What are the True Costs of Church Programs?
Are key leaders in your church covering project costs out of their own pockets? Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says owning up to the true…
Browsing: Giving
Articles
A Better Way to Do Stewardship Testimonies
Nate Berneking says testimonies about giving and money are powerful when done well, but disastrous when done poorly. He outlines how an interview approach to…
6 Tips for Effective Preaching on Stewardship
Preaching is a critical component within a broader strategy for stewardship ministry, says church consultant Margaret Marcuson. She provides six tips for more effective preaching…
Leadership for Giving
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains how the four cornerstones of effective church leadership — vision, team, culture, and integrity — are all essential when leading…
5 Reasons Not to Fear a Major Gift Campaign
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says a capital campaign or major gift drive can be a positive experience that energizes a church and…
7 Key Questions for Fundraising with Spiritual Integrity
How can we raise money with spiritual integrity? Anyone who wants their work in cultivating generosity to reflect the gospel needs to wrestle with seven…
10 Ways to Master the Art of Asking
Learning how to be effective in asking others to support your ministry is a key to fruitful leadership, says Ann Michel of the Lewis Center…
Doing Mission Fundraising Well
Do you wish your church could do more to support mission? Pastor Lisa Kipp gives tips for how special fundraising for mission can be done…
Stewardship Resolutions for the New Year
Stewardship consultant Cesie Delve Scheuermann suggests planning your calendar of stewardship activities for the year. But before you do any asking, she stresses that you…
5 Ideas to Increase Year-End Giving
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that giving at year-end represents an increasing portion of total giving in many churches. Recognizing the many different circumstances that…
People Want to Attend a Generous Church
Tom Berlin, pastor of Floris UMC in Herndon, Virginia, says that for Christians to become generous, they need the help of a church that itself…
Reimaging Stewardship Season
Pastor Laura Heikes shares strategies for making stewardship season something people don’t dread, but to which they look forward. “It’s not impossible,” she writes. “Dream…
Five Questions for Discerning Your Annual Giving Theme
John Zehring and Kate Jagger describe five questions that can help you define a theme that can serve as an effective framework for your annual…
A Better Way to Report on Giving
Stewardship experts Kristine Miller and Scott McKenzie explain why publishing weekly and year-to-date giving amounts in the Sunday bulletin with a “woe is us” message…
Embracing Electronic Giving
Adam Copeland of Luther Seminary says electronic giving is the preferred method of giving for most churchgoers, including your most faithful givers. Reducing the barriers…
Christian Wallet Principles
Every Christian knows that we are called to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. But what about our wallet? We get…
50 Ways to Improve Your Annual Stewardship Campaign
Church members who make pledges give substantially more than those who do not, and congregations that seek annual financial commitments have significantly higher levels of…
When Higher Giving May Not Be Good News
As a new year begins, there will and should be a careful review of the past year. Perhaps there will be reports made to the…
Crafting Better Commitment Campaign Messages
Many churches have a one-size-fits-all approach to their annual stewardship appeal. Everyone in the congregation receives the same “Dear Friend” letter inviting them to prayerfully…
Inspiring Generosity with a Thank You Letter
How often have you opened up what looks like a form letter and read, “On behalf of blah blah blah, I want to thank you…
9 Ways Generosity Leads to Healthier and More Purposeful Living
Do you sometimes wish for empirical evidence to back up your faith claims? In The Paradox of Generosity (Oxford University Press, 2014), sociologists Christian Smith…
Tying Facility Needs to Mission
Churches that have been around for many years often face numerous property challenges. With aging buildings, there are frequent unplanned property issues that arise and…
A Stewardship Intervention Counters Fundraiser Dependence
I pastor a church that believes in the power of fundraisers. Over the decades, Beulah African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a historic congregation in rural…
Should a Pastor Know What Church Members Give?
Every time I teach a stewardship workshop or class, this question invariably comes up: “Should a pastor have access to contribution records?” In some congregations,…
Removing Obstacles to Giving
Sometimes churches have financial systems designed for the convenience of those receiving the contributions rather than for those who are giving. When you design and…
Tell Your Stewardship Story
Early in my own ministry, I always found stewardship season anxiety-producing. While I got better at it, I still found the fall campaign difficult. One…
The Importance of a Narrative Budget
Narrative budgeting has a critical role to play in any comprehensive parish stewardship program. Basic philanthropic theory indicates that people want their money to have…
Spending More on Others Fosters Increased Generosity
Three years ago, our church set an ambitious goal — to become a “tithing congregation” that gives ten percent of our church’s budget to outreach,…
Give a Word of Witness
One of the most powerful tools for growing generosity in the church is telling the story of how the church is transforming people’s lives through…
Doing a Christmas Eve Offering Well
In our culture, Christmas is a season of giving when church-goers and non-church-goers alike are inclined toward generosity. I witnessed a Christmas Eve service in which…
