Six Thoughts on How to Preach on Giving

Let’s talk about some simple steps about how to preach on giving. Here are six guiding thoughts.

A series on giving is better than one sermon on giving. George Barna stated years ago, “A series on giving is nearly two and a half times more likely to experience an increase in giving than preachers who only talk about stewardship once a year or two nonconsecutive times in a year.”^1. So, start planning out your next series on giving.

The theme, content, and focus need to be positive, not guilt-ridden. Most preaching on giving too often comes off laden with guilt. Guilt as a motivator never works toward building faithful stewards. Remember, the Scripture teaches us that “God loves a cheerful giver.” So, let’s make giving fun by…

Showing the importance AND impact of giving will lead to more giving. The preaching audience is different from what our fathers and grandfathers in the ministry preached to. With younger generations, especially, you need to show them what the gift does. Giving fuels missions and ministry, so your sermon series should help people make that connection.

Show them “What’s in it for them.” Before you object, consider that the Scriptures teach that God gives back to us when we give. Giving thus has a benefit for the giver. Showing people that their gift will have a positive return will mean they are more apt to give. When you teach people to be good stewards, you position them for financial security. It’s a win/win.

Think beyond the sermon series to creating a healthy stewardship climate. If you think that simply by preaching on giving, you will see an increase in giving, you are mistaken. It is the beginning of a process and plan you must have to build a healthy stewardship climate. Just as you cannot preach one sermon a year on giving and see giving increase, you cannot preach one series on giving and see positive long-term growth.

So, while preaching about giving is important, you must have a multi-tiered approach toward seeing your giving increase. We need to see preaching or teaching on giving as more than sermons from the pulpit or platform. Consider these ideas on how to “preach” on giving beyond your sermon…

• Use every offering time as a moment to teach the positive benefits of giving.
• Have a great online giving platform starting with your website. Don’t simply ask for a gift; show them what their gift does! We can help at https://www.onlinegiving.org/.
• Use short video clips sharing the importance and impact of stewardship. These can be used during announcement times and across all your other platforms. Think about this: 1 billion hours of videos are viewed every day!² We need to take our sermons where people are, and they are on the Internet.
• Use Social Media to focus on giving. One of my friends posted a picture on Facebook of a baptism and added this line, “Your giving goes to #SBCLifeChange! Thank you! Click here to support life change now. Then, they listed their online giving portal.

Be constant and creative about preaching on giving. That is my last thought or word of advice. For you to accomplish this, you must continually be thinking about and planning your sermons. Making time for this crucial aspect of ministry will mean that your church’s missions and ministry are fully funded.

1. Barna, George Barna. How to Increase Giving to Your Church. Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 1997. 92, 93
2. https://www.oberlo.com/blog/youtube-statistics