Looking for churches conducting shorter capital campaigns
One trend I’ve seen emerging in churches related to capital campaigns is shrinking the 36 month capital campaign fulfillment period to 18 or even as short as 12 months. I’m working on a story for a Christian publication related to the subject, and I’d like to interview a few church leaders who have made this decision.
No preparation needed. The interview would take about 30 minutes.
Has your church made this decision? Do you know one who has? If so, please respond in the comments section of this post.
7 reasons churches should talk more about money
I’m really excited to see another voice join the conversation of ministry funding. Yes, Money and Mission is targeted at the general nonprofit leader, but I think church leaders can learn from this dialogue, too. In fact, I share the same passion and point-of-view of the blog’s author: Money creates margin, and margin yields more mission and greater potential impact.
Here are 7 reasons churches should talk more about money:
1. The people in your pew are already talking about it.
2. No Money. No Ministry.
3. Silence risks allowing the money God intended to fund His kingdom to go elswhere.
4. Your personal inhibitions do not justify your silence.
5. Giving is an important spiritual discipline. It is equal to prayer, fasting, Bible reading, etc.
6. Stewardship and generosity will change the culture of your church.
7. It is one of the most universal realities that can be used to build a bridge to a lost world.
Are you ready to join the conversation of money, mission, and ministry? (Hint: It’s not optional.)
Get over yourself…people want to give
Church leaders let their personal inhibitions get in the way of assisting God’s people to give God’s money in God’s way to fund God’s work. I would suggest that if you fear the conversation of money because…
…it’s uncomfortable for you…
…you’re afraid people will leave the church over it…
…you believe people don’t want to hear about money in church…
…then you are consumed with yourself rather than the spiritual growth, development, and discipline of the people you are called to lead.
OUCH! That’s hurts. I know. But it’s the truth.
Don’t believe me? Listen to a pastor’s wife who together with her husband gives away as much as 60% of their annual income says about leaders who don’t ask them for a gift of any size:
“There’ve been times I’ve been part of fund-raising activities, and the development staff didn’t ask me for a gift, probably thinking that because I work for a nonprofit, I wouldn’t have much to give. I felt really hurt by that. I was there because I wanted to give.”
While you’re silence about money in church preserves your ego and fans your flame of frustration over funding, people are being robbed of the opportunity to be faithful to the commitments they’ve made to fund the work of the Kingdom.
Maybe the problem in the funding equation in your church is you, pastor.
People can give more than you think
One of the greatest challenges I face in helping pastors fund the vision God has given them is moving beyond the impression that no one in their church has money. I hear it from pastors of big churches and small churches…
“We’re just a simple church made up of simple people.”
“We don’t have anyone in our church who has a lot of money to give.”
“Our people are maxed out in their ability to give.”
And every one of those pastors would be…WRONG!
God’s funding capacity is unlimited. If we serve in God’s church, then our funding potential is also unlimited.
The reality is that people give…
…at the level of perceived need.
…to causes and organizations that have a plan and demonstrate impact.
…to people they know, like and trust.
I have never met anyone who has run out of money because they decided to give. In fact, some of the wealthiest people I know are the most generous givers I know. And they don’t live the high life. Instead, they choose to live quiet, simple lives with quiet, simple people.
The people in your pews can give more than you think. Are you prepared to present a compelling plan that would cause them to direct those resources to your church?
4 things to do BEFORE you start a campaign
Most of the church leaders I meet with think that pre-campaign planning begins with the campaign itself. It actually begins before the campaign is even conceived.
The fallacy or risk in not strategically approaching the pre-campaign process is grounded in the assumption that everyone will say “yes” and support this new effort (mission project, new building, etc.). Even if you know the congregation on a whole will say “yes,” it’s common courtesy in a relationship to ask and not assume or demand anything.
Think about how weird it would be to get married without asking the other person to marry you. It doesn’t make sense in personal relationships, and it certainly doesn’t make sense when considering the relationship of the member to the church. No one…I mean no one…likes to be told what to do. A personal invitation will make all the difference.
