How Will This Impact Giving?
The following is a personal opinion piece by Mark Brooks “How will that impact giving?” That is the question I always ask as a stewardship minister. When the economy goes south, I ask this question. When weather cancels a service, I ask that question. When a crisis such as Covid-19 appears, I ask that question. […]
The Central Baptist Story
How old is your newest building? That is a question we raise in this edition of the Stewardship Journal as we begin a series in the month of June about project development for churches. As we often do, we wanted to hear real-life stories from MBC pastors about how their church was handling their building […]
Should We Teach Giving During VBS?
By Richie Rhea, Care Pastor, NorthRoad Community Church, Moscow Mills, Missouri VBS. So many memories. I was blessed to attend Vacation Bible School every year of my childhood. As a pastor, I haven’t missed a single year. Some years, I’ve attended more than one. That’s about 63 years of uninterrupted VBS. Although as a child, […]
Is the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in Trouble?
“Through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Southern Baptists have given over $5 billion to international missions,” proclaims the International Mission Board’s website.1. Many churches saw their greatest response ever to the offering this past year, setting record dollar amounts. So, how can the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering be in trouble? The answer lies in seeing […]
The Value of Segmenting Your Donors
“Effective fund-raising churches refuse to treat all people as equals – and people truly are not when it comes to giving. Most of these churches develop some kind of segmentation strategy in which they categorize the congregation into types of donors.” George Barna in How to Increase Giving to Your Church Do you segment your […]
Not All Recurring Giving is Digital
Which would be better, a large one-time gift or a small gift given monthly over time? In this edition of the Stewardship Journal, we share the importance of setting up recurring giving through your online provider. How significant is a recurring gift? Let me show you by telling you the story of my parents. Every […]
We Are Your Stewardship Resource
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 is new territory […]
The Questions No One is Asking About (But They Should!)
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 trends in the SBC as […]
An Interview with Dr. Willie McLaurin
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 hard not to benefit from […]
This Easter, Let’s Change the Conversation About Money
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 on emphasizing giving this Easter […]