A church is a religious organization that needs funds and donations to take care of its management and functioning. Unlike any agency or private business, these funds need to be generated from within the organization. This is where the idea of tithes and donations come in. As a church leader or a platform helping churches to raise funds, it may sometimes become difficult to talk about money in a religious setting. However, it is a must to encourage your church to give. You can easily generate charitable giving within your church by considering and adopting the following ways.
Highlight Your Vision
In order to encourage your church to give, you will have to make sure that the entire church shares a vision. Preach the Gospel. Combine your vision with sharing the needs of the church. Everybody needs to feel that they are a part of something bigger. Therefore, when you make an appeal, there are a few considerations that should not be overlooked.
- Talk about your shared mission and vision instead of expenses.
- Remind your audience that the church and its vision is worth contributing to.
- More “us” and “we” rather than “you” and “I”. The goal is to become a self sustaining church.
Teach Tithing
It is well known that a tithe is one tenth of one’s annual earnings. This is not something that can be demanded but one that is given to the church out of freewill. Charitable giving to the church is more about trust and devotion rather than just money. Tithe is usually included in a church’s annual financial series. However, dedicating a particular Sunday service to sermons and talks about tithe is a great idea. For example, “the blessings that come back through tithe” is a great topic to begin with. It is the responsibility of the church to preach and teach the idea of tithing.
Go Digital
There is no rule that churches must stick to traditional ways of giving through envelopes and checks. Along the way, it is a great idea for churches to blend with the trend.
- Automated giving wherein your church members sign up to become recurring givers is one way to keep the funds coming. This will not even require the church members to be present at a specific service of appeal.
- Giving methods such as online and mobile giving are also ideal ways to simplify the process of church giving. This takes away the effort of writing a check and bringing it to church.
The idea is not to stop your physical offerings from coming in, but to increase the channels through which the offerings come in. You can also consider a partnership with an online fundraising platform for churches to manage all your donations.
Be Exemplary
As mentioned earlier, a church is a religious organization. Like every other organization, a church has its leaders too. These leaders must set an example in every way, including the area of giving to the church.
- Make sure that all church leaders are giving back to the church too. This can be done in person and not necessarily with a public announcement.
- Encourage all leaders to lead by example. Make giving as natural as breathing.
When you know that you’re setting the right example as a church leader, you’ll find it much easier to communicate the same to your fellow church members.
Share Stories
There are many giving projects that churches undertake. Share the impact of such projects and campaigns with your church members. When your audience sees the kind of difference that they’re making, they’re likely to get even more motivated. Share stories of individuals that the church as a team has been able to help. If possible, share numbers too – for example, the amount that was raised in a specific campaign and so on. Charitable giving is so much about building relationships through communication and transparency.
Identify potential
A good church leader is supposed to create more leaders who are able to excellently plan, lead, execute and convince. This is a practice that will have a long term benefit.
- Identify members with leadership qualities and train them under you.
- Organize training sessions that cover the polishing of management and speaking skills.
- Give your trainees the opportunity to interact with the congregation and see how they perform.
These will help you make sure that the work you started, including the generation of church funds will not go to waste even in your absence.
Conclusion
As you encourage your church to give, do not forget to thank your church members for all their efforts and offerings. Create a generous church culture by taking it one day at a time. Demonstrate good money management skills and continue to earn the trust and support of your church members.