Here are 4 things I recommend all church leaders do before you start any type of campaign:
1. Gain clarity about where your church is today. Jim Collins would say, “Face the brutal facts.” There is a HUGE chance that the perception of the person in the pulpit is SLIGHTLY different from the person in the pew. You need to know if the people in the pew (those who will execute and, ultimately, fund the effort) perceive the same need in the same way you do. The easiest way to accomplish this is through a guided discovery process that uncovers all financial, interpersonal, and ministry aspects of your church. This should be completed by an outside party because the church leader is too close to the situation to have any real perspective.
2. Meet with the people in your church who are your pillars of influence. Influencers may or may not be high-capacity givers. I would suggest that all your high-capacity givers are influencers but not all influencers are high-capacity givers. You need this group behind you. When you know you are on the same page, you have the confidence you need to move forward and you know others are ready to defend the direction you are heading when (not if) “the static” begins.
3. Examine your personal inhibitions about money. Few church leaders find it natural to address the subject of money. However, your personal objections and inhibitions don’t erase the fact that Jesus spoke more about money than he did about sin and salvation. Part of the responsibility of leading God’s church is cultivating the resources God intended to fund the Kingdom. Generosity/stewardship doesn’t just happen; it’s intentional. I’m convinced that a leader who can’t ask for financial support from his congregation is not ready to lead a campaign. Period. End of discussion.
4. Connect the campaign to Kingdom impact. There is a rising tide of what I call the hybrid campaign. All the elements of a traditional campaign exist accept the total amount raised is parsed out among international mission efforts, local mission efforts, and on-campus/multi-site improvement or expansion. Whatever the elements of the campaign are, the goal is not the work in and of itself. People don’t want to fund more busyness. Rather, the goal is to increase ministry impact, expand Kingdom initiatives, and multiply ministry opportunities. The goal should be to create a more sustainable, high-impact Kingdom footprint than the church has today.
If this sounds like a lot of work, it is! If you’re thinking about skipping over the pre-campaign process, let me caution you to do the homework necessary to be ready to ask your congregation to support the direction you are headed (that will probably cost millions of dollars) when they have plenty of alternative giving options available to them.
Are you ready to lead your church through your next campaign?
Preaching impacts church funding
A new report makes the connection between preaching and the generosity habits of Christians. Why Christians give? identifies a lack of preaching and teaching about money in church as the primary reason in which the church is losing out on necessary funding.
This report was recently featured in Christian Today: Churches losing out on funds because of poor preaching on giving. In my opinion, the key paragraphs in this article are:
Most Christians, the report noted, are no longer giving habitually but rather evaluating where and how they give, making it more important for charities to understand the dynamics of giving.
Kolaneci said: “Evangelicals are not a homogenous group; they have different priorities, different motivations for giving and different preferred ways of giving,” she said.
“Leaders and organisations need to abandon a one-size-fits-all model of fundraising to truly engage with them. For those that are prepared to make the effort, the rewards are still great.”
What should leaders be thinking about?
1. Opting out of preaching on money, tithing, stewardship, and generosity is not an option (and never has been). When the pastor refuses to talk about money, he leaves the person in the pew with only one voice to shape their thinking about money…culture.
2. The blind trust that weekly tithes and offerings are automatic and will “just happen” is the same kind of blind trust investors had in subprime mortgage-backed securities. Just as those subprime mortgage-backed securities failed, so will our ability to fund the work of the Kingdom if our strategy doesn’t change. The biggest shift should be in no longer resting our entire funding strategy in weekly tithes and offerings.
3. The person in the pew is giving in the context of a new “normal.” The giver wants more information, direct access to senior leadership, input in how money is being spent, and holds expectations he or she will be informed about the ministry impact made as a result of their giving. (Think shareholders report, not simply another night of “open mic” testimonies.)
4. It’s about the giver, not about you. I tell pastors regularly, “People don’t have a giving problem, they have a giving to your church problem.” Why is that? Giving is an emotional decision. Applying a manufacturing lens (one-size-fits-all) to your approach to money and giving in your church, leaves little room for individualization and personalization of appeals. Just as we minister to people in different ways, we should deal with money in ways that are appropriate to the individual giver. You don’t talk to a high-capacity giver about suffocating debt, and you don’t talk to someone suffocating from debt about giving large sums of money for a special project.
