Do you often act as if God exists to give you anything you desire just because you have been good enough to deserve it?
I used to see God that way until a few months ago- thinking if I did not participate in doing the wrong things- I deserved to have a good life. In my mind, this should be automatic, and it probably was, until I met a special friend whom I hold dearly till today. He made me realize that I was merely using God, not loving him. That Supreme Being in Heaven is our Father, not Santa Claus. He is that one Father who never fails to be faithful towards us. He deserves more than a one-sided relationship.
It is human nature to become obsessed with the gifts God gives unto us. We begin to worship these gifts, giving them our attention and allowing them to consume our lives. We believe in a generous God, and that generosity is the crux of our Christian faith. The scripture is clear God longs for the Heart of his people to be wholly His. That is the only request He has of us; how difficult can it be?
If I was a pastor, this is how I would bring my congregants into the culture of giving. If you cannot give your thoughts to God, how do you want to offer any other thing to His Mission? That is why pastors need to help their church members ease into the culture of giving and not just preach about it. Giving in any form is a lifestyle, not a concept, and your members must be aware of and understand. Let me ask you this: What is the Unique Vision Formula for your Church?
Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish. The message here is that when people know what God is doing in a place; and how things run, they will latch onto it themselves. The Mission of your Church is WHY it exists, and the Vision is HOW. These two must go hand in hand. Every Church has a Mission that entails Outreach, Mission, and Discipleship, and I am sure yours does too. However, as a Church Leader, your Vision should be able to drive you and your congregants enough to ease into the culture of generosity without prodding.
Highlighted below are three proven ways by which you can build a culture of generosity within your congregation by focusing on the giving community and not the gifts.
1. DON’T BE SHY TO TALK ABOUT MONEY
Help your members to see that how everyone handles money is a reflection of their relationship with God. Most people don’t give to churches because they have the mindset that the funds will be misused. With this mindset, they are missing the opportunity to grow and mature in Christ. As a pastor, that should bother you. If you agree with me, Jesus spoke more about money because he wants us to know that leaders must help the followers steward their resources in the right direction. It is an essential part of your calling as their pastor. As a church leader, you must debunk the myths the world constantly creates around money and its essence. If you don’t teach your congregation about money, they will learn from the system of the world. We don’t want that now, do we? Money is just a part of the wealth we have access to as partakers of God’s kingdom on earth. The one who gives wealth is whom we should dedicate our lives. Teach your members to focus on the giver of wealth, not the wealth in itself. The water in the tumbler might finish, but the brook (ocean) never runs dry. This statement is a game-changer in the philosophy of wealth creation, and you must leverage teaching with it as a pastor if you want a Generous culture within your Church.
2. CULTIVATE RELATIONSHIPS
There are four types of givers in every Church. They are the necessary givers, the sporadic givers, the regular givers, and the generous givers. Generous giving doesn’t always mean heavy giving; it means giving with a willing heart all the time. If you need to create a Generous church culture, it is more than padding your Church’s bank account. One of your primary duties is to help your church members handle their money and wealth in a way that honors God and will bring them to the fulfillment of their earthly purpose.
You must be prepared to walk your church members through the financial growth process. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage relevant engagement groups within the Church. Use these groups to lock arms with your people and nurture thriving relationships with them. Everyone knows that the Church is one uncomfortable place to talk about money. No one (including myself) is comfortable showing you what they spend their money on, except you are their financial advisor. You need to nurture them to the point where giving and sharing their resources becomes a lifestyle. Now, that is the job of a lifetime. You should not expect them to jump right on board with generosity. You have to keep teaching them this for as long as you are their shepherd.
3. MAKE GIVING EASY BY AUTOMATING IT
Let me ask you this question: Can people give to your Church via their smartphone? If not, you are leaving money on the table. As of August this year, 85% of Americans own a smartphone. These people carry out dozens of tasks daily on their phones, and this includes banking. Should you not then make it easier to give by providing an easy option? There are countless Giving options on the web. However, if you are looking for an easy, secure, and seamless option -one that I have used and can highly recommend, introduce your members to ChurchPad. It is the best mobile text-to-give platform that exists. It gives people the opportunity to make recurring giving. It can help the sporadic givers become regular and consequently even generous givers. They have control over when, how, and why they give. Every church member wants to have this kind of control, and the text-to-give platform gives them that opportunity.
If people are not physically present in your services, it is not unusual they don’t give. It is the reality of the forgetfulness of human nature. Providing an automating giving option will lead people who are not even your direct church members to give, and at any given time. Choose ChurchPad giving platform today, and you will see the generosity culture begin to grow within your Church.