church or area. Is there more than one ethnicity represented in your church or local association? How do you tailor your approach to stewardship and giving to ensure you are clearly communicating across language and cultural barriers?

Posted by bstroup at 4:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 10, 2009

Church giving steady among active church members

It's no surprise that there is a direct link between church attendance and church giving. Those who are most involved in your ministry are also the most committed. This group will always represent your most faithful giving base.

Faith-Based Charities May Fare Better than Other Non-Profits reports:

"Data from the survey found that 81 percent of those who attend religious services more than once a week intend to give the same or more to charities."

Church leaders should begin to look at who are the most active people in their church and identify their giving habits. This analysis will give you good insight into the core givers who have and will continue to support your ministry. Use this group to broaden your giving base by empowering them to be "evangelists" for your church's ministry and mission. Passion is contagious. All you need to do is give them opportunity and a platform.

Posted by bstroup at 3:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 2, 2009

The paradox of church giving in a struggling economy

Church giving holds steady in the midst of an uncertain economic future. Whether you believe giving to the church comes with a promise of success or simply believe it's an important discipline of a Christian, church giving has proven to be almost recession proof.

Some faced with foreclosure are willing to sacrifice their own homes before they are willing to entertain the notion of cutting back on their tithe. This line of reasoning is one reason why church giving remains relatively unaffected as the economic situations seems to worsen with each passing of each minute. Sylvia Ronsvalle with Empty Tomb says:

"The results prove that church-member giving doesn't necessarily decline during a recession."

MSNBC also covered the subject recently in Dire economy tests churches. The article points out that churches are making tough decisions in an attempt to balance meeting the spiritual and physical needs of its membership and the larger community in which it exists with the resources available.

The exciting part of this tension is that it spurs a level of creativity and innovation that usually comes with big dreams and limited resources. (See Contributions Down? Time to innovate. and Decline in church giving could force innovation.) The other exciting element is that those churches who continue to thrive while the rest of the world stumbles seem to be those who are committed to ministry and meeting needs.

Imago Dei Community Church in Portland, Oregon reports a 31% increase in giving in 2008. While Riverview Church in East Lansing Holt, Michegan designed a special offering to contribute to a fund that 25 other church were contribuiting to in an effort to replenish their local food bank. The special offering raised more than $20,000 or half of the entire goal for all the churches involved. And this was a church where the average age is 27. (So much for those myths that twenty-somethings don't have money to give.)

"People catch a spirit of generosity," said [Pastor Noel] Heikkinen..."They get excited about being generous, and it spills out into other areas of their lives."

Here is the paradox: If you want to see giving continue and perhaps even grow in your church, do more ministry than you've ever done. And do it in a measurable way. The result will be more money than you could have ever imagined.

Posted by bstroup at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 28, 2009

Contributions down? Time to innovate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 6:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 22, 2009

On Wikipedia and church giving

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

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

The end result will be a significant increase in giving.

Posted by bstroup at 1:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 19, 2009

I have a dream...about stewardship and giving

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 8:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 16, 2009

Pastor is shepherd and organizational manager

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 15, 2009

Ashley Clayton reflects on SBC and overseas missions giving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 8:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 14, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 4:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 12, 2009

Stewardship humor

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 1:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 9, 2009

Reposting last three weeks of December

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 4:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 6, 2009

Fear should not be an option

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 5, 2009

Searching for your next stewardship sermon?

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

Saving

Debt

Budgeting

Faith and Trust

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 12:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 2, 2009

Church giving historically strong even in recession

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted by bstroup at 9:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 30, 2008

Churches most optimistic about reaching contribution goals

Religious organizations showed the most optimism, with 10 percent saying they were "completely confident" about 2008 tallies.

Read the entire article here.

I was very encouraged to read this. I hope you are too.

Posted by bstroup at 2:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 29, 2008

Era of easy money ends for churches too

Churches who borrowed money to buy and build bigger buildings are finding themselves in some very difficult situations these days.

What does it say about a church who is forced to seek bankruptcy protection because they can no longer afford the building payments? Do you think it has any impact - positive or negative - on credibility or reputation? Will this current recession have implications on church building projects in the future?

Personally, I think it could be a wonderful opportunity to publiclly admit the mistake of taking on too much debt, demonstrate your plan for recovery and invite people to rebuild their lives (including financial habits) as the church recovers too.

Your thoughts?

Posted by bstroup at 1:03 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 23, 2008

Stewardship principles encourage celebration in tough times

While everyone is rushing to complete the final steps of preparation for Christmas and make sure all the gifts are wrapped and make it under the tree before the "big day," churches aren't sure what to anticipate with respect to giving and the new year. In fact, some church leaders may find little to celebrate this holiday season.

I'd like to offer you a few good things to keep in mind that may make it easier to find something to celebrate this season.

1. Church attendance increases in tough times. History demonstrates that people find their way to places of worship when life throws them into unexpected and overwhelming circumstances. Capitalize on the opportunity to inspire new or less-than-regular-attenders with compelling stories that connect with people on a personal, emotional level.

2. Celebrate your success. In Wealthy donors say they don't make a difference?, Jeff Brooks writes:

But really, a strong, smart, donor-centered nonprofit should make it so abundantly clear to its donors that they matter that it would be impossible for them to say they don't.

Keeping people connected to the cause or organization they support is absolutely essential to building long-term, sustainable funding. It's a good reminder that not everyone "touches" your church as much as you do. Find ways to encourage your membership and thank them for their support.

3. Name your strengths and use them to your advantage. When it comes to funding models, the church makes the rest of the non-profit world jealous. Every week, churches are able to get in front of their membership which reminds people of the work they are supporting and why they chose your church in the first place. The church also offers giving opportunities more consistently because you are in front of your people more regularly than traditional non-profits. Monthly Giving is an undervalued habit to encourage with simple tools like offering envelopes.

4. Use technology to your advantage. Begin exploring ways to connect with your membership using social media tools and through devices such as cell phones. The revolution is coming: either you will roll with it or be left behind. It's time to begin cultivating relationships with a new generation of donors - a generation that is ready to give but doesn't assume the church is the best place for their dollar. It's your responsibility to demonstrate why the church is.

5. Remember, what goes down must come up. Most investors are expecting a slow start to 2009 but do anticipate a rebound by the end of 2009. Remember that phrase from the KJV version of the Bible: "This too shall pass"? Well, it's true. Just because you may see a temporary drop in giving doesn't mean you need to panic. Use it as an opportunity to evaluate every area of your ministry, and make the steps necessary to bring your ministry and budget in harmony with one another. (This is what you're asking your membership to do. Don't find yourself in the trap of All Talk and No Action?.

Stewardship may be the most unusual place for church leaders to look for encouragement this Christmas season. But these 5 things demonstrate that we have a lot to celebrate and every reason to believe the Church will continue to survive and thrive just as it has for thousands of years.

As the Advent becomes the Incarnation, may we be reminded that God is with us.

Posted by bstroup at 9:56 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

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.

Posted by bstroup at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 18, 2008

Church giving thrives despite economy

It absolutely thrills me to read about churches who are doing amazing things. With all the bad news, Church giving thrives despite economy reminds us that God will bless us when we are faithful.

Read. Smile. Pass this story on.

May God find you and your ministry faithful too.

Posted by bstroup at 8:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 17, 2008

Let's be honest about tithing

Tithe Stewardship and Church Tithing recently posted Difference Between Spirit-led, Freewill, & Grace Giving. There is little new information other than some new possible vocabulary options for the concept of "grace" or "freewill" giving. These new or alternative terms are supposed to be more relevant because they are more consistent [sic] with the New Testament principle of grace instead of the Old Testament principle of law.

I think it's time to drop the pretense and the pseudo-theological vocabulary and just be honest with people - especially the people in our pews - when it comes to church giving.

1. The church is a non-profit organization that exists only through the donations of people. As the demands upon churches become more complex, the funding necessary to meet those demans increases. Every non-profit is faced with it.

2. The habits of giving begin with the worldview of the giver. Church leaders should be focused on creating a culture of generosity.

