Grow your church's capacity to give generously and engage members in mission
Vibrant, fruitful, growing congregations create a cycle of ongoing innovation and reinvent. It's a Spirit-driven process that involves asking powerful questions, the art of noticing, a willingness to experiment and prototype possibilities, and learn from our results. Thriving congregations create a culture where members/ministry partners discover, develop, and deploy their callings as they seek to serve and bless people in their daily lives. Thriving congregations also help members/ministry partners being a journey of generosity that multiplies their impact to transform people's lives. Join us in this adventure to engage all people in God's mission and God's dreams for the world.
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Strategic Generosity Training Themes
The following themes below will frame the conversations that take place during the January 23 training event. If you are participating during the live event, please review the slideshow and list notes and questions you have to raise during the Q & A sessions. Recording of the training sessions will be posted following the event.
1 | FUNDAMENTALS
- The Pyramid of Giving.
- Types of giving streams.
- Step 1 - Identify.
- Step 2 - Inform.
- Step 3 - Motivate.
- Step 4 - Ask.
- Step 5 - Thank.
- The 12 giving principles.
- Create a case for generosity.
2 | STORYTELLING
- Start with why.
- You are growing people.
- Emotional deposits and withdrawals.
- The power of storytelling.
- Generosity storytelling template.
- Impact storytelling structure.
- Communication strategies.
- Stories shift culture.
- Capture and repurpose stories.
3 | ANNUAL APPEALS
- Quantify your ask.
- Show how $ change lives.
- List new realities.
- Internal growth targets.
- External growth targets.
- Sustaining ministry excellence.
- Review of the 5 steps.
- Publications to grow generosity.
4 | CALENDARING
- Acknowledge the elephant.
- You need a team.
- The roles of team members.
- The role of the pastor.
- You need a plan.
- Key elements of a year-round plan.
- Things to add to the calendar.
- Sample calendar template.
5 | GROWING GRATITUDE
- Gratitude is foundational.
- Thank you notes.
- Dimensions of gratitude.
- Keeping God at the center.
- Generosity &. spiritual maturity.
- What's stirring for you?
- What will you share with others?
- What's your next faithful step?
SAMPLE NEXT STEPS
1 | Form a Generosity Team
POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
- Create job descriptions for team members.
- Establish criteria and process for selecting vision team members.
- Assign roles to individual members.
- Commission team members during worship.
- Position members for greatest impact.
QUESTIONS
- How often do your leaders dream growing generosity?
- Who are your primary vision casters in your church?
- How are these dreams connected to the funds that are raised at your church?
- What would be the wins for this group one year after they launch?
2 | Create a plan for sharing generosity stories
POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
- Form a 4-person Storytelling task force.
- Create o list of potential video recorders, video editors, and people to be interviewed.
- Create 12 videos using the Impact Story Structure Template,
- Create 12 videos using the Generosity Story Template
- Create 12 videos using the Faith Practices and Faithful Next Steps Template
QUESTIONS
- How often do you share stories of generosity?
- When and where are stories shared?
- How often are generosity stories repurposed?
- Who is asked to share stories?
- Who's is responsible for capturing generosity stories?
3 | Update our Annual Appeal planning process
POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
- Form a team to help plan, promote, and conduct the appeal process.
- Set specific goals for the amount of funds to be raised.
- Develop a clear and compelling case for why people should give generously to the appeal.
- Create an appeal calendar that includes all the key milestones and deadlines for the appeal.
QUESTIONS
- What's working and what's not working related to our current appeal process?
- When and how do you set "wins" for your annual pledge drives?
- What are 5 things you could do to enhance your annual appeal process?
- How are in advance do you establish the theme for your annual appeal?
- How kind of outside support do you need to improve your process?
4 | Create a year-round generosity calendar
POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
- Create a calendar and recruit a coordinator for sharing impact stories online and during worship.
- Create a calendar and recruit a coordinator for sharing generosity stories online and during worship.
- Create a calendar and recruit a coordinator for sharing impact stories during leadership team meetings.
- Decide where recorded impact and generosity stories will be stored so that they can be repurposed.
QUESTIONS
- What does your current generosity calendar look like?
- Who reviews and updates your generosity calendar?
- Based on the training, what are the items you'd add to your existing calendar?
- How often do elected leaders review the generosity calendar?
5 | Grow a gratitude mindset and culture
POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS
- Create a monthly list of people to send thank you card to members.
- Have each elected leaders send 4 thank you cards a month to members.
- Share gratitude moments during staff, Board, and worship settings.
