UNDERSTAND WHY AND HOW PEOPLE GIVE

 

            In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the sixth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Understand Why and How People Give

            We often group everyone together with we talk about giving. We approach everyone the same way. And we make assumptions that if get new people in the pews, that giving will increase. I don’t believe any of these ideas or these assumptions are appropriate.

            There are giving trends that we need to be aware of: (a) some people give lump sums; (b) some budget their giving and give accordingly; and (c) some only give when they’re at church. So where do your givers fall? More in attendees, more in regular consistent giving or? Online giving can help flatten some of this out.

            New people usually give less than current people. How you approach new people who don’t have the habit of giving generously should be far different from how you approach people who are generous and regular givers. A campaign can have different approaches for different givers, such as different letters. Tailor your wording to your givers.

If some people are already regular givers, asking them to give a larger amount makes sense. They’re already invested in your church and are more likely to react positively to this ask.

If there are others who have previously pledged but aren’t pledging currently, you might want to approach them to invite them back in. They may only give sporadically; encouraging them to pledge will help increase that group’s level of giving.

            For those who haven’t given before, a different approach may make more sense. Encouraging giving by having a matching gift, up to a certain amount could motivate them. Telling them what giving can accomplish may also be new to them.

            Look at how giving is currently structured and plan accordingly.        

 

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                               MAKE STEWARDSHIP PRAGMATIC

 

            In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the fifth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship Pragmatic

            I know I often talk about the Biblical and theological reasoning behind stewardship, but we still have to be realistic. There are a few steps that are a good umbrella for your stewardship work, but could also be good for other aspects of your ministry.

            Have a clear vision of your objectives (or of the program), setting goals of what you hope to accomplish.

            Lay out the steps to get to your goal.

            Establish a timeline and set mini-goals so it’s not all being worked on at the very end, and no goal is too large,

            For each step or each notch on the timeline, identify what that means, who’s responsible for the step, and how they will be accountable for its completion and follow-up.

            If funds/money are part of what you’re doing, what is the source of those funds? Operating budget? Capital campaign? Fundraiser?

            You need to have the right people involved: (a) a person who will facilitate the leadership team (not do the work/facilitate the work) (b) a leadership team – this should include volunteers, but also look at who is around you; who has the gifts for what you want to accomplish; who has a background that will be helpful?

            When we talk about goals and wants and needs, look at the entire congregation, not just a vocal minority. What is needed? What is your church called to do? What can you accomplish?

           

 

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                                    MAKE STEWARDSHIP ONGOING

 

            In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the fourth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship Ongoing

            I don’t know about you, but I’ve been present in a meeting or two (and even thought to myself) – if we had someone like Bill Gates in our congregation, money wouldn’t be an issue! To be fair, large contributions can go a long way towards achieving goals, but if we focus just on large contributions, we’re missing out on the point! Being reliant on one or two large givers is, at best, going to help you for several years, but will cease being helpful. We need a congregation full of multiple givers, not just a couple, “givers that aren’t reliant on personal wealth and not susceptible to economic fluctuations.”[1] When all our members are givers that give what they can throughout multiple years, stewardship is successful.

            Here are a couple of points that the article makes, and that I want to make as well, that, too often, is the focus of our churches:

            Current Focus: We address finances only when we need money

                        Should be: Finances should be addressed regularly, not just when we’re in need, because the folks we’re talking to are going to equate that with an organization that is always in need.

 

            Current Focus: We address stewardship only once a year, OR when giving as dropped.

                        Should be: Stewardship should be a regular, ongoing, year-round thing. I’m not saying we spend all our time, every sermon, every conversation, asking for money. I’m talking about discussing stewardship, just like we talk about discipleship, as part of being followers of Christ, of being Christian, of worshipping God. Stewardship HAS to be tied to the vision and mission of the church, not the line-item budget!

            Something to consider in your finance and leadership teams is shifting from seasonal fundraising campaigns to a continual conversation about stewardship. Change the money perspective from “it’s that time of year when we need to talk about money” to being part of the goals and work and discipleship of the church.  

            These kinds of discussions can then lead to a better discussion of how all of that is the point, not the money. And then the conversation about how money enables the cause to happen will help.

           

 

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

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[1] The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, (Vanco), Page 6

                                MAKE STEWARDSHIP ABOUT THE CAUSE

 

            In continuing my reading the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the third of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship About the Cause!

            The Scripture sited was the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20):

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

            Doesn’t it seem like when we talk about stewardship, it evolves into talking about money, and then that evolves into talking about budgets, and the building and how much it costs to keep it clean, the amount of salaries paid to staff and all the stuff about keeping the doors open?

            Of course, sometimes we do have to have those discussions, but if those are the only discussions that happen when the topic of stewardship is brought up, then we are missing the point.

            The church isn’t the building, and if our entire focus is on keeping the doors open, then maybe we are landlords and not stewards.

            If we change our focus to the idea of how the building serves in the name of God, that might make a difference.

            Instead of fretting about the amount of money the church has to pay for salaries or how much the cleaning supplies cost, maybe focusing on being blessed by a clean facility, and how people are welcomed in a place that isn’t dank and musty, that might make a difference.

            These kinds of discussions can then lead to a better discussion of how all of that is the point, not the money. And then the conversation about how money enables the cause to happen will help.

            Tell the stories of how lives are changed, how the building serves the community, how the saints that came before us saw what God was doing and wanted to jump on with that.

            What is your vision? When you read your mission statement or your vision statement, ask yourself (or better yet, have the leadership of the church ask themselves) so that what????

 

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help