3. Churches have an advantage over every other non-profit: the membership interacts personally with the organization on a regular basis. Most non-profits don't host weekly gatherings of hundreds or thousands of their donor base; churches do. Churches are the best positioned to capture the greatest percentage of dollars available from every member.

4. Churches are the WORST at capturing the dollar. Too many rely on pseudo-theological vocabulary or other empty rhetoric that sounds good but delivers no "call to action" that results in consistent giving behavior. Churches need to shift their focus to demonstrating the ministry impact of every dollar. This is why so many Christians can justify sending their tithe - in portion or in full - to para-church and other non-profits who are much better at demonstrating what every dollar accomplishes.

5. If churches continue to be silent in the area of Biblical stewardship - time, talent and treasure - the number of volunteers, lay leadership and giving levels needed to operate and grow a complex organization such as the church will not exist.

6. Giving levels and habits should be seen as measurement tools. Giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment. If people have a hard time giving money to your church, then they aren't fully committed. Knowing this leads too much deeper, more comprehensive conversations that could reveal some important information about your congregation.

7. Church giving is connected to your ministry plan. What's your vision? Is it big enough to inspire someone else? If not, dream bigger. People want to give to causes that they believe in because they want to accomplish something larger than they could through their own efforts.

Stop using failed persuasive techniques and start inspiring a generous culture. It will change your life, your ministry and your church.

Posted by bstroup at 9:30 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

December 15, 2008

End of year giving projections

How do you expect your church to end the year? The first Sunday in December is typically a big week, perhaps even the strongest, for monthly donations. You should have a good idea where you'll end up.

If you're not on par to make budget, you might want to consider how well you're tying the needs of church members and community with the ministry of your church. Organizations that are doing this well stand the best chance to maintain or increase giving during this economic crisis.

From Holiday-Giving Update: Social-Services Groups See a Surge, But Most Groups Face Big Slowdown in Donations:

...Charities that provide the very poor with food, shelter, and basic services say donors are responding because the bad economy has enabled them to make the case that demand for such services is increasing rapidly.

The fact that some organizations are seeing increases in giving proves that Americans have not stopped giving. Rather, they are being more intentional about who they give their money to.

If giving is down and you expect to come in under budget, you should consider evaluating how well you're communicating and demonstrating your ability to use donations to measurably meet the needs of the people in your church and community. It may be time to shift some of your ministry priorities to focus more on meeting human needs of food, clothing and shelter or even providing job skills training, GED programs, career planning and financial education and counseling.

How's your giving? What's your plan?

Posted by bstroup at 1:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 12, 2008

Think Christian talks about tithing...without the church

There are some definite shifts taking place in minds of American Christians related to tithing. Two significant ones are:

1. The tithe is not solely for the church. More and more Christians are finding themselves dividing their 10% between local church and other charitable endeavors.

2. Christians want their tithe to count. Churches in the not so near future - maybe even today (or yesterday) - will be required to demonstrate the results of the tithes and offerings received. The luster of undesigned funds is diminishing. American Christians want to know where there money is going, how it's being used and understand the impact it's making.

The end result of these observations is that the church is becoming ONE of MANY charitable giving options instead of the CENTRAL or PRIMARY charitable giving option for many American Christians.

Think Christian explores the changing landscape of tithing in Tithing...without the church.

What do you think? Have you noticed this shift taking place? What does the church need to do or change to ensure every dollar of the tithe remains within the local church? What happens to the church if nothing changes in their approach to member contributions and tithing?

Think about it. Then, let's talk.

December 11, 2008

Decline in church giving could force innovation

It seems like everyone is holding their breath - for-profit and non-profit organizations alike - to see what the results will be when the dust settles for 2008 in just a few short weeks. As churches anticipate a loss compared to giving levels in years past, the new year is bound to generate some very important and necessary organizational conversations.

My prediction is that churches will need to become much more intentional about how they spend their money to ensure every dollar received is maximized for ministry. Innovation usually comes from necessity. And several large non-profits are leading the way.

In Charity donation decline gives rise to innovation, organizations such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army are already taking steps to empower their existing donors to become organizational evangelists by giving them the tools they need to multiply their fundraising effots.

