Author - Mark Brooks

The Offering As Our Valentine

Let me save some of you guys’ marriages by reminding you that Tuesday is Valentine’s Day! Don’t forget! Americans love Valentine’s Day. We must, as we will spend 24 BILLION dollars expressing our love for that special someone. Last year, the average spent was $174. Would it surprise you that men...


The Essential Tools for an Easter Digital Giving Strategy

The following is an excerpt from my new playbook, Say Yes to Easter Giving. You can obtain a copy at https://acts17generosity.com/shop/say-yes-to-easter-giving. With Easter only weeks away, it’s time to start planning your Easter offering! Easter is the church's best-attended day of the year, and now it will be your most viewed...


7 Keys for Adjusting to the Post-Covid Attendance

How is your attendance? The answer to that question depends greatly on where you live and how long you kept your congregation locked down. Lifeway Research reports that, on average, churches are running at 85% of their January 2020 attendance figures.1. “While some pre-COVID churchgoers have not returned to church...


The Attendance Challenge

Losing Their Religion: Why US Churches are on the Decline was a title by the Guardian that grabbed my attention recently. The lead sentence sums up the article well: “Churches are closing at rapid numbers in the US, researchers say, as congregations dwindle across the country and a younger generation...


How Do You See the Glass?

Do you see the glass as half-full or half-empty? Filmmaker Woody Allen famously said, "I see the glass half full…but of poison." 1. Woody Allen must have been prophesying about life in the 2020s! I won't sugar coat it; 2022 was another challenging year for us here at CHURCH NAME. Yet,...


How to Assess Your Church’s Giving Landscape

Let’s start with the easy and the obvious. What is your weekly offering need? If you don’t know, stop reading this and find out, and don’t come back until you know the answer. After establishing what your base weekly need is, the next marker you need to know is how giving...


Four Reasons Why You Must Analyze Giving

Yesterday, January 29th, marked the 5th Sunday of the New Year, and my question for you is, do you know how giving is going? I have found that pastors who know the answer to that question are more likely to make their budget than those who can’t answer the question....


What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Are there any classic rock and roll fans here? Who let the Boomers in? It will be Valentine's Day in a few weeks, and retailers have their cards and candy ready for purchase. It led me to think about love songs, and I wanted to know if any of you...


How to Introduce Stewardship Planning to Your Staff Meetings

The Basic Elements of Stewardship Planning – I wrote a basic outline a few years back that shows how to approach stewardship awareness and planning in staff or Finance team meetings. First, review. Start by reviewing the results of current giving compared to past giving. I recommend that you share a...


A Yearly Overview of Stewardship Planning

At $99.99 a year, I’m the cheapest staff member you have and the most valuable in helping you hit your budget numbers. By subscribing to and following my advice each week, you can be fully funded to do all God has laid upon your heart. In this Coach, entitled A...