Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Leading Ideas:From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 27 June 2018 "Reaching People Who Don't Look or Act Like "Church People" - Podcast - Stop Taking Givers for Granted"

Leading Ideas:From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, 27 June 2018 "Reaching People Who Don't Look or Act Like "Church People" - Podcast - Stop Taking Givers for Granted"

Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Photo Credit: Impact Church
Reaching People Who Don't Look or Act Like "Church People" by Olu Brown
Rev. Olu Brown started Impact Church in Atlanta 11 years ago with a group of 25 people. Now, it's one of the 25 fastest growing churches in the country, with almost 4,400 worshipers weekly, onsite or online. He shares tips on reaching people -- even those who don't look or act like "church people."
At Impact Church, we’re a group of people that some would say don’t belong in the church. We don’t always look like church people or act like church people. That’s the “secret sauce” of who we are. But we have to work to help people to feel comfortable and feel like they can be themselves.
One of the primary reasons a lot of churches aren’t reaching younger people is that they are unwilling to retool and repackage their message so that others can hear it and receive it.
Extreme hospitality
One key practice is what we call extreme hospitality — an attitude that all people are welcome, all people are worthy, and all people have a place. This applies across differing political perspectives and different sexual orientations. It’s the simple yet radical affirmation that all people really are welcome. This stance has won a lot of people to Impact Church and ultimately Jesus Christ. But sadly, it has also turned some people away. When some people say they want to practice hospitality, they mean, “I want to be hospitable to people who agree with me, who look like me, who are in my socioeconomic status.”
Extreme hospitality requires a willingness to share power with others. When I was leading a small group, everyone knew the restaurant where we would be meeting because it was the restaurant I liked. But as people from different cultural backgrounds joined the group, we found they had other tastes in food. As a leader, I had to decide to let go of some of my power for the sake of inclusivity.
Powerful worship
At Impact Church, we want to give our worshippers an experience that makes them feel welcomed and valued and that calls them to action. We don’t refer to our worship as a “service.” Instead, we think of it as an “experience.” And one of the things that shapes a powerful worship experience is the use of metaphor. Jesus constantly used metaphors in his teachings through parables. But today, too many churches aren’t doing the hard work of developing metaphors that apply to twenty-first century life. When we give a biblical illustration, we think that a person in the pew quickly understands it. But they don’t.
A good metaphor can shape the experience of your worship from the time someone drives into your parking lot until they leave. Once we were doing a construction worksite sermon series at Impact Church. Our greeters wore hardhats and there were construction-related items throughout the building. Before the sermon was preached or even the first song was sung, people had already been clued into the driving metaphor. Metaphors can be communicated through your digital communication, your bulletin, your sermon.
We are constantly revisioning and revising what we call worship. We’ve found it’s critical to involve a team in preparing worship. So often, sermons and worship planning occur within a silo. But if you rely on a team that represents the diversity of the audience you want to reach, you’ll do a much better job of making a metaphor stretch across generations and cultures and geography.
Knowing your customer
One of the key cultural trends of the twenty-first century is a rise in self-designed systems where people have a lot more choice in deciding what they are offered. As much as I love big-box stores like Target and Walmart, I think the healthiest churches in coming years will be those that are small and flexible enough to change and adjust quickly to a rapidly changing context.
Starting a congregation or taking the existing congregation to the next level of health or growth is similar in some ways to starting a business. You have to know who your existing customers are and who you seek to reach. You have to diagnose the key elements of your community. What’s the demographic forecast in the next ten years? Will there be major ethnic or cultural shifts in the population? You can’t ignore these factors and expect to grow.
Relevance and relationships
Some people think if the church strives to be relevant to the current culture, it can’t remain authentic to its values and core message. But consider the example of companies selling audio players. Over many years, the purpose of their products — to provide a quality listening experience — doesn’t change. But successful companies know that the technology, packaging, and marketing must constantly evolve. One of the primary reasons a lot of churches aren’t reaching younger people is that they are unwilling to retool and repackage their message so that others can hear it and receive it.
Relationships are perhaps the most important factor. It’s hard to draw someone to church whom we really don’t like or understand. I’m finding that younger generations really want deep and abiding relationships with older adults. But these relationships have to be relevant and authentic.
All congregations, whether small or large, are signs of God’s grace. I give glory for how God is using not me but our team at this phase of our mission. I hope and pray that 20, 30, or 40 years from now, when all our faces are different, we will be reaching even more people than our original group could have imagined.
Related Resources:
Read more.
Episode 13
Photo Credit: Impact Church
Leading Ideas Talks Podcast: "Dream Big to Reach New People"
How can dreaming big help your church reach more people? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe, Jr., speaks with Rev. Olu Brown of Impact Church in Atlanta about how to creatively reach new people through extreme hospitality and by dreaming big.
Listen now.
Stop Taking Givers for Granted by Chris Willard And Jim Sheppard
Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard, authors ofContagious Generosity, explain the importance of developing a system to thank givers to celebrate their spiritual growth through giving and encourage greater generosity.
It is sad but true that many churches take their givers for granted. Most nonprofits, on the other hand, understand just how difficult it is to find prospects, cultivate them, and see them become givers. They take great pains to identify these people, to build relationships, and to maintain those relationships. Frequently, churches expect that people simply will give and that it is not the responsibility of the church to acknowledge or express appreciation for the gift. Not only is this just plain rude to the givers, it may lead the church to feel entitled to the monetary gifts. This can grow into an unhealthy attitude that turns off generous individuals and families. Churches must learn to be generous in their expression of thanksgiving for the generous gifts they receive.
Building a thank you system
It is essential to build a system that will ensure that gift acknowledgements and thank yous aren’t overlooked. Most church leaders intuitively know that this is a good idea, but they have no idea where to start. Traditional nonprofits know the value of saying thank you and have learned that people who are thanked are more willing to give a second gift shortly after giving the first one.
You’ll have to decide how your church can best practice thanking its givers. But countless individuals have given incredible amounts of money to the church over the years, and many of them tell us that they would love to receive a thank you every now and then. They admit that they usually don’t give to receive a thank you. Most often, they just want to know that someone noticed the gift and affirmed the desire that led them to give in the first place: wanting to make a difference by serving the Lord with their resources.
Acknowledging first-time gifts
When someone gives to your church for the first time, you should celebrate this important step. Giving is an external expression of an internal commitment. Therefore, when someone gives to your church, he is confirming that he has connected and is ready to move to deeper levels of commitment and engagement with the community.
In general, when someone gives to your church, it is a sign of commitment. When a person writes a check, gives a gift online, or fills out her name and address on an envelope, she is sending a strong signal to the church. In all likelihood it is not her first time attending. The giver could have chosen to remain nameless and faceless, but instead she has taken steps to make sure the church knows that the gift has been given. This gift is a big deal, especially in a tough economic climate, and the only appropriate response is to acknowledge that step of faith and thank her for her gift. This can be done with a phone call, in person, or even with a handwritten note. Many churches use a variety of responses to ensure a scalable approach to follow-up.
A thank you note to a first time giver can be one of the very first personal points of contact between a pastor and an attender. The note can simply say thank you for taking this important step of faith, thank you for trusting the leadership of the church to use this money wisely. This kind of encouragement can inspire the giver to take the next steps he needs to take on his spiritual journey. That is pastoral ministry.
Although many nonprofits use this thank you as an opportunity to ask for another gift, we encourage churches not to do that. Instead your approach should be very simple, thoughtful, direct, and personal. Remember, your purpose in doing this is not fundraising. You are celebrating the giver’s spiritual growth through giving. You accelerate what you celebrate.
Acknowledging special gifts
As you develop a strategy for thanking, you should also consider special gifts. From time to time, someone will make a large gift to the church. The amount is not the issue; the issue is that the giver has given what for him or her is a special gift. This may be in response to a capital initiative or mission effort. Other times, people are so moved by God that they make a special gift out of a compelling desire to make an impact in the kingdom. When someone makes a special gift, you or your staff should make it a priority to reach out to this individual or family, and if it is a very large gift we suggest that this be a personal, one-on-one discussion.
Many times, people who give large gifts don’t want to be named publicly. However, just because the giver’s identity is kept confidential from the congregation doesn’t mean that the giver doesn’t want to talk privately about why he made the gift and what God is doing in his life. The worst thing we can do is to ignore this person and miss the opportunity to celebrate the spiritual growth in his life.
Taken from Contagious Generosity by Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard. Copyright © 2012 by Chris Willard and James E. Sheppard. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com. The book may be purchased at zondervan.com/contagious-generosity.
Related Resources:
Read more.
The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
Today most new people encounter your church first through its website. Many church websites will benefit by regularly asking people with different connections with the church to view your website and offer feedback to a few questions, such as:
  1. Who appears to be the primary audience?
  2. How would you describe its appearance?
  3. How would you describe its tone?
  4. What appears to be the primary purpose?
  5. How easy is it to use?
  6. Did you find outdated things or errors/typos?
  7. What suggestions or advice would you offer to improve our website?
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders.
Now Available -- "Protect, Sustain, Grow: Best Practices for Handling Your Church's Money" Video Tool Kit
Managing church finances requires skill, dedication, and know-how, but also the heart of a steward. Protect, Sustain, Grow: Best Practices for Handling Your Church's Money provides practical advice, best practices, and resources for pastors, finance committee members, church treasurers, financial secretaries, and bookkeepers -- all those charged with the sacred trust of protecting, sustaining, and growing the resources God has entrusted to your church.
