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June 27, 2008
Are institutional costs squeezing out ministry?
Those who are critical of the established church believe that too little of the donations received by members goes directly to ministry. Steve Atkerson writes in The Ministry of Giving:
But consider that perhaps it is not the best use of your giving resources for them to be spent on special church sanctuaries, janitorial fees, landscaping, fancy throne-like furniture for pastors to sit in, or eighty thousand dollar pipe organs. Primarily, God intended: to help the needy and to support church workers (missionaries, church planters, apostles, evangelists, qualified elders, etc.).
I think Steve's point of view represents a reactive movement that believes institutions are inherently inefficient and cost too much to operate. From a church perspective, just keeping the building functional is often a significant amount of money. When you add salaries and benefits into the equation, the situation seems to get worse.
I can appreciate where Steve is coming from. I can also make room in my mind to accept the fact that every organization or institution must fight the eternal struggle of escalating administrative costs.
The weakness in his argument comes in the assumption that those administrative costs don't produce any ministry. Yes, ministry staff costs money. Salaries and benefits are always the largest part of any organizations operating expenses. And with the rising cost of health care, this situation won't remedy itself soon....if ever.
But each staff member represents an area of ministry. It's the staff members who visit hospitals and nursing homes, provide counseling and benevolence distribution. It's the staff members who perform weddings and funerals and plan Bible Studies and mission trips.
If just any average person could do these tasks, then we wouldn't have to pay staff members. But as the demands from the people in the pew continue to grow so will the administrative costs of the church. The result is the church's ability to meet the needs of the people.
As churches continue to become more complex organizations, their administrative costs will continue to rise. But so should the church's ministry to the community. The accountability of a church doesn't lie in its ability to limit the growth of adminsitrative costs. The balance of those rising costs is in the results of the ministry of the church itself.
More money really does mean more ministry.
Posted by bstroup at 1:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2008
Stewardship and Assimilation are closely linked
A new study conducted by the Center for Responsible Buiness at UC Berkley examines the connection between asking people to volunteer their time and donate to the cause in contrast to only asking for donations.
The findings were exactly as one might expect. Those who volunteered with an organziation gave at higher levels than those who simply provided donations to the cause.
There are four major catagories when you consider the lifecycle of a church member: Acquisition, Assimilation, Retention and Attrition. The healthy church balances its acquisition strategy with an emphasis on assimilation which results in long-term retention and minimizes premature attrition.
In the assimilation stage is where we help new members or regular attenders find a small group or ministry area to get involved with. Church growth experts tell us that people who find a good fit in a small group type setting also have higher levels of overall satisfaction, volunteer involvement, hold more leadership positions and give more consistently than members or regular attenders who remain wallflowers.
If we combine the findings of this new study with what we know about the lifecycle of church membership, then we'll be able to make the inherent connection between stewardship and assimilation.
The better we are at getting our members and regular attenders involved, the better givers they will be. Why? Because giving is the result of emotional, relationship driven experiences.
The best givers in your church also have the most invested emotionally.
Posted by bstroup at 10:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 23, 2008
Fundraising requires asking and thanking
I've spent a lot of time on this blog talking about ways to be more ministry minded in our thinking and giving. I've struggled to provide meaningful answers to some of the big questions like "How do we fully fund our church ministry?" and "How do we sustain our ministry over time?" But I've never written anything (anything!) on showing appreciation to our donors.
I honestly can't believe I haven't written on the subject of thanking our church donors. In fact, this idea didn't occur to me until I read Fundraisers need to focus more on appreciation.
What an incredibly simple idea! We make appeal after appeal for the bus fund and the building fund and every other kind of fund imaginable. We send our semi-annual (or quarterly or even monthly) contribution statements to stimulate giving. But when was the last time we sent a thank you letter to our members that didn't end with another appeal to meet the budget?
If donors are people too, then we should begin by thanking those who have contributed to the growth of the Kingdom through the support of our local churches...personally.
Maybe....just maybe....if people felt appreciated, they might respond measurably to our sincere appreciation by giving more. And we wouldn't even have to ask for it.
Posted by bstroup at 9:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2008
Stewardship in Top 5 signs of a healthy church
How do you know if your church is healthy? As individuals, we can go to the doctor for physical. The doctor then analyzes the results and determines whether we are healthy or not. That's easy. But how can church leaders know if their church - not the church down the street - is healthy.
I found it thrilling that "stewardship of time, talents and treasures" made it as #4 in the 25 Signs of a Healthy Church.
Giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment. That means if you're struggling to find people in your pews who are willing to give their time, talents and treasures to advance the Kingdom, you are confronting a spiritual problem rather than simply a practical reality.
It all comes down to our understanding of the Lordship of Christ. Who owns the assests that we call our time, talent and treasure. It is for us to use for our personal gain or to advance the Kingdom?
