6 Effective Financial Principles For Your Church

In 1996, Pastor Tommy Barnett, founder of Phoenix First Assembly of God, now known as Dream City Church, in Phoenix, Arizona, accepted this young pastor's invitation to come to Edmonton. I spent a weekend with him, and he showed me a book of 52 stories and ideas he shared in one year at his church in Phoenix.

He pointed out that charitable organizations typically get one chance a year in front of their financial supporters at a big gala or banquet, where they thank their donors, share the outcomes of giving, and ask for more. He challenged me, “As a pastor, you get 52 times a year to do that. Leaders of charitable organizations would trade places with you any day.”

1. The Alignment Principle

If you’ve tried to increase giving by announcing you’re behind budget, stop it.

No one cheerfully gives to budget. Budgets don’t raise money in the long run. You may get temporary help, but it won’t last.

People give to vision.

Align giving to vision.

Many church leaders avoid talking about money because they don’t want to sound like they’re begging.

Raising money for vision is precisely the opposite of begging.

You are NOT saying, “Please, could you help us out? Lately, it’s been hard.” Instead, you are declaring, “We have a vision. We invite you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you—your energy, prayers, and money—in this work to which God has called us.”

Givers who truly adopt your church’s vision and accept your invitation to participate in its work are more likely to become long-term supporters. Rather than meeting a temporary need, their partnership brings an inspiring vision to life. As true partners, they will have a stake in the ongoing success of their church’s work.

The first step to increasing your giving is to get clear on your vision. Is your vision compelling? A compelling vision is at the heart of giving. We can help you with vision and vision casting. Contact us at coach@abnwt.com.

2. The Vision Casting Principle

Casting a God-given vision leads to provision.

Givers are people of dreams, aspirations, and hope. They love to give to those things close to their hearts. Regularly sharing your church’s vision will connect the giver's heart and dreams to the church's vision.

Vision answers, “Why should I give to this church?”

Sometimes, people give marginally out of guilt, obligation, or loyalty.

Connection to the vision allows radical giving to occur based on a heart connection.

Plan stories for 52 giving moments in the year.

• Link every offering with a story of what giving is doing.

• Link every Annual business meeting with stories of what giving is accomplishing.

• Link every financial report and correspondence with a story.

* Cast vision in three rooms. The large room (Sunday services), medium-sized rooms (like-minded groups within the church), and small rooms (leaders and influencers). The large room is best for communicating the idea of participation. Engage with your key stakeholders to fuel generosity and support the church’s vision. Celebrate when people become part of your vision.

* Lead the leaders. The senior church leader will always have specific roles, including casting vision and leading leaders. Small-room conversations are particularly critical because a church’s leaders and influencers want to be treated as partners in ministry rather than just donors. Allow them to ask questions and learn about initiatives before they happen.

3. The Discipleship Principle

Are your ministry dreams bigger than your bottom line? A lack of money is not your issue. Your congregation has enough money to achieve the vision God has given you.

Thirty-nine years of pastoral ministry taught me that a lack of finances is a symptom of an issue, not an issue. Raising generous givers is the issue.

Don’t make giving your goal. Make discipleship your goal, and you will get giving. Generosity is a mark of discipleship.

What if withholding a conversation about money denies your church one of the most important forms of pastoral care and discipleship you can give them—helping them learn to live responsibly and generously with the money God has given them?

4. The Generosity Principle

Think big by building a culture of generosity.

Proverbs 11:24 (MSG) – “The world of the generous gets larger and larger.”

Proverbs 11:24 (ESV) – “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer.”

Proverbs 11:25 (NIV) – “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

A generous church gets larger and larger. The world of generous people gets larger.

Giving connects people to something bigger than themselves.

At its core, giving is an act of faith. When givers make a financial investment into the life of the church, what statement are they making? Effectively, they are saying, “Instead of tightly clinging to my financial resources, I will trust in the faithfulness of God. I believe He is who He says He is.”

Giving is pure worship that expands the experience of faith.

5. The Celebration Principle

Churches become what they celebrate.

Connect Sunday offering moments to something that is valued by the church community and important to the church’s mission.

Explain that “we give so_________________ can happen.”

For example, celebrate a baptism as part of the offering moment. We give so people can learn about Jesus and follow him.

Celebrate what God is leading you and your church to do in your community. Share stories of marriages restored, people with an addiction delivered, and financial situations turned around.

More money is given where eternal impact is evident.

When you consistently share the impact of giving, your givers see the good their giving is doing and want to do more.

6. The Communication Principle

How will you thank the people who give? It’s a big deal when people begin to give.

A. First-Time Giver—Communicate with people who give to your church for the first time. Mail a handwritten note to increase your relational, pastoral connection. Even if your handwriting looks like it came from an archaeological dig, the personal touch matters.

B. Regular THANK YOUs—Send an email or snail mail to tell people where their gifts are invested and the effects of their giving in a story, and thank them. Include the most recent story of the benefit of giving and “because of you, kids could go to Day Camp” or whatever the story is.

C. Annual End-of-year Giving—The last 31 days of the year are usually prime for churches. Remind people about the acts of compassion over the last year through stories you shared. Hi-lite the acts of compassion you have planned for the first 6 months of the following year. Include a beautiful, colour-printed piece of the images of the stories on 8.5x10 card stock.

D. Quarterly or Bi-Annual Giving Statements—Don’t limit communication to the end of the year. Update people on their giving and what ministries they’re enabling. Send out these letters after Easter and after Thanksgiving.

4 Key Times to Send an Update to Donors

• February – Charitable Receipts

• April – Report 1st quarter giving after Easter.

• The first week of November: in preparation for end-of-year giving.

• Two days after Christmas, send an end-of-year thank you and a reminder on how to make a year-end gift by December 31st.

A Bonus Practice and a Resource

One of the easiest places to engage in giving is a more practical and guided process in your new member or orientation process. Create a worksheet that includes these questions:

• What will be the date of your first gift as a new member?

• How will you give? (Note: This is a great place to invite them to download your app or give digitally with a prompt to recurring giving).

• What amount will you give that is based on Biblical stewardship principles?

• You can also prompt them to text or email the person leading the class to let them know of their first gift so we can celebrate together. Giving for the first time as a new member is a special moment worth celebrating together.

Wills and Estate Planning

Invite Murray Coughlan to speak on a Sunday about stewardship, tithing, and estate planning. He will stay for as long as you need him and help your people with wills and estate planning FOR FREE. Murray is the Western Canada Stewardship Representative for the PAOC. He has helped direct millions of dollars to churches in people’s wills. Contact him at murray.coughlan@outlook.com.

The Ripple Effect

And, before your congregation becomes more generous, set the pace as a pastor and Board by being generous with your District Resource Centre. Your giving to the District has an automatic effect nationally and internationally through the PAOC.

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