3/4 of NFL teams leading after the first quarter go on to victory. I find the same is true when it comes to churches. In my experience, if a church struggles financially in the first quarter of the year, it will struggle financially all year. Your first quarter is crucial...
We have met the enemy, and he is us. That quote was first used in 1970 by cartoonist Walt Kelly for a cartoon he created for the first Earth Day celebration. His point was that man’s treatment of the earth is the real enemy of the planet.1. In my line...
Make it about reaching people. I remember when that popped into my mind as a young pastor. I was out in my driveway shooting hoops, thinking and praying about how to raise $1 million. Back in the day, that was serious change. I kept thinking, “How will I get people...
Is the economy hurting your church? That’s my question to you and the title of this Coach. Lifeway Research decided to put that question to American pastors. They stated that “2022 marks the first time since 2016 that more than half of pastors feel the economy is having a negative...
How wide is your back door? Every church has a back door. Ask any church leader about their backdoor, and they will talk about membership and attendance numbers. Everyone knows churches must work to keep people engaged or they will walk out the back door. My goal with this issue...
Have you given any thought to this year’s #GivingTuesday? I’m finishing the updates on my yearly playbook, The 2022 #GivingTuesday Playbook. Every year I dedicate an issue of the Coach towards helping you benefit from this worldwide charitable push with my annual #GivingTuesday Preview. What is #GivingTuesday? #GivingTuesday is a movement...
When it comes to giving, my advice is don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Why? Blackbaud, a leader in the fund-raising industry, published a study a few years ago stating that successful charities relied on multiple channels to tell their story. Indeed, they stated that multi-channel is the...
We are days away from the start of the 4th quarter, and as always, I want to know, are you ahead or behind on meeting your budget needs? Starting with this edition of the Coach, entitled Starting Your End-of-Year Preparations, I will share how to catch up on your giving...
“I have found without exception that the lack of pastoral involvement in stewardship is the number one reason churches are failing to realize their potential in giving.” That is a line from the first chapter of my 2012 book entitled The Top Ten Stewardship Mistakes Churches Make. That first chapter...
What is your goal in stewardship? 83% of pastors in one poll agreed with the statement, “In most congregations, the goal of stewardship is defined as meeting the budget.”1. If this statistic is true, and I don’t doubt it, then no wonder we are having difficulty reversing the decline in...
