Talking About Money With Your Church

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Giving Rocket Member Story

May 25, 2012 in Church Finance & Ministry Money, Church Fundraising, Follow Up, Online Giving In The Church, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

Here’s a story from one of our international members, Proclaimers Church who has been going since the early 90s and has been lead by Pastor’s Tom & Denise Rawls since 2003. They currently average over 500 each Sunday and have a campus in Norwich and in Ipswich, UK.

“When we did the first quarterly report for 2011 we had come in more than £5000 under budget on tithes and offerings. I first started to read some articles by Casey Graham and others around this time to see what we could do to try and turn this around. Despite seeing a slight upturn, we were over £8000 behind budget at the end of June. It was at the start of October that we decided to give the $1 trial of Giving Rocket a go – nothing to lose!

It turned out that we were doing most of the right things but weren’t doing them strategically or intentionally enough. Giving Rocket helped us take what we already had and use it in the most effective and efficient way.

We had 2 online giving systems, both of which were a bit confusing so we simplified this down to one with the option of automating giving on there. We were a lot more intentional about how we spoke about money during our church service. We revamped our first time giving system and redesigned our quarterly giving statements. It was around this time we started running budgeting courses too to help people with their personal finances.Giving Rocket helped us take what we already had and use it in the most effective an efficient way.

Tithes and offerings have consistently increased since we were members. We ended last year above budget on tithes and offerings and the first quarter of this year was up more than 25% on the previous year and April was our highest month on record as a church for tithes and offerings.”

Special thanks goes out to Olly Kiff, Proclaimers Business Manager, for sharing this fantastic story with us! We are truly honored to serve your church.

If you’d like to see what Giving Rocket can do for your church, sign up for the $1 trial membership today!

His Kingdom or Their Kingdom?

May 21, 2012 in Church Fundraising, Talking About Money With Your Church with 2 Comments

So many churches struggle with the issue of balancing their view of credit card debt with their desire for digital giving. I read a quote recently:

“In all transparency, I would rather people go into debt furthering His Kingdom rather than furthering their own kingdom!”

What do you think? Would you rather people go into debt advancing His Kingdom over building their own? Obviously, God does not want us to get caught up in “stuff.”

What’s the balance?

Oh No! It’s a Sermon on Money

April 25, 2012 in Church Fundraising, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

The other day I read a blog post from a pastor that began by stating, “No pastor likes to talk about money, and nobody in the church wants to hear a sermon on money.” A few days before, I noticed a tweet from a pastor who claimed that he “survived” preaching on money that morning.

While we recognize that many people have abused the subject, we believe it’s time to conquer the fear of talking about money in the church. I offer these five suggestions.

Don’t apologize for talking about money. It’s not a necessary evil – it’s an important part of the discipleship process. Jesus said that people’s hearts and people’s finances were connected. So when you stand to preach on money, you’re not preaching a money sermon; you’re preaching a discipleship sermon. Never apologize for asking people to follow Jesus.
Make it normal to talk about money. People talk about money all of the time, probably EVERYDAY. It’s time for this to be a normal topic in the church as well. This means that you need to talk about spending, savings, debt, retirement, and insurance, in addition to giving.
Start talking about money EARLY. If you’re a church planter, one of the healthiest things you can do in your church is to teach on stewardship and generosity early on. In fact, talk about generosity with your core group, because what they model will happen on a larger scale. You’re not going to flip a switch and become a generous church with generous people.
Un-churched people aren’t stupid…they know it takes money to run a church. Pastors are often afraid to talk about money because we’ve all read the books showing skeptics think the church is all about money. People who don’t go to church need Jesus, but they are not dumb. They aren’t offended when they are asked to contribute, and they know it takes money to pay people and operate a facility. Don’t’ let the fact that you’re reaching skeptics keep you from talking about money.
People do want help with their finances. For too long, the church has just asked for money from people, yet offered no practical help in the process. What would happen if you helped your church WIN with their finances? Would people in your church respect you if you helped them pay cash for a vacation? Let’s want something FOR people, not just FROM them.

Let Giving Rocket help you have more money for ministry!
Click here to sign up for our 30-day trial membership for ONLY $1!

Are You a Strategic Giver?

April 23, 2012 in Online Giving In The Church, Taking Special Offerings & Church Tithing, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

Many people like to think of giving as an act of spontaneous worship. God speaks, we’re moved, and we drop something in the offering plate. We see a need, our heart is tugged, and we offer to help. That’s how it works for a lot of people.

And while it’s true that we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and respond to needs as we’re led, there’s another side of the coin that’s equally important.

We need to be strategic givers.

Read Genesis 24 and you’ll find that Abraham planned ahead and sent gifts for Isaac’s future wife.

Read the Christmas story and you’ll find that that the Magi planned ahead and brought expensive gifts with incredible meaning for Jesus.

Isaiah 32:8 says generous people PLAN to do what is generous.

In other words, while we can respond to needs as they arrive, we should PLAN to give.

That’s why I love the phrase Automate the Important. If generosity is important to you, why not set it up and make it automatic? Why not do what the Bible teaches and plan ahead?

When Tithing Is Too Much

March 27, 2012 in Talking About Money With Your Church with 2 Comments

We don’t ask first graders to do advanced algebra.
You don’t program the launch codes on your first day at NASA.
You don’t sign up for the Olympics after one year of youth soccer.

Sometimes, pastors ask people to take steps that are too big for them to take. It’s especially true when it comes to giving.

People who are upside-down on their mortgage and over-spending on their budget and crippled by credit card debt may not feel like they can jump from total chaos to tithing. Argue if you like, but it’s a big step for people, and like stepping across the ocean, if people feel like they will fail at the onset, they probably won’t even try.

Giving people simple steps they can take is a great place to start. It’s certainly appropriate to teach people what the Bible says about stewardship and generosity and tithing, but maybe you could ask people to take one small step.

Ask them to automate a monthly contribution.
Ask them to give 1% more than they are currently giving.
Ask them to volunteer one week a month.

Encourage people that no matter where there are, there’s a simple next step they can take.

Member Success Story

March 20, 2012 in Church Finance & Ministry Money, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

Here’s a video we received from member, Joshua Bingle, Lead Pastor of Genesis Church, in Spokane, Washington.

We are honored to serve you, Pastor Josh, and so many like you!

Try our program for only $1 for the first month! We’ve done the hard work FOR you, so that all you have to do is implement it! It worked for Genesis Church and it CAN work for you too.

Why Are Churches Scared To Take Up An Easter Offering?

March 15, 2012 in Taking Special Offerings & Church Tithing, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

Churches are usually scared to take up an Easter Offering because of the amount of people who will be attending the church for the first time. Pastors tell me that they have a fear of scaring off newcomers.

In every church where a pastor has pressed through this fear and held an Easter Offering anyway, they come back to me and say things like, “That really wasn’t a bad idea.”

Asking for money on Easter is a no-brainer because big days produce big results, and you WILL NOT lose the people attending for the first time. Here is why:

1. People aren’t dumb

Do you really think that unchurched people are shocked that you will talk about money? I actually think you have an awesome opportunity to show them that talking about money can be FUNNY and do it in a NO guilt and life-giving way.

2. You can tell them the offering is for them

Explain that the reason you are taking an Easter Offering is because you want to provide ministry for people who don’t go to church. If you can show them that you are doing GOOD with the money and loving your community, they will respect that.

3. People who come to church rarely like to chip in

They are coming to to the church out of some religious guilt, usually. If they participate in the offering, you can follow up with them and show them OVER THE TOP generosity as a church.

You should send What Happens When You Give to every new donor from your Easter Offering. This book makes the giver feel SO VALUED and super appreciated. It is a great outreach tool for new people in your church.

Funded & Free Church Leader Conference

March 13, 2012 in Church Finance & Ministry Money, Financial Campaigns, Online Giving In The Church, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

What do the following people have in common?

Perry Noble
Bishop Walter S. Thomas, Sr.
Casey Graham
Clayton King
Joseph Sangl
Mike Madding

ALL five are tremendous church leaders who have seen their vision become FULLY FUNDED!

AND the great news is that ALL of these great men will be speaking LIVE at the Funded And Free Church Leader Conference in Charlotte, NC on Thursday, April 19, 2012!

Bishop Thomas will be able to share how New Psalmist Baptist Church completed a major building project in the middle of The Great Recession – and continued to see tremendous ministry growth!
Perry Noble will share how NewSpring Church built a youth facility, children’s facility, and launched multiple campuses during 2008 – and continued to pour tremendous amounts of money and resources into missions and outreach!
Mike Madding will be talking about how The Cove Church has been able to equip their people to win financially even in the face of a tremendous economic downturn in their area – and their church has grown by leaps and bounds.
Casey Graham will be sharing how to increase your operational giving through the implementation of proven biblical systems.

You don’t want to miss this one-time only event!

Want even better news? Injoy Stewardship Solutions has partnered with some other great organizations to provide this conference absolutely FREE for church leaders.

Here are the details:

DATE: April 19, 2012
LOCATION: The Cove Church – Mooresville, NC (North Charlotte Area)
TIME: ONE DAY (9AM – 4PM)
COST: $0 (thanks to the kindness of our sponsors!!!!)
FOOD: Provided (and it is free too!)

Space is limited – so register immediately to secure your spot for this amazing day!

Why You Should Do an Easter Offering

February 29, 2012 in Taking Special Offerings & Church Tithing, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

I did a quick Google search for churches and special offerings and found a lot of special offerings out there. I’ve heard of churches doing seven or eight different offerings a year, in addition to their weekly offering. Here are a few of the special offerings you could do:

Summer camp for students
Local food shelter
Christmas Offering
Easter Offering
Lottie Moon
Annie Armstrong
Offering for the Gideons
Disaster relief
Crisis pregnancy
School supplies
Winter coats
Canned food

If you have a special offering all the time, by definition, they will cease to be special.

When you emphasize a new giving opportunity all the time, you’re taking the focus off the bread and butter.

We believe that special offerings (like an Easter Offering) are great opportunities to fund special projects and engage new givers. People new to the church might be more attracted to a cause.

But too many special offerings can be dangerous.

Six days from now, I’m offering a free online event on how to do a special Easter Offering.

You’re going to get a six-step process, in less than 45 minutes, that you can implement this Easter.

Reserve your spot today. The increase you will have from your Easter offering will make a difference as summer approaches. Register now.

The Missing Ingredient in Most Church Financial Language

February 28, 2012 in Follow Up, Talking About Money With Your Church with 0 Comments

If you use numbers to talk about the numbers, you’re leaving behind a ton of people. Most people in your church could care less about spreadsheets and charts and never open Excel.

Yes, information is important. But mind-numbing facts and stats are only going to communicate to the accountants and engineers. If you want to communicate to everyone, you’ve got to tell stories.

• Tell stories of how your church helped provide groceries for a local family in need.
• Talk about how your church has given money to a mission organization to feed the hungry and impoverished children in another country.
• Talk about how your resources have been used to walk hurting and broken families through healing and restoration.

Make sure you tell stories that inspire, encourage and inform people about the things happening in your church. Information is great, but if you combine it with a story, you’ll hit a homerun.

The key is to make sure you communicate that those who are giving to the ministry of the church are directly part of these stories. It gives people a place and point of significance. When people feel significant, they continue to invest!

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