sears-closingsSears last week announced the closing of 150 more stores and you need to know why Sears matters to your church.  You may not have anyone in your church that works for Sears. There may not even be a Sears in your town.  It doesn’t matter if you shop at Sears or not for this to matter to your church.  Sears closing stores is a trend we are seeing and it will have an impact upon churches.  I could have easily used J. C. Penny, Barnes and Noble or other traditional brick and mortar stores to illustrate the change in commerce in America and how this will impact the Church.

Online sales have eclipsed brick and mortar sales forcing the closing of hundreds of retail outlets once thought the bastion of commerce in America.  For the second year in a row Black Friday online sales eclipsed brick and mortar sales.  That trend continued throughout the Christmas retail season.

We live in an Amazon world when it comes to retail.  Amazon is the leader in online commerce.  There are other online retailers but none can match Amazon.  38% of all online revenue went to Amazon.  In our house most of what we bought for Christmas was purchased through Amazon.  So, if a store doesn’t have an online presence it will face the same results as Sears.

Consider another long time retailer J. C. Penny’s.  J. C. Penny’s saw holiday sales fall by 0.8%.  They would have seen worse results but their online sales grew by double digits.  They are illustrative of how brick and mortar stores are utilizing multiple tiers of showcasing their products in order to survive.  Best Buy is another example of a brick and mortar store that has expanded its online impact.  They come in second to Amazon in online shares but only garnered 4%.  That shows you how dominate Amazon is.  The lesson in this is that brick and mortar stores must know that they must expand how consumers can purchase their goods or Amazon will devour them.

So why does Sears matter to your church?  Because if you don’t have a diversified giving platform lead primarily by online and digital means you will struggle to make budget.  Whether we like it or not the world has changed.  I love the offering time in a church.  I am a strong advocate of passing the plate and I also coach churches to pass the plate.  I want the offering to be meaningful and worshipful.  Yet in this day when few write any checks we in the Church must adapt or we too can face the closing of our doors.

Here are some practical steps to keep your church from being a Sears.  Note that I advocate not one strategy or platform but many.  That is key.  Here is my recommendations…

  1. Develop an online presence first through your website and then through Social Media.  Don’t think one or the other think both and.  Use those platforms to tell your story which then gives you the ability to make the ask for donations to support your missions and ministry work.
  2. Establish an online platform that includes text giving.  Amazingly during the Black Friday period of sales the majority of Wal-Mart’s online says came through smart devices.  Americans do everything through their smart phones and giving them the ability to give that way will increase your offerings.
  3. Encourage members to sign up for automatic draft giving.  Having your members set up recurring giving will increase your giving.  As I write this weather impacted scores of services across America.  Those with a robust recurring giving program saw the least impact than others.
  4. Keep passing the plate!  Traditional methods will continue to help you raise funds.  While there may be a day when we are totally cashless and checkless that day is not yet here.  Until then pass the offering plate but please make it inspiring and worshipful.
  5. Have a direct appeal strategy of both snail mail and email.  Direct appeals if done well can add significantly to your offerings.  With the use of traditional offering envelopes for snail mail and clickable links to your giving portal in your emails you make it easy for your members to give.  The bottom line is that the easier it is for members to give the more they will give!
  6. Finally, have a plan and work your plan.  Simply having all of the above but not using them is like a carpenter having a full tool box but never building anything.  You have to work your plan using all the tools available in your tool box.

Do you know how to use the tools of today to reach this generation?  That is where Giving365 can come in handy for you and your church.  I help my members each week know how to use these tools to increase their weekly giving and thus be fully funded.  I would love to help you!  Try my plan for 14 days for only $1 14 Days for $1

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach