Funding Your Ministries
A longtime friend just asked me, “How do each of us grow a passion for one project or another?” Clearly none of us can give in response to every need, so what prompts us to choose one or some ministries over all the rest? Certainly he’s not the first person to ask that. In fact,…
Read MoreWith so many natural disasters and national tragedies these days, millions of people have responded through donation-based crowdfunding, where individuals give money for a cause, project or person without receiving anything tangible in return – except a whole lot of satisfaction, knowing they’re and joining others to provide resources and help people out of dire…
Read MoreBy William C. Green, United Church of Christ, 2007 The Big Secret of Giving: Hidden Treasures in Life and Church is a booklet of 27 devotions related to financial giving, but grounded in a holistic understanding of stewardship as our response to God’s generous grace. While the booklet was written in part to encourage giving…
Read MoreDenis Greene is a stewardship author and Executive Director of The Church Development Foundation. He gets right to the heart of things in his article, “Seven Ways to Instantly Increase Church Income.” Here are the highlights: 1. Conduct an annual stewardship campaign – Surprisingly, more than half of all congregations don’t conduct an annual stewardship…
Read More“Faith-based budgeting” does not mean simply guessing at a projected income for our congregation next year, and then hoping to reach it! It involves two dimensions: Spending the church’s money according to priorities that model First Fruits Living and using the rest of the income in a specific order (see Faith-Based Budgeting, Part 1), and…
Read MoreMany churches are confirming their budgets now for the year ahead, using the term “faith budget.” In my congregation that means the leaders include a percentage of projected income beyond pledges, to allow for loose-plate offerings, new givers, or second-mile giving. In most situations, it’s a realistic and encouraging thing to do. “Faith-based budgeting” is…
Read MorePeople may think that the church budget is a bone-dry instrument that just monitors church committees, but that’s far from the truth! It reflects its members’ values as surely as a person’s online giving or checkbook mirrors his or her priorities. So what does your congregation’s current budget say about first fruits living? Many church…
Read MoreI know: theoretically you planned the fall annual stewardship emphasis back in the spring, but life often intervenes to upset even the best of plans. So now you’re looking for a stewardship theme to fit your revised schedule. And wouldn’t it be great if it had a creative approach and unique timing this year, when…
Read MoreSaying thank you is often a spontaneous thing. When someone does something for us, especially unasked for or at a cost to themselves, we naturally want to thank them, in words, by doing something for them, or by “paying it forward:” giving in some way to others. Most people don’t give in order to be…
Read MoreThanks to Gary Hoag at www.generositymonk.com, 1 I learned about some key findings from “The Generosity Project” 2 sponsored by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. The report is based on an online survey of 16,800 givers to non-church Christian ministries. Twenty-two percent of those were Millennials, ages eighteen through thirty-four. I emphasize Millennials’ participation…
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