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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to Avoid the Coming Giving Crisis
Americans are giving to charity at lowest level in nearly 3 decades. That was the headline of a post that I clicked on recently. The article, posted by Axios, summed up the decline by saying, “Americans gave 1.7% of their personal disposable income to charity in 2022, the lowest level they had given since 1995.”1. […]
The Changing World of Giving
The Changing World of Giving is the title of this week’s Coach. The following is drawn from a recent Lifeway Research report and from a post I filed for my sponsor, OnlineGiving.org. As we prepare for end-of-year giving, I want to focus on how people are giving and what you can do to help increase […]
The 2023 Fourth Quarter Giving Guide
It’s September, and I am starting to get emails about end-of-year planning. Those emails are coming from non-profits. Non-profit organizations (NPOs) understand that: Churches can see similar results if they start planning now. Let’s get started with this Coach entitled The 2023 Fourth Quarter Giving Guide. In this Coach, I will outline a broad overview […]
The Three Primary Keys For Fully Funding Your Church
Generosity is not caught, it is taught. Yet many pastors act as if their members will eventually “get it.” I was one of those pastors early on in my career. I seldom, if ever, preached on giving. When I realized that Jesus taught more about finances than any other subject, I realized I needed to […]
What Should a Capital Campaign Consultant Do?
What Does a Capital Campaign Consultant Actually Do? That was the subject line of an email I recently received from a non-profit fundraising consultant. The email began by saying, “Have you ever wondered what all these capital campaign consultants actually do? Is what they do all “smoke and mirrors,” or do they bring real value?” […]
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 […]
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 […]