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How
To Help Your Church Overcome A Slump In Summer Offerings
5
Things "Not To Do" and "5 Things To Do"
 "Each
man should give what he has decided in his heart to give,
not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver."
2 Cor 9:7-8
RED
LIGHT: 5 Things NOT To Do
Believe it or not, these
are 5 things I have seen churches do in order to try and raise more
money!
-
DON'T publicly
pray for the tithers and non-tithers:
One time I visited a very large
church in LA. Before the offering the Pastor asked all the
tithers to stand so he could pray God's blessing on them.
After he prayed for all the tithers, he then asked the
rest of the congregation to stand so could lead them in a prayer
of repentance!
-
DON'T take more offerings!
I was visiting a church in another
city that took the offering and then immediately had the ushers
count it. The pastor announced the total amount of the
offering and said, "it's not enough, we're going to take another
offering". He did this two more times before he finally
"had enough"!
-
DON'T have the Pastor promise to resign if the bills aren't paid
by next week! A new
pastor at a church discovered his first week at the church that
lots of bills hadn't been paid in months. On the next
Sunday he announced to the congregation that ALL the bills were
individually taped up on the wall in the church lobby and that
when people left they should each take one of the bills home and
paid it in full. He said if any bills were still left
taped to the wall when he walked into the lobby after church he
would resign as their new pastor and would not be back next
week!
-
DON'T offer casino nights and beer at the church!
I once talked with a man that had a
hangover because the night before he had worked at the beer tent
during a casino night (with real money) to help raise money for
his church! Other churches offer raffles, bingo nights,
bake sales, dinners, and carnivals to try and "get" people's
money for the church instead of
Biblically teaching them to give to the Lord.
- DON'T report everyone's
giving totals! There are
some churches that "list" all the giver's names and the amounts
they've given (or not given) to the church!
GREEN LIGHT: 5 Things To DO
-
DO make
plans for a special
generosity teaching initiative in the fall:
In the summer, many
churches develop plans for an ALL-CHURCH fall generosity
teaching initiative or campaign. One helpful tool
churches are using is the
"A 40-Day Spiritual
Journey to a More Generous Life" booklet.
Over 1300 churches have ordered copies for every family to
inspire generosity and increase giving.
-
DO send out summer giving
statements with updated financial and giving information:
More and more churches are
sending out seasonal or quarterly giving statements,
financial newsletters,
giving charts,
and
"catch up" envelopes that will help people be MORE
FAITHFUL in their giving to the Lord's work.
-
DO have a weekly generosity
verse: When someone
prays for the offering, have them first read a
generosity verse that
is
up on the screen or shown in their bulletin and then
pray according to what the verse teaches about faithful
giving to the Lord.
-
DO consider offering on-line
and/or electronic giving options:
Because we live in a very mobile and active society (and
with more and more people managing all of their finances
electronically) many churches are starting to give people
the OPTION of
giving electronically. This is especially helpful
option if you have quite a few people that head out of town
for weekend recreation activities.
CLICK HERE to
read a helpful article with more information, resource
providers, and links to churches using these options.
-
DO use generosity
tracts and other generosity resources:
One excellent
way to encourage people in their giving is to give out, mail
out, or put out (in the lobby) generosity
tracts or
flyers that will inspire and instruct people how to be
more joyful and generous in their giving to the Lord's work.
This article was written by Brian
Kluth a Senior Pastor and the Founder of the
www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org website. He also sends out a
generosity quarterly newsletter that is
sent FREE to 13,000 pastors and church leaders from over 50
denominations. He is the author of a
"40 Day Spiritual Journey
to a More Generous Life" and many
other materials for use by churches and ministries to
advance Biblical generosity in churches everywhere in America
and around the world.
(c)www.kluth.org |
The
40-Day
generosity booklet is especially
helpful to use as an ALL-CHURCH generosity initiative, campaign,
or drive.
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