Here is my challenge to every pastor. I would encourage you to take this list and give it to several key leaders and staff members in your church. Let them evalute each of the 25 signs individually. This will help you objectively determine whether or not your church is healthy.
Posted by bstroup at 1:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 18, 2008
Increasing interest in offering envelopes
As gas prices continue to rise along with other living expenses, my conversations with churches are changing. They are asking better questions about financial integrity and ways to hegde any loss of contributions from their membership. I'm excited about the increase in interest from church leaders about becoming more intentional about their stewardship and giving practices.
I wanted to point back to 8 qualities of church financial health for quick reference.
I'm curious. What are you doing to ensure that church giving doesn't become then next line item cut in your members' budgets?
Posted by bstroup at 1:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2008
World Hunger and General Relief funds provide hope
It has been said that the SBC is known more for what it is against rather than what it is for. And in recent history this has proven to be true. Baptist Press recently highlighted that $600,000 in releif efforts in Myanmar and China alone has been funded by gifts of people in the pews of Southern Baptist churches.
Combining the World Hunger and General Relief funds set up through the International Mission Board's Human Needs Ministries, Southern Baptist have found a way to collectively pool money together (over $200 million total) to provide hope for people in the midst of devastating circumstances. And a natural by-product of this activity is our ability to share Christ in places that make little room for the Jesus many of us consider as common as popcorn at the the local movie theatre.
This is a story worth telling.
Posted by bstroup at 1:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 16, 2008
Johnny Hunt talks about the Cooperative Program
I was pleased to read that one of Johnny Hunt's priorities is the Cooperative Program.
In Hunt Elected SBC President, he comments:
Hunt praised efforts at this year's convention to increase the participation of younger generations. Instead of "constantly saying, 'Give to the Cooperative Program,'" he said, "We ought to show the generation coming behind us all that the Cooperative Program is doing." When taking a special offering in his own church, Hunt said he first tells what is happening and then proposes how to respond, whereas in the SBC, "We try to take the offering before we tell the story."
I agree with Johnny. It's time to begin retelling the story. We know that giving is the result of an emotional, inward connection with the cause, person or project that benefits from the donation. We can't just skip to the giving part before we tell people why CP is important.
The problem is my generation is two generations removed from the one's who started CP. And my parents just did it because they heard and saw their parents do it. The story hasn't been consisently told for so long that my generation isn't even at the "what" of CP; we are still at "why."
What are you doing in your church to tell the story?
Posted by bstroup at 1:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 6, 2008
LifeWay Envelope Service at the SBC in Indy next week
I'll be attending the SBC Convention in Indy next week. That means I'll be taking a week off from posting content. I'll pick back up again the week of June 16. Until then, feel free to browse around. There's a lot to read.
By the way, LifeWay Envelope Service will have a booth in the LifeWay area of the Exhibit Hall. I encourage you to stop by to say "Hi" and introduce yourself.
I'd love to meet you.
Posted by bstroup at 1:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 5, 2008
10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times
Fundraising Success Magazine recently published 10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times. Out of the top 10, two really jumped out at me with respect to churches.
Tip #6 says "Ask for money, regularly."
As people become less and less confident about the economy, they will become more and more careful about how they use their money. One might think that not talking about money in the church in times like these would ease some of the pressure facing families today. Not true. It simply means that it's more important now than ever for churches to make their appeal and remind people that fully funding and sustaining the work of the church is every Christian's responsibility.
Tip #10 says "Encourage monthly giving."
The author writes, "The lifetime value of monthly donors is much higher than single-gift donors..." If you don't already have a strategy in place that provides a systematic giving opportunities for your members, regular attenders and visitors, it's time to consider it.
Even within my corner of the world, we've seen a rise in the inquiries from churches who are interested not just in boxed sets but mailing offering envelopes to their members on a regular basis. (Shamless plug, I know. But it's relevant to my point. Forgive me.)
Giving is and will always be a spiritual issue because giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment to the ministry of the local church. That means it's important not only to address the spiritual realities behind consistent giving but that church leaders provide a way for members to exercise this discipline on a regular basis.
Posted by bstroup at 1:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 3, 2008
Cooperative Program giving is up
Baptist Press reported yesterday that CP was up nearly 1% compared to last year. The Cooperative Program may be one of the most difinitive inititatives of Southern Baptists. In fact, even with all its faults, it's arguable the most effective denominational ministry and missions funding strategy on the market.
It's easy to take a cheap shot at just about anything. And by no means would anyone say that the system is perfect. But CP allows Southern Baptists the ability to fully fund and sustain the ministry of Christ until his ultimate return. Now that's good stuff.
Posted by bstroup at 8:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack