“Just when we really get going in worship then it is time for the offering and it interrupts the flow of worship!” That was a comment by a staff member of a church that had engaged me to reverse a decline in their giving. As I listened in amazement to this comment I thought, is it any wonder their giving is declining? Too many pastors and staff members don’t treat the offering as worship. It is simply an intrusion upon the service.
Is that the view of your staff? Attitude impacts everything we do. If we don’t have a good attitude about something we will slough it off. The first thing I have to do when I start working with a church is to get them to change their attitude about taking up the offering. We need to get over the myth that all churches ever talk about is money. When Jesus talked more about this subject than any other combined why are we not in the Church teaching a proper view of giving and a healthy attitude towards the offering?
Several years ago I was one of the first to begin writing about the need to improve what I consider one of the most boring parts of our worship service, the offering. I have been writing Elevator Pitches for offerings ever since. My view is that you have at least 30 to 60 seconds as the ushers are coming forward to set the stage for the offering to be more than just an interruption.
Elevator Pitch Your Offerings! An old story goes that a young writer enters an elevator with the producer of a big movie house. The writer has thirty seconds to sell his idea of why the producer should consider his work. There are whole schools of thought that teach people how to make their pitch in thirty seconds. It recognizes that we often have only seconds to make an impression. Can you in thirty seconds tell members why they should give to your church? Every offering time should be used as an elevator pitch to convince members to donate.
I find that few if any leaders give a thought to how to take up the offering. It has become simply an automatic thing in churches. The result of this inattention to detail is showing up in a decline in offerings across the nation. As we still battle the effects of the past recession, now more than ever we have to state our case of why our ministries deserve financial support. What are you saying before your offerings that would convince anyone of the importance to give?
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Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach