The Stewardship Coach

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...


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...


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...


The 2023 Come Back Offering Edition

It’s the middle of summer, your members are on vacation, and I have a question for you: how is giving going? Summer is the most challenging time for giving, with July being the lowest offering month of the year for the typical church. The irony is that summer is the...


Coach’s 2023 Budget Training Camp

Football season is just around the corner, and NFL teams are heading to their training camps in preparation for a winning season. The work they do in July/August will pave the way for success or failure once the season begins. At the same time, churches all over America are beginning...


How to Preach Effectively on Giving

How long has it been since you preached a stewardship series? I ask this question every year when I write about the necessity of stewardship education from the pulpit. Why is it that most pastors seldom, if ever, preach on stewardship? The answer is that it’s unpopular, and we fear...


The 2023 Coach’s Annual Review of “The State of Church Giving”

“The critical question before the church might well be stated: Do Christians want to accept the death of the institutional church in the U.S., or get to work?” That is a quote from the recently released report from empty tomb, inc.’s thirty-second edition of “The State of Church Giving through...


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...


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,...


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...