3 Reasons People don’t Give to your Church

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3 Reasons People don’t Give to your Church

Sunday, March 17, 2013

A few months back I did a series of posts on 6 big ideas about “Engaging the Givers in your Church.” And just like there are real actionable steps that churches can take to engage givers, there are also things that churches do to repel givers. More often than not they’re doing these things and they don’t even know it. So below are three guaranteed generosity killers that are running rampant in churches today.

1. Ingratitude

You’d be surprised how infrequently churches take the time to say thank you to people who financially support the ministry. And you’d probably also be as equally surprised how far a simple thank you will go. Here are a few suggestions you can put into action this week to change that: 1) Make sure every time a person gives for the first time to the ministry of your church that they get a letter to acknowledge their gift and say thank you. 2) Each week send a handwritten personal note to each person who gives a generous gift to the ministry. 3) Say thank you from the stage and celebrate the generosity of your church when they’re generous. When you don’t say thank you what you’re saying is you don’t care.

2. Waste, or the Perception of Waste

When people feel that their financial gift and sacrifice is being used in a wasteful manner they will pull their funding in a heartbeat. What I’m not saying is that everything should be value engineered, that isn’t the highest goal. But when funds aren’t used in a strategic manner that clearly advances the mission, that’s wasteful. No doubt having the right tool for the job is important. But don’t confuse the fact that extravagance is not the same thing as excellence.

3. Duplicity

When you say you are going to use a particular offering for one need and then turn around and use it for something else you break trust. And trust is the foundation for leadership. Simply put, people don’t give to ministries that don’t have a high level of trust in.

What else have you seen churches do that discourage giving? What would you add to the list? Leave a comment!

Posted in Leadership, Spiritual Formation

Creating an Outsider Focused Culture in your Church

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Becoming Insider Focused is Natural: It’s natural to be insider focused, because what comes natural to us is us. It is not natural to let other people go before us, think about what others prefer before our own preferences, or meet the needs of others before meeting our own needs first. We are naturally self oriented as people so it’s no surprise that businesses, organizations, or even churches tend to be so as well. That’s why in their teaching Jesus and the Apostle Paul directly connect spiritual maturity to becoming others oriented.

This past week I taught a breakout session at Converge Ignite 2013 a conference designed for churches that are committed to advancing the Gospel through various Church Planting and Multsite models. If you were at the breakout and want to share the notes or would simply like to see some of what you missed just click the link below to download the notes FOR FREE! By the way there’s a great tool in there that you can use to work through as a team to evaluate the focus of your church!

Session Notes: Creating an Outsider Focused Culture in your Church

Posted in Leadership, Spiritual Formation

My Interview with 2 Women about their Choice to have an Abortion

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I don’t typically post talks that I give, but every once in a while there’s one worth sharing. This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to interview two very courageous women about their choice to have an abortion, their experience with “church people,” their journey towards healing, and the grace and forgiveness they’ve experienced in Jesus. It will definitely go down as a high water mark in my ministry experience. If we’re honest about it, the Church hasn’t always handled this dialogue very well. We’ve historically postured ourselves in such a manner that we come off as not only anti-abortion, but anti-people who have an abortion. The in-congruency shows up when we take a look at the Scriptures and realize that Jesus isn’t anti-anybody. So here’s hoping that this talk inspires you, challenges you, crushes your heart for what crushes God’s, and perhaps challenges your thinking a bit on this emotionally and politically charged topic of abortion. If nothing else fast forward to the 12:21 minute mark to check out the interview segment.

Posted in Creative Arts, Spiritual Formation

Top Posts of 2012 #2: An Interview with the National Preteen Pastor of the Year

Friday, December 28, 2012

I was particularly excited to write this post. One reason is because the first opportunity I was ever given in ministry was when I was a freshman in college and my pastor believed in me enough to give me a shot at leading a Jr. High Sunday School Class (trust me, it was a big risk on his behalf). Another reason is that Mike Branton happens to be on my team at Sun Valley and I’m just super proud of him!

During the last couple of years there has been a slowly growing trend in churches across America. Churches are pulling their preteens out of children’s and student ministries and ministering to this demographic uniquely. Fueled by kids “growing up too quick,” the age of adolescents dropping, and ministries and organizations like FourFiveSix, Orange, preteenministry.net, and Christ in Youth hitting the scene, this preteen movement is gaining traction in the church. If you’re not thinking Preteen Ministry at your church, you need to be.

Last week I had the unique opportunity to sit down with Mike Branton, the Preteen Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church and Christ in Youth National Preteen Pastor of the Year, to talk about this emerging ministry. The interview is below:

Paul: What does the label “Preteen Ministry” mean and why is this something that churches should be paying attention to?

Mike: Fundamentally Preteen Ministry is ministry to students who are moving through the transition from childhood to adolescence. You’re typically talking about students who are between 8 and 12 years old and in 4^th – 6^th grade. During the preteen years human beings develop physically and mentally faster than at any other stage of life other than the infant and toddler phase. Preteens are moving from concrete to abstract thinking. They are thinking less about the faith of their family and more about their own faith and figuring out what they believe. They are at a time in their lives where their identity is being formed; they’re less inhibited and as a result are more open to inviting friends, sharing the Gospel, and combating injustice in the world. Their ability to understand and respond to the Gospel provides us with a unique opportunity that few Churches are taking advantage of.

Paul: What are some of the unique dynamics of preteen ministry?

Mike: Preteen students are beginning to experiment and explore with their identity both socially and sexually. They are often prematurely exposure to adult ideas and concepts without having a developed faculty to truly handle it. Some still believe in Santa Clause and have teddy bears and some of them are sleeping with their boyfriends. And some are doing both of those. Finally, increased specialization at an early age regarding extracurricular activities such as the arts and sports are limiting healthy experimentation and growth.

Paul: The reality is that the majority of churches can’t afford to hire someone to specifically minister to preteens. What can churches do?

Mike: Every healthy church has preteens in it. They may be a part of the Children’s Ministry or a part of the Student Ministry, or simply in a Sunday School Class. But whatever the form, churches can take the step to have a couple of volunteers focus specifically on this group of students. Churches can partner with parents by helping to equip them to know what to expect during the preteen years. We’re talking about kids who are challenged to succeed in every other area of their lives. Churches need to shift their thinking and stop viewing these students as “just kids” so that they’ll begin to expect more from them in their journey with Christ. Finally if they can, churches can give them their own space, even a simple classroom. These students want their door locked and decorated at home so why not appropriately support that at church. Space matters. It shows value, and helps build identity and connection.

Mike Branton is the Preteen Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church Gilbert Campus, a contributing writer for K-magazine, part of the FourFiveSix Team, and the Christ in Youth National Preteen Pastor of the year.

You can connect with Mike on Facebook

Posted in Family, Leadership, Spiritual Formation

Home for Christmas

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The mission of the Church is to get people home, and each year as we celebrate Christmas we’re reminded that Jesus came to bring us home and that He is in fact the Way home. This year we had an opportunity to literally join God in bringing people home. Through the generosity of a couple of people we were able to get Brandon Royce who serves in the U.S. Military and is currently deployed to South Korea home to be with his family. This video is their story. Enjoy!