The paradox is this: in order to keep getting bigger, organizations are going to have to get smaller. This doesn't necessarily reducing budgets and staff. I think this refers to how members/donors interact with the organization. More specifically, all fundraising initiatives will happen on a much more personal, individual level than mass market apeals.

When I think about the church setting, every Christian is the pew should be an "evangelist" for the church. And those who are most connected to your ministry will be your biggest ministry multipliers.

Given that you're probably anticipating a decline in giving when compared to past years, how is your church prepared to innovate to continue to fully-fund your ministry budgets so that you have the resources to accomplish the ministry God has placed on your heart? How are you empowering your members to encourage others to join the cause of fulfilling the Great Commission through your church ministry?

It's a difficult conversation but one worth having.

Note: This conversation may result in giving up some control at the top to truly empower the person in the pew. This may be too scary for you. If it is...get over it!

Posted by bstroup at 1:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 10, 2008

Pastor's Podcast: One pastor sees debt as ministry opportunity

The response to the first Pastor's Podcast was great, so we decided to do it again.

I mentioned the subject of the second Pastor's Podcast in FREE personal money management tools from Joe Sangl.

The church has been handed a great platform to connect again with the culture and eliminate forever the criticism of being irrelevant and not practical for everyday living. And Joe has taken this opportunity and is leading a crusade from WITHIN the church to offer people in the pews of his church and who live in his community the opportunity to win with money - just like he did.

Pastor, if you don't have a strategy for dealing with debt personally and corporately, this will be one podcast that you won't want to miss.

To view the eMediaLink MP3 Player you will need to have Javascript turned on and have Flash Player 9 or better installed.

What makes Joe's ministry different from so many other personal money managers is that the work and ministry of the Church as a corporate body is at the center of everything he does. He's interested in helping individuals connect with Jesus and the Church through personal money management. That means what he is doing is reproducible in your church too.

Maybe you can't afford to have a "Joe Sangl" on your church staff. That's fine (and shouldn't be an excuse for not addressing this need.) I know you have lay people in your church who have won with money. I do, and I've empowered them to develop and lead what is quickly becoming one of our most successful church ministries as we seek to offer financial and spiritual transformation through a strategic approach to Biblical money management.

The easiest way to get your own copy of Joe's book, I Was Broke, Now I'm Not, and preview other materials for your church is to visit the resource page on his Web site.

I have one request: I need your help. The only way this will help pastors is if they know that this podcast exists. Please distribute a link to this podcast to all the pastors you know. The quicker we can provide practical lifelines to our pastors the better equipped they will be to be the spritiual leader God has called them to be.

Posted by bstroup at 3:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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.

Posted by bstroup at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 8, 2008

Get Rich Slowly champions charitable giving in tough times

Get Rich Slowly talks about Why charitable giving is even more important is tough economic times. Below are excerpts from the post.

I would enourage you to read the entire post and look for ways to incorporate his ideas into the presentation of your church's ministry to your membership. Reminding people of need and how they can meet that need is vital when it comes to charitable giving.

As the people in your pews become more selective about the organizations and causes they support, remember - for many - the church is just ONE option rather than the ONLY option. And the responsibility falls to the church leader to ensure every member understands that the church is the best place for their dollar.

People on the "edges" are impacted more. People who are already struggling are impacted more by rising costs or the loss of income. You might feel like you're barely making ends meet, but chances are that if you're reading this, you are not sleeping in the back of a van with your kids (like a family I saw here in Seattle last week), or raising children in a part of the world where clean water and electricity are a distant dream and low-wage work represents your only opportunity to put food on the table.

Charities are struggling to meet basic needs. Charities run on a shoestring, doing as much as they can each year to help people in need. This year, things are particularly tough. Donors are cutting back, and at the same time, need is increasing dramatically.

A chance to teach. My own children are too young to realize that we're cutting back on holiday gifts this year, but they're not too young to understand that they should help people in need. We have already started finding concrete ways to show them that they can have an impact.

Give your skills. Writing a check isn't the only way to give, and it is not always the most effective. If you have a marketable skill or hobby, you can use it to help someone in need.

