Making Your Appeals Appealing
If you weren’t the pastor, would you read your emails and letters? If you, a person highly invested in your church’s vision, are not moved by your appeals, how do you think that same appeal will appeal to your rank-and-file members? If your appeals are not appealing, you will never get an audience, and your […]
From the Desk of Our Executive Director
Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal. Hello from NOLA! That’s New Orleans, Louisiana, the site of the annual Southern Baptist Convention. This will be a significant Convention for me as it will be my first in many years NOT serving as Recording Secretary of the SBC. I always enjoy Conventions as it is […]
The Importance of Knowing Your Giving Metrics
The following was published at https://www.onlinegiving.org/support/the-importance-of-knowing-your-giving-metrics Here is a question we ask every church leader. “How is giving at your church?” We follow that up by asking, “Is giving growing not only by amount but by the number of people giving?” Then we ask, “Do you have many new givers, and are any of your […]
9 Questions to Evaluate Your Church’s Giving Health
33 Questions to Evaluate Your Church’s Health. That was the subject line of a recent email I received from Baptist Press. It’s an interesting read and provides a helpful analysis of the spiritual condition of a church. What I found amazing was that there was nothing said about stewardship. Few, if any, studies ever link […]
The Strength of the SBC Lies in the Local Church
“What will you do if your side loses?” That was a question a reporter asked me at a Southern Baptist Convention in the late-1980s as I was getting into an elevator at the Convention headquarters hotel. Waiting in line for the elevator, we started a conversation that continued until he got off. Right before he […]
From the Desk of Our Executive Director
Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal. We are days away from the annual SBC Convention. Mark Brooks starts the lead post in this week’s Stewardship Journal, sharing a question a reporter asked him years ago. What will you do if your side loses? He shares important lessons for all of us as we […]
Your Last-Minute Summer Planning Sheet
Are you ready to head off the summer slump in giving? If I were a pastor heading into summer, here is what I would be asking myself, my staff, or my team. Practical suggestions for the 15 offerings of summer – Consider this… Have you started planning your summer giving plans and your 15 offerings? […]
Making the Case for Pastors Knowing Giving Trends
Should pastors of the church know how much each family/individual tithes? That was a question @AdamPage85 asked on Twitter the other day. This unofficial poll had 1,183 votes when I weighed in with my answer. 90.2% said no, with only 9.8% saying yes. I was one of that 9.8%. I’m going to share with you […]
Using VBS as a Tool for Increasing Giving
Where do Americans learn the value of charitable giving? John and Sylvia Ronsvalle of empty tomb, inc. state that “religion serves as the seedbed of philanthropic giving in America.” They point out in their studies that 90% of religious giving in America is done through a local church. Today, fewer and fewer of the younger […]
From the Desk of Our Executive Director
Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal. Many of you are days away from the launch of your Vacation Bible School. Down through the years, there has been perhaps no greater tool for evangelism than VBS. Have you ever thought of using VBS to advance stewardship? This week’s lead post is on just that, […]