Using Your Campus and Platform Lanes to Increase Generosity
Do you have a campus strategy for stewardship? Do you use your platform effectively for stewardship? As I continue my series on the various lanes of stewardship needed to build and sustain a culture of generosity, I want to show you how these two lanes can work to achieve that goal. I will show you how in this edition of the Coach, entitled Using Your Campus and Platform Lanes to Increase Generosity.
First, let me establish that while I agree we must now be more hybrid in terms of worship attendance, I believe we must work to move people away from virtual to real-life reality. You can never replace in-person worship if you want to make disciples. Last year, I wrote about this in a post entitled The Physical Church IS Essential. I wrote, “From Hollywood to Madison Avenue marketing, we are being programmed to accept virtual as reality. It isn’t. The pandemic and the lockdowns that followed showed many how life could be lived without ever walking out the door.”
I then stated the premise driving my counsel when I wrote, “The American Church made a huge mistake when it accepted the idea that physical church attendance was not essential for Christian growth. The push for virtual is like 21st-century warmed-over Gnosticism. The virtual connection doesn’t fulfill the scriptural mandate: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” We must never allow the government to dictate church attendance. Physically gathering as a church is essential.” As we enter 2024, I am more convinced of this than ever.
Education and learning declined across all metrics for students whose schools eschewed in-person attendance for virtual learning. Keeping students from physically attending school has set our nation back educationally for years to come. Why would the Church think we would see any other results by going to a predominantly virtual attendance?
How will that impact giving? That is the question I am always asking. In a study, the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving part of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy found that “in-person attendees give more than their virtual counterparts. Virtual attendees are more likely to be passive spectators than active and engaged participants in the church’s life and coffers. Financially, the best option would be a church that promoted an online worship option but had a large majority of attendees participating in person.”1.
Physical church attendance is essential for making disciples and for moving those disciples to embrace a life of stewardship resulting in generosity. This is why you must think about how to use your campus and your platform to enhance stewardship and generosity. Here are my thumbnail descriptions for these strategies.
The Campus Lane – The strategy revolves around setting the stage for generosity to happen. Banners, posters, and even offering envelopes all play an important role. For instance, though their use is now on the wane, I have always recommended they have a kiosk visible on campus. Even those walking by without giving are reminded of giving. I want subtle reminders throughout the campus about giving and multiple outlets on campus by which people can give. See more in the Bonus Section.
The Platform Lane – I’m focused on what happens each weekend on your platform. While the platform I am focused on is physical, its reach, digitally, is vast. That digital projection works best live or recorded live from the platform of your worship space. Thus, you need a Platform Lane. Let me give you three practical ideas for using your Platform Lane to increase stewardship.
- Elevator pitch every offering! How? First, plan out every offering time. In two minutes or less, make a case for the offering. The best way to do that is to link giving to vision. We recommend you vary what you do for each offering. Sometimes, you might read one of my offering talks. Another time, you might use video or have a live testimony about giving. The point is to keep the offering time fresh. And remember, never EVER apologize for taking up the offering!
- Show and tell it! – By using screenshot announcements, plus video testimonies and appealing, giving appeals, you will increase giving awareness.
- Preach it! Let me, again, encourage you to plan your next stewardship series.
Even though no one knows what the future church will look like, for now, you can be sure you will need a Campus and a Platform Lane strategy. Let’s start building that out.
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
mark@acts17generosity.com
OnlineGiving.org, the leading online giving processor in America, sponsors my writing. OG is owned and operated by committed Christians active in their local church. Find out more about their services at https://www.onlinegiving.org/. You can also read the blog post I wrote for them at https://www.onlinegiving.org/blog.