If You Want to Increase Giving Try a Changeup Pitch

Today’s offering advice is this, if you want to increase giving try a changeup pitch. I know little about baseball, but I do know that successful pitchers must have more than one type of pitch in their repertoire if they want to get a batter out. One such pitch is the changeup.

The changeup pitch is one that is slower than a fastball and thus surprises a batter to swing before the ball reaches the plate. A changeup pitch keeps batters thinking. Even a pitcher throwing 100 mile an hour pitches must changeup what they normally throw. Why? Batters adjust to the speed of the pitch as they get used to that speed. Even Nolan Ryan, who many think of as the greatest fastball pitcher of all time, threw a changeup pitch. The changeup pitch keeps batters guessing and on their toes.

The changeup pitch has truths to apply not just to baseball but to life. If you continually do the same thing, the same way, at the same time people will tune out or worse ignore you. In our fast-paced, overly saturated communication world our message often gets ignored. You have to change up what you do and how you do it to gain attention.

When it comes to the offering, most churches do exactly the same thing week in and week out. They never change anything. As a result, the offering becomes an afterthought that is ignored. In recent years, writers such as myself have placed heavy emphasis on making the offering time worshipful and meaningful. For instance. I have written more than 500 offering talks; producing one a week for those that subscribe to my weekly newsletter, The Stewardship Coach.

Offering talks are one way to change what you are doing thus keeping donors on their toes. Yet, if you do offering talks the same way every time, your members will lose interest and your message will be lost upon them. You need a changeup pitch. Here are some practical ways you can change your offering pitch:

• Move where the offering is taken in the service. It might surprise you but doing this simple act will cause people to take notice.
• Personally interview ministry leaders about their mission and ministry. What if you interviewed your VBS Director for two minutes, ending by encouraging people to give to support VBS?
• Use pictures to show the amazing things your church is doing. If you have screens why not show pictures of missions and ministry while you take up the offering. This will help your attendees SEE what their gifts do.
• Use video. If a picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth even more. With today’s technology anyone can use their smartphone to shoot a video appeal to give.

The bottom line is to change up what you do so that your attendees will always be on their toes. So, if you have always taken up the offering the same way each and every week, think about how you throw a “changeup pitch.” Putting time and thought into your next offering will make a huge difference in what you take in.