Friday, March 16, 2012

Increasing Finances In Your Church

When Christians make giving decisions in a stewardship campaign which is the best vehicle to increase giving, there are several good steps to consider.

-Scripture-

The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians about giving and he offered the following direction:

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.” I Corinthian 16:1-2 “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.: II Corinthians 9:7

There are four parameter lines that Paul suggested:

a. Regular Giving: Christians should establish a regular pattern of giving rather than hit or miss. Typically the pattern is systematic giving where a gift is given every week, or month, or as income is received

b. Cheerful: Giving is without pressure and comes out of the heart. Christians give out of gratitude for all the gifts that God has given and recognize that without God’s provision we have nothing.

c. Proportionate: We should give based upon our prosperity which means some can give more and some can only give a little. Christians are not asked to give something they do not have.

e. Planned or Purposeful Giving: Thoughtful or thought out giving is part of the process. Christians are to consider giving by looking at our budgets with a pencil and paper in hand to write down and check carefully what is possible.

-Tools-

Church people need guidance and visuals in order to decide their level of giving. Sometimes the reason people give so little is because they really don’t have a clue as to what is expected. Tithing which typically is projected as the standard amount for giving connotes 10%. 10% is easy to calculate, but it still has a vagueness or generality about it for many people. A gift plan with category amounts give people a chart to visually consider and prayerfully determine their part. Without a chart most people will decide to give less. What is expected helps increase the amount. The following are sample tools that will increase giving, i.e., gift plan, percentage giving chart, commitment work sheet, gift profile.

a. Gift Plan

100 Commitments

Initial Gift

Monthly Amt

Over 36 Months

Amount Given

Accumulative Total






1

15,000

1,667

75,000

75,000

3

7,000

778

35,000

180,000

4

5,000

556

25,000

280,000

5

3,000

334

15,000

355,000

7

2,000

223

10,000

425,000

15

1,600

178

8,000

545,000

25

1,000

112

5,000

645,000

20

600

67

3,000

705,000

20

300

34

1,500

735,000

b. Percentage Gift Chart

Annual

Household

Income

Approximate Monthly Commitment

Proportionate to Income

15%

10%

7%

6%

300,000

3,750.00

2,500.00

1,750.00

1,500.00

250,000

3,125.00

2.083.00

1,458.000

1.250.00

200,000

2,500.00

1,668.00

1,168.00

1,000.00

150,000

1,875.00

1,250.00

875.00

750.00

125,000

1,565.00

1,040.00

730.00

625.00

110,000

1,375.00

920.00

642.00

550.00

90,000

1,125.00

750.00

525.00

450.00

75,000

940.00

625.00

440.00

375.00

60,000

750.00

500.00

350.00

300.00

50,000

630.00

420.00

300.00

250.00

45,000

565.00

380.00

270.00

225.00

40,000

500.00

340.00

240.00

200.00

35,000

440.00

295.00

205.00

175.00

30,000

375.00

250.00

175.00

150.00

25,000

315.00

210.00

150.00

125.00

20,000

250.00

167.00

117.00

100.00

15,000

188.00

125.00

88.00

75.00

c. Gift Profile

AYZ Church, City, WA

Gift Profile

Commitments Needed to Raise $1,000,000

To Be Given Over 36 Months

Leadership Gifts: $500,000

# of Gifts------------Gift Level------------Total-----------Accumulative Total

1-----------------$100,000-------------$100,000----------------$100,000

1-----------------$50,000--------------$50,000------------------$150,000

2-----------------$31,200(200/wk)----$62,400-----------------$212,400

3-----------------$23,400(150/wk)----$70,200-----------------$282,600

5-----------------$15,000(100/wk)----$75,000-----------------$357,600

5-----------------$10,000(64/wk)-----$50,000------------------$407,600

10---------------$7,800(50/wk)-------$78,000------------------$485,600

15---------------$5,000(32/wk)-------$75,000------------------$560,600

42 Leadership Commitments for $560,000 or 56% of Total

Congregational Phase

40----------$5,000(32/wk)--------------$200,000-------------$760,600

80----------$3,120(20/wk)-------------$249,600------------$1,010,200

120 Congregational Commitments for $449,or 45% of Goal

Total: 164 Commitments = $1,010,200

d. Giving Worksheet

The gifts we bring to the Lord in this campaign are our best and largest gifts. Therefore, it is helpful for us to do some figuring to

find the ways and means to our gifts. Consider your best as you fill out the following worksheet:

A. Cash, Equities and Assets: savings, insurance, stocks, property, vehicles, real estate, or other assets to be given

$________________________

B. From Future Income: (calculate below)

Annual Income: $_________________ x 3 years $_________________________

Anticipated Increases: $­­_________________ x 3 years $_________________________

A + B TOTAL = $_________________________

-Maturing or Growing the Giving Decision-

Because a stewardship campaign is developed over a period of time, Christians will grow in their thinking about the amount that they plan to give. Where people begin in their thinking is not where people finish in the amount they plan to give. There is a process through which people can grow in their thinking and increase the final gift amount. The following are some process steps:

1. Begin by praying every day. “Lord, I want to give sacrificially. Now please show me how to give a gift that will stretch my faith.” If you’re married, pray together with your spouse.

2. Give yourself time. Do not rush your decision. You’ll find that the longer you genuinely pray “Show me how.” The more ways God will show you, and you’ll be able to give more than the first amount that popped into your head.

3. If you have a family, plan a family meeting to discuss ways to give. Ask your family members to be thinking of ideas in advance. Be sure to involve your children, no matter how young they are. This is a great opportunity to teach giving and faith.

4. At your family meeting, read one or more of the following Bible promises and instructions and make a list of what your learn: Proverbs 3:9-10; Proverbs 11: 24-25; Matt 6: 19-20; Luke 6:38; 1 Cor 16: 1-2; 2 Cor 8:1-12; 2 Cor 9:6-12

5. Also, ask yourselves aloud these questions:

  • Regarding your initial gift: How much cash could we gather?
  • Is there anything we could sell or convert to cash?
  • Do we have any tangible gift we could give?

Regarding our 36 month commitment:

  • Are there ways we could decrease our expenses in order to make a larger commitment?
  • Are there ways we could increase our income in order to make a larger commitment

STEPS IN DECIDING ON A SACRIFICIAL GIVING COMMITMENT

· PRAY for God’s guidance with an open mind.

· ASK, “What does sacrificial giving mean to me?”

· STUDY Bible examples and principles of giving and stewardship.

· DEVELOP a tentative list of possible gifts.

· CONSIDER God’s leading with continued prayer.

· DECIDE and await confirmation from God, family and friends.

· REJOICE in the satisfaction of finding and following His will.

· MAKE your commitment cheerfully.

· FOLLOW THROUGH as God provides

-Three Questions-

Another method to increase finances in the church is to invite persons to consider three questions:

1. How much can we afford?

Answering this question means to consider the family budget and to determine if there is any discretionary income. Often the answer to this question is “Nothing”.

2. Is there anything we can sacrifice?

This question is about lifestyle giving which means to change our lifestyle and go without in order to find a way to make a giving commitment. Or to add additional work to one’s life by finding a part time job or start a business, etc. to raise funds.

3. What can we give if we have special faith?

A faith gift is beyond or own abilities. It is based upon prayer and the sense that God is leading in a way that we do not understand or can gauge. It is trusting God for more than what we can naturally project. Obviously a faith gift is not irrational or a hopeless amount to be given. At its core, a faith gift is to pray the stewardship question prayer which is “Lord, what is it that you want to do through us?” Christians believe that God reveals to them a number or dollar amount to be given. So then a faith gift is an adventure to discover how God will make it possible for the gift to be given.

There are other ways to increase giving in the church which are beyond the scope of this article, e.g., tax advantaged giving; charitable trusts; second mortgages; credit cards, foundations, grants, etc.

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