A Three-Legged Approach to Economically Negative Terms
50% of U.S. Protestant pastors say the current economy is negatively impacting their churches.1. “Most churches are not seeing growth in offerings that keep pace with inflation (currently at 3.7% annually according to the Consumer Price Index,)” says Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The good news is the economy is not negatively impacting […]
From the Desk of Our Executive Director
“The good news is the economy is not negatively impacting more churches than last year, despite persistent inflation and slower economic growth,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The bad news is that most churches continue to feel pain and discomfort from current economic realities.” That is a quote from a recent Lifeway […]
A Winning 4th Quarter Plan of Action
The following is a brief overview for your consideration and for future discussion. Social Media Push – Across all platforms of communication, we want to focus on the crisis you are trying to meet and the need to heighten awareness of that need. A picture is worth a thousand words. Let’s show the need before […]
A Winning Fourth Quarter Plan for Giving
Last weekend, football teams across America, from the Peewee ranks to the NFL, had players at the start of the fourth quarter raise their hands extending four fingers. Why? It’s a reminder to their team that games are won and lost during the fourth quarter. It’s a symbol asking everyone to give their all for […]
From the Desk of Our Executive Director
Can you believe we are now officially into fall? This is one of the busiest times of the year for churches as families have returned from summer break, and the typical church calendar fills up with events and programs. This can put a strain on your budget, making your end-of-year more of a financial challenge. […]
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 value of online giving. “Just […]
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 playbook, The Two Minute Drill. […]
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 plan out the next year […]
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 member has so many […]
#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 November 28th. $3.1 billion was […]