Monday Morning Insights

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    Church Giving is in the Crapper for a Long Time to Come.  Or IS it?

    Church Giving is in the Crapper for a Long Time to Come.  Or IS it?

    An article by David Briggs over at Faith and Leadership presents a pretty glum scenario.  It starts out:

    You know the bad news.

    The recession is taking a toll on religious groups, with giving down and layoffs extending from denominational headquarters to local churches.

    Now comes the worse news.

    Even after the economy recovers, it is unlikely that church budgets will quickly rebound to pre-recession levels.

    Sylvia Ronsvalle of empty tomb inc., a Champaign, Ill., organization that researches religious giving, has long been sounding an alarm about a downward trend in Protestant giving in recent decades. Per-member giving declined from 3.1 percent of income in 1968 to 2.6 percent in 2007, even before the latest economic downturn.

    There is not a “creeping crisis” of relevancy in American Christianity, she said.

    “It is a galloping crisis, and it’s immune to the economy,” Ronsvalle said. “The church needs to dig in and figure it out.”

    What do YOU think?

    Many of the churches I work with really aren't seeing much of a giving crisis.  Granted, most of those churches have great vision and leadership... are actually growing... and are doing quite well, even during these tough economic times.

    But I think this may be the exception to the rule.

    If a church doesn't have a clear plan... a clear vision... and strong leadership, I'm guessing that they may be getting hit very hard.

    And there are some parts of the country, regionally, that are getting hit harder than others.

    Now that said, I think most churches, even the ones that are doing well, are a little shell-shocked.  They are being more prudent with expenditures and are watching things closely.  But overall, their giving is steady or increasing slightly.

    How's your church doing during this financial climate?  Is giving way down, holding steady, or up slightly?

    And what impact does vision and leadership have in how churches do financially during the tough times?

    I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments...

    Todd

    Comments

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    1. Matt Steen on Wed, August 04, 2010

      I think that this would be better worded were it to say that churches no longer are getting the no effort money.  Gone are the days in which people give because they are supposed to.  I work with a large number of churches and the consistent theme that I see is that people give to vision.  If church leadership is leading with a clear and compelling vision, and if the church is regularly talking about financial stewardship as part of a larger discipleship plan the church will be ok financially.  The problem that I see in the churches that struggle is that the leadership either puts their head in the sand about financial stewardship and fundraising, or has no clue about how to go about doing it well.  The former group is going to be in rough shape in the coming years while the latter has the opportunity to get educated quickly.

    2. Greg Simmons on Wed, August 04, 2010

      I agree with Matt.  It’s about leadership and vision.  Regular giving is down at our church.  But, people are willing to give to specific needs.  I think the day of people giving to the church blindly is waning.  People want to know that their donations are being used efficiently and effectively to make a difference.  People want to see results.  Which could be a good thing in holding leadership accountable for making a difference in their communities.

    3. Ray on Wed, August 04, 2010

      You’re really talking about two different issues here. The study looks at per person giving as a percentage of income. You’re talking about balancing the budget and giving at a church level. There are three ways to increase church income… bring in more people as nominal givers, promote an exciting vision (for some reason that seems to always involve building programs), or grow your people deeper.

      Mature believers give consistently. Immature believers have to be reminded and cajoled and “inspired.”

    4. Matt Steen on Wed, August 04, 2010

      I differ with you Ray in that I combine your second and third option into one.  Unfortunately most people whip out a compelling vision for a church only when it is time for a building program, but churches need to be doing this far more regularly while connecting it to a discipleship program that brings people into maturity.  This clip shows a perfect example of what I am talking about, I will warn you that you might need a tissue:

      http://churchgivingmatters.com/2010/05/20/people-want-to-fund-life-change/

    5. Brianmpei on Wed, August 04, 2010

      I think Ray makes an important point.  Are large churches swallowing up smaller churches and seeing an increase in giving as a result or are individuals in these churches actually increasing their giving?  Older, smaller churches located near larger churches (ie. within easy driving distance) are waning quickly - especially compared to how long they’ve been around - and it’s an entirely different factor than the article is talking about.

    6. Ray on Wed, August 04, 2010

      I would say the optimal is to combine all three. Grow in numbers, present a compelling God-given vision, and grow people. But a solid financial foundation for a church is built on mature people practicing the discipline of tithing and giving. Without that piece, you’re on a treadmill… running as fast as you can to stay in the same place.

    7. Jeff Jensen on Wed, August 04, 2010

      Our church over the past four years has grown our “bank balance” by 157,000 while adding a staff person and we are now contemplating a building project.  WE ARE DEBT FREE. 
      We preach on all spiritual disciplines including GIVING (but only twice in the past four years have we preached specifically on giving).

