Leading a great Church is a lot of work.
From preaching sermons, counseling members, and praying for the sick to visiting members, pastors have a lot of activities on their hands, week in and week out. Thanks to God’s wisdom and help from church workers and volunteers, many Pastors are scaling through it.
Yet there are some church responsibilities a pastor cannot delegate to anyone else or refuse to do. One of such is to encourage a Giving Culture among his Church members.
Giving to kingdom work has a lot of benefits for a believer and the propagation of the gospel itself. However, many Christians don’t practice this because they see it as some manipulation to get them to give money for the use of the pastors. What a thought!
Well, the pastor has to instill a change in mindset and unleash a generosity culture in the Church. Here are five ways to help your members shed the feeling of financial manipulation and Lead them to give more this month.
1. Share a Vision Plan
If you want the congregation to give more this month, ensure not to make giving about needs or expenses. It’s a turn-off for many people, including myself. Remember that your members are first humans before they are believers. We are all emotional beings and are sensitive to the choice of words and actions. That is why you must sell your message to our emotions first.
Many ministers make the mistake of allowing the financial pressures of the Church to find their way into their sermons, teachings, or counsel. In most cases, this impacts the revenue of the Church in a negative way. Instead, share your Vision plan with them. Make it plain and accessible in a digital document. That would move them to contribute financially to the Church. Your administrative officers might not be able to handle this task; the ChurchPad team is available to help anytime.
Talking to them about the expenses would imply desperation, but a Vision, on the other hand, gives people a sense of purpose. It shows them that they are contributing to the greater good. Always remember that people work hard for their money; they only want to be assured that their money is contributing to the propagation of the gospel as you initially promised.
2. Implement an Online Giving Option
For many years, physical giving in churches was the only means of contributing to the Kingdom’s work. However, technology has changed this narrative with the rise of different online payment options by financial services companies. As many as we have them, Churches must be careful of internet fraud platforms. ChurchPad’s online text-to-Give platform is safe and secure for online transactions. My Church has been using it for the past three years, and I can assure you that it is the best. I even give at my specified intervals. It is convenient for everyone to use.
Many local Churches have caught on to this wave. As a pastor, your Church shouldn’t be out of this innovation.
Unlike physical giving, online giving isn’t restricted by factors like time, location, and day of the week. Believers don’t have to come to Church before they can give for God’s work, nor do they have to drive down to their local bank to donate to the Church’s account.
Instead, they can practice generosity from their comfort anywhere by paying money online to the Church’s account. If you make online payment options available, your Church will record more revenue.
We must know that this is not a call to stop receiving physical offerings; it calls for more giving channels to be available for your members’ use.
3.Be an Example
Does the saying, “Practice what you preach” ring a bell? As a pastor, it would not be fair for you to be encouraging people to practice generosity without doing the same. It would be unrealistic for you to expect members to give towards the Kingdom’s work in the Church if you do not lead the way.
Actions they say speaks louder than words. People would remember your deeds more than the words you speak. So if you want to increase the giving in your Church today, practice it too.
If giving is already a good deed you practice, expect more members in the Church to pick it up voluntarily. You don’t have to coerce them or preach a fiery sermon on giving. They would give towards the Lord’s work, seeing that their leader practices it.
Understandably, your personal giving patterns should not be made public at all times; it should still be visible to the whole Church that you are a generous pastor. Let it be visible in the Church leadership; so it can find its way to the other parts of the church body.
4. Teach It
While you shouldn’t pressure members to give through sermons, they must also learn the benefits of Kingdom giving. A great way to do this is by teaching them from God’s word (the Bible).
By teaching one series on Giving, you show members what they stand to gain if they practice generosity. Truthfully, Believers are aware that they should give towards the Lord’s work, but when you keep reminding them, they will start drawing back. Teach, but do not over-flog it.
5. Be a Good Steward
Giving is just one-half of the generosity culture in God’s work. The other half is Good Stewardship. As a leader, you must show proper stewardship over the financial resources put in your care. You must effectively manage the Church’s finances to increase members’ trust. Whether you want to admit it or not, members are watching you, and it would be unfair if they don’t see that their money is working for the vision you painted for them.
You might not be great at financial leadership, and that’s not a setback. You can seek the help of a financial manager to manage the finances of the Church. In all, your congregation needs to see your efforts in financial stewardship. It will steer them in the right direction to give more.
Unleashing a Generosity mindset in your Church is not a day’s job. It is a journey that requires hard work. With ChurchPad, that journey is made easy.
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