-Nurturing young children, teens
-Ministry to the military
Spontaneous Millennials can be tapped as bigger church givers, studies show
Millennials are more generous with their money in some cases than older Americans, a new report says. The study by the Barna Group examined motivations behind giving to various causes, including family needs, charitable giving and serving God. The findings…
What Prince did before he died — and 5 reasons it matters
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from the radio. It was so shocking that I wanted to pull the car to the side of the road to take it all in. This was not the news that Prince, the…
Making our list, checking it twice
By Barry Howard At our house we make a lot of lists, especially in December — the grocery list, the Christmas card list, the gift list, the guest list, the holiday event list and the end-of-year giving list. During this…
Pastors as social entrepreneurs
Seldom do I meet a pastor who, when they find out I’m in fundraising, asks about raising money. Ironically, most seminaries don’t teach this elemental aspect of ministry—congregations are nonprofits; contributions are elemental to their growth. However, before congregations and…
Soar past tithing on your way to becoming wildly generous
Should we forget tithing? Is it passé? Does it set up an artificial target on which too few people actually agree? Tithing seems like an obvious principle–10 percent of your income–yet too often it becomes a negative point for confusion,…
Does anybody really know what tithing is? Does anybody really care?
Has a more general, difficult to measure, New Testament-oriented concept called generosity snuffed out the clear, easy to measure, Old Testament concept of tithing? Let me try that again. Has a left-brained legalism about tithing interpreted as 10 percent of…
Is giving an offering — as an expression of worship — dying?
With online giving through a congregation’s web site, or texting a contribution, or bank drafts, or offering boxes in a corner of the worship space or narthex, or discouraging visitors from giving an offering at seeker services, or giving through…
Staff your congregation with 22-44 ministry mobilizers
During uncertain economic times how do congregations provide staff leadership that is essential for forward progress? How do congregations add a staff person? How do congregations replace a staff person? How do congregations lower staff costs in response to what…