http://www.churchleadership.com/leadingideas/issues/pdf/2010/100331_article2.pdf

Following is an excerpt which lifts out the main points:

“The most important is gratitude. About half said they give to the congregation because they feel a sense of gratitude for God’s love and goodness. (49% said this is a major influence on giving decisions.) More than one in three worshipers say they give to support God’s work in the world. Giving out of a sense of duty was the third most important influence. It motivated the giving of about one in three worshipers. The fourth most important influence rests on the church’s teaching that the Bible instructs believers to support their congregation. One in four worshipers described this as a major influence. Finally, the last major influence in the top five is a sense of obligation to support the work of their local congregation.”

How does this information apply to your congregation?

• I truly believe, and studies have shown, that a pastor’s giving to the church dramatically affects the giving of the congregation.  It is hard to share and preach about giving if you are not giving adequately yourself. 
• It can also be a very powerful witness to the congregation if the pastor can share his or her own journey towards becoming a good giver.  When a pastor share out of his or her own experience, whether that be in a sermon, a conversastion, or a teaching situation, the pastor speaks not in a scolding manner.  Very few adults respond to being scolded.  People ought never to be spanked from the pulpit.   If the pastor has needed to learn to be a good giver, it gives the individual church member permission to grow.  Good givers generally grow in that direction, instead of being born this way.
• When the pastor speaks out of his or her own experience, it adds authenticity to the message.  This is especially true if the pastor has the trust of the listener(s).  Instead of an outside expert being quoted, the one sharing his or her own story is the one the congregation has learned to trust.  They are thus more apt to trust the speaker’s message.

There are other reasons–we will explore more of these in future posts.

–An old Persian proverb

http://www.ucc.org/stewardship/

As with all denominational websites, this site contains some denomination specific information, but it also contains content of interest to all churches.  Of special mention is a bibliography of books on Christian stewardship, as well as a bibliography of similar videos.  There are also a few sample sermons.  A good site to peruse.

So the first lesson of stewardship–and a hard one in a culture of capitalism, consumerism, and private property–is that we don’t own anything.

Source:  “Lilly Calling,” The Lilly Grant Program at St. Olaf College Newsletter, May 2007.

The post below is the proposed introduction for a book on church financial management.  More posts will feature further work on this book.

SAFE-GUARDING THE WIDOW’S MITE

Introduction

Pastor Coleman of First Church sighed deeply. It had already been a long day, filled with counseling a couple soon to be married and visiting several people in the hospital. It was late in the afternoon, and yet the day was not done. There was a meeting that night and on the agenda was his least favorite topic—the budget. He wished that church work could just be about people and that all this stuff about administration could be taken off of his plate. Account numbers, dollars, and line items were things he desperately did not want to deal with.

Meanwhile, in a home a few blocks away, Sue Atkins looked at the clock with dismay. Her family had just set down for supper, a rarity, and there was only one hour before the First Church’s council meeting was to begin. Dinner needed to be finished in record time. Sue chaired the council, and tonight’s topic was the budget. Talk of the budget would provoke debate and hot comments, and Sue dreaded any discussion of this issue.

Pastor Coleman’s and Sue’s feelings echo those of many laity and clergy. Money is a topic that many people in the church are reticent to talk about. Jesus talked about money and possessions second only to speaking of the Realm of God, but most church members are lucky to hear a sermon on financial stewardship once a year. In worship the offering is collected and then presented for a prayer of consecration. After the prayer of consecration, the offering is sometimes even carried right out of the sanctuary as though its presence will dirty the communion table and taint the atmosphere of the entire service.

Churches not only resist talking about giving money, they also frequently resist any conversation of how to care for the money that is given. The unfortunate result of this reluctance is sometimes embezzlement—the theft of funds that people have generously given for the church’s ministries. Researchers at Villanova University found in a 2007 study that in a five-year period, money was embezzled from 85 percent of Roman Catholic dioceses surveyed. (USA Today; February 18, 2007) Further, The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, reported that between $50,000 and $80,000 had been stolen from a local church in 2006. The church’s pastor stated about the administrative assistant suspected of the theft: “It’s devastating because we trusted that girl. She would talk about how God had blessed her and how wonderful it was to be a staff member with the church and how God had led her there.” (Post and Courier; May 3, 2007)

Even if embezzlement is not the result, handling money without little thought or planning can result in ineffectiveness for a church’s ministries. That had certainly been the case during the prior year at Pastor Coleman’s and Sue’s church. At a planning retreat early in the year, it was decided that music would be a major priority with much more money spent in that area. Yet no budget was prepared for that year. At the end of the year, when the music ministry area was ready to buy a new piano and purchase new sheet music for the coming year, there was no money available as it had all been spent in other areas.

Some churches regularly develop a budget, but the budget always exceeds actual giving. In a situation such as this, the music ministry would not have been able to purchase the piano because the money would have been spent elsewhere. There is no comparison throughout the year of actual income to expected income so that adjustments can be made in the budget. Instead, various areas of responsibility are asked to spend less than the amount budgeted.
Pastors and laity may talk about financial stewardship, but most people use the word to refer to only one thing—the campaign, usually held in the fall, when funds are raised to support the church’s ministries. There is another side of stewardship—safeguarding the money that people give. Money is a symbol that represents a person’s God-given talent and time. As the church carefully manages that money, they are valuing the talent and time given generously by other people.

Stewardship also speaks of using these gifts in ways that best help a church accomplish its mission. If a budget had been in place at First Church that specified how much money different ministries of the church could spend, there would have been funds left to buy the piano and sheet music, an area that the church had designated as a priority. Safeguarding and using money efficiently is just as much a part of church stewardship as people initially giving money to the church.

Having procedures in place about how to handle money is not a glamorous part of ministry, but it will pay many dividends for Sue Atkins, Pastor Coleman, and the entire church. Money will be used according to First Church’s priorities. In addition, safeguarding the money will give the pastor and congregation the knowledge that their gifts are valued and well-cared for. When a person gives a gift, that person likes to know that the gift has enough value to the recipient that it will be treated with care. Having procedures in place to watch over money can actually give both pastors and lay leaders more time to engage in the nonfinancial aspects of ministry. A little planning up front can save a lot of time later, allowing clergy and laity more time for ministry.

Cash management in churches yields many dividends, let’s continue on to learn about the process.

Copyright August 25, 2009 by Jane E. Voelkel. No reproduction or unauthorized use is allowed.