By 2019 Milleannials are expected to surpass Baby Boomers as the largest generational group. The Church is having a difficult time connecting with this generation. As a result Millennails give much less to churches than previous generations. Yet consider this…
57% of Millennials say that seeing the impact of their gift would motivate them to make larger gifts to charity. So let me ask you a question, how does your church get people to give? An even better question might be have you ever even asked questions like that?
The most typical means churches use for garnering gifts are ineffective! There are two major strategies churches employ in gaining gifts. The first and most prominent strategy is to assume that people will give and therefore most churches have no plan to motivate giving.
The other strategy often employed by pastors and churches is to advocate what I call the “Ought To Approach.” Here a church simply tells people in attendance they ought to give over and over and over. We tell ’em what the Bible says! A Christian ought to give. If you want God’s blessing tithe. Giving is your responsibility. If you don’t give you are robbing God. Real Christians give so if you are a real Christian give and give some more!
How is that working for us? Not too well when you consider that giving to the Church as a percent of income declined from 3.11% of Americans incomes to right at 2% today. In particular we are having difficulty getting Millennials to give.
If you want to get Millennials and Generation X to give you have to show them the value of their gift. This is not hard to do. Churches do incredible things. We feed the poor, minister to the sick, counsel the needy, walk people through the valley of the shadow of death, train their children and youth and a multitude of other missions and ministry initiatives. A gift to the church is the best charitable gift you can make. Churches and denominations do a much better job of seeing that the money you give actually does what you want it to do.
A simple plan of action to engage Millennials and other to give – Here is what I recommend that churches do in order to increase their giving levels. It is a simple formula that will work for you. Here is the plan…
Get a God given vision of what He wants your church to be and do. This vision is your story. Your story is what motivates people to give or not.
Work that vision/story! Do it. Live it. Every day work towards accomplishing what He has set out for you.
Tell others the story of your vision. Take what God has birthed in your heart and communicate it in as many ways as possible. Good vision trumps bad economy.
Show how your vision/story is making a difference. Today with the tools of technology it is easy to show people what their gifts are accomplishing.
When you show people what your church is doing to fulfill God’s vision they will give you money to support that vision when you ask them to. I call this connecting the dots. you connect for people how a dollar given to your church impacts the world for good.
My mantra for churches is…
Get a story, work your story, tell people about your story and they will give you money to support that story!
What is your story?
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach