I HAVE TEN TICKETS TO THIS CONFERENCE TO GIVE AWAY! We bought them to give away because Pastor John and team at Life Church of Memphis are GREAT for churches to learn from.  First people to comment will get the tickets.  Just tell me how many you need!  I suggest you bring your team!

Make Room 2011 is an incredible “nuts and bolts” weekend conference hosted by The Life Church in Memphis, Tennessee – a thriving, multicultural church dedicated to serving people, raising up leaders and impacting generations.

After experiencing minimal growth during the first part of our journey, we’ve discovered some key principles that have helped us break strategic growth barriers. Over the last four years, The Life Church has more than tripled in size, adding two campuses in the Mid-South area and another in Durban, South Africa, and reaches over 3000 people in weekend services. In 2010 we’ve continued to see the following areas flourish and increase:

• Weekend Attendance  – 27%
• Number of Givers – 31%
• General Income – 41%
• Number of People Serving – 65%
• Fresh Start Salvation Decisions – 9,347

Our heart is to share what has (and hasn’t!) worked for us, to help you reach more people and to build your local church. We’ve designed Make Room to inspire and equip your entire team to grow your local church. Loaded with dynamic general sessions, strategic ways to break growth barriers and practical breakout sessions for every member of your team, you’ll leave encouraged and renewed to build your church and reach your city! Click here to see what pastors are saying about the Make Room Conference.

NEW SPEAKER ADDED!

Our great friend Stovall Weems is the founding and lead pastor of Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Celebration Church is a global, diverse, multi-site church that reaches people from all walks of life. Since it began with just 7 people in 1998, the church has grown to 10 locations and more than 10,000 people in weekend attendance. Pastor Stovall is a powerful speaker, passionate about building the local church and seeing lives transformed.

COMMENT BELOW FOR TICKETS!

I hear some people complain about all the negativity about the economy.  I think we can use the negativity out there for Kingdom good.  Here is one thing I know most people don’t thrive on: Uncertainty.

Very few people like to live with uncertainty.  That is why we are obsessed with security through big bank accounts and stable jobs.  You have a great opportunity to use the instability of the current economy to talk about the stability of God’s economy.

I don’t know if you know this or not, but for all of our members that subscribe to GivingRocket.com membership we write weekly offering talks.  In April we are going to focus our talks around this area.  I believe as the summer approaches oil prices will continue to go up and we will experience chaotic summer giving.

Here is how you can leverage the current economy for Kingdom good:

Media says, “We don’t know what is going to happen in the upcoming months.  With oil prices going up we might be headed back into another recession.”

God’s economy says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?“ (Matthew 6:25-26)

Teach your people not to worry, but to pray fervently.

Media says, “People’s retirements are going away and Social Security will not be there for the next generation.”

God’s economy says, ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20)

Media says, “It will be years before we really recover from this economy. It’s bad out there.”

God’s economy says, “The worse the economy gets the more people will need Jesus.  Pray that God will help you carry the financially paralyzed person to Jesus through your good deeds.  Friends carry people to Jesus when they are paralyzed.” (Mark 2:3-5)

This isn’t my typical blog post, but frankly I’m sick of us believing the world’s economy is the one that matters.  God’s economy is the only one that lasts and today, I’m choosing to invest in that one.  What about you?

I read the screwtape letters by C. S. Lewis a few years ago.  In that book Lewis speaks from the perspective of the devil and demons and showed many strategies satan uses to distract and ruin our relationship with God.  I was thinking today about a few things that the evil one is tempting all of us with related to money.

The people in your church are facing these lies and we have to combat them with truth.  You can build a sermon or entire series off of these.

Strategy 1: “You will become more generous when you have more money.”

I believe the evil one tempts us to WAIT until we have more to give more.  I have never seen this work in my life or the lives of others.  MORE MONEY JUST MAKES US MORE OF WHO WE ALREADY ARE!  Start being generous today.  Tip a little extra, buy a person’s meal without them knowing, actually tithe this weekend, bless someone with a gift card, or send double what you would usually send to a student going on a mission trip.

Hey Pastors, this goes for you too.  When you become more generous your church will follow.

Strategy 2: “You own this.”

Our problem is our self centered ILLUSION of control.  You can’t control anything!  We don’t own anything because we lose it all when we die.  Possessions are tools to leverage for good, not to protect from bad.  Are you leveraging your home for Jesus? Who can you give a ride or let borrow your car?  Can someone better use that extra computer you have sitting around your house?

Strategy 3: “When you give, you lose it.”

We are so tempted to believe that when we give we lose.  Everyone is tempted to believe the win is a bigger bank account balance.  The big balance isn’t bad, but it can lull us to sleep spiritually.  The reality is the only way to keep anything is to give it away.  I totally believe that the joy that comes from a generous gift outweighs any amount in a bank account.

