Do you know how your members give to your church? Twenty years ago, that question would have been easy to answer as most churches provided few giving options beyond the Sunday morning offering plate. Things have changed dramatically, according to a new study done by the Barna Group. Barna recently...
Scrolling through social media this past week, I came across this headline, “Top 5 Heresies Among American Evangelicals.” The link led me to a Christianity Today article about a survey released by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research. It’s not an encouraging read. How can it be when the survey found...
Few companies are as profitable as Apple. Most Apple products are met with immediate acceptance and quickly become best sellers producing millions of dollars in their first year. But this is not always the case, as reported in a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “When Did We All Start...
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Matthew 22:21 Those were Jesus’ words in answer to a trick question presented to him by the Pharisees. The question was, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Paying taxes was a huge issue for...
As I travel the back roads of Missouri, this time of year always catches my attention. After watching the barren fields of the winter give way to the fledgling seedlings grow into tall stalks of deep green, I now see the browning tassels of corn waving in the late summer...
I want to share with you how a Labor Day offering plan can help close your giving gap. First, you might be surprised that I would contend you could see an increase in giving on Labor Day. Three-day weekends are typically tough on offerings. Yet, with a good plan of...
I’ve been helping churches increase giving and givers for over twenty years. In my time as a Minister of Stewardship, I have observed that one of the major reasons churches experience financial difficulties is, in part, a lack of planning. I have a saying, I call them Brooks Mantras, that...
In my over twenty years as a Southern Baptist pastor, few people commented on my sermon points. I think they forgot them before they left the building! But they still remember many of the illustrations and stories I told to this day to buttress my points. That’s the power of...
Are we headed for a recession? Mark Brooks, The Stewardship Coach, gives his answer to that question in his column of this edition, saying, “My view is that recession or not, we are in for a challenging year for giving.” As a result, we at the Journal have been writing...
With inflation running nearly double digits and an economy filled with uncertainties, how should your church prepare for next year’s budget? Our team at the Stewardship Journal probes that question in our lead post. It’s budget planning time for many churches and setting a budget that can’t be met is...