Work your network. Don't be shy. Spread the word about what you are doing, you'll be surprised at how many people will want to help out, sometimes in bigger ways than you would have imagined.

Posted by bstroup at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 5, 2008

Make people, not programs your most important priority

It's hard not to think about the economy. It's everywhere. It's on the front page of our newspapers, the titles of blog posts and the lead story on almost every network news show.

And the news isn't good.

I wrote a lot this week about the responsibility church leaders have to lead their organizations in the midst of economic struggle, and I've provided you with some tools to use as you build and implement your strategy for success.

I'd like to end this series with a reminder that while you're managing and leading organizations, don't loose sight of the people who are the fabric of your oganization. It's people who fund our churches. It's people who volunteer their time and energy to teach Sunday School and lead various other activities. It's people who serve in lay leadership roles. It's people who fill the staff positions of our churches. It's people who we are called to love and serve and be Jesus to.

In the flurry of our activity to stabilize and sustain the organizations we've been called to serve, may we never forget that behind our programs are human beings who chose to be a part of our work and follow our leadership because they believed in us and the cause we represent. We must not abandon them in the name of organizational development at any time and especially in this moment in time.

Reach out to your donors is a call to action to prioritize people over programs.

Posted by bstroup at 9:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 4, 2008

Church leaders should maximize every dollar donated

United Methodist church leaders recently met to consider the impact a decline in church giving would have on funding for denominational ministries. United Methodists aren't the only ones asking these questions.

Most denominational structures are dependent upon giving from local churches. In Southern Baptist circles, we fund our denominational structure and collection mission efforts through the Cooperative Program which is also reporting a slight decline when compared to last year.

We have two options:

1. We can go find our spot in the corner and cry about it.
2. We can make sure everything we are doing is the best use of every dollar.

As one of my first managers told me, "It is what it is." Yes, denominational giving is expected to be down. Church giving may be down. So what? We are still collecting more money through churches than we ever have in history. We have more money to fund more ministry that our parents and grandparents could have ever dreamed of.

It's our responsibility to make sure every dollar we receive on the local level to fund our ministry budgets and to give to denominational structures is being maximized.

Another saying I've picked up over the years is this: "Everything's always on the table." Let's measure the effectivness of every ministry we choose to invest in to determine where we might be able to redirect funds for the purpose of achieving greater results. When the potential for less dollars exists, our expectations for ministry shouldn't decline. Rather, results should drive our decision making.

Posted by bstroup at 8:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

History proves church giving outlook is strong

"The data suggest that decreasing giving is not the first thing church members do in tough economic times," said Ronsvalle, who has been studying Christian giving in detail since 1988. "If this is an extended downturn, in the second year you might begin to see a retraction in church-member giving."

Read the rest of the article here.

Posted by bstroup at 8:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 3, 2008

The senior pastor is the chief fundraiser

"Pastors are the CEOs of their congregations. No single person is more responsible for what goes on in his or her church than the lead pastor. No one has more communication with the congregation than the lead pastor. No one has more ability to raise funds on behalf of the church than the lead pastor. Yet, very few of our pastors accept the responsibility to raise funds for the organization they lead."

Not Your Parents' Offering Plate
by J. Clif Christopher, pgs. 43-4

Posted by bstroup at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Charis Group's president Mark Brooks offers 4 keys to success

Mark Brooks, president of The Charis Group, offers 4 keys to stewardship success today in Not every church is seeing giving decline.

These are ideas to implement NOW...not when the economy gets better and all conditions are perfect.

The 4 keys are:

Compelling vision - "Good vision trumps bad economy."

Do something! - Churches that can not show any return on investment will struggle.

Stewardship education - Churches that focus on stewardship consistently are weathering this downward economic time....

Have a plan - I find that most churches do not have a plan for stewardship. They have a growth plan, a missions plan and many other plans but fail to have a plan to fund all that.

Get moving!

Posted by bstroup at 9:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 2, 2008

Generis strategist offers 6 steps to stewardship success

Generis Strategist, Rubin Swift, offers pastors 6 things to consider as they plan and adjust their stewardship strategy for the remainder of 2008 and moving into 2009. These six steps will ensure you're covering the bases and moving toward action instead of becoming paralyzed with fear.

