The Keys to An Effective Easter Offering

Easter is seven Sundays away. Are you ready for the offering? Let’s get you and your team started planning how you can have an effective Easter offering. I will get you started in this edition of the Coach entitled The Keys to An Effective Easter Offering. I know how impactful an Easter offering can be because I have helped churches raise millions of dollars on Easter, and you can, too, if you follow these keys to an effective Easter offering.

The first key is having the right attitude – Too many church leaders see the offering as an intrusion into worship rather than an act of worship. Let’s stop apologizing for asking people to financially support our work for the Kingdom.

Next, you need the right focus – I have two primary goals in my approach to the Easter offering. One goal is to receive an amount equal to one additional week of giving. The second is to gain new donors. Why is this important? The average church loses each year around 15% of its donors. We call that The Churn Rate. So, if that is the yearly average loss, you must always add people to the front door of donations to offset those leaving the back door. Next,

You must have the right plan – You can’t decide at 10 PM on April 8th that you want to do something about the offering the next day on Easter. The more time and effort you put into your plan, the more likely you will see a successful offering. Try my playbook, Say Yes to Easter Giving, at https://acts17generosity.com/shop/say-yes-to-easter-giving/.

Finally, you must have the right vision – Your message must always be clear, concise, and, most of all, compelling. Here are some thoughts about the vision behind your “ask.”

• The more specific your “ask,” the more impactful the response.
• Share one key area where giving funds makes an impact.
• Since you know you have guests, make it outward-focused on children or youth-driven.
• The more personalized the story, the more impactful the results.

So, decide now what you want to ask for and build out the case for why people should give now!

How can we make a specific “ask” when the offering is going towards our budget? Let’s say you put the focus on children. You talk about the need to provide a safe environment for kids, and you might give a personal story about the impact of your children’s area. Then here is what you say, “It costs $xxx to run these urgently needed programs that benefit kids and youth. Your gift will help bring these wonderful services to our community.” You are not asking for restricted gifts — instead, you are asking for help to “run” the programs. The code word is “run” the programs. This keeps it in the unrestricted realm but allows you to focus on one specific ministry. Laying the foundation now for your Easter offering will pay dividends not only on Easter but beyond. Start planning!

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
mark@acts17generosity.com