- Print Thank You stationary; distribute to ministry team leaders.
- Send thank you notes to project and event coordinators each month.
QUESTIONS
- When, where, and how do you thank members who are engaged in ministry?
- How often do you thank members/ministry partners for their ministry beyond the church?
- Who else could you envision sending thank you. card to members on a monthly basis?
- Whom might staff thank on a regular basis? How might staff empower others to express gratitude?
- Who will track the number of gratitude messages sent every month?
TOOLS to try
GSP Resources shared by Rev. Dr. Nathan Swenson-Reinhold
VFM resources related to Giving (to be posted 1/27/24 with session recordings)
Video recordings & Transcript
Audio recordings
- Session 1 - The Fundamentals of Generosity
- Session 2 - Impact & Generosity Storytelling
- Session 3 - Thinking Through the Annual Appeal
- Session 4 - Build a Global Generosity Calendar
- Session 5 - Anchoring a Gratitude Mindset
- Draft transcript for all 5 sessions
Audio recordings
- Session 1 - The Fundamentals of Generosity
- Session 2 - Impact & Generosity Storytelling
- Session 3 - Thinking Through the Annual Appeal
- Session 4 - Build a Global Generosity Calendar
- Session 5 - Anchoring a Gratitude Mindset
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VIDEOS to watch
BOOKS to read
WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP?
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF STEWARDSHIP
Christian stewardship has also been defined as “what we do, with all that we have, after we say, we believe." It involves using the gifts God has given us, to do the work God is calling us to do. Christian stewardship is the grateful and responsible use of God's gifts in the light of God's purpose as revealed in Jesus Christ. Christian stewards, empowered by the Holy Spirit, commit themselves to conscious, purposeful decisions.
Stewardship teaches that all that we have and all that we are is a gift from God. We are, therefore, stewards of God's gifts during our lifetime. Discerning and carrying out God's purpose is the primary purpose of our lives. The gifts we have been given, time, talent, and money, are to be used for that purpose. The primary role of the church is to guide individuals in discernment of the mission for their lives and use of their resources in accomplishing it.
Stewardship teaches that all that we have and all that we are is a gift from God. We are, therefore, stewards of God's gifts during our lifetime. Discerning and carrying out God's purpose is the primary purpose of our lives. The gifts we have been given, time, talent, and money, are to be used for that purpose. The primary role of the church is to guide individuals in discernment of the mission for their lives and use of their resources in accomplishing it.
The primary objective of the organization (church) is to bring people into a closer relationship with God. Strengthening relationships with individuals is an important part of this but the goal is always to create an environment in which the relationship with God is strengthened.
Congregations are charged with encouraging individuals to discern the gifts God has given them and the work God is calling them to do. God is the source of the mission and the money. Both are gifts over which the giver exercises faithful stewardship.
Understanding giving as a significant spiritual practice, the congregation encourages giving by providing or identifying a variety of opportunities to give of one’s time, talents and treasures.
Understanding giving as a joyful response to God's generosity to us, the congregation provides people with opportunities to express their faith and encourage others.
whom we hold most dear.
Congregations are charged with encouraging individuals to discern the gifts God has given them and the work God is calling them to do. God is the source of the mission and the money. Both are gifts over which the giver exercises faithful stewardship.
Understanding giving as a significant spiritual practice, the congregation encourages giving by providing or identifying a variety of opportunities to give of one’s time, talents and treasures.
Understanding giving as a joyful response to God's generosity to us, the congregation provides people with opportunities to express their faith and encourage others.
whom we hold most dear.
PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS
THREE STEWARDSHIP PATHWAYS
- We are empowered to give. Stewards are freed from an attitude of scarcity to live in the abundance of God. Individuals experience the joy of giving as they respond to God's call to live as faithful stewards.
- Stewardship is a ongoing function of congregational life and includeS stewardship education, planned giving and storytelling. It is connected to our congregational identity of generosity and abundance.
- We are at ease with discussing money.
- Expectations for support of the congregation, with time, talents and money, are clear and accepted for all ages from day one.
- The congregation “thinks big” and beyond ourselves with a feeling of joyful abundance.
- Giving increases as the congregation matures spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. !
- Ordinary Stewardship is the regular practice of returning to God a portion of all that God has given us. It involves teaching ourselves how to create a life built upon the notion that all that we have is a gift from God. This includes teaching the holy habits of keeping the Sabbath and tithing, and the concept that giving regularly of our time, talent, and money to God’s work on this earth is as much a spiritual practice as prayer and worship.
