3 Easter Offering Mistakes

You’ll have the biggest crowd of the year, both online and in attendance, but if you make these 3 Easter offering mistakes, you could lose the potential for your best offering ever! For many churches, the Easter offering can be a shot in the arm, helping them wipe out any giving deficits.

Who even thinks about the offering on Easter? I do! And you should too! Why? First, you always stand to take in more when more people are present. Is there any better attended day than Easter? Secondly, you will have a chance to gain new donors from those that visit your church on Easter. You still have time to start planning the offering for Easter and avoid these three mistakes.

The First Mistake is…

De-emphasizing the importance of taking up the offering. This is one of the biggest failures in churches today. The offering is not seen as a priority. At least not until June when a church is behind budget; wondering what happened? De-emphasizing the offering occurs when churches…

Don’t see the offering as worship. The offering is not an interruption of worship. The offering is worship! So, let’s make it worshipful.

Worry that it will turn people off. It is not that the Church talks too much about money but how we typically talk about money that turns people off. Help people see what the offering supports, eternal life change, and they will gladly give you money to support that cause.

Have a business-as-usual approach to the offering. Most churches, when it comes to the offering, do the same thing every week, year after year. To increase your offerings, you need a new approach.

The Second Mistake is…

Not planning out the offering. Think of all the hours you will put into planning out the Easter service. From the sermon to the music to staffing all the volunteers, you will spend countless hours of planning. You know that the more you plan, the more likely Easter will be a success. Now, how much time do you typically spend each week planning and preparing for taking up the offering? I rest my case.

The Third Mistake is…

Not making a case for the offering. Don’t assume people will give. Don’t assume they know what the offering is for. Make a case for the offering. I call it connecting the dots. Spend a few minutes before the offering talking about how the generosity of those attending fuels all the amazing life changes your church is involved in. I have a mantra that says, “Get a story, work your story, tell people about your story, and people will give you money to support that story.”

What is the story behind your offering? Start thinking of what you can say on Easter morning that will cause people to want to give to your church. The work you put into the offering this week might be what helps ensure your summer missions and ministries are fully funded.