Thoughts on Raising Capital
What is the future for raising the capital funding you need? The list below is some of the key issues churches will face as they attempt to fund future capital expenses. How will you respond? How long will it take you to raise the amount you need? The answer to that question depends on how […]
Planning for the Future
Build, renovate, or repurpose the facilities you need and pay off any debt quickly. That has been my advice for the last few years. I thought about that last Sunday night as I attended a Leadership Summit at the church my wife and I attend. Our Executive Pastor announced plans to renovate and expand our […]
Church Facility Stewardship: An Interview With Tim Cool
We are broadening our list of contributors to bring you the best thought leaders in stewardship. Did you know that stewardship is more than giving money? In fact, our goal is to help you increase generosity based on biblical stewardship. Biblical stewardship can be defined by an understanding that the earth is the Lord’s and […]
How Pastors Can Become Stewardship Connected
The Disconnected Pastor is the number one reason churches struggle financially. The question is, how can you become connected? Here are some thoughts on how pastors should be engaged in the stewardship process. One of the major reasons that pastors are disconnected from stewardship is time. The tyranny of the urgent seems to always press […]
Revisiting the Top Ten Stewardship Mistakes Churches Make
What are some of the top mistakes that churches make when it comes to stewardship? Are you guilty of any of them? I asked those questions at the start of my 2012 book, The Top Ten Stewardship Mistakes Churches Make. Recently I was reviewing my files when I came across my rough draft of this […]
Why Do Pastors So Often Neglect Stewardship?
“That is the first sermon on giving I have heard in twelve years!” Those were the words of a deacon at a church where I was asked to preach. After twelve years of ministry, their pastor had just left to start a mission. Apparently, the last pastor, although greatly loved, never preached one sermon on […]
The Value of Donor Segmentation
“Effective fund-raising churches refuse to treat all people as equals – and people truly are not when it comes to giving. Most of these churches develop some kind of segmentation strategy in which they categorize the congregation into types of donors.” (George Barna, How to Increase Giving to Your Church) My lead post shared a […]
The Power of a Picture for Raising Funds
“Over 6 million children in the U.S. go hungry. Your gift now will help us eradicate hunger!” Which picture would you attach to the above appeal? Would it matter? A new study by Infinity Concepts | Grey Matter Research entitled RACE & GENDER IN FUNDRAISING: EXPLORING POTENTIAL BIAS AMONG EVANGELICALS gives an answer. It’s the […]
Improve Retention with Sermon Notes
The following post was written for my sponsor, OnlineGiving.org and can be found at https://www.onlinegiving.org/blog. A few Sundays after I resigned as a Senior Pastor and began working full-time in the stewardship ministry, I found myself daydreaming during my pastor’s sermon. I was shocked to realize that all those years, I thought people were listening […]
The Way Forward is Back
Remember when our Christian leadership was telling us that we cannot “go back” to our pre-COVID world because it no longer exists? In this issue we will examine how The Way Forward is Back. During the height of Covid, it seemed that was all we heard. We were told to prepare for a future with […]