What’s your church giving plan?
We plan for everything. We plan our exercise schedule. We plan our vacations. We plan our retirement. We plan our day. (The list goes on and on and on.) It’s interesting to me that when it comes to some of the most important things in our orgaizations, we DON’T plan at all.
The church is the only institution ordained by God at Pentecost to carry forward the earthly ministry of Christ until His ultimate return. There is no Plan B. If the church shuts its doors because it can’t afford to keep them open, then there is no viable substitute available. That means church leaders have to ensure the long-term viability of the organizations we represent and are called to lead.
Compassion International. Word Vision. Bread for the World. All great organizations. While the work they manage must be done, they cannot and do not have the responsibility of facilitating spiritually transformative experiences with individuals and cultures. That responsibility lies with the church.
That being the case, don’t you think we should be very careful in our planning to ensure there is enough money to fulfill this God-sized task? It has been my experience that some church leaders rest on the strategy that “if I preach good enough and pray hard enough” the money will take care of itself.
WRONG!
I’m not denying the role of the Holy Spirit, but I am saying that such an EXCUSE doesn’t stand up to the call God has placed on the life of a church leader. Money and ministry are intricately connected, and those of us to who lead churches will be held accountable for our ability to cultivate what God has brought to us through the people in our pew in time, talent, and treasure.
Here are some great ideas for improving church giving. The article was written to the traditional nonprofit organization, but you can see the parallels. I would use these 10 things to guide you in developing a church giving plan.
DO SOMETHING! Today! Right now!
About
Ben Stroup recently joined GENERIS, an innovative stewardship consulting firm focused on accelerating generosity and funding the work of the Kingdom, after more than four years of ministry on church staff and five years of ministry with LifeWay Christian Resources.
His primary focus is helping churches maximize their giving capacity and diversify their funding streams while providing the structure needed to build long-term sustainable ministries.
Ben writes and presents at various events on subjects such as leveraging technology to drive funding, understanding the changing rules of church giving, and establishing sustainable funding models for ministry. His writing has been published in magazines such as Church Solutions, Church Executive, The Ledger (NACBA) and other trade and industry publications.
He maintains an ongoing dialogue about stewardship and giving with pastors and church leaders through the Church Giving Matters blog, Twitter (@ben_stroup), and Facebook (Ben Stroup).
Ben calls himself the “Chief Broker of Opportunity” because he helps pastors change the conversation from “What do we have to cut to survive?” to “What does God want us to do next?” He graduated cum laude from Belmont University. Ben and his wife, Brooke, and son, Carter, live near Nashville, Tennessee.
Ben published his first book in 2009 which sold more than 6,100 copies in the first 10 weeks and is currently available in more than 100 retail stores across the country. He is currently working on a second book.
View Ben’s profile for more information.
