[Note: Every Thursday during the month of December, I’m going to pick three links I’ve cataloged in my Del.icio.us account during the previous week. This site houses 100’s of links related to stewardship, generosity, and giving – and the list grows almost daily – that can be easily searched and used for sermon preparation, committee prep, funding strategy, etc.]

Here are my top picks for the week:

1. Watch The Money

Thoughts: Seth Godin writes, “Money is more than a transfer of value. It’s a statement of belief.” This is why giving is a spiritual issue. The giving habits of your membership reflects what they REALLY believe. If you have a giving problem in your church, you have a spiritual problem first and a financial problem second.

2. Volunteers Give 10 Times More Than Other Americans, Survey Finds

Thoughts: Great reminder for church leaders to place a special emphasis on the assimilation process. In order to maximize the giving capacity of each member, we must help them get involved. The purpose is not to “squeeze them.” Rather, we are helping them participate in the ministry which goes a long way in helping foster a sense of ownership. An invitation to give should include time, talent, and treasure. Those willing to get involved with their talent and treasure will also give most consistently and sacrificially.

3. Online Holiday Giving to Exceed $4 Billion; Despite Economy More Consumers Plan to Give Online in ’09 than ’08

Thoughts: If you’re not already offering some form of online giving…WHY? The data is staggering, and it’s coming from multiple sources. Churches are not immune to the cultural changes related to how we exchange money. A large, GROWING segment of the population isn’t using CASH…at all. Don’t limit the giving potential of your membership by forcing them to use a method unfamiliar (yes, check are unfamiliar to some) or inconvenient to them.

I hope this link collection is helpful to you in your ministry. Be sure to visit my Del.icio.us account regularly for updates or subscribe via RSS.

And always feel free to send links to anything you think is missing.