Why a Giving Strategy Matters

There are two kinds of churches, and they’re revealed by the way they answer this question, regarding their giving strategy: How much money will your church bring in this year? Type 1 answers with a figure. Type 2 answers with something vague. The thing is, those Type 1 churches are usually correct in their confident,…

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Loving Through Giving

“You can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving” – Amy Carmichael Carmichael hits a valid point, but we know that church giving is complicated, multi-faceted, and requires a balanced approach. Your church needs a budget to keep the doors open, but money is a difficult topic to talk about, both from…

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How to Help Your Church Recover From a Christmas Debt Hangover

An odd thing happens in January. Church attendance increases, but giving actually drops. Why? Because while many people in your congregation bought presents in December, they’re just now starting to pay for them. We like to call this yearly phenomenon the Christmas debt hangover. The most popular Bible passage concerning debt is probably Proverbs 22:7…

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How Connexus Church Increased Giving by 22%

I wanted to introduce you to my friend Carey Nieuwhof. Carey is the Lead Pastor of Connexus Community Church near Ontario, Canada.  We’ve had the opportunity to work together for a couple of years.  Carey was kind enough to answer some questions, and I wanted to share his answers with you. What is the top…

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How Two Minutes in a Church Service Can Increase Giving

The pastor works hard on the sermon.  The band rehearses the songs.  At least, I hope both of those things are true in your church. But there’s another important element in your church service that rarely gets attention, preparation or intentional thought.  It’s the giving talk. A giving talk is a 60-second or two-minute talk…

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How to teach low-income attenders to be high impact givers

It would be nice if one person could write a big check and wipe the worry away from the church finances. But the average person in your church is barely getting by when it comes to their personal finances. So it shouldn’t surprise us that 86% of churches are either broke or at breakeven financially.  Get…

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Where Did All the Money Go?

 When is the last time you shared with the church where all the money goes?  I am not talking about from the offering plate to counter’s table to a safe to a bank.  I am talking about how all the money is spent.  If you have not taken the opportunity to inform the people, consider…

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Stats, Stories and Scripture Motivate People to Give

Every weekend, you have the opportunity to motivate your people to give. But it’s time to abandon the tired, canned speech that you use every week. You can spice up this important moment in your service. You can motivate and inspire people to give, not just give them an opportunity. Here’s three tools you can…

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Four Things Pastors Should Not Delegate

Aside from unique campus pastor or teaching pastor situations, there are several things the senior pastor should not delegate. Vision stewardship.   I think the senior pastor is the primary champion of the specific vision. Like an army general, he must rally the troops to accomplish the specific vision and keep the leaders focused on…

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