This complete guide to giving and stewardship sheds new light on solid financial resources, one of the 12 keys to building an effective church. Here is a practical plan for the growth and development of giving and stewardship in your congregation, complete with action worksheets that advance the progress of the plan over four years.
This complete guide to giving and stewardship sheds new light on solid financial resources, one of the 12 keys to building an effective church. Here is a practical plan for the growth and development of giving and stewardship in your congregation, complete with action worksheets that advance the progress of the plan over four years.
One of the most difficult tasks facing any church leader is the issue of raising funds. It's not that we don't realize that tithing and giving are biblical issues; God's Word is full of strong statements about the stewardship of money. But how does a pastor convey God's heart for stewardship? Literally, what's the best way to raise the money your church needs to survive? Obviously, God is the one who builds the church and he is the ultimate provider. But what's the best process of shepherding the funds he has for your church? This step-by-step guide will give you tools you need to raise funds in your church--scripturally and successfully--without compromising biblical integrity. After all, it's God's church and his mone--but our responsibility to manage it.
Would you like to know exactly what to say and do to lead your people to generous giving? Do you wish you could teach your people to give biblically, without pressure or guilt? Pastor Driven Stewardship is your answer. Author Rod Rogers led his church to giving increases of 32, 23, 27, 19, and 18 percent in five consecutive years. While only 4 percent of American church members tithe, 70 percent of his congregation gave 10 percent and more. Based on the premise that the key to healthy church giving is bold, biblical, pastoral leadership, Rod Rogers shares his ten-step Dynamic Giving System?, which has helped over nine hundred pastors from many denominations, in thirteen countries, increase their church's giving 10 to almost 300 percent in five weeks. Unlike other stewardship books, Pastor Driven Stewardship includes not only extensive biblical teaching, but also moves beyond theory to provide you with practical, step-by-step instructions. And it is non-labor intensive?no steward
Pastors and other church leaders often feel ill-equipped in the critical area of stewardship and giving. Propel: Good Stewardship, Greater Generosity fills that need by offering a comprehensive course in church stewardship for the pastor, stewardship leader, or seminarian. Author Clayton Smith gives clear instructions for the organization and implementation of annual campaigns, planned giving programs, memorial gifts, and much more. He offers an extraordinary depth and breadth of practical information along with the wisdom that comes with decades of real church leadership experience. “Every pastor should have a copy of Propel readily at hand all year long. It is as complete a guide to all phases of Christian financial stewardship as exists today. I highly recommend it because of the excellent content but also because of the author. Clayton Smith has been a student of financial stewardship all his life. I am thrilled that now others may learn from him. I wish I had this book forty years ago when I started out. Propel will make a difference in your ministry!” —J. Clif Christopher, President and CEO, Horizons Stewardship Company “As leaders, we often know we must do something differently, but we are not sure what or how. Clayton Smith propels us forward. This amazing resource identifies the many wayswe can lead our congregations into a bright future. Smith’s strategies and methods for generosity apply to every church leader, any size church, and all denominations. This is more than a stewardship or finance book. It helps build a culture in which Christians can become the generous people they are intended to be.” —Donald W. Joiner, Director of Operations and Stewardship, General Board of Discipleship “Propel demystifies the practices of generosity and stewardship in local congregations. It is both a scholarly guide for pastors and a detailed handbook for lay leaders. Smith covers giving of all varieties and offers proven techniques that work in churches of all sizes and contexts. Propel is a valuable guide for every leader, clergy or lay, who sees generosity as an inescapable element of Christian discipleship.” —Byrd L. Bonner, AIF, President, United Methodist Church Foundation "Clayton Smith in his wonderful book Propel: Good Stewardship, Greater Generosity, describes six different ways to help people grow in their giving." —Margaret Marcuson, Marcuson Leadership Circle
This complete guide to giving and stewardship asserts that money is not the first issue of stewardship. Callahan shows that a church needs a clear sense of mission in the local community to be successful in fund-raising and illustrates the six sources of giving available to a congregation and the five major motivational resources that help people give generously.
Our entire understanding of funding and sustainability must change. Tithes and offerings alone are no longer enough to provide for the needs of the local church, enable pastors to pursue opportunities, or sustain long-term ministry impact. Growing financial burdens on the middle class, marginal increases in contributions to religious organizations, shifting generational attitudes toward giving, and changing demographics are having a negative impact on church budgets. Given that someday local churches may be required to pay taxes on the property they own and/or lose the benefit of soliciting tax-deductible gifts, the time to pivot is now. What's needed is disruptive innovation in church economics. For churches to not only survive but thrive in the future, leaders must learn to leverage assets, bless the community, empower entrepreneurs, and create multiple streams of income to effectively fund mission. You'll learn why you should and how to do so in The Coming Revolution in Church Economics.
The general practices related to church funding aren’t producing the same results they have in the past. There is a general acceptance that something has changed but little talk or interest is coming from traditional church leader training sources such as denominational entities and seminaries. Pastors are largely left to their own devices to “figure this out.” They need a lifeline. While some churches are experiencing exponential growth, some churches - despite their best efforts - have been unsuccessful at moving beyond survival mode. Coupled with increased competition from other nonprofits and a decline in the commitment to give to the church first, churches risk losing the funding they need. A growing number of leaders are beginning to discover there is another way and are struggling to understand what makes one church generous and another not. There is a need in the market to offer a simple, working definition of “generosity” and reveal the “secrets” some church leaders seem to have simply stumbled upon which are resulting in unexplainable ministry growth and unprecedented church funding even in the midst of tough economic times. The content of this material was developed and refined by Jim Sheppard and Chris Willard through years of ministry leadership in the local church, consulting with church leaders across a broad spectrum of church settings, and through participation in and leadership of the Generous Church Leadership Community facilitated by Leadership Network. Of particular benefit will be the collection of observations and best practices gleaned during the Generous Church Leadership Community that originated within real-life church leadership situations and scenarios by highlighting specific challenges, methods, and successes.
Hearing a young attorney speak of the faith-based reasons for which he had just made a substantial monetary gift to a community youth center, Clif Christopher asked the speaker if he would consider making a similar contribution to the congregation of which he was an active member. "Lord no, they wouldn't know what to do with it" was the answer. That, in a nutshell, describes the problem churches are facing in their stewardship efforts, says Christopher. Unlike leading nonprofit agencies and institutions, we too often fail to convince potential givers that their gifts will have impact and significance. In this book, Christopher lays out the main reasons for this failure to capture the imagination of potential givers, including our frequent failure simply to ask. Written with the needs of pastors and stewardship teams in mind, Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate provides immediate, practical guidance to all who seek to help God’s people be better stewards of their resources.
