“Relevance doesn’t just happen. The thing that just happens is irrelevance.”

- Jeff Brooks

The greatest obstacle church leaders have to funding budgets and raising money is that they assume that what is important to them is important to everyone else. Church leaders are often so close to the situation it’s impossible to have any objective perspective. They live with a sense of urgency because they know all the details and fail to acknowledge that the people in the pew are busy and will quickly forget whatever appeals were made Sunday morning by the time they finish lunch that same afternoon.

If you’re honest (and bold) enough to admit that your direct appeals from the pulpit aren’t getting the results in the offering plate that you’d like see, take 22:03 and listen how Jeff Brooks unpacks the incredibly successful Haiti relief funding appeals from people who largely lived with little connection to this country and were largely not personally affected by this natural disaster.

Are you relevant? Wait. Don’t answer that question yourself. Remember to ask the person in the pew.

1. 5 technology mistakes churches make and how you can fix them

2. Executive Pastor Mike Bonem on organizational theory and church funding

3. Is your church brave enough to be this generous?

4. How to talk about money in church

5. How does your church’s budget presentation compare?

6. My notes from Xpastor event with Brad Leeper from GENERIS

7. Build Community, Fund Ministry series in review

Last but not least…my e-book Push the limits of Church Funding…is quickly approaching 1,500 downloads/reads. Really excited to hear about the ways this piece has inspired church leaders with new ideas and creative thinking when it comes to generating ministry funding.

Out of curiousity: What topic would you like me to cover in my next e-book?

Here is what is great about this video:

1. It’s not professional looking. I don’t mean to imply that the Executive Director doesn’t present herself or her organization as legitimate. I often hear the excuse: “I can’t afford a professional video.” Go get Flip Video’s HD camera and begin telling your story and the story of those impacted by your ministry…TODAY. Don’t wait until you can “afford” to have a professional videographer. Truly, you can’t “afford” to wait.

2. It’s very specific. Listen to the growth in supplies, teachers, and number of professional learning programs that the Executive Director lists. She didn’t say: “Thanks for your faithful giving. We were able to do a lot of cool stuff.” Quantify the impact of the ministry investment made with the capital from the person in the pew. Don’t expect them to connect the dots.

3. It’s personal. She talks about teaching those involved in this ministry the value of eating together and celebrating the season. (Obviously, this video came out during the holiday season.) What the Executive Director did was connect with what many people associate with about the holiday season: eating and celebrating around large tables with family and friends and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Orphans don’t have this “built in” advantage because there is no extended family to celebrate with. The Harbor creates community and family and an opportunity for the children to hear the Gospel.

Here is the BIG question: How does this video compare to your church’s budget presentation?In other words, if you were to lay the two side by side, which one would the people who sit in your pews fund? (Hint: They are being asked to make this decision almost every day.)

The person is the pew has a choice and holds the power to fund your church, The Harbor, or more than 1.2 Million other NPOs. What is your church doing to ensure the resources God intended to fund your ministry budget ends up in the offering plates of your church?

It’s “game on” time. Are you ready?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niIj2COGzz8]

Yep. It’s unavoidable. Sorry. (Don’t like it. GO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO!)

If we have to talk about money…and you do…

(go on..practice saying “it”…that’s right…m-o-n-e-y…it’s really not that scary…really)

then we better make sure we get a few things right.

I like what Jeff Brooks had to say in What it takes to be a fundraising writer.

Let me rewrite his ideas in the context of church. When you talk about money, remember these three things:

• Talk about money from the perspective of the person in the PEW, not the person in the PULPIT.
  
• Forget about what YOU need. It’s not about you. It never was. It never will be.
• Get over your inhibitions related to money and acknowledge they are YOUR problem.

Start talking about money. We have Kingdom impact to fund!

To help, I have Lauren Hunter with ChurchTechToday.com, Steve Caton with Church Community Builder, and Tom Roepke a really innovative church leader who has experience in institutional fund development and currently serves in a local church setting. This is a six part series. Each Monday, I’ll post a new podcast capturing our discussion. I will also post a brief outline so that you can quickly preview what will be discussed.

I hope you are as blessed by this series as much as the four of us were in the process of creating it.

Here is the outline of our FINAL conversation:

Focus: Church funding begins with capturing the heart of an individual, not the dollar. Anyone can get a few dollars for just about anything. When we are talking about cultivating generosity, the soil in which this behavior grows is that of commitment. Without an emotional connection and an expressed commitment, sustainable, sacrificial giving doesn’t happen.

Key ideas:

1. Multiple giving options make it easy for people to give.

2. Communication of impact leads to more frequent and larger gifts.

3. Managing giving patterns could reveal a ministry opportunity.

4. Fully assimilated members tend to serve in leadership, be consistent givers, consistently participate in activities and events, and carry an overall positive and satisfied story into the community.

Listen or download the final podcast of this series.