More than ever, the pastor needs to display a confidence and trust in the God he proclaims.

Pastor, what's your plan? Enough talk. Get moving. Make things happen.

Posted by bstroup at 9:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Economy could spur Christian compassion

Chuck Warnock writes for pastors who lead small churches. He recently conducted an online poll and came to unsurprising conclusion: nearly every church - especially small churches - can expect to be negatively impacted by the economy. Jim Collins would call this a "brutal fact." The quicker we can swallow this pill the better we will be positioned to actually embrace the situation and use it to our advantage.

Chuck believes this economic struggle may be a catalyst for Christian compassion. People who study giving habits know that peoples' willingness to give is in direct proportion to their belief in and understanding of need.

One antedote to the gloomy economic forecast is to talk about it - openly and publically. This may be difficult to do. But in the talking, the "scary green monster" doesn't seem to bad. It becomes a matter of defining a plan to not just survive but thrive.

How the church responds to this economic crisis will either prove the church to be irrelvant or will restore the role of the church as an agent of hope and new beginnings?

Pastor, the ball is in your court?

Posted by bstroup at 9:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 1, 2008

Barna research indicates churches will lose billions in Q4

The Barna Group released a study today that attempts to quantify the impact the economy will have on church giving.

Here are some notable statistics to consider:

In total, one out of every five households (20%) has decreased its giving to churches or other religious centers.

Among people who have decreased giving to churches and religious centers, 19% dropped their giving by as much as 20%, 5% decreased their generosity by 21% to 49%, 17% reduced their giving by half, and 11% sliced their provision by more than half. In addition, 22% said they had stopped their giving altogether.

Among those who attend a Christian church, the survey found that one-third (35%) said their church had offered a special talk about the financial situation and ways to respond to it.

The average church can expect to see its revenues dip about 4% to 6% lower than would have been expected without the economic turmoil.

Given the shock value of this study, we'll be spending the week discussing its implications and how the church can prepare not just to survive but thrive in the midst of unfavorable economic conditions.

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

November 25, 2008

5 new Del.icio.us links related to stewardship and giving

Below are five new articles added to the Do More Ministry Del.icio.us library. I try to add at least 5-7 articles or links a week. If you see something that I missed or find a really cool article, send it to me and I'll add it to the library.

My hope is that this collection of articles and links related to stewardship and giving will help you be better prepared to lead your church to fully-funded budgets and long-term sustainable ministries.

A Crunch in Collections

Tithing is a constant

Churches starting to feel financial stress

Sustaining Non-profits during economic downturns

Managing ministry funds during tough economic times

Posted by bstroup at 9:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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.

Posted by bstroup at 9:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 24, 2008

American Christians choose NOT to give

"At least one out of five American Christians - 20 percent of all U.S. Christians - gives literally nothing to church, para-church, or nonreligious charities."

Passing the Plate, pg. 29.

Posted by bstroup at 12:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 14, 2008

New podcast for pastors on leading churches in tough times

I recently sat down with Joe Sangl, pastor of financial counseling and planning with NewSpring Church, Patrick Johnson, VP of Strategic Partners and Church Services with National Christian Foundation, Bret Robbe, director of leadership and adult ministry publishing with LifeWay Church Resources, and Ashley Clayton, associate VP for stewardship with the Executive Committee of the SBC to answer the question: How can pastors lead their churches through tough economic times?

It was an amazing experience to sit down with some Christian thought leaders to ask the questions that are being discussed by pastors today and listen to the practical advice that will ultimately help pastors know what the next step is.

I'm pleased to announce that our first-ever podcast is now available for download.

I need your help. The only way this will help pastors is if they know that this podcast exists. Please distribute a link to this podcast to all the pastors you know. The quicker we can provide lifelines to our pastors burdened with the uncertainty of these tough economic times, the better equipped they will be to be the spritiual leader God has called them to be.

To view the eMediaLink MP3 Player you will need to have Javascript turned on and have Flash Player 9 or better installed.