Just give something away right now!  Sell something on Ebay and give the money if you are too broke to give anything else! Ask God for a vision of who to bless!  Give now! Give big!

Giving makes life worth living!

When I was with the Healing Place Church team and Pastor Dino Rizzo in December, I was deeply challenged.  Pastor Dino spoke to me about his “first thought” each day.  His first thought is about the lost, the least and the lonely.  This deeply challenged me because my first thought isn’t close to that most days.  However, after processing it and meeting with my friend, David Putman, God started moving my heart in that direction over the last few months.

I was speaking with David this morning and he talked to me about something on his heart.  Here is what he said, “It’s got to be more about the least of these and less about more of those.”

God 100% is speaking to me about my life and the church.

1. It has to be less about bigger facilities at the NEGLECT of starving people

2. It has to be less about comfortable living and more about putting ourselves in super uncomfortable situations around the world

3. It has to be less about creative worship services and more about environments with deep community

4. It has to be less about the church being an organization and more about the church truly reaching the lost, least and lonely.

5. It has to be less about more and more debt at the neglect of ministries to serve the lost, least and lonely

Financially this has to be true.  We have to start aligning our money to actually help people and not just pull off a performance.

“God, please help us connect with your heart to reach deep into our communities for you!  Please help us love people specifically! Help us model our ministry after you!”

PS – I’m NOT against nice things and good services. However, if that becomes what we spend most of our money on, we have MISSED the point.

I wanted to share a story I got last night from GivingRocket.com member, B.J. Stricklin.  B.J. is the Equipping Pastor at Safe Haven Church in Tuscaloosa, AL that launched in September 2009.  They currently run around 200 people each weekend and are led by Troy Nicholson.  Check out how God worked in their services this past weekend:

B.J. Stricklin, Safe Haven Church

“We are extremely excited about jumping in on what God is up to through Giving Rocket!
Right from the start, Giving Rocket has been hugely practical for us.  First, it affirmed the few things that we were already doing right by a mixture of intuition and luck!  Things like first time giver letters, giving statements more than once a year, and the use of online giving.

But so far for us, Giving Rocket has really been about exposing our weak spots in very practical ways!  It’s all pretty much been about planning and pragmatics for us… UNTIL TODAY!!!

This morning, I preached THE FIRST SERMON on money we have done at SHC since shortly after we launched a year and a half ago. We invited them into biblical giving that is sacrifical AND both systematic and spontaneous.  It was amazing to see the light bulbs going off and to hear people’s responses after the service and see the chatter all day on Facebook.

But to ice it all off… TODAY A COUPLE IN OUR CHURCH GAVE A CHECK FOR $10,000! Our offering today was nearly 15k.  To put that in perspective for you… our monthly offering in January was just under 18k.

And while I totally know that all of the financial blessings that are being poured out on SHC are all completely from Him and for Him, I also have to believe  that the timing of this is God blessing the preparation, planning and prayer that we are putting into our finances in  Twenty-Eleven!  Thanks Giving Rocket for being a part of God blessing SHC!”

This success story FIRES ME UP!!  And it’s what I want for every church!  We are offering a LIMITED number of TEST DRIVE MEMBERSHIPS this month.

Take advantage of this special offer today and get the same practical tips that B.J. and Safe Haven Church have put into place to see major growth in 2011.  Increased Giving requires strategic planning and change and we want to help and coach you starting today!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TEST DRIVE MEMBERSHIP!

Casey Graham from West Ridge Church on Vimeo.

I want to challenge you to take this list and allow your ministry team to go through these items together.  This could create a massive revolution of giving in your church!  We have found 5 key reasons people aren’t giving as faithfully or consistently as we want them to.

1. People don’t feel NEEDED

At one time, I remember church funding being ALL about need!  The “weekly need” was published in the bulletin and the goal was to meet the weekly need.  I believe we have swung the pendulum too far away from this.

We don’t want to be “that” church so we try to make our churches look like everything is professional and “done”.  People park the cars in the parking lot, we have nice signs, and have great children’s workers.  We are trained to create a culture where everything feels “done” and people feel welcomed more than needed.

The problem is that while we project the idea that everything is okay, the church is struggling to stay afloat financially.  People WANT to be needed.  People are attracted to NEEDS.  I’m not going to solve the tension today so I want you to ask your team this:

How can we help our people feel more needed financially?

