Giving

9 Ways To Reverse A Downward Giving Trend In An Otherwise Healthy Church

In even the healthiest and strongest of churches and ministries, finances are never automatic.

Giving patterns have changed. Even people who love the church and are fully committed to its mission are not giving as much as they once did.

Giving is like any other skill. Very few people are born with an inbred desire and ability to give. Everyone needs to be taught how and why giving matters. And that’s up to us, pastors.

Thankfully, the Bible is full of great teaching about stewardship and generosity, but we must always remember that God’s Word is not as concerned with our money as with our hearts. Which is why we need to teach more about generosity than giving.

It’s possible to give without being generous, but no one can be generous without giving.

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4 Assumptions Pastors Can No Longer Make About Church Giving Patterns

The way people give is changing.

If your church hasn’t felt the results of those changes yet, you will soon.

If you are feeling them, you may be scrambling to figure out what’s happening, why, and what to do about it.

The good news: everyone is experiencing this, or is about to. So you’re not alone in it.

The bad news: everyone is experiencing this, or is about to. So even the usual lifeboats (denominational support, and so on) are less likely to be there when we need them.

Since these changes in church giving patterns are so universal, the sooner we understand what’s happening, the better.

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People Won’t Commit to the Church Any More? Don’t You Believe It

It used to be fairly easy to get church members to commit to consistent giving and/or volunteering. Ask for a missions or building pledge, and people would do it. Mention the need for Sunday School volunteers and folks would commit every week for decades.

Not any more.

Are people not as committed as they used to be? Have we all become that unreliable? I say no.

People are as committed as they’ve always been. They just commit in different ways now.

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The Big Ask: Another No-Fault Reason Most Churches Will Never Be Mega

“Most churches will never be mega, because you can’t build megachurches on regular givers alone. You need some huge donors. And there’s not one pastor in a million who can successfully do The Big Ask. Who can put their arm around the shoulder of a wealthy donor and convince them to donate a million dollars.”

Recently, someone cited that quote to me after hearing it from a megachurch pastor.

As soon as I heard it, I thought “of course!” It’s one of those obvious truths that you can’t believe you never thought of before.

It could have been included as the tenth entry on my post, 9 No-Fault, No-Excuse Reasons Many Healthy Churches Stay Small. Instead, it will have to stand on its own. Which it probably deserves to.

Here are seven important truths we need to know about The Big Ask:

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