We must face the truth about poor giving and its consequences…..
When faced with poor giving and lackluster stewardship, church leaders often try to justify their situation rather than face the truth. Of course it is easier to justify poor giving than to address it. Here are some things we hear about giving that may even contribute to poor giving:
“Our people are giving very well. We are meeting our budget.”
Making budget sounds great. However, meeting a budget is not reliable evidence that your people are giving well. Many churches, in order to meet the budget, simply reduce their expenses to match the level of giving. It might be good money management but it is still poor giving. Even when a church exceeds its budget, most churches have a third or more of their attenders who contribute little or nothing at all. Churches who consider funding the budget as the ultimate objective have lost sight of their real mission – to make disciples. The truth is we are called to grow in giving, not to meet a church budget.
“Our people are very generous. Every time we ask them to step up for something, they do.”
Special projects can be a perfect opportunity to ask members to “step up” in financial giving or volunteer support. For some, it is a chance to contribute beyond their annual giving for something they are passionate about. Most of the time, though, only a small percentage of donors step up. Poor giving remains a concern when only a few givers are motivated by special projects and others give nothing at all.
“We are so blessed to have two families who pay for the majority of our needs.”
It is a blessing to have members with worldly wealth and are willing to give it to the church. However, the consequences of that can be devastating. The remaining members might be saying, we don’t need to contribute. The big donors will take care of it.” What happens when both of those families leaves, dies, or moves? The other families actually are missing out on opportunities to “excel in the grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7)
“Sometimes I preach about money and giving at budget time.”
Preaching about giving once a year is better than never preaching about giving, but only preaching about it around budget time is the worst time to do it. Giving should never be about what the church needs but, rather, what the giver needs. Jesus suggested people should give to show they trusted God more than they trust their money. Help people understand giving as a part of their discipleship journey and preach on giving year-round.
“I don’t want to know what my members give. I may treat members differently.”
When the pastor chooses to be unfamiliar with the church’s giving list, he/she is choosing to ignore important information about the discipleship journey of his/her members. In his book, Rich Church, Poor Church, Clif Christopher suggests not knowing the list puts the pastor at a disadvantage. Knowing the list enables the pastor to guide those who need to understand giving as a spiritual discipline and thank those whose generous gifts provide support to life-giving ministries.
Facing the truth about poor giving can help you avoid devastating consequences. Creating a culture of generosity in your church requires open and honest reflections about giving and the involvement of your entire membership.
Includes excerpts from Gary Ealy’s blog at Horizon Stewardship