2. People don’t understand

I truly believe if people just had a clear picture of where the church is headed, you could solve most of your funding issues.  People need VISION and CLARITY about the future more than we think they do.  People’s giving rarely increases unless you give them something to stretch for.  We find that when a church has 3-4 objectives they want to accomplish through their operational budget and they highlight them to the congregation and make a SPECIFIC ask, people move their giving!  Ask this question:

What are we trying to accomplish over the next 12 months that we could clarify for our congregation to fund?

We assume because WE are clear that they are CLEAR.  NOTHING is further from the truth!

3. People feel like the church wants something from them, not for them

I have found that pastors think they are closer to their people than they really are.  You know who I learn the most from when meeting with staff teams?  The spouses.  The spouses that are not on staff give me more insight into the relational credibility of the senior leadership more than the staff team.  Here is the deal; most of the time we stay quiet about money until we need some.  This is why you have to create RELATIONAL EQUITY with your donors each day, week, month and year.

For instance, having a thriving personal financial ministry is BUILDING equity.  Sending first time giver thank you notes is BUILDING equity.  An over night generosity retreat with your top giving and ministry leaders is BUILDING equity.  A teaching series on money WITHOUT an ask is BUILDING equity.  You have to build more equity than you hope to withdraw.

What are your strategic times to build relational equity with your donors this year?
What are you going to do FOR them?

4. People aren’t educated

I have met with over 1,000 people in a 1-on-1 financial coaching environment.  I never met with one person that was tithing.  Most people would say to me, “We can’t tithe.”  About 90 minutes later they would walk out of the meeting knowing they COULD tithe, but they are choosing not to.  In reality they are choosing five magazine subscriptions over giving to God.  That is just reality.

Personal financial education ministry is A MUST!  You have to train your people on spending, saving, debt, and giving!  It’s imperative!  We are the spiritual leaders and they are lost sheep in this area!

How can we increase our personal financial education system this year?

5. People don’t know what is expected

It is so funny that we want to reach all these lost people, but we rarely tell them what the Bible says about giving.  It is 100% expected of us to give to God & be generous.  How are you helping people understand the theology of giving and all the Bible has to say about it?  When people know what is expected, they will often times meet that expectation.

How can we leverage our offering times this year to teach people what the Bible says about giving?

Guys, for a lot of people the reason they are not giving is not their fault.  We have to take responsibility and help them get on board NOW!

That is why at GivingRocket.com we write your giving talks for you every week if you are member.  We wake up thinking about being strategic with all of this and let you be strategic about just reaching people for Jesus.

We’ve opened GivingRocket.com – the first and only membership website focused on increasing regular giving 11% – 39% over 12 months. To celebrate we’re offering 100 FREE memberships to test drive this month.

After working thousands of hours raising thousands of dollars in churches, we have found 3 barriers that keep churches from getting the help they need.

1. Cost – Often times it is too expensive to hire someone on your staff or a consultant to wake up thinking about increasing giving. GivingRocket.com has eliminated this barrier. We believe in what we are doing and have already seen it work in so many churches that we are offering 100 FREE test drive memberships for 100 churches in February.

2. Access to the Right People – Frankly, it is not wise to ask a broke church how to fund your church’s vision.  GivingRocket.com membership provides access to leaders of well-funded churches from launch to established. Join today to get access to Pastor Dino Rizzo of Healing Place Church.

3. Access to the Right Content – There is plenty of research telling us that giving needs to increase, but little content that is offering practical help.
We’ve created a Resource Vault containing plug and play resources including:

• First Time Giver Letters
• Contribution Statements
• Funding Brochures
• Sermon Outlines
• And More!

We have received great feedback on the weekly Offering Talks you can use during your offering time to maximize that opportunity each week during your worship services.

Be one of the 100 Test Drive Members in February by clicking here.

Most church leaders feel like they have made a financial ask when in reality they have just inspired and informed.

Inspiration and information are the runway for landing the ASK. Just getting people fired up and informed gets them ready to give, but rarely moves them to give.

Here are three simple tips on how to make an ask.

1. Be direct

You will need to be direct in what you’re saying.  For example say, “I am asking you to Tithe. This means if you make $60,000 a year, you would give $6,000. Yes, I am asking everyone in our church to do this because I believe a tithe is training wheels for our faith and it’s the best way for you and your heart. I personally give more than 10%, but for most of you, this is where you need to start.”

2. Be bold

Do not back down because you feel like you are going to lose people. I work with VERY bold pastors that reach thousands of lost people. I work with some not so bold pastors that are broke and reaching a few. If you’re not willing to be bold in your teaching on money then you will most likely not move beyond where you are now in reaching people for Jesus.

3. Be grace filled

Always offer grace to where people are. Be sensitive to people and their circumstances, but don’t back down.  You can offer a challenge that is full of grace and then allow God to work in people’s lives to move them to action.

Tell me your thoughts?

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