On Thursday, May 18th from 2:15 PM EST to 2:35 PM EST I am privileged to be one of the speakers for the 2-day online conference Bigger Faster Leadership Summit. If you have not signed up for this yet, let me give you an overview:
According to Dr. Sam Chand, the size and speed of your organization is determined by the systems and structures you put in place. Dr. Chand invites you to the Bigger Faster Leadership Summit on May 17-18, 2017 where he will unpack this idea. This 2-day online event will feature training from a team of highly most-respected leaders (one of which is myself!). The Bigger Faster Leadership Summit is perfect for pastors, market-place leaders, or anyone who wants to take their organization to a new level. In addition to receiving free-access to this event, Dr. Chand is giving away 2,000 copies of his brand new book, Bigger Faster Leadership. Click HERE to sign up.
The topic I will be discussing is 7 Systems Every Church Needs To Increase Weekly Giving. The following is an outline of my content:
General Truths
- Your systems and structures determine the size and speed of your church or organization.
- A system is anything you do twice.
- The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Dr. John Maxwell then observed, “Where there are no resources, the vision perishes.”
- The journey your church’s givers go on is from Struggling to Stability to Surrender to Sacrifice.
The following are 7 Systems Every Church Needs To Increase Weekly Giving:
- Sermon Series – People often do not give because they have not been taught what the Bible says about giving. They simply don’t know. I recommend two series on generosity semi-annually – in January and August/September.
- Personal Finance Ministry – The second reason people do not give to your ministry is they can’t. They are buried in debt. When people hear what God says about giving, the next step is to move them into a budgeting class. People come into your church with a house or rent note that stretches them, two car payments, credit card debt, and student loans. The best personal finance resource I know for churches is I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. This is what the Dodd family uses.
- First Time Giver System – When people give for the very first time it is a spiritual decision, not a financial one. People, moved by the Holy Spirit, have made the cognitive decision to trust God with what the world worships the most – money and possessions. To celebrate this milestone in their discipleship, I recommend a personal hand-written note from the pastor and a small gift. Randy Alcorn’s great little book The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving is a good choice. Click HERE and you can pick up copies for as little as $7.95.
- Weekly Worship Services / The Offering – As a pastor or church leader, you have an opportunity to preach on money and generosity every, single week. It is the two-to-three minutes before the offering. During this time, you will want to connect people’s giving to life-change and the advancement of your church’s mission and vision. It is an opportunity to show people their giving really does make a difference. Always use a Story, Stat, or Scripture. For some great examples you can use right now, click HERE for Four FREE Giving Scripts.
- Digital Giving System – Do you have $200 in your pocket right now? Chances are you do not. Passing the plate or offering basket is not enough because you are passing it to individuals with no money. You need to supplement weekly offerings with online digital giving. I recommend doing a major push to sign-up people each April and May before the school year concludes and attendance drops. Make sure you communicate the advantages of recurring giving. Some good organizations are Pushpay, Tithe.ly, and Giving Clicks.
- High Capacity Giver System – As a pastor, you should have a focus every summer on the top contributors to your ministry. This is a relational time (cookouts, going to the lake or ball games) when you are not asking them for anything. You are simply building relationships and investing in their lives. I have written much on how to disciple financial leaders. Make sure you read 11 Ways Pastors Get Maximum Financial Support From Financial Leaders and 11 Lessons From Jesus On The Relationship Between Pastors And Financial Leaders and 21 Lessons Pastors Can Learn From LeBron James’ Letter About How Financial Leaders Think.
- Communication System – There are things every fully-funded church does weekly (Offering), monthly (e-newsletter), quarterly (giving statements), semi-annually (message series and next-step personal finance classes) and annually (year-end giving, special offerings, capital campaigns). Once again, make sure each communication connects giving to life-change and the advancement of your mission and vision. For how best to increase weekly giving I recommend Fully-Funded. And of course for capital campaigns, I work for INJOY Stewardship Solutions. If you have a major financial need coming up in the next year, simply click CONTACT and I will be glad to personally follow up with you.
Once again, if you have not signed up for the Bigger Faster Leadership Summit and the opportunity to hear some of Christianity’s greatest leadership teachers, click HERE and do so today!
Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences. Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership, Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!