Yearly Archives - 2023

The $300 Case for Online Giving

To prepare for your best end-of-year offering, we must understand and realize the power of online giving. Millions of dollars are raised on the last day of the year, with almost all of it coming through some type of digital format. Here is a post I recently wrote about the...


A Sample Letter to Leadership

As we continue to focus on end-of-year giving, we have found that getting your giving leaders on board early in the process is key to any offering's success. I advise an advance letter about end-of-year giving to be sent out early in November. Here is a sample from my end-of-year...


Preparing for the Future

When it comes to future planning for your church, how far out do you think/dream? That question came to me last week as I sat outside on my patio. It was a Friday, and I had some downtime to think. It had been a busy week, and I need to...


From the Desk of Our Executive Director

Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal. Do you give yourself time to think, plan, and pray about the future? That is the question and topic of Mark Brooks,’ The Stewardship Coach, column entitled Preparing for the Future. Here is a quote from his post, “The typical pastor and staff...


#GivingTuesday for Churches

#GivingTuesday is a movement that started a few years ago as a global day for people to be motivated to give back. It always falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, after Black Friday weekend, and Cyber Monday, when Americans typically spend millions on Christmas gifts. This year #GivingTuesday falls on...


Preparing the Vision of Your End-of-Year Appeal

A compelling vision is the key to seeing an increase in giving, especially for special offerings. The following serves as a guide for developing the vision case statement for your end-of-year appeal. Step One:  List 3 things your church has accomplished in the past year. You want to point to "wins"...


How to Avoid the Coming Giving Crisis

Americans are giving to charity at lowest level in nearly 3 decades. That was the headline of a post that I clicked on recently. The article, posted by Axios, summed up the decline by saying, “Americans gave 1.7% of their personal disposable income to charity in 2022, the lowest level...


From the Desk of Our Executive Director

Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal. Our mission is to help you build a culture of generosity based on biblical principles that will help drive the fulfillment of God’s vision for your church. Our desire is to give you the help you need to help your church achieve...


The Right Tools for Addressing the Changing World of Giving

In the changing world of giving, one thing still hasn’t changed. What motivates people to give. Vision is the driver that generates the desire to give. Every appeal needs a driver, a compelling message that drives a donor to give. But the best driver in the world is worthless without...


The Changing World of Giving

The Changing World of Giving is the title of this week’s Coach. The following is drawn from a recent Lifeway Research report and from a post I filed for my sponsor, OnlineGiving.org. As we prepare for end-of-year giving, I want to focus on how people are giving and what you...