Is your giving suffering from a lack of ownership? One of the major reasons so many churches will fail to make budget this year is the simple fact of a lack of ownership. Whose responsibility is it for making sure your church makes budget? Stewardship is the hot potato of the church world and a result is that no one owns the process. What does not get attention does not get done. Who owns your stewardship plan?
Recently a client emailed me this note…
I’m thinking about starting up a stewardship committee of our Vestry/Board. So here’s my question: if you had a board stewardship committee, what would you task them with and how would you use them? My concern is that a lot of this stuff necessarily comes from my desk. So how could they be helpful without being cumbersome? Maybe your answer could form the basis for a new article?
Thanks for the idea! First, let me say that this pastor is thinking correctly. While the Senior Pastor must take the lead in all things related to generosity/stewardship it should not fall exclusively on a pastors shoulders. Getting help is essential. Yet as this pastor said the key is for it to, “be helpful without being cumbersome.”
So, basically what this pastor wants to do is to set up a team to help keep giving in front of the congregation in creative ways. In fact I often call this team, the Creative Team. You can name it whatever you like but having a team is essential.
Here is in part what I wrote back to him. The advice I gave him will serve you as well.
First and foremost you need to set it up right. You don’t want it coming back and creating problems instead of solving them. Setting perimeters for the team or committee is essential. My view is that this is NOT the task of the Finance Team. Your Finance Team’s task is the creation and over sight of the budget. In essence they manage the money. Your Generosity Team
So to set this up right you need…
- The right people. I would advise that this team NOT be stacked with financial people or only number crunchers. You need people who are creative and know how to translate the why of giving in all the various ways we have today, i.e. Social Media, video etc. I would advise a small team of no more than five people from all interests of the church. I want people on the team that know Social Media. I want those that know how to write and edit. I want creative people who think outside the box. I also want at least one member of the Finance Team on this team to keep them focused upon the numbers.
- The right mission. My mantra is always that to increase giving we must make it fun and easy. That is the task of this team. I task them with the message and means of giving at a church.
Their job is to help get the Message/Story of the WHY out to the church in creative captivating ways. I call that connecting the dots. How is a dollar given to your church going to impact the world? We want to tell the story of the missions and ministries of your church in such a way that people WANT to give to support that great work!
I would have them meet at least once a quarter. At that meeting I would have them lay out all of what is upcoming in the next quarter in terms of mission and ministry. What is the message or story of each of those? What is the “ask” behind each of them? How best to tell the story? Social Media, print, online or other means?
The Means and Systems of giving would be the over sight of your online giving, placement of envelopes and other giving instruments. They need to be tasked with making sure your church has the best and latest in terms of connecting people to giving portals.
As for resources let me point you to my newsletter and other materials that I produce. Many churches send my newsletter to their finance team. One pastor sends it to 70 of his leaders including his Finance Team. Using the tools I provide your team will be able to help you better meet your budget needs.
Every pastor needs help. So, create and task a team of creative people to help you own the process and you will find your chances of being fully funded much greater.
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
