Secrets to Strong Giving
It is certainly encouraging to gather spiritual insight from others in the field who share in the task of encouraging generosity. Jim Sheppard, CEO of Generis, has seen how generosity in the church is much more dependent upon internal factors rather than external factors such as the economy. In an article I recently read, Jim describes five secrets to strengthening giving during a slow economy.
Clear Vision
Jim explains that the church’s vision of ministry is the one factor that will determine everything else. It has been my observation that church and para-church ministries that lack a clear vision have the most difficult time raising money.
Connected Body
Jim shares that everyone must be connected to the overall mission of the church and empowered to carry it out. I think this is the reason why so many smaller and start-up churches might be better at this process- because they have rallied together around a shared goal with fewer distractions that are commonplace in larger congregations.
Kingdom Focus
Jim explains that in order for giving to be strong, the church must be more externally focused on Kingdom priorities than preoccupied with internal issues. If the church is not healthy and is overly-focused on internal concerns, giving with suffer and this is certainly not the time to embark on a major campaign- let’s get the house in order first.
Purposeful Appeal
Jim suggests that there should be a clear explanation of how the church will help accomplish the ultimate goal of helping lost and hurting people. I suppose this is the question I hear most today- people want to how their contribution will stretch beyond the boundaries of the church. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t mind making sure the pastor gets paid; they just want to be sure he is spending more time knocking on doors and less time on the golf course.
Generous Culture
Jim explains that the cardinal rule of a generous church is to be led by a generous pastor. He says the pastor cannot lead his people to a place that he is not willing to go himself. It doesn’t get any clearer than this- if the pastor and other church leaders expect generosity, they better lead by example first.
