Pastors: Turn Stats into Stories

Do you believe stats have a story to tell in your church?  One of my best friends is an accountant and he certainly knows how to make numbers come alive and help connect numbers to real life situations.

Why don’t our churches do the same thing?  Isn’t your church impacting your people, community and world?  The proof of this is often in the numbers.  If you want your people to invest more of their dollars in the ministry of your church; connect the dots between giving and life change.

Learn how to turn stats into stories.  This short video will change how you communicate the numbers to your people.

This video is provided by Christopher Davenport at Movie Mondays.  If you like this video you should subscribe.

 

 

Church Debt Epidemic

Is there really a church debt epidemic?

Epidemic means to affect a disproportionately large area or group.  So, is there a church debt epidemic?  Unfortunately I have to say yes and unfortunately I find it to be the case in the more established and traditional denominations.  Why?

There is no short answer and I’m sure the answer varies from region to region but I can trace it back to the 10 year time period from 1998 – 2008.  Churches were no different than the secular housing industry.  Money was cheap and it was easy to get your hands on.  Churches in rapidly growing areas such as metro Atlanta experienced growth in attendance and felt compelled to address their facilities needs due to the increase in people attending their church.

Unfortunately many of those churches planned as if the growth would continue on forever.  Over speculation on rising attendance led to the over building of church campuses.  Many of which today are somewhat empty shells of where they were in the mid 2000’s.

So here we are.  Enough of why we are where we are.  The reasons why really do not help us address the problem and help churches figure out a way to address the debt and get out from underneath the gorilla that is standing on them and holding them back from being the shining light God intended them to be.

I feel burdened to figure out a way to help churches who are in this situation.  As a consultant who ran capital campaigns for churches during this time I now feel a sense of urgency to help churches address their debt situations.  The difficulty is that addressing debt is not any more enjoyable in the church than it is in our personal lives.

It takes:

• Vision beyond the debt – People will give to vision.  They are not very excited about debt.  What ministries and mission work is the debt keeping us from doing?  How would things be different if the debt were gone?  What is the “Golden Tomorrow?”
• Planning beyond tomorrow – There is not a short term solution.  What are the steps?  How long will it take?  How will we get there?  Who will lead the charge?
• Diligence beyond belief – Again, there is not a short term solution; nor is it easy.  The Pastor and leaders must be patient and persistent.  There MUST be consensus from the leaders that this is the course we are taking and we will not veer from it until the plan is complete.

Is your church in debt?  How much?  How are you handling the debt?  Is the debt crippling or is it manageable?  What is your solution?

If your church is in debt who knows about it?  Does anyone outside of the Finance Team and Senior Leadership Team know?  When will you begin the conversation?  What will the conversation be with the congregation?  Transparency is key to addressing the problem.

I’d love to learn from you.

Pastors; what is your church’s Generosity Potential?

It is hard to believe I am already looking at dates in the fall for business and personal schedules.  It seems like just yesterday that I was walking 4 miles to my house in the snow during Snowpocalypse 2014 in Atlanta!  The race is now on to get everything in before school gets out.  Right?

Most churches try to have some type of fall schedule on paper before everyone breaks for the summer.  Many churches have an annual fall stewardship emphasis.  Are you one of those churches?  Have you made preliminary plans for the your church’s generosity focus this fall?  Have you set goals for what you hope to accomplish during the fall emphasis on giving.

At Generis we believe that numbers have a story to tell.  Numbers do not tell the entire story but they have a unique story to tell within every church.  I have learned what numbers have to say in the context of the local church.  A person’s giving is a key indicator of their commitment to God and to the local church.  We feel it is important to look at the numbers and uncover what story they are telling about each church.

What story are the numbers telling about your church?

Generis has created a tool to help you get started analyzing the numbers of your church.  We call it the Generosity Potential Assessment or GPA.  It is a great way to begin the process of uncovering the story the numbers are telling in your church.

If you would like to know your church’s generosity potential you can get started here.  Please let me know what you find out.  I’d love to have a conversation with you to discuss the findings.

Offering Tip – Connect Church Vision and Life Change

Connecting Your Vision and Life Change from Alan Wildes on Vimeo.

Pastors: 5 methods to increase giving. #3

Pastors are always asking me “Alan, what can I do as the pastor to help increase giving in our church?”  I have many answers to that question but 5 come to mind.  Here is #3.

#1; Pastors must give and #2; they must teach if the church is to have a healthy culture of generosity.  The third thing a senior pastor must do to have a generous church is to model generosity.

In order for people to follow a leader, the people must believe the leader is willing to do what he/she is asking others to do AND they must see the leader doing what he/she is asking others to do.  The pastor must model generosity through:

• Words
• Actions

Words are powerful.  Senior pastors spend between 15-25 hours per week preparing 20-30 minutes of words for their sermons.  Pastors know that most of their people digest and analyze everything they say in their sermons and everywhere else.  What pastors say about generosity is probably scrutinized MORE than the words they say about any other topic.  So, pastors should choose their words wisely; especially when talking about generosity.  There are two specific areas surrounding generosity where words are paramount.

1.  Communications

• Make sure you write/speak as if you are addressing  someone who only comes to worship one time per month and is not involved in any type of discipleship opportunity.  Leaders often times assume the audience knows more about the topic than they really do.  Don’t assume; it will typically get you into trouble.
• Choose 3-5 key words/phrases related to generosity to use in all publications, videos, social media, and face to face speaking opportunities.  Using similar language over a long period of time helps shift the conversation toward the long term vision pertaining to the culture of generosity at the church.

2.  Celebrations

• What you say during celebrations is key to clearly modeling that generosity is more than just money; it is life change.
• How often you celebrate generosity, how you celebrate generosity, and what you say while celebrating generosity should always be high on the priority list of the staff and communication team.
• Develop a plan for celebrations and work the plan; don’t ad lib.

Actions speak louder than words; an oldie and a goody.  Modeling generosity through actions speaks with more clarity and volume than any written or spoken word could ever do. Yes, giving financially is modeling generosity, but people can’t SEE that.  People need to SEE their senior pastor behaving generously.

• If the senior pastor is asking people to volunteer on a Saturday; the senior pastor needs to be there.
• If the senior pastor believes local, national, and global missions are important; the senior pastor needs to go on some mission trips.
• If the senior pastor is asking for children’s Sunday school teachers; the senior pastor should teach a children’s Sunday school class a few times a year.
• If the senior pastor values community through small groups; the senior pastor needs to be in a small group at the church.

People will not outrun the pace of the leader.  Senior pastors must model generosity through what they say and what they do.

Senior pastors,

• What key words surrounding generosity will you begin to incorporate into everyday publications, sermons and small group opportunities?
• How can you model generous living between now and the end of school?  Is there a special financial giving opportunity you could participate in and share the story with your people?
• Is there a special service opportunity during Lent you could participate in and ask others to join you?

I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts.  Pastors, how have you modeled generosity in the past?

3 steps to teaching tithing

One of our top goals at Generis is to “normalize the conversation surrounding generosity in every church.”  I work hard to help pastors and church leaders get over obstacles and address fears surrounding the topic of giving/generosity/stewardship.  A key factor in beginning to normalize the generosity conversation is for the lead pastor of every church to be comfortable with the topic.  The best way to do this is to have a strategy.

A definition of tithing can be one of the most controversial topics in any church.  It is imperative that each church have a clear understanding and explanation of tithing.  One of the first questions to answer is “Will our church use the word tithing or not?”  If the term ‘tithe’ is going to be used the pastor must make it clear what the church’s stance is on tithing and what the expectations are for each person in the church.  If the church is not going to use ‘tithe’ then the pastor and leaders must make it clear what terminology will be used to discuss giving.

Most churches use the term ‘tithe’ to discuss ‘regular giving.’  Here are three steps to establishing a clear definition and explanation of tithing/giving in your church:

1. Evaluate – As the pastor what is your stance on tithing?  What do you feel the Bible’s stance is on tithing?  Do you practice what you preach?  Is your giving where it should be?  Have you had a recent discussion with your family about what your family gives?  Remember; the people being led will not run at a faster pace than the leader.
2. Formulate – Obtain buy in from the church staff and leadership to create a generosity game plan (at least 12 months).  Create the strategy to help communicate the church’s beliefs and expectations in the area of giving and generosity; especially the definition of ‘tithing.’  Be sure to incorporate this explanation in the overall communication strategy of the church; sermons, discipleship/education, offering moments, email, print, video, social media, and website.
3. Educate – Implement the strategy.  Work the plan created by the staff and leadership.  Have different leaders help implement the strategy but pastors must take the lead.  The pastor must go first.  Expect push back from some of the congregation but continue to work the plan.

January is a great time to do go through these three steps.  You can make it through these three steps by the end of January if you make it a priority.

What are your thoughts on the three steps?  Am I over simplifying this?

5 steps to increase end of year giving

It is that time of year in the non-profit world where everyone is talking about end of year giving.

If you are a church leader then you should too.  It is not uncommon for churches to receive in excess of 25% of their total annual giving in December.  With that in mind does your church have an end of year giving plan?  Here are some basic steps to increase giving for the people who would like to give to your church.

1. Make your people aware of the accomplishments in mission and ministry for 2013 and celebrate them.  You can do this in worship, video, website, email, letter, Facebook or better yet; all of them.
2. Send an end of year giving letter to thank the people for their giving thus far in 2013 and to encourage them to consider an end of year gift.  Be sure to include the schedule for the church office during the final days of December.
3. Email the same letter you mail or consider a video version of the same content included in the letter.  This could be a 2-3 minute video from the pastor.
4. Make sure your people are aware of the electronic giving options your church has.
5. Include end of year giving language in the Sunday worship bulletin/guide and in the worship announcements on December 15, 22, and 29.  If you don’t remind them they will forget.

This may seem like a lot to do but the ROI could be substantial.

If you would like a guide for an end of year letter please comment below and/or email me and I will provide it for you and make myself available for questions.  alan@generis.com

A Taco Kit and Church Communications?

I love my family.  My wife, son and daughter are simply awesome.  All three have special places in my life and continue to etch their personalities deeper in my heart each day.

My 12 year old son is a piece of work.  He has some quirks that Pam and I call his “freakiness.”  Some parents would call it individuality or uniqueness.  We choose to call it freakiness because it is more entertaining.  On our way to the beach this week he added two more to the “freakiness journal.”

1.  “Mama and Daddy?  You know what I hate?  Traveling.  I usually like the places when I get there but I’d usually rather just stay home.  I hate traveling.”
2. We are eating at Chipotle on the way to the beach and Jackson orders a “Taco Kit.”  They put all of the ingredients for the tacos on a plate and then you make the tacos however you like.  Jackson says at the table: “What kind of restaurant sells you tacos that you have to put together yourself?  I didn’t expect to have to put my own tacos together.  Why couldn’t they just make them the way I wanted?  You know what else I hate?  Putting my own tacos together.”

I am hoping you find as much entertainment out of those comments as Pam and I did.  He is certainly unique.

As I sat on the deck this morning looking out into the ocean I started thinking about Jackson and his freakiness and how much I love him and how much he makes me smile.  I couldn’t help but think of how God must do the same each morning as he is looking out over the ocean he created and thinks about all of us and our ‘uniqueness’ that he created in us.  He must smile the same fatherly smile that I did this morning.

The take away from this for me as it relates to my work is that we are all different and we all respond to the same experiences in our own way.  Many times as leaders we think that the people all will respond to the same message, announcement or event in the same way and have the same experience.  We all know that is not true in our personal lives so why do we think people change when they come to church?

When communicating an important message in the church (generosity related or otherwise) you must say the same message AT LEAST 3 times in three different ways to the entire congregation at least 3 Sundays in a row.  Then they might just begin to start hearing the message you intended.

Communication must be:

1. Clear
2. Compelling
3. Concise
4. Consistent
5. Creative

Does your church have a set communication plan for large initiatives?  I’d love to hear about it.

Not the fall stewardship campaign again!

Isn’t that the way you feel about the fall planning session for your church?  Here are some common sentiments of lay people and staff as it pertains to the traditional fall generosity/stewardship emphasis.

“Yeah, I guess we need to do the operating budget campaign again this fall.”

“Who’s going to lead it this year?”

“How can we not make it boring this year?”

“It seems like all we ever talk about is money.”

Here are three ideas to consider as you move into the fall and the planning process for the 2014 operating budget emphasis:

1. Talk about generosity first; then stewardship.  According to freedictionary.com, generosity means “Liberality in giving or willingness to give.”  While stewardship means “One who manage’s another’s property, finances or other’s affairs.”  We have to be generous with the money God has entrusted to us before the church can be good stewards of the resources given.  I think it is a both/and (generosity and stewardship) in that order.
2. Celebrate life change before you talk about money.  Churches are great at planning events, retreats, and mission trips.  Most of them are pretty awesome and typically yield some wonderful stories about people and how God moved in their lives during the activity or trip.  The problem is churches are not great at sharing those stories.  It is easy to ‘move on to the next thing’ without celebrating the life change that is taking place in people’s lives; both inside the church walls and out.  Make sure you help people see how dollars given = life change.
3. Offer people an opportunity to invest.  We want people to see how investing money in their local church is worth it.  Businesses talk about ROI all the time.  We need to celebrate life change (#2) to show the return on the investment. Then offer the opportunity for people not only to financially invest again for next year, but to invest more because we have more life change to facilitate.  Often times that means more financial resources are necessary.  According to freedictionary.com investment means “the investing of money or capital for profitable returns.”  Lives being changed for Christ = profitable returns.

It does take money for churches to function and fulfill the God-inspired vision they are called to.  As leaders we need to continue to share that vision and offer opportunities for people to help fulfill that journey.

This strategy doesn’t sound boring does it?  What are your plans for your fall generosity initiative?  Let’s have a discussion.

Capital Campaign “A-ha’s” – Spring 2013

Capital campaigns remain the same.  Capital campaigns are ever changing.  At least that is what I have seen in my 12 years of guiding churches through campaigns.

I continue to see some of the basics of campaigns remain the same and always will because they are fundamentals of the process:

• The vision of the church and how the project fits into the vision must be clearly defined.
• The senior pastor must be a passionate communicator of the vision and how the proposed project will help the church better fulfill the God inspired vision they are called to.
• Communication must be clear, concise, and constant.
• Lay people must be involved in the development and execution of the communication plan.

I do not think these fundamentals of a successful capital campaign will ever go away; they must be in place for a church to have a spiritually AND financially successful campaign. 

Some of my A-ha’s from the spring of 2013 campaigns stem from these four fundamentals of the capital campaign process.

• Most churches have a vision statement.  However, most people in the church (staff included) do not have any idea what it is.  You have to make sure the people of the church know what the vision of the church is WAY in advance of beginning a capital campaign (12 months at least).
• Senior pastors give their staff, leaders, and general congregation WAY too much credit as it pertains to their understanding of the vision of the church and the project.  Senior pastors time and again are surprised when their people don’t ‘buy in’ to the vision with a financial commitment on commitment Sunday.  The main reason for this is the people were not given a chance to understand and embrace the vision of the church WAY in advance of the campaign process. (Are you seeing a theme here?)
• There are many more methods to communicate with people than even 5 years ago.  Multi-faceted communication plans is the flavor of the day for church communications.  I totally agree with communicating in multiple methods.  However, the problem I see is the message delivered in the multiple methods is not consistent.  Leaders talk themselves out of saying the exact same thing in worship and in a letter, email, video and blog post.  They think they are being redundant and people will quit listening/reading.  Redundancy is not always a bad thing and you are kidding yourself if you think your people read everything the church sends them.  Say the same exact thing at least three times before you begin to change the content.
• There is a trend toward having a smaller group of people planning and executing the campaign.  I am a big believer in leaders leading but in the churches I work in I find it to be a mistake to try and communicate from the top down.  Lay people need to know what is going on and what is coming.  They need to know it soon and often.  The core lay leaders in a church are going to give the most money (as they do for everyday giving as well) so these core leaders need to be “in the know” very soon.  Invite them into the conversation.  Ask their opinion. (I know that is a scary proposition).  Listen to them.  Ask for their support.  You will be glad you did.

Have you been through a campaign recently?  If so, do you agree with what I have said in this post? 

Are you thinking about a campaign in the not too distant future?  If so, have you started communicating the vision statement with everyone?