Whether you live on the coast or not there are 5 lessons from Hurricane Florence that every church MUST learn from. Its hurricane season and we just watched what could have been a much worse storm impact our East Coast. As the storm moved closer to shore I began to reach out to my clients on the coast advocating actions they could take that would minimize the damage a potential lost offering might mean to them. That’s my ministry. Others are called to help in different ways. I am called to help churches be fully funded.
Every time an event like this happens it impacts attendance and thus offerings for thousands of churches. That is money that is never made up. So, here are my 5 lessons from Hurricane Florence that will help you avoid a total loss of a week’s offering. First you need to realize that…
Weather events are inevitable. A few years ago I wrote an e-book entitled, “Snowed Out: A Plan to Make Up a Weather Impacted Weekend.” In the opening paragraphs I wrote this…
Winter is upon us and for those of you in the Snow Belt that means you need to be prepared for weather to curtail or cancel some of your services! It is not IF it will snow on a weekend but WHEN will that weekend happen? In the south the mere mention of bad weather keeps people at home on a Sunday even if the ice or snow did not happen. As we all know, the fewer people in the chairs the less in the offering plate. So, this manual is dedicated to help you weather inclement weather!
For those of you in Florida file this manual away for fall and hurricane season. Oh, and please don’t gloat over your seventy-degree weather while the rest of us freeze!
Whether you live in the north, south or on a coast at some point the weather WILL impact your offering. That should be lesson number one for all of us! Here is the next lesson…
Advanced preparation helps avoid disaster. I live on the east coast just a mile from the ocean. Here is what I have learned in my few years of living on the coast. If you wait until the hurricane is upon you to prepare you have waited too late. The front of the storm is upon you before you know it. The beach moves from calm to chaos over time but chaos is coming faster than you think.
For those in the Snow Belt your city or town already has salt and sand stored up well in advance for the weather they know will come. One reason why Hurricane Florence did as little damage as it did was the advanced preparation of those that lived in its path.
Are you prepared as a church for bad weather? Most churches have a set cancellation policy but very few have a plan for what to do when bad weather happens. Planning ahead of time helps you avoid a giving disaster that can set your back. Therefore my next lesson is…
Have a plan and work your plan. My town has set plans and policies when it comes to hurricanes. They don’t have to decide what to do. They decide ahead of time and then implement the plan. You need a plan of action that you can implement WHEN bad weather hits. If you wait until it hits you have waited too late. For an overview of a bad weather plan read my blog post, How Do You Make Up a Lost Offering Due to Inclement Weather?
It’s great to have a plan but that is not enough. You have to put the plan in action. To do that you must…
Pay attention. With our technology we can now better predict inclement weather. Paying attention to the forecast allows you to more quickly respond. It allows you to be proactive rather than reactive. This is the key towards making up a lost offering. A final lesson is…
The value of recurring giving. The church I attend receives 70% of its giving electronically. Most of that percentage comes through recurring giving. So, when Florence caused the cancellation of nearly every one of our campuses, recurring giving, helped keep any offering loss at a minimum. Whatever fees you might pay to have an online giving platform are more than made up when weather impacts your services. Recurring giving should be a key part of your plans.
It’s inevitable that you will experience at least one weekend of poor weather that will impact your attendance. The reality is that when snow falls or a hurricane blows and your services are cancelled very few of your members will be diligent to make that lost offering up the next time the plate is passed by them. These five lessons can and will help you for that inevitable time.
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach