I have had multiple conversation with church leaders today.  The topic has been the same in every conversation.

Topic: The church needs more money to accomplish their vision

One camp believes, “We are about to turn the corner and things will gradually get better.”  They say things like, “We have to grow the people who aren’t church people and get them to start giving more.  I don’t want to scare them off by talking about money too much though.”

The other camp believes, “We need to do something radical to create massive change in the hearts and lives of people financially.”  They say things like, “I am going to challenge each person to give super generously and I am currently meeting with people are willing to give big gifts.”

I will not say one is right and one is wrong but I will tell you this…

I RARELY SEE CHURCHES “SLOWLY GROW IN THEIR GIVING”.

It usually takes:

1. CATALYTIC jolt to get people to move spiritually.

2. BIG VISION for the future that is huge and takes corporate sacrifice

3. CONNECTION with God very specifically about the heart of generosity

4. URGENT need that without us pulling together we will fail

5. LEADERSHIP from the senior leader who is willing to lose people in the short run so they can accomplish the vision in the long run

Generosity is bred in spiritual growth of your people.  Comfort will not lead to growth.  CHALLENGE your people.  Make them move.  Give them something to go after. QUIT HOPING IT WILL GET BETTER, START LEADING!

1. Why Alabama’s offense keeps getting worse

2. Why the smaller the church the longer it takes them to make a decision

3. Where the internet really is

4. Why I haven’t blogged until recently

5. Why I like watching Go Diego Go with my 2 year old

6. Why it is hard to quit working sometimes and just go home

7. Grammer

8. How trees live so long

9. Why churches don’t write thank you notes to first time givers

10. Why I wrote this post

Jeremy Self, a friend of mine from Texas sent me this quote:

“Just because our heart is right with God doesn’t mean our books are right with the IRS.”  Unknown

That quote really hit a cord in my heart because we started The Change Group to help churches WIN with their money. I am seeing so many pastors STRUGGLE because they are consistently scared about the finances. I wanted to equip you with a few tips on making sure your church has solid financial systems.

5 Systems that will keep you out of the DITCH financially:

1. Spending system

Most churches we work with struggle with the expense column more than the income column.  You have to have accountability to MONTHLY spending for every person on the team. I see so many churches increase giving and spending all at the same time. Your problem isn’t the peoples giving, it is the staff spending.

2.  Savings system

I would suggest putting back AT LEAST 10% of everything that comes in into savings.  The earlier you do this the easier it is to live off of!  I promise you can do this if you catch it soon enough.  You will be happy you did.

3.  Bookkeeping system

You must have someone doing this OUTSIDE the pastor and his wife.  We suggest you have someone who is trained in bookkeeping to do this. Proper bookkeeping will help you know reality.  If you can’t pull a profit/loss report or a pie chart of expenses in five minutes that are UP TO DATE and accurate, this system is jacked up.  Let us help you with this. We wake up thinking about this stuff.  It is worth the money.  Click here and we will connect with you.

4. Auditing system

We suggest you have a CPA audit your books at least annually.  Put it in your budget, it is wise to do so.

5. Counting system

We suggest building a volunteer count team. DO A BACKGROUND check on this team. Most of your donor management admin input can be done by volunteers! This is a position we usually pay people to do during the week.  At my home church 90% of the contribution management is done through volunteers.  We run around 2000, so church planter don’t tell me you can’t do it Create multiple steps of accountability! PASTORS, NEVER COUNT!  Stay away from this! It will help protect your integrity with the money.

Any systems I am missing? What do you think about the quote above?

I recently heard of a church that collected 90% of their Capital Campaign funds during this terrible economy.  What impresses me is that the church is not a “fast growing church”.  They attributed this to one decision that they made during the follow up process.

This church sent a monthly “vision statement” with an envelope that showed the person how much they committed to give that month.  Basically they sent a monthly bill from the church !  They consistently shared stories of life change and offered detailed updates about how they money was being used.

I have heard of quarterly updates and monthly emails, but I have never heard of a monthly statement with an envelope.

What are your thoughts on this?  Would it be overboard for a church to do this for regular tithes and offerings?  Share with us any other creative ideas for campaign collection!

Capital Campaign Tip:

If you are interested in starting a capital campaign, let me know and I will turn you on to some of the best generosity leaders in the country!  Don’t waste your time interviewing companies, I have worked with and know a lot of the people in the industry and can help you out.  You don’t hire a company, you hire a consultant.  Be very selective on who you work with.  I know an envelope company that is rocking as well.  (No, I do not do capital campaigns!

I had the privilege of interviewing Rick Bezet on Tuesday of this week.  Pastor Rick is the founding pastor of New Life Church in Arkansas.  I was EXTREMELY impressed by our conversation.  My observations about Pastor Rick are that he is highly relational, very good communicator, GREAT question ask-er, extremely teachable, vision centered, humble, and LIFE GIVING!  Our 50 minute chat was extremely energizing and informative.

I am going to list the top four takeaways from my conversation with Pastor Rick.  I asked Pastor Rick specifically about funding the vision of New Life Church which he planted from scratch 7 years ago.

1.  You never quit talking about money

Rick spoke about how he funded his church plant 7 years ago.  He went around and spoke at churches and they took up a love offering and he had support from an outside organization (The ARC).  He spoke about a new series they have coming up in a couple of weeks that deals with the subject of money.  He talked about their offering times and how they intentionally talk about money during those times; HOWEVER, it is always talked about as a NON PRESSURE appeal!  What stood out to me is that Pastor Rick has created an environment that isn’t driven by just attendance, buildings and cash!  Though they talk about money, it is very natural and normal for their culture.

The bottom line is that you never quit talking about money.  It is a fact of life and in this day and time it is expensive to do ministry well.  I was amazed at how they have created such a life giving culture around their finances.  The no pressure approach has gained this church credibility with givers and people WANT to give, they don’t feel forced to give.

Key Question:  How well does your church do in consistently talking about money in a healthy way?

2.  Trust Jesus to speak to people

This was the most unique point we talked about.  Pastor Rick spoke to the fact that he really does believe if people will just seek God through prayer, the churches vision will be funded.  I have NEVER had a pastor tell me that in an interview about money.  Pastor Rick makes it a point to tell his people, “I want you to ask God what you should do with your finances.”  The trust factor in this is HUGE!  They don’t do gimmicks to get people to give or do anything special beyond sharing the vision and trusting the Holy Spirit!

Key Question:  When is the last time you asked people to seriously consider praying to God about their finances?

3.  Trust people

It was very evident to me that Pastor Rick trusts his team to lead.  He has built a great culture of people trusting people.  They have a spirit of release, not control.  This is a HUGE factor I am seeing in churches that are growing and well funded. If you try to control and micro manage everyone and every volunteer and small group, it really does drive a lot of people away.  When talking to Pastor Rick I felt a sense of God is in control and that they release people to lead and live out their God given passions.  This is A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR IN LEADING A THRIVING AND GROWING CHURCH!

Key Question: Do you generally believe in people or do you have a spirit of distrust and control?

4.  Tangibility increases generosity

Pastor Rick was talking about how people love to “own something” not just give to the black hole of the church budget.  We were talking about starting New Life and he asked people to buy things like the sound system verses just asking for a gift for 15k.  He made a good point about people want to “own something” not just give towards something.

Key Question:  How are you helping people see how their dollars are making a difference?

Rick Bezet is a great leader and worth following!  Thanks Pastor Rick!

1. You can hire a TEAM of outsourced people cheaper than ONE on staff person

2. We don’t go on vacation or have sick days!

3. We specialize in church finance

4. We work for you 40 hours a week, not just a few hours

5. We pay for ourselves by helping you increase operational revenue!

Click here to see how we can help

Here are the notes from my talk at New Life Church in Little Rock, Arkansas on Pre-Launch Fundraising

1.  Motives Matter

You have to care more about the person giving than the church you want to plant.

One of the biggest mistakes church planters make is centering fund raising around the church plant and what it needs.  I have seen a unique breed of planters that do really well in fund raising, do some things differently.  What if your goal was to help the potential donor accomplish the purpose God put them on this earth for?  What if you prayed God would grip their heart not just so they give to you, but that they become a generous person in the Kingdom?

2.  Create a Campaign (then go on the Campaign Trail!)

A. Create a goal for two numbers:

-Start up – Money you need to get launched
-Operational costs – Money you need to stay launched

B. Call it something

-Pick a name like (Season of Hope or Launch the Revolution, etc…) People like to give to SOMETHING, not just “my church plant”.

-Buy a domain name (www.godaddy.com).

-Make a simple campaign site/blog – this will provide updates and show people where you are with your goals.

C. Communicate through print, online, and personal touches

-Set a goal for amount of print pieces you will send to potential donors (more is better). Sending one letter will not work.

-Use email to drive people to your blog.  People don’t read long emails about your church (maybe your mom will )

-GET OFF YOUR BUTT, GET OFF FACEBOOK, GET OUT FROM BEHIND YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN AND MEET WITH PEOPLE IN PERSON!  Set a goal for the amount of private donors you will meet with.  Don’t know who to meet with? Use others’ credibility and meet with people THEY know.

3.  Tangibility increases generosity.

A. Create a baby registry for your baby church – breakdown EVERY dollar you need into a tangible item people can buy.  For instance: Our sound board costs 15k.  You can then break it down for people that you need five families to give 3k. This will help with launch!

B. Personal needs – PEOPLE LIKE TO GIVE TO PEOPLE!  I would breakdown your family’s needs into to categories and let people support your family’s living expenses or children’s activities or Christmas!  People LOVE to help your family.  Let them know how they can!

4.  Diligence

This is REALLY hard!  You have to ask double the amount of people, drive twice as many miles, and pay more than you thought you would have to pay.  This IS a huge responsibility!  Pastors, don’t pastor a BROKE church!  Get moving, start talking, create that letter, get fired up, and be inspired!  You can’t just pray your way to success!  YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD!

Pray like it depends on God; Work like it depends on you!

Churches need to balance the tension between Got To Have and Great To Have when it comes to staffing. Let me explain. Got To Have is what must be to be successful – the bottom line. Great To Have is a step up that makes everything that much better.

Great To Have ———————————

Got To Have ————————————

There are so many churches that I’m working with this year that are being hit with the reality of their financial situation. When the stock market was over 14,000, people were employed and the economy was going in an upward direction, churches seemed to move to a Great To Have mentality in budgeting for staff positions. Great To Have are the people you have on staff that make ministry easier. It is great to have them around, but in all reality you don’t have to have them to accomplish your mission, vision or objectives. Check out a couple examples.

Example 1:
Great To Have thinking: Full-time Graphic Designer on staff that can do all graphic needs; even the last minute stuff.
Got To Have thinking: Graphic Design is a must, so contract the design work out and save on the benefits and salary of a full-time staff person.

Example 2:
Great To Have thinking: Having administrative staff for every task and area
Got To Have thinking: Utilize volunteers that want to help and give their time during the week

Graphic desingers & administrative staff: I’m just using this as an example, don’t be mad at me.

So, we want to help you. Here are a couple things to use to determine if someone is a Great To Have or Got To Have position.

1. Results – ask yourself this key question: If this person were to leave my team, how would it negatively effect the vision and mission being accomplished on a weekly basis?

2. Relationships – key question: Are relationships a priority to them and are they highly connected to people in church?

3. Growth – key question: Is their ministry area growing spiritually (are people becoming more like Jesus) and numerically? Numbers don’t say everything, but they do say something.

What do you think about this? Let me know how we can help!

I have noticed a trend in churches: The executive pastor (XP) gets fired a lot!  I don’t have stats but I talk with 50-100 churches a month and it IS a trend.  I just want to offer my observations as to why the XP gets fired.  (By the way, I am usually one of the safe people the pastor calls to talk with so I get the REAL story, not the press release)

Disclaimer: Sometimes this doesn’t happen at all, but it happens a lot!

1.  They were hired too early

Most pastors in a church plant think they need an executive pastor to “get things done”.  The senior pastor is told if they want to grow they have to do less and let others do more, so the pastor hires the XP early on to get things done.  As the church grows the person that was hired was good for the church at 200 but not at 500.  The expectations are usually high for the XP because they are getting paid more than an administrative worker.

Senior pastors:  You need to probably hire an assistant early on, not an XP!  The assistant usually can scale with you better than the big salary you will feel you need to pay an XP.

2.  Unclear job description

XP’s usually are in charge of everything.  When the XP is in charge of everything it is very hard to define success for the job.  I usually see the XP doing a lot of everything but gets credit for very little.  The XP is then looked upon as someone who manages a lot but accomplishes a little.  When this happens the pastor starts to think, “What do you really do?  Are you really worth 50k?”

Senior Pastors: It is extremely important to define very clear goals and responsibilities.  This happens in the hiring process AND the review process.  You should do formal reviews at least twice a year.

3. Controling pastor

The pastor is told from conferences and books, “you can’t manage all your staff and meetings by yourself, someone else needs to do it.”  The pastor goes to the XP and says, “I need you to lead the staff and meetings.”  The change results in many people reporting to the XP and few to the senior guy.  This is cool for a little bit and the lead guy feels relief but soon after it falls apart.  It falls apart because the lead guy transfers the responsibility but not the authority.  If the XP still has to go to the lead guy for a yes or no on decisions it will not work.  Also, the lead pastor can start to feel “out of the loop” and things happen that he doesn’t know about and he feels out of control.  When this happens the controlling pastor snatches back the reigns and the XP feels defeated.

Senior Pastors: If you are going to transfer responsibility you have to transfer authority and LET STUFF GO!  They will lead and manage different from you.  If you are highly administrative as the lead pastor, you typically will have a hard time ever letting it go.  If you are a highly relational senior pastor, you will probably have better success with an XP.

What are your thoughts on this?

I have talked with over 7 pastors today. I have asked most of them, “What is your holiday giving plan?” Response is, “uhhh….”

Instead of me asking, I will just give you a simple system to help you prepare for year end giving. You have a great opportunity every year, take advantage of it. People are more generous around year end.

1. Establish a year end giving goal
The old adage if you aim for nothing, you hit nothing is true!

2. Call it something
People like to give to “something”. Just make up a name like, “Season of Hope” or “Generosity Gone Wild” (okay, that might be a little too cheesy, but you get the point.)

3. Communicate
Your first communication should start in early November. Try to strive for one touch a week. The more creative the better. Just letters in the email or emails don’t work. Get creative with a Flip Video Camera and grab stories from people’s lives who have been changed and get those out there!

4. Pinpoint a DAY!
Give people a Sunday to bring their gifts. I would do the Sunday BEFORE Christmas. The one after this year is going to be might low in attendance because of how Christmas is situated. On the day take up two offerings. One regular offering and then have a special time for year end giving. Challenge people to give generously even that day!

5. Thank people quickly
When people give to the year end offering, send a thank you note or letter quickly. It will go a long way!

Email me cgraham AT thechangegroup.tv for a free sample year end giving letter.