7 Articles that will Help Your Church become More Generous

Tag Archive - generous

7 Articles that will Help Your Church become More Generous

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Building a generous culture in your church isn’t easy. In fact generosity goes against every natural bone in our bodies, because what comes natural to us is us. That’s why both Jesus and the Apostle Paul connect spiritual maturity with generosity and living an others oriented life. Money in particular is a tough topic for most pastors to talk about with their church. Over the years I’ve written a bit about building a generous culture in your church and below are some of the more popular posts. Enjoy and I hope they’re helpful!

20 Ways Church Leaders can Help their Churches become More Generous

3 Reasons People don’t Give to your Church

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.

5 Characteristics of Generous Churches

Generosity stands in direct opposition to our sin nature. After all most of us don’t wake up thinking about someone else’s day…

Engaging the Givers in your Church

When it comes to engaging major givers in the church a majority pastors feel uncomfortable at best. Many pastors don’t know how to approach the subject and are afraid of saying the wrong thing. While churches have often built elaborate strategies to help people take steps in their spiritual journey and grow in their relationship with Jesus; they usually resort to a “just preach the Word and hope things work out” approach to giving. The problem is hope isn’t a strategy. It doesn’t have to be this way.

5 Indicators that your Church is Financially Overextended

Earlier this fall in a post entitled “Breaking Through your Capacity Lid,” I wrote that financial shortfalls at churches can limit opportunities. I suggested that there are two sides to finances in a church setting. One is building a culture of generosity in your church and then the other is managing that generosity so you position yourself organizationally to say yes to Jesus when He provides clear vision and opportunity. Immature organizations over extend themselves financially and self impose artificial lids as a result.

Why People don’t Financially Invest in your Church

I recently read Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate by Clif Christopher. It’s a quick read that you can get through in one sitting, but it’s full of principles that you’ll come back to over and over again. There are a lot of reasons why people don’t give to churches as much as they used to.

6 Simple Steps to Help your Church become More Generous

Generosity is not something that Jesus wants from you. It’s something He wants for you. Generous churches and church leaders who understand the generous nature of the God that we serve help the people in their churches become more generous.

Posted in Leadership, Spiritual Formation

5 Indicators that your Church is Financially Overextended

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Immature organizations over extend themselves financially and self impose artificial lids as a result.

In a time of year where most churches are finalizing budgets I thought it might be helpful to share some indicators that I’ve observed in churches that are financially overextended.

#1 Your Staff Salaries are not Competitive

If you’re not able to be competitive with your salaries you’re not going to able to attract and keep the talent you’re hoping to have on your team. This is an indicator that you’re financially overreaching somewhere. Not sure how much you should be paying your staff? This post will help.

#2 You’re spending more that 50% of your income of Staff Salaries

As strange as it may seem, if more than 50% of your income is being spent on Staff salaries then you’re staffing costs are beginning to constrict other ministry areas of the church.

#3 Low Cash Reserves

In my work with churches across the country I’ve discovered that if you have less than 8 weeks of undesignated cash reserves available at any given time you probably have too little financial margin to deal with unforeseen obstacles and set backs.

#4 High Debt Levels

Again, in my work with churches through the Unstuck Group I’ve discovered that if your church is carrying more than 2x your annual budget in debt than your debt load is beginning to constrict ministry opportunities.

#5 You Can’t Say Yes to the Opportunity Jesus is Giving You

If you can’t say yes to the vision Jesus has given you then your church is financially overextended. The bottom line is fairly simple. If Jesus has given you a clear vision to lead the church towards then part of your responsibility as a steward of that vision is to build (or enlist others to help you build) a financial strategy that will get you to that vision.

Posted in Leadership

Why Volunteering is the Biggest Issue Facing the Church

Monday, May 25, 2015

I’ve never coached a church leader or consulted with a church that said they had enough volunteers. In fact, most church leaders I speak with identify a shortage of volunteers and volunteer leaders as one of the top 5 issues holding their church back from reaching the vision that Jesus has given them. But contrary to the popular belief among many church staff, the issue isn’t a poor talent pool. Your church is full of talented volunteers. In fact the people who attend your church are so talented that companies actually hire them to do jobs everyday and they actually get paid for it (sarcasm indented). The real issue is that the church needs to change the scorecard. We need to shift the focus of paid-staff from ministry production and execution to volunteer and leadership development. The churches that do this understand the following 5 principles and the incredible results that accompany applying them.

1. Volunteering makes your Church “Sticky”

Want to figure out how to close the proverbial backdoor of your church and keep people from “leaving?” Then get people volunteering. People come to church for all kinds of reasons. But the top two reasons people stay at a church are “relationships” and “responsibility.” Volunteering checks both of those boxes!

2. Volunteering is a Pathway to Small Groups

Most churches used to buy into linear thinking that says people come to church, then get into a small group and then start volunteering. That’s actually backwards. It’s way less threatening to volunteer and serve than it is to jump into a small group bible study at some strangers’ house with a bunch of other strangers. And guess what happens as people volunteer? They begin to develop friendships with other people they’re volunteering with and then get into small group bible studies with friends instead of strangers.

3. Volunteers are more Generous

It’s negligent of me not to point this simple fact out. That is, people who volunteer are more likely to be generous financially towards your church. The fact that they are volunteering means they’re with you and on some level buy into the vision of where you’re going as a church because they’re wiling to put their time towards it. Jesus said it this way, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

4. Volunteering is Discipleship

I’ve written previously that many churches still view volunteering as roles that need to be filled instead of people that need to be developed. Most churches are missing the boat on this simple fact: that people grow spiritually through volunteering and tangibly learning to live an others oriented life. The first Sunday School Class I taught, the first Mission Trip I went on…etc. I grew and gained far more than I ever gave.

5. Volunteering is the Biblical Mandate for the Church

“Volunteer Development” can be described as the two-word long job description of every staff person who receives a paycheck at a church. The Apostle Paul put it this way…”And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”

Posted in Volunteers

20 Ways Church Leaders can Help their Church become more Generous

Sunday, March 22, 2015

I’ve been around very few church leaders that didn’t wish their people would become more generous. But very few church leaders have defined a strategy to help their people take steps to become more generous. Fortunately last week I had a conversation with the Leadership Coaching Network that I lead about generosity and they came up with this great list of 20 ways church leaders can help their churches become more generous!

1. Preach about Money

Most pastors start to twitch when the idea of preaching about money comes up. But few things are more powerful than doing an annual teaching series or quarterly sermons where you help people biblically connect the dots between following Jesus and generosity.

2. Celebrate Wins & Connect them to Generosity

What you celebrate gets repeated. Help people understand that the life change that people who are far from Jesus are experiencing through the ministry of your church is directly connected to the generosity of the faithful followers of Jesus already at your church.

3. Be Prepared for a Significant Gift

If someone were to drop a 6 or 7 figure gift would you know what to do with it? Do you already have a strategy?

4. Make it Easy for People to Give

No one carries a checkbook anymore, so come up with simple modern methods for people to give to your church. For instance a reoccurring automatic online withdraw, stocks, property, bill pay, text to give, giving kiosk, and be prepared to help large donors consider tax implications.

5. Say Thank You

Pretty simple. You’d be surprised how few churches simply say thank you, not just from stage, but through a personal handwritten note.

6. Intentionally Set Up the Offering in the Worship Service

Don’t just receive an offering during your worship service. Take a moment to help people understand what is happening and what happens through their generosity.

7. Receive an Annual Missions Offering

Model generosity through receiving an annual generosity offering where 100% goes to a cause that is connected to the unique vision of your church.

8. Host a High Capacity Donor Dinner

Identify and invite high capacity donors to a dinner to say thank you and help them understand the vision that Jesus has given your church and their part in it.

9. 90 Day Giving Challenge

Challenge people to begin the spiritual habit of giving for 90 days…and get this…provide a 100% money back guarantee. Literally.

10. Tell people to Take Money Out of the Offering Plate

During the offering tell people that they can take loose cash out of the offering plate if they are in financial need.

11. 5^th Sunday Benevolence Offering

When there is a 5^th Sunday in a month take the lose cash from the offering and use it to meet the physical needs of people in the church.

12. Require Giving for Membership

Literally require people to give in order to become a member of your church…and yes that means checking to see if they give.

