The goal of the Annual Pledge Campaign is to grow generous givers. The Finance Committee of your church may disagree. But the Annual Pledge Campaign is not about money, and it’s not about the budget. Our mission proceeds from the Great Commission – to go out into the world, baptizing and teaching in the name […]
Tag: giving
Reframing Money Talk in the Church
The people in your pews are most inspired by a mission that changes lives. But, do you ask people to support your budget, to pay the light bill, to keep the doors open? Do you need help reframing money talk in your congregation? For more information, see the latest Cheerful Giving podcast. Here’s the transcript: […]
Capital Campaign Case – Six Key Elements
There are four essential components in a successful capital campaign – the Case, Leadership, Prospects, and the Plan. Each one of these is critical to the success of the campaign. What is a Case for Support in a Capital Campaign? The Case is a written document that gives the rationale for the campaign. After reading […]
Inspiring Generosity, Thriving Stewardship
“Stewardship” is a church word frequently heard during fall pledge campaigns. Yet stewardship involves our whole lives. Every activity, every day, all year long. The annual pledge campaign is one tool to teach generosity. Congregations thrive spiritually and financially with a more holistic approach. “Help us with stewardship” This is the most frequent call I get from pastors […]
Endowment Funding through Bequests
Churches frequently ask me: “What’s the best way to increase our endowment funds?” Smart leaders know that an endowment can help the mission of their congregation. Once we do the hard work of establishing the Endowment – creating the Endowment Policy, opening the fund accounts, and establishing the invesment and disbursement strategies – then the hard work of funding begins. […]
Mortgage Burning for Churches
Mortgage debt could be crippling your ministry. Imagine how much fun it would be to burn those mortgage papers! Then imagine how much relief your budget will have when “Debt Service” is no longer a line item and a monthly drain on finances. What a time for a party! Mortgage burning parties used to be […]
What About the Offering Plate?
The next worship war might be over the offering plate. As blogger Wezlo says about the offering: The impending extinction of the offering envelope is not something I am mourning. In fact, I’ll be quite happy when it comes to a close. On the other hand, I find the idea of seeing the act of […]
Sharing Abundantly – A Model Sermon
Here’s inspiration for a sermon on giving and stewardship. This comes from the Rev. Henry Brinton, pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia. Sharing Abundantly Many, many great statements within. I like this one particularly. Henry asks his congregation to imagine a scenario in which the congregation receives 10% of the recent Powerball lottery as […]
Three Tips to Jump Start Planned Giving in Your Church
Very few church members will leave a planned gift to their church. Adding a church to one’s will is very easy to do. So why aren’t more members doing that? Because the church doesn’t ask. Fortunately, asking for a planned gift in the church is easy. There are three components which, when used together, help […]
The Evolution of the Church Offering
Before the offering plate was passed in services, churches raised money from the government, then pew rental fees. And now? Online giving is skyrocketing! Subscribe to our newsletter to join pastors and church leaders across the country who receive giving and generosity tips, advice, and resources first.