Last week I was chatting with the pastor of a growing church. Not surprisingly the conversation turned to stewardship and he asked me an interesting question: Why are churches so far behind other nonprofit organizations when it comes to raising money. I took an extra drink of my iced tea. It gave me a chance […]

Stewardship

April 26, 2010

Should the differences be this big?

Last week I attended a fund raising conference.  In the vendors’ area were more than a dozen services that provide donor profile information.  A nonprofit would submit its donors’ names and addresses and these services would compare them to public information databases.  By matching your donors with the property they own, the cars, boats and […]

Stewardship

April 19, 2010

A different kind of pastoral visit

In this forum, the topic is often money.  Without money there is no mission.  But what happens when money gets in the way of mission? My friend David Scavuzzo seems to hate Swiss steak dinners.  Maybe he doesn’t hate the dinners (anything covered in that much gravy has to be good, doesn’t it?) but he […]

Church Finance

April 12, 2010

I’ll have the evangelism, hold the gravy

Nothing strikes fear in the heart of a stewardship chair quite like the phrase “Pony Express.”  The once popular stewardship program is now distinctly out of style.  It worked kind of like several concurrent chain letters that would be delivered in person.  A chain had a list of members; the one at the top of […]

Church Finance

April 6, 2010

An update for the old Pony Express

Most ministers would tell you that there are three high holy days on the calendar when they expect their sanctuaries to be more full than usual: Christmas Eve, Easter and Mother’s Day. What message do you send to visitors on those days? I have always sat in the congregation hoping just once that the pastor […]

Church Finance

March 29, 2010

Your Easter Message (not the one in the sermon)

At the Learning to Turn our Cups Over seminar on Saturday Reverend David Bell offered many wonderful challenges and insights.  One of them in particular really resonated with me.  He pointed out that if people make donations to help people, we as churches should emphasize that in all of our stewardship communications. The next time […]

Church Finance

March 22, 2010

Don’t Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Paper

I got to go to two funerals last week. Not many say they “get to go” to these things, but these were very nice. Both gentlemen had lived long, full lives. One was a much-loved pastor. The other was an accountant who loaned his professional expertise to many organizations, both United Methodist and secular. There […]

Endowments

March 15, 2010

Thinking about legacies

I heard someone talk about change last week. He asserted that change happens for one of two reasons. It is either pushed by fear or pulled by vision. In terms of church finances there has been very little “business as usual” in recent years. Attendance and membership in mainline denominations is already dropping. And the […]

Church Finance

March 8, 2010

The push or pull of change