- Extraordinary Stewardship involves the special occasions that arise in the life of Christian communities that call us to give beyond our ordinary habit. They involve increased risk and encourage us to experiment with sacrificial giving in order to help the community realize an especially important goal. The best example of extraordinary stewardship is the capital campaign.
- Legacy Stewardship is the way in which we address the matter of disposing of the accumulations of our lifetime. Who will use your “stuff ̈ when you no longer need it? Leaving a planned gift serves as both a legacy to generations yet unborn and a final witness to those whom we hold most dear.
CASTING VISION FOR STEWARDSHIP
ESSENTIAL STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES
Understanding that God created and loves the world and invites us to participate in God’s vision for the world, we view giving as a means of:
Given current research on stewardship patterns and practices, we understand that:
Knowing that people give based on a mixture of motives, common motivations include:
Given people’s varied motivations and different understanding of stewardship, we believe that:
- Expressing generosity in gratitude for all of God’s gifts.
- Fulfilling the great commandment of loving God and neighbor.
- Living out our call to be the church, celebrating God’s presence, living with respect in Creation, loving and ! serving others, seeking justice and resisting evil, proclaiming Jesus, crucified and risen.
- Giving increases correlate with spiritual growth.
- Stewardship involves getting values and money going in the same direction.
Given current research on stewardship patterns and practices, we understand that:
- Giving increases in congregations committed to building friendship with poor people and advocating for justice.
- People who learned to give as children continue to give as adults.
- Effective pastoral care ministries are sensitive to spiritual, vocational, and financial concerns of all economic strata, including upper and middle class.
- People with higher family incomes give higher dollar amounts.
- Givers with lower incomes are higher percentage givers.
- • Members of the middle class give the least as a proportion of income.
- • It is important to encourage people to live their way into a new way of being, to take the next step.
- Effective stewardship education ministries address personal financial concerns.
- Giving correlates to church vitality as indicated by membership, attendance, and numbers of programs and groups sponsored by the congregation.
- People involved in church communities are higher givers, at the level of their involvement.
- Congregational financial crises are directly related to involvement crises.
- In general, people do not trade off donating time for money.
Knowing that people give based on a mixture of motives, common motivations include:
- Compassion and care: People give to causes that touch their emotions.
- Commitment: Some give out of institutional loyalty or commitment to a mission.
- Responsibility and obligation: Some want to pay their “fair share†or for “services rendered."
- Relationships and recipient credibility: People give to people, especially people they trust.
- Values: “Money follows mission†where the purpose is clear.
- People give to what they are passionate about.
- Desire to make a difference: People find meaning in giving to do something significant.
- Sense of community: People give to causes that relate to their lives, to their sense of heritage, or that will benefit people they know.
- Spiritual reasons: Generosity arises from gratitude and discipleship decisions in transformed lives.
Given people’s varied motivations and different understanding of stewardship, we believe that:
- People are more likely to give when asked. If you want money, you must ask.
- People are more likely to continue giving once they begin.
- Giving also increases when people are asked to increase their giving.
- Most money raised will come from larger gifts. Ask for leadership gifts first.
- The most important determinant of how much you can raise next year is what you have raised this year.
- Most giving next year, including increases, will come from those already giving.
- Focus on those most likely to give, those currently giving.
- Offer multiple opportunities for people to have an initial experience of being generous.
- Churches that ask for annual estimates of giving, dedicated as an act of worship, have a higher level of giving.
- Acts of thanksgiving to people for their gifts, including time, are significant rituals.
- People who pledge and plan their giving annually give more.
Congregations that have a vital role in the community, that have a focus beyond themselves, that foster authentic community, and are equipping people with a faith that works in real life are typically poised for healthy stewardship.
Leadership is also key for healthy stewardship ministry. Leadership best practices include:
Education is fundamental for growing stewards. These elements were recurring:
Listed below are effective congregational practices known for strong stewardship programs:
Leadership is also key for healthy stewardship ministry. Leadership best practices include:
- Pastors are the key stewardship models and leaders.
- Pastors and lay leaders are passionate about and committed to growing in giving, talking openly about their personal giving.
- An active stewardship team is in place that works closely with the governing board.
- Leaders are trained and educated in stewardship.
- There are high expectations among the leadership and within the congregation.
Education is fundamental for growing stewards. These elements were recurring:
- Teach and preach stewardship with strong biblical principles.
- Teach the role of money in one's life.
- Teach personal money management.
- Preach and converse regularly about money as an expression of faith.
- Teach proportionate, regular, first fruits, and growth giving.
- Children and youth education curriculum include stewardship themes.
- Teach all-of-life stewardship.
- Interpretation and communication of congregational, synod, and churchwide ministries are extremely important to increase accountability and build trust within the congregation.
- Conduct a year round monthly emphasis on various ministries supported by member giving.
- Celebrate what offerings are doing by using personal stories.
- Communicate connections, relationships, and partnerships of the whole ELCA.
- Tell the story of who we are as the ELCA, what we do in ministry together, and how we fund those
Listed below are effective congregational practices known for strong stewardship programs:
- They hold a commitment that stewardship is important. Their vision planning includes stewardship.
- They are clear about their purpose and mission.
- They give away a growing percentage of congregational income for ministries of the whole church.
- They practice first fruits and proportionate giving for mission support (benevolence) for the whole church.
- They build relationships with their members through personal contacts.
- They provide multiple opportunities for giving and serving.
- They foster spirit-filled giving and prayer development, emphasizing the connection between faith and money.
- They identify, explore, and nurture spiritual gifts of members, helping them to fulfill their passions.
- They develop an "asset-based" climate, using members' assets rather than meeting needs.
- They develop year-round stewardship programs.
- They ask boldly.
- They thank profusely and often.
- They engage in annual every member response programs for financial commitments, estimates of giving or pledges.
- They provide programs for regular (undesignated) and over-and-above (designated) giving.
- They use a program budget in addition to a line item budget.
- They separate stewardship programs from budget preparation.
- They provide quarterly reports on member giving to the membership.
- They establish mission endowment policies.
- They model first-fruits giving by sharing a percentage of their corporate income for ministry beyond the congregation. ministries in a clear, compelling way.
- Share personal stories of joy of giving.
PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS
THREE STEWARDSHIP PATHWAYS
- We are empowered to give. Stewards are freed from an attitude of scarcity to live in the abundance of God. Individuals experience the joy of giving as they respond to God's call to live as faithful stewards.
- Stewardship is a ongoing function of congregational life and includeS stewardship education, planned giving and storytelling. It is connected to our congregational identity of generosity and abundance.
- We are at ease with discussing money.
- Expectations for support of the congregation, with time, talents and money, are clear and accepted for all ages from day one.
- The congregation “thinks big” and beyond ourselves with a feeling of joyful abundance.
- Giving increases as the congregation matures spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. !
- Ordinary Stewardship is the regular practice of returning to God a portion of all that God has given us. It involves teaching ourselves how to create a life built upon the notion that all that we have is a gift from God. This includes teaching the holy habits of keeping the Sabbath and tithing, and the concept that giving regularly of our time, talent, and money to God’s work on this earth is as much a spiritual practice as prayer and worship.
- Extraordinary Stewardship involves the special occasions that arise in the life of Christian communities that call us to give beyond our ordinary habit. They involve increased risk and encourage us to experiment with sacrificial giving in order to help the community realize an especially important goal. The best example of extraordinary stewardship is the capital campaign.
- Legacy Stewardship is the way in which we address the matter of disposing of the accumulations of our lifetime. Who will use your “stuff ̈ when you no longer need it? Leaving a planned gift serves as both a legacy to generations yet unborn and a final witness to those whom we hold most dear.
FOUNDATIONS FOR GROWING GENEROSITY
INSIGHTS FROM ASK, THANK, TELL
Choose a time of year when the congregation can focus its attention on stewardship and when there is a high probability of connecting with the most people. The annual financial campaign should be on the calendar a year in advance and planned with as much attention to detail as Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve.
Engage Leaders & Members
- Pick a new theme every year for your stewardship campaign. Taking the time to be creative and innovative may encourage your members to take the time to reflect on their giving.
- Be strategic in building a leadership team that serves as the guiding coalition for stewardship ministry at your congregation. Include persons from different age groups and different ministry areas as well who are generous givers or making conscience steps for increased generosity.
- Do not hesitate to ask church leaders to make their pledges first as a sign of their commitment and as an encouragement to the larger congregation.
- Use every available means – sermons, music, testimony, newsletter articles, study programs, bulletin boards, banners, website, blogs, social media, etc. - to communicate key messages about the campaign.
Plan Carefully
- Remind people that the annual budget is about ministry and mission, not dollars. Prepare the budget with great care, being sensitive to giving trends. Set ambitious but realistic goals.
- Define your purpose and set goals. Set priorities and action steps that will be included in a timeline.
- Establish a realistic timeline. In larger churches, planning and implementing the annual commitment campaign can take six months or more. Use benchmark dates to keep on track.
- Know that developing a congregation of faithful givers does not happen only through a stewardship drive. Develop a year-round approach to stewardship education.
- Appreciate that fund raising is incremental. The most important determinant of how much you can raise this year is what you raised last year.
Approach solicitation with a healthy frame of mind that also acknowledges people’s unique giving patterns
- Never apologize about stewardship appeals. A leader’s willingness to approach others about giving is an expression of their deep commitment to the church.
- Remember that people give to many things, so do not assume that people will give all their charitable giving to the church. Build a solid case for why people should invest in your ministry.
- Emphasize that stewardship is about faithfulness to God, not obligation to the church. Stress the giver’s joy in giving rather than the church’s need to receive.
- Know that every church has a “giving pyramid” with a small percentage of donors contributing a large proportion of what is given; for not all people have the same resources to give, and not all people are at the same level of spiritual maturity. Most money will come from larger gifts. Analyze giving histories and membership data in your congregation to determine where your people are on your pyramid. Track pledges and giving by age “decades” (younger than 20s, 20s, 30s, 40s, etc.) so you can assess giving patterns across age groups. Determine what percentage of giving comes from those aged 65 and above.
- Recognize that most of the giving, including increases, will come from those already giving.
- Be realistic in your expectations from those who are not currently giving. New donors are much more difficult to reach, are less likely to respond, and will give less than those already giving.
- One approach doesn’t fit everyone. What is appropriate for the spiritually mature member who demonstrates faithfulness may not be appropriate for a newer or relatively inactive member who has never given.
- Seek to increase the number of pledgers and to increase the giving of those who already give. Set giving targets to help people get a figure in mind. People normally do not give more than they are asked. Set different giving ranges for different categories of givers. Provide a “step up” plan to help people take the next step in becoming generous givers. Personalize the process to each contributor.
- Focus on discipleship rather than membership. Stewardship ministry is first and foremost about making and growing disciples. The goal of stewardship ministry is to help God's people grow in their relationship with Jesus through the use of the time, talents and finances God has entrusted to them. The goal is not to "raise money to pay the bills next year" but rather on "the giver's need to give," which grows out of a relationship with Jesus.
- It all belongs to God. Scripture reveals that we are stewards not owners. God does not transfer anything to us. God continues to own it all. We have the privilege and responsibility to care for that which belongs to God. God provides "all the resources we need to accomplish the mission to which God has called us." Serving a God of abundance, stewardship leaders are called to help God's people know these truths and to invite them to live into them.
- Money and Possessions. The challenge is not money or possessions in themselves. The issue is that money and possessions pose a threat to a person's relationship with Jesus. The people of God are to live the life of a stewardship, recognizing the duty of wealth and being generous givers of that which God has entrusted to us.
- The pastor must be part of the stewardship team, should model effective stewardship and know what each person gives to the congregation.
- Practice asking, thanking and telling. Congregations must learn to ask regularly and in a variety of ways. Congregations must practice thanking people regularly, recognizing and celebrating people’s generosity and joy in giving. In addition, congregations must tell (communicate to donors) how these gifts are blessings to the givers as well as the receivers of the gift.
- Ask by making the pie larger. Develop a plan and a year-round schedule for highlighting special offerings, mission of the month appeals, sponsorships, ongoing appeals, special needs and capital fund appeals. Create an endowment fund if you don’t already have one. Provide people multiple venues for growing in generosity.
- Continually improve how you ask. Take time to analyze the effectiveness of your past asking. List what worked, what didn’t work, and why. Consider what you might do differently in the future. Find more effective methods for asking. Vary your asking methods. Stewardship leader should regularly ask, "What can we do to help people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through their stewardship time, talents and treasures?"
- You cannot “over-thank.” Create a culture of thanksgiving that shows up through words and notes of affirmation, private and public testimony, visual displays and video clips. Never pass up an opportunity to recognize and affirm one’s gift of generosity.
- Become a storytelling congregation that regularly highlights stories of transformation. People want to know that their giving makes a difference. The story need to be told in person, during worship, in newsletters and online.
6 TIPS FOR YOUR ANNUAL APPEAL
- Develop a timeline.
- Ask people to grow in their giving.
- Make sure that your communications and publications are first-rate.
- Use estimate of giving cards.
- Thank all who have return an estimate of giving card.
- Follow up with those who haven’t return an estimate of giving card - assign people to follow up before the campaign begins.
6 LEARNINGS ABOUT GENEROSITY
- They have an intentional plan for giving.
- They have a heart for generous giving.
- They give proportionally.
- They follow a regular pattern of giving.
- They give their first fruits of all they receive.
- They are cheerful givers.