5 Easy Steps To Increase Giving In Local Churches

I am not a huge NACAR fan but the level of skill exhibited by the drivers at top speeds is fascinating to me as a leader.  However, no driver is successful without quality ownership and a high-capacity team around them regardless of their skill.   

One of the most under-appreciated aspects of the NASCAR experience is the role of the pace car.  During a “caution period”, such as an accident or some obstruction on the track, the pace car enters ahead of the leader and guides the participants around the track at a predetermined speed.  During this time, no one can pass the leader. 

These are “cautionary” economic times for churches.  Whether it’s the unemployment rate, federal regulations, or some other indicator, there are obstructions on the track of us doing ministry and creating generous Christians.  The question we struggle with is who have leaders designated to be the “pace cars” for their churches.  Unfortunately, too many have allowed Wall Street, the banking industry, or the government to set the pace for our churches.

However, there are many church leaders who have decided that the relief of suffering and the funding of vision should not be left in the hands of others.  They are involved in creating communities that are missionally generous and proactively addressing felt needs.  

For your church to increase its “Pace of Generosity” the pastor and leaders set the pace, and no one will pass them.  To help church leaders know how to lead better in this area, the following are five easy-to-implement success links that allow for funding of vision and significant life-change to occur:

• Frequency - Churches that are missionally generous, unapologetically ask for resources weekly.  These churches understand that life-changing ministry requires funding and that it is privilege to join God in the His redemptive work.  In addition to asking for involvement, these churches are constantly looking for creative ways to engage the audience.  The offering is taken up at different times during the service and is always attached to a personal story.  You cannot increase the pace of your generosity without keeping opportunities to participate constantly in front of your church.
• Fervor - The relief of suffering and having a fully-funded vision matters.  It matters to God and therefore should matter to us.  Church leaders who are creating missional generosity are pointing people towards those who God misses most.  There is a passion and feeling that poverty, sex trafficking, hunger, a lack of clean drinking water, and general suffering is no longer acceptable and I must do something about it.  They then make a call to action and provide action steps to how someone can make a difference.
• Feasibility - Churches are the only place where people continue to write checks.  Churches with a generous culture provide on-line giving and kiosks in their lobbies.  The key to engaging the next generation of donors is ease and accessibility.  Additional benefits of on-line giving are that it reduces the summer decline of resources because payments are automatically taken out and payments are even received after someone leaves your church.  
• Financial Freedom –  Many times generosity is not the real issue.  People want to give but their financial life is upside down and they just can’t.  I recommend that churches create stewardship education strategies such as the Financial Learning Experience to help their families with budgets today so that can participate in generous efforts like capital campaigns tomorrow.  This allows families in your church to take the generous journey of Stability (living within a budget) to Surrender (becoming a faithful tither) to Sacrifice (over and above generosity).
• Future –  1 Timothy 6:17-19 states “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.  Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”  Thanks Paul, enough said.

It is exciting to see what God is doing in many churches.  Pastor or church leader, if you implement these five success links, you too can set the pace for generosity in your church.  If we can help you at INJOY Stewardship Solutions in this journey, please let us know.

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