Why should you read the Stewardship Journal? Because, Southern Baptists, we have a problem. Our denomination is in decline. Consider this: According to Thom Rainer, The Southern Baptist Convention lost 1.32 million members in just three years (2020 to 2022), more than any denomination for such a short period.1. In 2022, it...
First, for those new to the Stewardship Coach column/newsletter, my Bonus Section gives you practical advice on how to build out a culture of generosity. In this edition, I write about how to start your giving year out right. January is next only to July as one of the more challenging...
How much time did you take making announcements yesterday compared to how much time you stressed worship through giving? The typical church spends two to three minutes on announcements and zero time mentioning the offering. Is it any wonder that giving is declining, and younger generations are giving less to...
I’ll never forget days like that day in March of 2020 when our nation came to a screeching halt. I was in the shower getting ready to fly to Atlanta to talk with a denominational guy about helping them build a stewardship platform. I kept hearing my phone ring. The...
"Digital offerings will be the end of the offering as worship." That is what someone wrote to me many years ago when I wrote a post encouraging churches to set up online giving. Ten years later, my response is still the same as I gave then: the offering isn't dead...
The following post can be found at: https://www.onlinegiving.org/blog My goal in preaching is to get people to come back next week and bring a friend. I once heard a pastor at a preaching conference state that as his goal in preaching each week. Churches spend much time and effort getting...
Digital Payments Have a Jolly Holiday. That was a recent Wall Street Journal headline of an article that tracked Black Friday Cyber Monday sales for 2023. This year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales were flat, rising only 1.1% over last year. However, e-commerce sales were up 8.5%. The real...
What should pastors be thinking? That is the question I often ask myself. Notice I said what pastors should be thinking about. At this time of year, I’m lucky if a pastor even opens my emails! This is one of your busiest times of the year, but as we near...
Non-profits know how crucial end-of-year giving is. They have a plan, do you? Here are four tips to help you. Tip #1 – Have a plan and work your plan! If you are not planning, you are planning on failure, so let's devise a plan. Your plan in a nutshell… Social Media posts...
How powerful is gratitude when it comes to being fully funded at your church? Consider this stunning statistic, “Research has shown that first-time donors who receive a personal thank-you within 48 hours are four times more likely to give again. Yes, thanking in 48 hours equals a 400 percent improvement in...
