What is an example of a giving journey?
Sheppard: You want to talk about your journey and how it’ s impacted your generosity. One pastor I know, who is leading a big generosity initiative, shared his giving journey with his people. He said,“ Since day one, my wife and I have given 10 % of everything we make back to this church. Most years, we’ ve given a little more than that. But let me explain what’ s happened over the last two years, as our kids have left home. We have four kids, and over the years, we increased our percentage of giving from 12 % to 14 % to 16 %. Last year, we gave 18 % of our income to the church. Over the next two years, with our generosity initiative, we are going to increase that to 30 %.”
This pastor was very clear about how his journey had changed and how it was about to change even more. In my book, Contagious Generosity, written with co-author Chris Willard, we point to a specific instance where a member approached their pastor after he had shared his giving journey and said,“ Pastor, one of the reasons I give here is because you give.”
How important is a giving journey and message to staff?
Sheppard: If the pastor doesn’ t have a giving journey, it’ s hard for staff to have that giving journey, as well. This journey must be communicated to staff even more often than with the people of the church. You should make it clear that it is expected that members of staff have their own giving journey. These should be shared from time to time in staff meetings.
In other words, make it a normal part of being on the staff team. Again, this sets the tone.
When speaking about giving, what type of language will contribute to creating an environment of generosity?
Sheppard: Giving is a discipleship issue. I’ ve been in many churches that have intended to focus on this, but then it turns out to be more of a financial issue. What I mean by this is that the church holes out its annual budget. Giving is needed to support that budget for next year. Pastors get caught up talking only about funding the budget, and they never really go into the discipleship aspect of giving, and what it means to be a giver from a scriptural standpoint.
Obviously, you want the budget to be funded, but that’ s not the main point. The main point is, Where is your heart in terms of discipleship? Have you established yourself as a value in your church that contributes with your own discipleship?
The closer people get to the cross, the more their giving changes. Discipleship is developing a person’ s heart. We use the term“ discipleship” a lot. You only get so far if you make giving a financial issue. Change will be temporary, not lasting.
How do we talk about giving in terms of a person’ s own discipleship journey?
Sheppard: Identifying giving is one of the marks of a mature disciple. We talk about prayer; we talk about scripture; we talk about many different things being a mark of a mature disciple; but we don’ t specifically talk about giving as being one of those indicators of maturation.
In your church’ s new member and small group classes, identify giving as a part of moving people along on their continuum of maturity.
What is beneficial to encouraging the efforts of a person’ s giving journey?
Sheppard: Celebrate giving breakthroughs( for example, moving from half a tithe to a full tithe). This is something that a lot of churches might not do well. People look for other folks like themselves, and when they see a celebration of giving for their peers, they begin to think, Could we do something like that? Modeling that in front of the congregation, giving all due credit to God and the Holy Spirit, and the moving of the Holy Spirit in their life as something that God did in and through them, is a spiritual breakthrough.
Other kinds of breakthroughs include raising money for disaster relief. Say, for example, your congregation raises 30 % more of their goal for a disaster relief fund. Stop and give God the credit— generosity is not as natural to us as we want it to be. It takes God’ s grace moving through people’ s hearts to make them the generous people that God has called them to be. Celebrate that those who have not been touched by disaster are able to help those deeply affected by it.
In Contagious Generosity, we say“ accelerate what you celebrate.” When you celebrate breakthroughs, you will unwittingly be accelerating that cause, and your people will grow through it.
As a church, how do we help provide the basis for a complete journey?
Sheppard: This is about awareness, stories and impact. One way to do that is by informing the hearts, which is discipleship. You need to inform the head— and that is done by leveraging the weekend experience. You can’ t do one without the other.
Growing in discipleship only has limited impact. My people might grow into mature disciples, but if they do not have any say in what’ s happening in their church— the vision of ministry God has called everyone to, and the impact( and victories) that we have, then it doesn’ t help them to fully progress to the place that God wants them to be. They have to be good disciples, and they have to know that their church is making a difference.
3 key points in cultivating generous givers
• Pastor must lead the way
• Discipleship must be a priority
• Leverage the weekend experience
What does it mean to leverage the weekend experience?
Sheppard: The weekend experience is whatever you do for your weekly worship gatherings. Whether they are from Friday to Sunday nights, or just Sunday mornings, and whether you are in just one venue or multiple venues, the weekend experience is very important.
Worship service is a prime opportunity. It’ s the premier event in the life of a church that occurs 52 times a year. We need to leverage that time where our people are right in front of us to encourage. Let us provoke one another on love and good deeds, as the scriptures say.
Far too many churches want to cultivate generous givers and a culture of generosity, but they’ re not speaking about it in the weekend worship environment. It takes money to fund the vision of the church, and yet sometimes we don’ t want to talk about it too much that we’ re known as“ that church” that focuses on money all of the time.
You can’ t avoid talking about it. And when you do talk about it, you have to do it appropriately.
24 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | NOV / DEC 2017