How to Increase Giving in Your Church

George Barna

Description

One of the most difficult tasks facing any church leader is the issue of raising funds. It's not that we don't realize that tithing and giving are biblical issues; God's Word is full of strong statements about the stewardship of money. But how does a pastor convey God's heart for stewardship? Literally, what's the best way to raise the money your church needs to survive? Obviously, God is the one who builds the church and he is the ultimate provider. But what's the best process of shepherding the funds he has for your church? This step-by-step guide will give you tools you need to raise funds in your church--scripturally and successfully--without compromising biblical integrity. After all, it's God's church and his mone--but our responsibility to manage it.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 22 juillet 1997
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441223609
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

© Copyright 1997 by George Barna
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-2360-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other version used is:
KJV — King James Version. Authorized King James Version.
Cover Design by Barbara LeVan Fisher
Interior Design by Britt Rocchio
Edited by Virginia Woodard
Contents

C OVER
T ITLE P AGE
C OPYRIGHT P AGE
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I NTRODUCTION
One of Americans’ distinctives is our willingness to give away large sums of money to charitable organizations and to churches.
1. A R EALITY C HECK
Americans are the most generous people in the world, but giving is generally on the decline, and the amounts given vary by age segments of the population.
2. M YTHS , L EGENDS AND A SSUMPTIONS A BOUT C HURCH D ONORS
The myths and truths about giving are surprising. Americans tend to see everything as related to everything else.
3. W HO A RE THE D ONORS TO C HURCHES ?
Church donors can be evaluated in terms of demographics (personal background), psychographics (attitudes and values) and theolographics™ (spiritual perspectives and practices).
4. W HY P EOPLE G IVE
People no longer give to the church simply because it is the church. The church must prove it is worthy of donations through the mark it leaves on the world.
5. A B IBLICAL R EORIENTATION TO M ONEY
God’s Word consistently and boldly speaks to the issue of stewardship. Congregations need to be informed by a simple strategy: “Preach the Word.”
6. P REPARING P EOPLE FOR E FFECTIVE S TEWARDSHIP
Four helpful steps to prepare people for stewardship are (1) communicating biblical perspectives and principles, (2) preparing a church budget, (3) awareness of the church’s financial needs and (4) identifying people’s various responses to those needs.
7. P ARTNERSHIP S TRATEGIES
In today’s culture, people want to be active participants; they expect to be partners. People who own the ministry fund the ministry.
8. S EGMENTING THE D ONOR B ASE
Effective segmentation moves people from one category to another, raising the level of commitment in giving.
9. M ARKETING C HURCH S TEWARDSHIP
All churches market their ministries, but it is important to market those elements effectively. Informing people of goals, needs and outcomes is desirable in stimulating donors to give to a plausible cause.
10. L EADERSHIP IN S TEWARDSHIP
You cannot reasonably expect the congregation to make a wholehearted financial commitment to the church if the leaders of the church do not somehow reflect that same depth of commitment.
11. C HALLENGES TO C HURCHES
A summary of 14 guidelines provides the key principles for effective stewardship.
Appendices
A PPENDIX 1: D ATA T ABLES FROM S URVEY R ESEARCH
A PPENDIX 2: B IBLIOGRAPHY
A PPENDIX 3: A BOUT G EORGE B ARNA AND THE B ARNA R ESEARCH G ROUP , L TD.
N OTES
B ACK A DS
B ACK C OVER
Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the many people who have helped make this book possible. Here are a few of those individuals.
My ministry partners at Regal Books have been supportive, as usual. Among the people with whom I have had contact on this project are Bill Greig III, Bill Greig Jr., Kyle Duncan, Bill Denzel, Cary Maxon, Gloria Moss and Virginia Woodard. I gratefully acknowledge the efforts of the dozens of “behind-the-scenes” people who labored to make this manuscript a ministry resource for many.
My ministry partners at Barna Research held the company together during my periods of isolation to write this book. Deserving special merit for their tenacity—or was it enjoyment?—of my absences are David Kinnaman, Jill Kinnaman and Pam Tucker.
My thanks are due to the thousands of pastors, church leaders and adults across America whom we interviewed for the research described in this book. Without their insights I would have had very little to say. I hope this book captures their perspectives and experiences accurately, and in a way which enables them to advance the cause of Christ.
My most special thanks, as always, go to my family. My wife, Nancy, gets the most credit of anyone for the completion of this book. This is the most difficult book I have ever written, but she has been unwavering in her support of my calling to provide the Church with information that will lead to better strategic decisions for ministry. She filled the vacuum in our family created by my absence to write. Naturally, my daughters, Samantha and Corban, have been affected by those gaps in our growing relationship, but have also been nothing less than affirming of this adventure.
May God pour a special blessing upon these people for the sacrifices they have made, and for the blessings they have bestowed upon me. May this book be a blessing to Him and His people.
Introduction

Americans are different from adults in other developed nations of the world. We are the more likely to sue our fellow citizens. Despite our glorious national history, we are comparatively ill-informed about it. Compared to people in other developed nations, we are more comfortable living with debt, and less comfortable living with relatives. We treasure pleasure, yet we are comparative workaholics. We are more keenly devoted to the television set. Americans consume pizza as if it were a miracle drug. We are more likely to abort our babies and divorce our spouses. We attend church more often than do our peers in other first-world nations. We set the pace when it comes to transforming entertainers—athletes, singers, TV and movie performers—into wealthy, pampered cultural icons.
One of the most striking distinctives, though, is our willingness to give away large sums of money to organizations whose sole purpose is to enhance people’s quality of life—usually other people’s quality of life. To facilitate this focus, we have created an entire sector of the national economy known as the nonprofit sector. It encompasses more than a million organizations (churches included). These organizations have combined assets estimated at more than $850 billion, evidence that the good-deeds business has grown way beyond “mom-and-pop” status within our national economy. [1]
Americans warmly embrace these service-minded entities, as witnessed by the dramatic revenue rise experienced by nonprofits during the past quarter of the twentieth century. In 1970, the AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy reported that philanthropic giving by individuals reached $16 billion. Its figures for 1995 indicate that individual gifts exceeded $120 billion. [2] That is more than a sevenfold increase in just 25 years. From 1970 through 1995, our population increased by just 30 percent—so the increased levels of giving cannot be attributed solely to our expanding population.
Even when compared to other economic measures during the past two decades, giving has increased at a faster pace. Although giving by individuals jumped by 556 percent, America’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 461 percent, the personal income of Americans rose by 482 percent and personal consumption expenditures grew by 404 percent. [3] In other words, people’s determination to give away their money to those in need is a remarkable story. The inclination to demonstrate compassion toward humanity may be one of the paradoxes of a society widely known for its selfishness and self-indulgence, but it is a reality that cannot be denied.

“N O PERSON WAS EVER HONORED FOR WHAT HE RECEIVED. H ONOR HAS BEEN THE REWARD FOR WHAT HE GAVE. ” C ALVIN C OOLIDGE

If you need further evidence of the significance of the nonprofit sector to the national economy, or to understand just how integral the sector is to the nation’s economic and moral fabric, realize that more than 7 million people are employed by such organizations. That is 1 out of every 17 people in the labor force. These organizations have a cumulative annual operating budget of nearly $400 billion; and the economic activities of nonprofit entities account for 7 percent of the nation’s gross national product (GNP). [4]
The initial recipients of the public’s willful generosity (i.e., the nonprofit organizations) have become experts at marketing to people’s interest in facilitating the well-being of society. Some nonprofit organizations—including, but certainly not limited to, churches and religious organizations—teach people of the personal benefits, both now and eternally, of sharing their financial resources with those who are in need. Other nonprofit organizations have developed elaborate and sophisticated fund-raising and promotional campaigns that raise substantial sums of money. This is attributable to the ability to strategically market services that fulfill people’s felt needs to help other people or to make a difference in the world.
The kinds of organizations that raise money for good works are a fascinating study in specialization and diversity. Nonprofit organizations include those involved in work related to health care, medical research, disaster relief, education, public welfare, the arts, religion, legal protection, community development and more. The landscape of nonprofit organizations ranges from multibillion dollar giants employing staffs of thousands of p