The message of the article and report should leave pastors with a sense of hope. If we believe that God is provident, then we must also believe he will fund whatever he has called us to do. It’s the job of the leader to cultivate the gifts provided in the person in pew. I love the focus on the possibilities instead of the numerous “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” reports that have become commonplace these days.
When was the last time you preached on giving?
Don’t underestimate the power of human networks in church funding
I haven’t fully utilized LinkedIn, but I do check my “network statistics” from time to time.
It occurred to me that my potential to carry a message forward expands as more people are included in my network. And remember every person in the pew has a network, too.
So what in the world does that have to do with church funding?
Here it is…are you ready? (Bet your NOT.)
Empower the person in the pew to carry forward your message, campaign, mission, to their social networks. That means church leaders will have to reveal MORE details related to money raised, resource investing, and Kingdom impact made. Don’t expect them to “just figure it out.”
You have to give away the ability to control the conversation. (Hint: You NEVER controlled the conversation in the first place.)
People don’t care what you think. You are the company spokesperson. You are supposed to be positive, affirming, informed, and excited. The person in the pew cares A LOT about what his or her peers – the other people in the pew – think. Use that reality to your advantage.
Are you talking about money in church in such a way that it is empowering the person in the pew to be an evangelist for the organization itself?
3 steps to a balanced church budget this summer
Summer is one of the most dreaded times of the year for church leaders (especially the business administrator). People scatter. And so do their donations. There was a time that people would mail a check or even drop it by the church office on their way out of town. Those days are long gone.
Churches deal with this reality in various ways. Some keep a separate “summer reserve” account in addition to their “rainy day” fund to maintain cash flow when the contribution line graph usually takes a steep decline for at least six weeks. Others plan their expenses to occur in the Spring and Fall in anticipation of the summer decline.
Whatever “dance” you have devised to manage the summer slump, here are three suggestions you might want to consider before summer arrives:
1. Leverage e-mail communication. Make sure you have everyone’s current e-mail address. (Good rule of thumb: update every 30-90 days.) It easy to keep people connected through e-mail. And research shows that even millennial donors prefer e-mail to every other communication platform when receiving information from organizations like churches. Don’t forget about video-mail which allows you to add a personal touch to your message.
2. Promote online giving. It may be a little late for a full-blown campaign to increase participation in your church’s online giving options, but it never hurts to remind people it’s available. Chances are they didn’t hear you the last time you mentioned it. (Good rule of thumb: About the time you’re tired of hearing yourself say it, that’s when the person in the pew begins to listen.) Using auto-giving options such as auto-debits or bank drafts keeps cash coming even if the members aren’t present.
3. Upgrade your Facebook presence. Since several hundred million people around the globe use this platform, your church might want to consider investing some time and people into building a social media presence through Facebook. Share crazy videos from church camp, link to your Worship services, and keep the stories of life change coming. Facebook has an amazing way of keeping people connected even though there is no direct or immediate personal interaction or dialogue. Don’t miss out on the benefits of building community even when your members aren’t there on Sunday.
Summer is coming. You can’t change that. What steps will you take today to ensure your church is fully funded throughout the entire year?
Have you tried something to overcome the summer slump and it worked (or failed miserably and you can laugh about it now)? I’d love to hear about it.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy takes a snapshot of Generation Y
Part of the “new normal” of church giving is that our approach and appeals to our congregation related to church funding are going to have vary by demographic. We are a micro-communication culture that wants to be communicated with in practice, language, and through mediums that are “native” to our worldview.
The risk is not that we’ll upset someone by not meeting their expectations.
The risk is that some will never “hear” us at all.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy provided a nice overview of Generation Y (people born between 1970 and 2000) in their May 6, 2010 print edition.
$341 Average amount members of Gen Y donate annually
3.6 Average number of groups they support
57% Share who have volunteered in the past year
21% Share who say helping others is on of their biggest priorities
20 Median number of text messages they sent in the past 24 hours
83% Share who has slept with their cellphones on or near their beds
29% Share who made their donations online over the past two years
37% Share who joined a charity’s online social network in the past month
Are you prepared to change your funding plan to meet the “new reality” of church giving?