13. Model Generosity through Stories

Tell stories of people who have been generous and share the results and impact of their generosity.

14. 1^st Time Giver Letters

Send a personal handwritten note to say thank you to people the first time people give to your church.

15. Send a Thank You to Generous Givers

Send a personal handwritten note to say thank you when people give a generous gift to the ministry of your church.

16. Send Out a Mid-Year Contribution Letter

Send a mid-year contribution letter to everyone who has given to-date to the ministry of the church, including wins and stories of life change.

17. Provide Financial Training

Help people learn how to handle their money through training opportunities like Financial Peace University.

18. Annual Commitment Cards

Each January encourage your church to fill out an annual commitment card indicating what they are planning to give this year.

19. Legacy Giving

Provide the opportunity for people to write your church into their will or living trust.

20. Provide a Creative Annual Report

Create a visually intriguing annual giving report and send it to every donor. Include stories, pictures, and info graphics that share wins and how money was spent this last year at your church.

Posted in Leadership, Spiritual Formation

Why People don’t Volunteer at Church Anymore

Sunday, February 22, 2015

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 1-in-4 adults volunteered their time in 2013. Altogether, 62.6 million Americans volunteered nearly 7.7 billion hours in 2013. Based on the Independent Sector’s estimate of the average value of a volunteer hour, the estimated value of this volunteer service is nearly $173 billion.

People in the community you live in volunteer their time. That includes people in your community who know Jesus and those who don’t know Jesus. But are they volunteering at your church?

In our research at the Unstuck Group we’ve discovered that:

The average church in America engages 43% of their adult and student attenders in some kind of volunteer role.
The Top 10% of churches in America engage more than 72% of their adult and student attenders in some kind of volunteer role.

That being said, I’ve never worked with a church that said they had enough volunteers to accomplish the vision that Jesus has given them. In fact here are some of the most common reasons why people may not be volunteering at your church:

1. Your Church has too many Paid Staff

A common reason many churches lack volunteers is because they pay their staff to “do” the ministry instead of “lead” the ministry. At the Unstuck Group we encourage churches to move towards a staffing ratio of 1:100 (1 full-time-equivalent staff person for every 100 people attending the church). The most effective churches have a tendency to move towards having fewer, more competent, and higher compensated staff.

2. Your Church has no Compelling Vision

Volunteering is one of the ultimate statements that someone can make that says, “I believe in this place and I’m with you.” The percentage of people volunteering at your church should act as an indicator as to how many people have bought into your vision and are “with you.” Does your church have a compelling vision that naturally inspires involvement?

3. Your Church has Poor Volunteer Strategies

Poor volunteer strategies are common in church-world. Often times we make it difficult for people to volunteer by making them fill out an exhaustive multi-page application, do a face-to-face interview with a staff member, go through a background check (which I’m in favor of when it comes to working with minors), take a class, or be a church member. Making people jump through hoops to volunteer that are often meant to increase commitment can actually have the converse affect and become barriers for people to overcome that they simply won’t waste their time with. There is a difference between volunteering and leading. I imagine there are probably some roles at your church where someone doesn’t even need to know Jesus to volunteer.

4. Your Church cares more about the Ministry than the Volunteer

Asking people to volunteer every week in the kids ministry because you have a value of consistency for the kids involved in the kids ministry may be noble, but alas ineffective. It’s a sure way to lose volunteers. It also keeps others from getting involved because the same person is in there volunteering every week, not making room for more volunteers. Often times I see churches that care more about what they can get out of a volunteer instead of what they can invest in a volunteer. Churches forget that volunteering is discipleship. People actually grow spiritually by volunteering and living out an others oriented life. So why not do what’s best for the volunteer instead of the kids? Those kids aren’t there every week anyway. If you do what’s best for the volunteer, chances are you’ll have happier, more fulfilled and more consistent volunteers. Which would make for a better ministry wouldn’t it?

At the Unstuck Group we help churches benchmark their behaviors and metrics to gauge their Church Health through a Ministry Health Assessment tool. Interested? Follow this link to learn more.

Posted in Leadership, Volunteers

Page 1 of 312 3 »