Recently a layperson in one of our Missouri Baptist churches emailed us the following: “I was just appointed chair of our Stewardship Committee and have been tasked with getting it up and going again after the pandemic. This is new territory for me. Any suggestions or resources would be appreciated.” Sadly, stewardship...
CP giving soars to more than 12% above budget. That was the Baptist Press headline on February 3rd, and it is certainly something to rejoice about. The lead paragraph sums up the state of giving in the Convention by saying, “The start of 2022 indicates a continuation of recent giving...
In my twenty-five years of serving as Recording Secretary for the Southern Baptist Convention, I have been blessed to serve with many godly and gifted leaders from across the Convention. That blessing has helped make me a better leader, but more importantly, it has improved my walk with Christ. It’s...
Won’t a focus on the offering for Easter turn guests away? That is probably the biggest pushback for any discussion emphasizing giving this Easter. We have been talking about preparing for the Easter offering for the past few editions. We thought it would be good to share a few principles...
It’s time to start thinking about Easter, the Easter offering that is. We are starting a mini-series focusing on the Easter offering. In this first Journal of the series, we want to make our case for thinking, planning, and praying for Easter on April 17th. Covid taught us that the...
Over 112 million people watched the Super Bowl this year. Many of those millions didn’t care who won or lost or even much, if anything, about the game. They watched the Super Bowl for the commercials. In fact, according to a study, 37% of Super Bowl viewers last year admitted...
The majority of churches in America receive the bulk of their giving from members of the Baby Boomer generation. Every day, 10,000 Boomers turn 65 hastening the day of their retirement. With our largest donor base aging, the question we have been asking at the Journal is, how can we...
How are we, as pastors, to lead God’s people to give? And, how can we preach on that which we are not living out? Please allow this “older brother” to share what I have learned after forty-plus years in the ministry about the power of the gracious giver. I’m inspired by...
“All the church ever talks about is money.” We have all heard that, right? As a result, many pastors have feared asking people to give at all for fear of driving people away. But according to a new study, churches are not asking too often. In a new study of...
“Has the Pandemic Made Your Pastor Want to Quit? Probably,” was a recent headline at Christianity Today’s blog site. 1 No doubt you too have seen similar headlines. For the last two years, Pastors have been plunged into a multitude of decisions creating stress and burnout. Without question, we are...
