Preach the wordDid you know that studies show that a series on giving is 2 1/2 time more effective than a one off sermon on giving?

George Barna wrote about this in his book “How to Increase Giving in Your Church.”  He found that churches in which pastors preach…

  • Single messages about giving raise more money than do churches in which no stewardship takes place.
  • Two or more nonconsecutive messages do not have any advantage over churches that only preach on stewardship once a year.
  • Two or more consecutive messages about stewardship raise more money than do those churches that only hear one message a year.
  • Churches in which pastors preach two or more consecutive messages about stewardship matters raise significantly more money than churches that hear two or more nonconsecutive stewardship messages.
  • A series on giving is nearly two and a half times more likely to experience an increase in giving than preachers who only talk about stewardship once a year or on two non-consecutive times in a year.

So, do you have a series on giving ready or one you are working on?  Frankly the vast majority of pastors hate preaching on money even once a year.  Others do so but it is brutal to listen to.  All too often the messages pastors preach on giving are what I call “ought to” sermons.  Your member know they “ought to” give.  You need to motivate them to WANT to give!

I am in the final stages of a new book entitled, “The Forgotten Sermon: How to Preach Effectively on Giving.”  Frankly this has been in the works for well over a year but I have pulled it from the back burner and am working on it again.

“The Forgotten Sermon,” Overview – Here is the tentative outline…

Introduction:                        Combating the myth that all the church does is talk about money.

Chapter One:                        The Preachers Least Favorite Topic

Chapter Two:                       The Results of the Forgotten Sermon

Chapter Three:                     Making the Case for the Forgotten Sermon

Chapter Four:                       It Starts With the Pastor!

Chapter Five:                       Six Thoughts on How to Preach on Giving

Chapter Six:                         How to Preach a Series on Giving

Chapter Seven:                    Sermon Series: How to Find Stability in An Unstable World

Chapter Eight:                      Capital Campaign Series: Forward By Faith

Chapter Nine:                       What Will Happen If You Fail to Preach on Money

Chapter Ten:                        If My Bullets Fit Your Gun… Sermon samples on giving

Sermon Series Overview – Since a series on giving is more effective than a stand-alone giving sermon I am putting together a series on giving that will be in chapter eight of the book.  Here is an overview of that series entitled, “Finding Stability in An Unstable World.”

Week One:           Laying a Foundation That Assures Stability – Psalms 1

Week Two:           Living a Lifestyle That Leads to Stability – Matthew 6:25 -34

Week Three:        Learning the Principles for Financial Stability – II Cor. 9:6-8

Week Four:          Leaving a Legacy for Future Stability – II Cor. 9:7

My goal is to establish first that Scripture is our guide thus the beginning in Psalm 1.  Week two focuses upon “Seek ye first…”  Putting God first and how that impacts our priorities and perspective continues to lay the ground work for the next week’s more specific giving messages.  Week three is pretty straight forward on giving and the blessings God gives us as a result.  Week four stresses the value of the church and how giving impacts the churches work for Kingdom growth.  It challenges members to give to the one institution that will leave an enduring legacy both now and in the years to come.

My goal is to have this manual done by April.  Members to Giving365 will get it for free as they do my other sermon samples I produce for them.  Try my plan for 14 days for $1! $1 for 14 Day Trail offer

Here is my question for you.  If a giving series is so effective why are you not planning one now?  I would love to help be your coach for that!

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach