As we enter the winter season I want to know what you will do if it snows out Sunday? If you are like most churches you have a cancellation policy already in place. You know exactly what you will do, who will do it and how. You might be thinking, I have that boxed checked.
Yet what are you going to do to make up for the fact that you will not take up an offering? Even if you meet on a bad winter weekend your attendance is probably going to be way off and as a result so will the offering. So here is my question…
Do you have a plan right now in place that will allow you to not miss that weeks offering? My clients do. Let me illustrate with a real story from one of my long time clients Phillips Temple in Dayton, OH.
One Friday morning last winter the pastor of Phillips called me and said, “We are supposed to get hit again with a near blizzard snow.” My response was, “I will get right on this.” Immediately I called the business administrator. Here is what we did.
First, that afternoon we had letters in the U.S. mail with a postage paid envelope in them. The letter stated that the forecast for Sunday looked bad and while the church would hold services we understood many would not be able to attend. Those letters arrived in members homes on Saturday.
Next, that Friday afternoon we sent an email blast with essentially the same message that contained a clickable link to the churches online giving site. We encouraged people to give right then.
Two other email blasts went out. One went out on Saturday afternoon and another went out on Sunday afternoon. Our plan was executed.
It snowed that Sunday and Phillips attendance went from its normal 1,500 down to 500! Yet by Tuesday after all the online gifts and mailed in envelopes were counted we had essentially made that weeks offering!
Do you have a plan for when it snows? Do you have a coach that will help you implement a plan? My members do and you can join now and assure that come rain, sleet or snow your offerings will stay strong. Let me be your Stewardship Coach!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach