Church Executive CHURCH EXECUTIVE NOV-DEC 2017 DIGITAL | Page 25

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Generous churches are led by generous pastors, and your voice matters more
than you realize. You have to have your own giving journey; this journey isn’t
finished, and you don’t even have to be the furthest along.
— Jim Sheppard
How do decreases in attendance affect the message of giving?
Sheppard: The issue of decreasing attendance by faithful people
in the life of the church is a hot topic right now. People like myself,
who regard church as a priority, would attend roughly 3.2 times a
month 10 years ago. There have been indications now that people are
now attending church less than twice a month. In a very short period
of time, a big shift from a little over three times a month to less than
two times a month has happened.
People are mobile, and busier than ever. They have leisure activities
and events with their kids. So, when I say “52 times a year,” that does
not mean that people are attending each and every time. That makes
leveraging the weekend experience even more important.
While people are at church, and you have their attention, you
need to communicate and get your message to them. This is called
the “power of the pulpit,” which extends to anyone who occupies
it during a service. What you’re going to say is going to be heard,
and people are paying attention. Every minute is important, and if
you’ve allocated time to a topic, people recognize and perceive it as
being important.
What are the steps to leveraging the weekend
experience appropriately?
Sheppard: Build trust. No one gives significantly unless they trust the
institution that they’re giving to. That includes the church. People have to
know that if they’re giving their hard-earned money to it, you will steward
it well.
Use examples of how you’ve stewarded money and resources well so far.
Talk about the fact that you have a financial oversight committee, and
that your financial statements are audited. If you’re a member of the
Evangelical Council and Financial Accountability (ECFA), which has
rigid standards about accountability and trust, mention it. Put it on your
website. Talk about how you approve expenditures. People want to know
that their church is run like a business, and that there is someone at the
helm stewarding resources well.
Cast (and recast) vision. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community
Church has said on many occasions, “Vision leaks.” You can’t just cast
vision and assume that it’s always going to be there. Like a helium balloon
starts out as full, and then a couple of weeks later it’s not as full — that
happens with vision, even in the tightest of environments. You’ve got to
cast and recast vision all the time. This is the senior pastor reinforcing who
the church is, what God has called it to do, and what the mission is.
Shape culture. The weekend experience helps to shape culture. It helps
the people of the church to understand what’s normal, and how things are
done. Culture is really a permission system in a lot of ways. It allows things
to flow through, or it comes on like a headwind and gets in the way. In
shaping a generosity culture, what you want to do is create the idea that
generosity is normal. This means it’s not a big deal to talk about money,
because generosity is commonplace.
Demonstrate impact. There are far too many people who, when they
give to their church, do not understand what happens. Those who work
internally for the church might get some information, but a lot of things
”
might be unknown to other members. The church must share stories in
public regularly that demonstrate what happens when you give. Show
pictures of ministry victories, and show the impact you’re having on
people, groups and local partners that you might be ministering to.
If, for example, your mission is to create a culture where unchurched
people feel comfortable, regular stories of how unchurched people came
into your environment and got reacquainted with Christ demonstrates
your impact. This reinforces why people give.
Enhance relationships. Relationships are built through the weekend
experience. It’s not the only way, but it’s one of the ways. If it is the premier
event in the life of the church, then we need to spend it enhancing
relationships with the church, its people, the pastor and the staff. Make
sure that you’re emphasizing community in a way that is important to
your culture.
Highlight good stewardship in the life of your church. I had one client
discuss something that was small, yet so impactful. It concerned
buying office supplies for their church, which is fairly large, so the line
item for office supplies was a pretty good-size number. They showed
that number to staff and explained how they order everything, to
demonstrate good stewardship.
Even small things like office supplies should be regarded as something
to be a good steward of. The scripture says, ‘When you are faithful over the
smaller things, God will make you faithful over the larger things.’
— Reporting by Joyce Guzowski
LISTEN TO THE WEBINAR!
“3 things you must do to cultivate
generous givers in your church”
A generous church culture doesn’t just happen; it must
be nurtured and cultivated. To do it, there are 3 proven
strategies you need to know about.
Available now at
www.churchexecutive.com/webinars
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