In 1993, I undertook some work as part of my role with the NSW Synod of the UCA, on the so called “Mission Funding Crisis” facing mainline churches. This crisis was researched extensively by significant grants by the Lilly Endowment in the 1980’ and 1990’s. In the end, the research identified that people’s sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘ownership’ of the mission and vision of the church (local and wider church) was key to their generosity and the only reliable predictor of their giving.

17 years later, I was asked by the SA Synod of the UCA, to research what supported and encouraged generous giving in congregations. I discover that some things haven’t changed….. and some things have ……

Recently we have seen a number of changes in bank regulations but in Britain, one rule has not changed. In order to provide free and fair access to the banking system, any legible cheque must be accepted regardless of what it is written on. This law has sparked a series of antics, the most legendary being from the humourist AP Herbert. He has sent cheques on serviettes, bottles and even an egg. Then the tables turned and Herbert received a five-pound cheque from Punch magazine written on a cow. He had to lead the cow into a bank for the cheque to be cashed.

In 1993, I undertook some work as part of my role with the NSW Synod of the UCA, on the so called “Mission Funding Crisis” facing mainline churches. This crisis was researched extensively by significant grants by the Lilly Endowment[i] in the 1980’ and 1990’s. In the end, the research identified that people’s sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘ownership’ of the mission and vision of the church (local and wider church) was key to their generosity and the only reliable predictor of their giving.

17 years later, I was asked by the SA Synod of the UCA, to research what supported and encouraged generous giving in congregations. I discover that some things haven’t changed.

• In it still the case that 20% people give 80% and 10% of the people give 50% of the money
• Ministers, pastors and priests, continue to report being unprepared for the financial aspects of ministry expected of them and there is still no training offered. In particular they struggle with how to clarify their own values and express their spiritual practices[ii]
• The best predictor of giving is still people’s sense of belonging to and participation in the organisation they are giving to.[iii] Any funding crisis or decline must first be treated as a ‘belonging’ and ‘relationship’ crisis, not a financial or process crisis
• The portion Congregations are spending on running their local operations, compared with what they give to wider church or outside mission, is increasing. This is not only as a result of the increasing costs in funding a congregation but also the sense of dislocation and distance that has occurred between congregation and the rest of the church. [iv] (Please note, that this is not the case in lay led congregations.)
• Planned giving (the decision to give a regular amount to a congregation or organisation) as a way of giving continues to be correlated with higher levels of giving and the primary income source in most churches.

Again, some things haven’t changed

• Congregations that do not embed planned giving invitations in their annual calendar but rely on individuals’ week-by week decisions have lower per person giving. Asking people to consider their response to God ‘s generosity and make a response appropriate, helps to grow generosity

• Congregations that do not ask people to renew their giving annually have lower per person giving over a 3 year period
• Congregations that do the same thing (or nothing) year after year usually have a declining per person giving
• Congregations which create a ‘crisis’ – ‘we are running out of money’ can generate a response but it rarely sustains over time. In the end their giving is less than those who plan their mission and invite people to be a part of it
• Congregations which develop and communicate their budget in terms of their investment in mission rather than the expenses of ministry have higher levels of giving

Many of the ways in which we talk about giving in the church haven’t changed and they need to. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard the phrase “Time, Talent and Treasure” both back in 1993 and in my recent research, I would be a wealthy woman. Those in “the know” would recognise that this phrase was introduced into Australian in the 1950’s by the Wells organisation. It broke the “put a bob in the plate” mentality of many churches but does not reflect the more expansive understanding of stewardship we need today nor the complex ways in which we now deal with money. Many of the reasons why churches struggle with money are because they have not understood what motivates people to give and have continued to rely on people’s loyalty rather than their sense of mission.

So what has changed?

The “e” revolution has impacted churches and givers. The “Please Donate” box on any charitable group’s webpage, places you just a mouse click away from being generous.  The local church and the denomination can easily be bypassed with money going directly to groups such as Uniting World and Frontier Services. Most denominations have introduced some kind of ‘direct giving’ program for members of congregations to give to their congregation anonymously and without bank charges. It is not unusual to see the offering plate being passed by these days and yet the people passing it by giving on average 3 or 4 times more than those still using cash cheques or envelopes.

