I hated three day weekends as a pastor!
Consider this…
Three day weekends are killers for offerings! Why?
-
- Your people are at the lake, beach or ball game.
- When attendance is down giving is down too.
- Falling behind makes it difficult to catch up.
On top of that I had to work on those three day weekends!
Despite my hatred of three day weekends the calendar just kept handing them out year after year after year. Don’t look now but we have one coming up this weekend, Memorial Day. I think of all the three day holidays I hated this one the most as it impacted attendance the most. So, right as we were starting our summer we were typically faced with one of our worst offering weekends.
Don’t let a three day holiday set back your giving! I always say, we need to stay ahead of the curve. What I mean by that is that when we are driving and a sharp turn is up ahead signs like the one in this post, warn us so that we can adjust. If you wait until you are in the curve to adjust to the curve you have waited too late.
The same is true when it comes to the offering on a three day weekend. You know attendance will be down and that your offering will be impacted. So, let’s start thinking about how we can offset the potential decline in offerings that this weekend will present you with.
What are the keys to a successful Memorial Day offering or any special offering time for that matter? Here are some keys for a successful offering.
- Planning! You can’t decide on Saturday night to do something on Sunday and expect great results. The more you plan out the offering the better chance you have for success.
- Vision! The more appealing the appeal, the better the results. Take the time to craft a compelling vision and you will see greater success.
- Execution! It is not enough to have a plan! You MUST work that plan through all existing platforms and tell your story.
So, the bottom line… With good planning, your church can get ahead of the curve of three day weekend offering blues!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach and founder of Giving365