Stop apologizing for taking up the offering!  The most often heard comment before most churches take up the offering goes like this…

“As our ushers come forward to take up our morning offering if you are a guest please don’t feel like you need to give.  The offering is the time for our members to support our work here.  Let’s pray.”

Every say that or something close to that?  I call it the apology.  I hear it all the time.  I hear it in churches running multiple thousands to churches running a few hundred.  I can guarantee you that this Sunday something close to what I typed above will be said in hundreds if not thousands of churches across the land.  If only I had a dollar!

So, here is my advice…

Stop Apologizing!

If you are using or have used a similar line before your offerings let me share with you why you need to change your approach.

First and foremost the offering IS worship not an intrusion of worship.  All of us would agree that the offering is biblical.  All of us would agree that the offering is worship.  So, why would we dis-invite someone to participate in worshiping with us?  Does your Worship Leader get up at the start of the service and say, “We are going to sing to the Lord today.  However, if you are a guest don’t feel like you have to sing?”  Nope.  We want them to join us in singing.  Does the preacher get up and say, “I am going to preach from the Bible but if you are a guest with us today and you would rather surf the Web while I preach here is our WiFi password?”  Of course not!  So, let’s stop telling people they don’t have to participate in the offering.

Next, your church is doing amazing things for the community and the world.  That work is worth supporting financially!  Think about it.  When a crisis happens somewhere in the world who is there first with help and aide?  The Church!  Who built most of the colleges and hospitals in America?  The Church!  Who trains up the next generation to be godly productive citizens of society?  The Church!  Who is there in the midnight hour when a crisis hits a family?  Someone from the Church!

The work your church is doing cannot be done by anyone else in quite the same way as you can.  So, stop apologizing and start thinking of ways to make this weekends offering meaningful and worshipful.

Your goal for the offering should be first and foremost to create a worshipful moment for EVERYONE in attendance!  If you succeed at doing that I believe you will have a better chance of being fully funded.

Plan out EVERY offering time!  What will be said?  Who will say it?  What missions or ministry will you focus on that will MAKE people WANT to give?

Here is a sample offering talk I wrote a while back…

Why We Never Apologize for the Offering

We invite everyone to give to the offering.  That might set us apart from a lot of churches.  If you are a guest you might typically hear them tell you that you shouldn’t feel you have to give.  Here at YOUR CHURCH, we realize you will figure out quickly that no one is going to MAKE you give.

Our goal is to MAKE people WANT to give on their own without us running you through the guilt gauntlet!  After all the Bible does say, “God loves a cheerful giver.”  So, we never apologize for taking up the offering.  Why?  For two very good reasons.

First, giving is an act of worship.  When you give you are recognizing that God is the owner of all we possess.  A gift in the offering is really a gift to God.  It is a way to demonstrate your thankfulness to God for all He has done for you.  We think that the best way to become a cheerful giver is to give as an act of worship not an act of guilt.  As we take up this offering we are worshipping God with our gifts.  So, why would we NOT invite you to worship with us by giving back to God?

The second reason we never apologize for asking people to give is your generosity allows us to do all the amazing things we do.  We believe in the mission God has called us to.  One person at a time we are making a difference in the lives of people in our community.  From babies, to children, students to adults we are providing spiritual comfort and direction.  Every time you give here we faithfully use those gifts to do more missions and ministry.  Literally, through your act of worship by giving you are helping make our world better!  We are inviting everyone, members and guests, to support our work through their generous financial gifts.

So, as we pause for the offering, let me say that if you are a long time member or this is your first time, we encourage you to worship with us through giving.  Thanks to your generosity this morning we can accomplish all the amazing things God has set our hearts upon.

Let’s change the way we take up the offering so that we change the outcome of the offering!  Isn’t your mission and ministry worth being fully funded?

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach