general

The SBC’s Ticking Time Bomb

Southern Baptist churches are heading into a crisis that will determine which local churches will survive and which will slowly die. The chart above identifies the ticking time bomb about to explode throughout the Convention. Can you see the problem? Can you do the math? 84% vs. 16%! 84% of the...


Reactivating Lost Donors

As we finish this series on the state of giving to churches, we wanted to provide you with insights on how to address the decline in giving. The following, used by permission, shows how to re-engage those lost donors. Only 32% of your lapsed donors realize they have not given to...


The Future of Giving: It Ain’t Good, Part 2

The average evangelical was giving away only 3.2% of household income to either church or charity, and 19% gave not a penny to either over the previous 12 months.1. Giving to the Church in America is in freefall, and I want to dive into why that is happening and what you...


An Interview with Ron Sellers

Last week, I interviewed Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research, one of the authors of a new study on giving entitled The Giving Gap: Changes in Evangelical Generosity. The study was done by Infinity Concepts | Grey Matter Research. Due to the length of the interview, I broke it down...


Effective Young Adult Ministry Depends on Small Groups

In this feature of the Stewardship Journal, we have focused on the decline in giving across all generations. In our interview with Ron Sellers, he mentioned how important small group engagement was. Scott McConnell, the executive director of Lifeway Research, graciously agreed to allowing our re-post of his recent article...


An Interview with Ron Sellers

In my opening post, I referenced a study entitled, The Giving Gap: Changes in Evangelical Generosity. The study was done by Infinity Concepts | Grey Matter Research. Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research was gracious enough to give me an interview about their recent report. Due to the length of...


A False Sense of Security

How can giving be up when it's actually down? The 33rd edition of The State of Church Giving through 2021 Intentional Miracles, a highly respected source, reveals some startling facts. In 1933, the worst year of the Depression, Americans gave 3.2% of their Disposable Personal Income (DPI) to the church....


The Coach’s End-of-Year Planning Edition

It’s September, which means it is time to start thinking, planning, and praying about your end-of-year giving strategy. Every September, I know it is time to focus on end-of-year giving as I am already getting end-of-year appeals from non-profit charities. So, I want to help you start your planning process...


The Coach’s Playbook for EOY Giving

If you have ever paid attention to football head coaches during a game, you will see they have a sheet of paper with various plays listed for each situation the team might face, including the last few minutes of the game. The following is my list of plays for an...