Previous podcasts in this series:

1. Lifecycle of church membership

2. Connection creates community

3. Community facilitates interaction

4. Interaction leads to engagement

5. Engagement fosters commitment

1. Tithing tricks you don’t want your members to know about

2. 11 ways to turn year-end statements into dollars

3. How important are the 30 seconds before you take an offering?

4. Morning Star Church pastor talks about recent giving letter to congregation

5. 10 ways to ensure “no Sunday services” doesn’t break the church budget

6. 3 questions every church leader needs to ask when giving is down

7. Five ways to DECREASE giving in your church

8. The economy’s impact and I DON’T CARE!

9. Read this before your giving goes mobile

10. Individual charitable giving predictions for 2010

The person is the pulpit can no longer demand money (as if that were ever true) from the person in the pew. The shift that has taken place in the larger charitable giving world has also influenced how the people who sit in our pews think about church giving.

What does this new reality look like? It’s no longer “church-centric.” (Hint: It’s not about you and your needs.) The new reality of church giving is “giver-centric.”

The best way to address this new reality is to begin seeing the person in the pew as an investor:

1. Investors possess the cash you need. You need them to fund the vision God has given you.

2. Investors have a right to know how their money is being spent.

3. Investors deserve to receive a regular report outlining the impact or “ministry ROI” achieved with their investment.

4. Investors have the right to say “no,” “not now,” “let’s talk about it” and be listened to.

5. Investors should be allowed to participate in the discussion of how the money will be used by the organization.

Are you prepared to meet the demands of the new, empowered person in the pew who possess the leadership and funding you need to accomplish the vision God has placed on your heart for your church? If not, it’s going to be difficult ride.

Those who find a way to incorporate the changing landscape of church giving into their communication strategy and organizational process will find an endless source of resources available to DO MORE MINISTRY.

Ever wonder what the biggest pitfalls are in church funding? You’ll be surprised to know that many of them are completely obvious. Consider these five sure-fire ways to create a giving DECLINE in your church:

1. Fund programs that don’t matter and aren’t making a difference. As pastor, my leadership heard me say often: “Everything is on the table. Just because it worked last year, doesn’t mean we’ll do it again this year. Conversely, just because it didn’t work last year, doesn’t mean we don’t try again this year.” It frustrated them until they learned to present ideas that had been well thought out and planned, beginning first with a reason for the investment and the expected return on investment. The result? Better programs. Stronger alignment with church vision. Greater ministry impact.
2. Never communicate the ministry investments you’re making and the Kingdom impact of those investments (ministry ROI). People no longer give special preference to your church when deciding how to give to others. There are MILLIONS of organizations screaming for their attention (and their dollars). Communication increases interaction which builds trust. Without trust, people won’t generously support your church. With trust, they will STOP supporting others and INCREASE their support of your church. People want to know their dollar is making a difference. Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out.
3. Limiting the giving options of your members. It’s not the role of the church to decide how a member will give to you. Make it difficult for them to give, and they WON’T. You should make as many channels available to them as possible.
4. Choosing not to know what members give. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Even if you don’t want to know names and specific amounts, you should have a list of your top givers. (By the way, you’re best givers are most likely your top influencers.) These are people who are most vested in seeing you and the ministry of the church succeed. You need to see and hear things from their perspective. Further, a significant increase or decrease in giving may be an overlooked ministry opportunity. Often people stop giving well BEFORE they leave the church.
5. Believing the pastor is not responsible for church giving. Do you think the finance committee is going to take the fall for a decline in church giving? NO! They are going to look at you and say, “Fix this!” If you’re going to be responsible and held accountable, you should be sure to lead in this area, too.

Why aren’t these immediately obvious to every church leader? Because many have had too little exposure to the subject of money in ministry and are too close in proximity to have any sense of clarity on the subject. Contrast that to what I do every day working with church leaders to bridge the gap of experience and perspective.

The more we ignore the subject of church giving, the more likely we are to fund SOMEONE ELSE’S budget with money God intended to fund the work and ministry of your church.

1. A Week of Videos: My Generosity Story

2. Leaving LifeWay, Joining Generis

3. Push the limits of church funding: Get beyond small thinking

4. Push the limits of church funding: Survival mode off

5. Push the limits of church funding: Break the silence

6. 11 ways to turn year-end statements into dollars

7. Why should I give to your church?

There is more to this piece that just a report over last year’s giving. It is an opportunity to:
1. Celebrate your ministry achievements in 2009.
2. Articulate your ministry intentions for 2010.
3. Substantiate the 2009 financial contribtuions of the individual.
4. Invite the individual to be even more generous in 2010.

When you send your year-end contribution statements, include three things:
1. Letter from the pastor (Share your heart.)
2. Contribution Statement (Compare year to year giving. We keep score in every area of life. People only grow in giving when they are challenged to do so. In fact, it’s like that for just about everything in life.)
3. Postage-paid return envelope (Most effective piece that suggests action on the part of the contributor. Some people will make a special donation on the spot. Be sure to include online giving link at bottom or on back flap of envelope. When was the last time you got something from World Vision or Compassion international WITHOUT an envelope?)

In the letter:
1. Restate your vision. (It has to be BIG enough to inspire.)
2. Provide evidence of ministry impact. (Demonstrate results.)
3. Outline your expectations moving forward. (Why you need them? What’s in it for them?)
4. Encourage them to TAKE ACTION. (Tell them what you want them to do.)

Please….PLEASE…don’t miss the opportunity to begin building on 2010 giving while you reflect on 2009. If you’re going to take the time to do it, be intentional about leveraging this piece as a way to generate funds instead of just another expense item.