      When God is working, people will support with finances.

    8. Casey Graham on Wed, August 04, 2010

      We are watching churches explode giving all across the country.
      There are 5 reasons people give to an organization.  We have discovered and documented these reasons:

      1. Need - If churches present needs people will meet them.  Too many churches are just trying to “preach vision” but they don’t create tangible ways for needs to be met.

      2. Vision - People say, “vision is the answer”... I disagree.  I believe the answer is listening to vision bubbling up in the lives of people and letting them live that vision out within the larger context of your corporate vision.  Top Down vision beats generosity out of people, bubble up vision creates deep life change in this area.

      3. Relationships - Its really simple.  If you connect people to other people in the church they give more.  Having volunteer and small group ministry rocking is huge!

      4. Education - People are broke and need to become financially free.  When people are educated they give more.  Call http://www.joesangl.com and he will help you with this.

      5. Obedience - This is why a lot of people give.  Pastors that teach God’s word in a life giving way see great fruit.  Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Al is best I have personal seen at this.

      Bottom line: filter everything you do through these 5 reasons and your giving will increase.  Quit thinking about what your church needs and start thinking about what people need.  smile

    9. Casey Graham on Wed, August 04, 2010

      We are watching churches explode giving all across the country.
      There are 5 reasons people give to an organization.  We have discovered and documented these reasons:

      1. Need - If churches present needs people will meet them.  Too many churches are just trying to “preach vision” but they don’t create tangible ways for needs to be met.

      2. Vision - People say, “vision is the answer”... I disagree.  I believe the answer is listening to vision bubbling up in the lives of people and letting them live that vision out within the larger context of your corporate vision.  Top Down vision beats generosity out of people, bubble up vision creates deep life change in this area.

      3. Relationships - Its really simple.  If you connect people to other people in the church they give more.  Having volunteer and small group ministry rocking is huge!

      4. Education - People are broke and need to become financially free.  When people are educated they give more.  Call http://www.joesangl.com and he will help you with this.

      5. Obedience - This is why a lot of people give.  Pastors that teach God’s word in a life giving way see great fruit.  Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Al is best I have personal seen at this.

      Bottom line: filter everything you do through these 5 reasons and your giving will increase.  Quit thinking about what your church needs and start thinking about what people need.  smile

    10. Leonard Lee on Fri, August 06, 2010

      I am a big believer in vision and leadership, and I am truly joyful for those churches that are doing very well financially.  I will respectfully disagree that leadership and vision create cash flow. 

      I think sometimes in the face of financial crisis and setbacks leadership and vision are what helps get the job done when finances are short.

      Our church has struggled with job losses, cutbacks, economic shifts and a host of other issues.  We had a very difficult staff transition that impacted our church and we lost nearly 50% of our budget over night. 

      The combination of the economy and the painful transition has required some of the best leadership I have ever had to provide.  In this season we have seen over 100 people come to Christ, we have seen more leaders raised up for key ministries and have an over 80% volunteer ratio.  Almost 70% of our people are in small groups and we have been very effective in both serving our community and impacting our world. 

      We have done this while keeping a spirit of grace and humility on Sundays and did not let the nasty transition of staff become the identifying factor of how we approached our gatherings. 

      We are finally in the black monthly, but it has required deep cuts and sacrifice.  It has required focus and clarity, but instead of our budget growing, we have had to reduce expenses drastically. 

      Add to our blessing, is the fact we have almost 50% new believers in our church and it takes time for the maturing of generosity.  I ma very hopeful.

      I do not disagree with much of what has been said, it just the tenor of it comes across as cliche.  Of course God provides, but sometimes we need to rightsize our expenses to reality. 

      One of the dangers financial crisis introduces to struggling churches is robbing the joy of generosity for those who do give generously.  When a church lives in financial crisis too long, those who do give can easily feel like giving all they have is still not enough and resent those who do not give. 

      Vision can help this, but it can also exacerbate this as well.

    11. Dirk on Thu, September 02, 2010

      There is a very thin and rather fuzzy line between “Godly Vision” and “Human Ambition.” 

      God gives us a vision and somewhere along the way we claim it as ours instead of His.  It is difficult to indict a preachers ambitions because they are naturally very spiritual in appearance. However, a “vision” apart from the Holy Spirit is nothing but an “agenda.” Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.  That can apply to a big church building or program as well.

      I contend that folks don’t give to vision, they give to community.  If your vision engenders community in a truly compelling way, folks will give.  The true christian spirit is to help one another.

      May God continue His work of pruning His church.  Remove from us all that distracts from you, Lord.

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