Just as the word ‘mission’ was embraced by businesses and organisations as a way of describing what they did and ‘mission statements and plans’ became their strategy for doing their ‘mission’, so ‘stewardship’ is invading range of other sectors. The Corporate Social Responsibility movement encourages companies to be good stewards and to assess their “triple bottom line”. The environmental movement encourages stewardship of the environment. The financial planning industry, almost unknown 20 years ago is now regulated and many planners include help on being a good steward in your community through charitable gifts. Community organiser Peter Block defines ‘stewardship’ as ‘choosing service over self-interest’.[v]

All these movements have the potential to reimage and reinvigorate our conversations in the church. Stewardship is not a religious fund-raising methodology. It is a way of living that recognises everything belongs to God. A church leader exercising leadership in stewardship could be expected to

• Have developed their own deep understanding and practices of Christian stewardship in their own life
• Has a profound sense of being a steward of the people (church, local community, wider world), physical (environment and church property), and financial resources entrusted to their care as a leader in their congregation, as a leader in their denomination and as a part of the Mission of God in the world
• Grows this same sense of Christian stewardship amongst members of their church and in the community through example, teaching, preaching and pastoral care
• Has the leadership and management skills (or know enough about the skills needed to identify, recruit, and lead consultants, volunteers and staff) in best practice budgeting, financial planning and resourcing for mission

Henri Nouwen has written a helpful resource called “The Spirituality of Fund-raising”[vi] which helps focus giving as a spiritual practice. It is a good next read for anyone seeking to develop spiritual practices in this area. He talks of fund-raising as a ministry as important as preaching and visiting the sick. He claims that from the point of view of the gospel, the giving of money is a part of the process of conversion both in relation to wealth and relation to needs. It is something where the process enriches the spiritual journey of the person.  This is the kind of expansive and missional view of giving we need for our future.

And, the rule about cheques in Britain? Well, it is all about to change! In December 2009, UK banks voted to end the 300 year old tradition of paying by cheque. Cheques are proving too expensive and will be phased out over the next 8 years. You will have to use plastic or go on line. Something else has also changed in the UK. For the first time church in decades church attendance is starting to grow[vii].  These statistics don’t include Fresh Expressions which researchers admit are growing so quickly it is difficult to count what and where they are, let alone how many people are attending them! Sure the UK isn’t Australia or New Zealand but the people going to these churches aren’t that different to people who might come to our churches. They are not looking for religion, they are looking for faith. They are looking for faith which impacts the whole of their lives, including their money. Their arrival in churches heralds new opportunities for mission which will require funding.  We can live into that future with hope and generosity, eager to grow new resources for the mission of God.

Invite people to respond in a giving invitation. Acknowledge people’s current generosity by allowing them to validate their generosity through responding to a giving invitation. The more people respond, the greater the sense of generosity in the church.

• Invite members and participants in the church to be a part of a grassroots planning process to shape the mission objectives of the church. Not only will more people volunteer to be part of achieving the goals, they will also want to support them financially.
• Shape the church’s budget around the mission plan instead of expenses. This helps people understand the budget and see how their giving makes a difference in people’s lives, rather than just paying the bills.
• Grow a range of giving opportunities both for the mission of the church and for the wider church, community and world. Christianity is a give away faith – when we live with those attitudes both our generosity and our resource will grow.
• People are made in the image of God, who is generous, and they want to respond generously to make a difference.
• Provide immediate expressions of thanks and intentionally follow-up to give people a second chance to respond.

These tips first appeared in Journey Magazine

I am often asked to help churches ‘get more money’. But churches have two entirely different motivations behind the need for this money. The first kind of church is driven by a sense of call from God to grow their mission and ministry; they need more money. The second kind of church is the one which has having trouble making ends meet; the income and the expenses just don’t match up. In essence it is the same issue and opportunity: there is more to do than the money lets us do. Raising money with the first kind of church, which has a focus on people and serving and mission, is infinitely easier than the second kind of church, which is trying to make ends meet. The suggestions in this article apply to both situations but will be most useful in a church which is seeking to grow its mission and ministry.

So, a brief comment for the church trying to make ends meet! Cutting expenditure is eventually a dead-end street. You run out of things to cut and cutting the budget cuts motivation. The closer a church is getting to the dead end, then the more they become like a rock climber who has become frozen on a cliff. They are afraid and their primary motivation is to avoid falling; they achieve this by hanging on and not moving. No amount of yelling or cajoling, suggesting that they are on the wrong cliff or that they look down and see what will happen if they fall, is going to help. Instead just get alongside them and help them move. There is no formula or program for this action. It is different in different churches. Basically help them have a ‘win’ that moves them beyond their fear. If they are fragmented as a community, help them have a fun time together. If they are feeling isolated and lonely and fearful of their personal future, visit them. If they are obsessed with themselves and doing things the way they have always been done them, don’t try and change them, help them do one thing in their community which helps them live beyond themselves. Do it once. Once they have moved, you (plural) will ‘know’ what to do next. Maybe it is another small move, just to get them used to the feeling. Soon they will be more confident, take bigger steps and even change direction.

You can often tell what people value by what they spend their money on. When I look at most church budgets the largest items are staff salaries, bills, building maintenance and what it costs to belong to a denomination. In other words the budget ‘hides’ the mission and ministry of the church in salaries and bills. To motivate people to be generous with the mission the church is engaged with, show the mission. Develop a budget which outlines how you plan to invest in your future. An example of a line item could be, ‘Building a ministry with children and mentoring at-risk children in the community’. Then ‘hide’ the salaries and bills in the mission by apportioning them to the mission’s objectives.

Once you have your mission budget, remember we live in a time of choice. Allow people to choose the particular areas of mission, ministry and activities they want to give to. Don’t ask them to give to the bottom line. This opportunity in and of itself will motivate generosity as people consider their ‘investment’ in mission.

Build a culture of grace and generosity in all aspects of your church life. We are told that we are heading into a global financial crisis and recession. One of my colleagues says, ‘A good crisis should never be wasted’. Perhaps this crisis can be motivation for your church and its members to be the kind of church of compassion Acts 2:42-46[i] describes. This crisis means people will fail in our world’s eyes. They will lose jobs, they will struggle with mortgages, and their marriages and relationships will be put under pressure. The church should be the safest and most supportive place to go through this crisis (or any life crisis). How will you support people in your church, community and the poorest people in the world for whom this crisis is a life and death question? In your worship, what prayers will you pray and songs will you sing? Do you need to write some new ones? In your pastoral care, are you willing to be available in the toughest times of life, even if that is 24/7? In the groups you run, how will they support everyday living and engagement with the bible, which tells the failure stories as well as the success stories? I once visited a church in a community where the local industry, which had employed most of the community, had suddenly shut down. The church had decided that its mission would be to ensure no-one in need would be turned away; this included no-one losing their home because they were unable to pay their mortgage. People are motivated in give in a church which lives beyond its own needs.

Grow a church community which values the gifts that everyone has to give. That means a focus on discovering those gifts and affirming them, as well as operating in ways where everyone can participate. I know a church in a community where people had a range of incomes. They asked everyone to bring a roll of toilet paper one Sunday as a part of their giving program. On a pragmatic level it provided the church with a supply of toilet paper for the year. On a discipleship level it sent the message that everyone can give, every gift is valued, every person is valued, and it encouraged people to think seriously about their other giving.

When Jesus says, ‘If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes’ [ii] And, Paul says to the Romans and the Corinthians respectively, ‘So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life and place it before God as an offering.’[iii] ‘Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.’[iv] And John Wesley said, ‘Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.’ They are not prescribing a set of rules about how people should use their money or processions, whereby discipleship is reduced to lines on a budget and percentages of income. They are talking about a gospel of grace, a relationship with God and God’s people and the world, and a way of living which motivates generosity.

First published in Australian Leadership

[ii] Matthew 6:24-26, The Message, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. NavPress Publishing Group.

[iii] Romans 12:1, ibid

[iv] 2 Corinthians, ibid