If you never preach on giving you won’t get givers and thus you will always struggle to make budget! I could point out multiple studies to show you the truth of that statement. However you might only have to look at your year to date giving to find proof enough.
Recently one of my associates was in a church where a layperson told him their pastor in over twenty years had never preached one sermon on giving. That does not surprise me. Look at this…
A survey of churches found that only 32% of American church members reported they had heard a sermon on the relationship between faith and finances in the last year! The survey concluded that, “clergy often tiptoe around the topic of money as if they were taking a walk through a minefield.”
Why should you preach on giving? First it is biblical! Consider that the Bible contains…
- 500 verses on prayer
- 500 verses on faith
- 1,000 verses on giving
- 19 of Jesus 38 parables deal with money and possessions,
- 1/10 of the book of Matthew deals with money and possessions.
If Jesus preached on money why aren’t you?
Preaching on giving works! This is the second reason you should be preaching on giving. George Barna many years ago in his book, “How to Increase Giving in Your Church,” gave this statistics…
- 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 nonconsecutive times in a year.
The key is how you preach on giving not that you preach on it. When preachers do get around to preaching on money they typically do so in a way that does more harm than good. You have to know how to carefully craft your message so that it is first of all received and then most of all acted upon. Here are some key thoughts…
- Never use guilt! EVER!
- Don’t preach “ought to” sermons. 99% of the people listening to you preach know they “ought to” give. You have to convince them WHY they should give.
- Don’t apologize for what the Bible teaches. Jesus never apologized so why would you?
- Be positive.
- Connect the dots. Help them see how giving accomplishes life change not only locally but around the world.
- Show the value. The Bible is filled with promises that if we give God will bless us. Teach that and people will give!
So, when was the last time you preached on giving? As the old ad from years ago says, “Well, that’s too long!”
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
Founder and President of The Charis Group and Charis Giving Solutions
My members get a stewardship sermon sent directly to them once a month! You can get this and much more stewardship help by going to https://thestewardshipcoach.org/join-now/