Your Last-Minute Summer Planning Sheet

Are you ready to head off the summer slump in giving? If I were a pastor heading into summer, here is what I would be asking myself, my staff, or my team.

• How is giving doing as we move into summer? Are we ahead or behind budget? How does current giving compare with last year? What were the results of last year’s summer giving?
• How is our cash flow? Can we fund the various initiatives we have scheduled? How much cash on hand do we need to fund each initiative?
• How best can we communicate what we are doing this summer in missions and ministry so that our people want to give to support that work?
• Have we visioneered our summer giving? Remember, dollars follow vision!
• Have we thought out each of the 15 summer offerings? See below.
• What special appeals, like emails, snail mail, etc., should we schedule and send out? What is the message behind each?
• Is our website and Social Media sites ready to communicate summer’s mission with links to support that mission financially?
• Basically, you want to ask if all the tools are in place so giving will not miss a beat.

Practical suggestions for the 15 offerings of summer – Consider this…

• What will be the focus of each offering? You have about sixty seconds to position your offering. Each offering of the summer should have some focus on missions and ministry. You are connecting the dots for people to understand where their money goes and the impact it makes.
• Who will be assigned to take up each week’s offering? Don’t make this an afterthought but a planned-out worshipful experience. The offering is not an interruption of worship. It is worship. Make sure whoever takes up the offering understands this and the message behind that offering.
• How can you creatively set up the offering? Some weekends you might use video, and at other times you might interview someone about various missions or ministry activities. Changing the format keeps people focused and paying attention.
• What other ways can the offering be enhanced for more effective results? Social Media posts, bulletin statements, etc. Be creative!

Have you started planning your summer giving plans and your 15 offerings? Get started this week!