Learn more and watch an introductory video.
50 Ways to Encourage Faithful Giving
Helping people experience the joy of giving is more than a way of funding the church's ministry. These "50 Ways" of encouraging faithful giving will help your church members grow in discipleship through faithful stewardship and extravagant generosity.
Helping people experience the joy of giving is more than a way of funding the church’s ministry. These 50 Ways of encouraging faithful giving will help your church members grow in discipleship through faithful stewardship and extravagant generosity.
Stress the spiritual dimension of stewardship
  1. Teach stewardship as a holistic model of our relationship with God, as the tangible expression of our trust in God. Giving is a spiritual matter as central to faithful living as prayer, Bible study, and worship.
  2. Reinforce giving as an act of worship. Use the offering time to lift up the spiritual significance of giving. Take an offering at every service.
  3. Set a good example. The pastor should tithe and encourage other ministers, staff, and leaders to do the same. All leaders must take their giving seriously and model generosity.
  4. Talk openly about money and faithfulness to God. If leaders are uncomfortable about money then members will be also. Know your story of giving and be willing to testify about it.
  5. Model the giving spirit you seek from members in your church budget by giving generously to ministries beyond the congregation.
  6. Teach the theology of stewardship through a variety of means — church school classes, other study venues, sermons, and correspondence. Use stewardship scripture, quotations, and stories in bulletins, newsletters, other printed materials, and the website.
Know what motivates giving
  1. Know that people give to many things for a variety of reasons. Few have a well-planned or consistent giving strategy. Some give on impulse. Others are more cautious. Different kinds of appeals are effective with different types of givers.
  2. Recognize that people want to make a difference. They will give to what they value.
  3. Appreciate that faithful giving is a fruit of spiritual maturity. It takes time and much nurture to develop.
  4. Do not engage in fund raising. People give to God, not to raise the preacher’s salary or pay the utilities. Don’t make church gifts “one more bill to pay” — a bill that can be skipped without late fees, penalties, or the need to catch-up. Emphasize giving as a joyful response to God’s generosity, not an obligation.
  5. Talk to members about stewardship and opportunities for giving. Most people never increase their giving because they were never asked, nor given compelling reasons to do so. Don’t be afraid to lift up the needs of the church, but always in a way that emphasizes mission.
  6. Nurture relationships. People give to persons and organizations where they feel a connection. Church leaders should listen carefully for clues about issues of importance to church members. Personal solicitation is critical, especially for larger gifts.
Link stewardship to mission and ministry
  1. Remember that people — especially younger generations — give to support mission, not institutions or budgets. Everything you communicate about giving should stress ministry, not maintenance.
  2. Congregational vitality is key to giving. Whatever increases member involvement and participation will help giving. Involve as many as possible in the church’s ministries.
  3. Share information freely about the wonderful things giving makes possible. Use announcements to remind people of the impact they are having. Bulletin boards featuring how the church is in mission are good reminders to a congregation. Websites offer ways to tell the church’s story and to interpret stewardship and giving.
Know your givers and congregational giving patterns
  1. Do not make assumptions about what people give — most of the time you will be wrong.
  2. Give your pastor access to members’ giving records as a matter of pastoral care, not power or privilege.
  3. Keep alert for any changes in giving patterns — if giving stops without explanation, if an adult child starts writing checks for their parents, if there is confusion about giving, if designated gifts replace general giving, etc. Notify the pastor of any potential pastoral care concerns.
  4. Know your people and approach them where they are. Someone who has never given does not respond in the same manner as someone who gives faithfully, proportionately, and generously.
  5. Understand the financial profiles in your community. If few people carry cash, a spur of the moment offering will not succeed. Remember that more women than men carry a checkbook and younger generations are more inclined to pay by electronic or other non-cash means. A 25 year-old is unlikely to make a stock gift, while an older member on a fixed income may prefer an estate gift to one that reduces their monthly income.
  6. Monitor giving Indicators throughout the year. Compare pledge payments with those of previous years.
  7. Know how actual income compares to budgeted income for a given time of year. Avoid reporting what is “needed to date” by dividing the total budget into equal monthly or weekly segments. No congregation receives its income so evenly. Instead, determine how much income is “needed to date” based on a rolling three-year average of what percent of total giving is normally received during that period.
Provide a variety of ways to give
  1. Give people multiple opportunities to give. Those new to the church may be unfamiliar with the concept of pledging and tithing. Other ways of giving can get them in the habit.
  2. Consider sending some appropriate communication a few times a year to those who do not pledge and to non-resident members.
  3. Remember that people can give from their income, from their assets (stock, 401Ks, bonds and real property), or through legacies or bequests. Create giving opportunities appropriate to each type of gift.
  4. Don’t wait decades between capital campaigns. More frequent capital drives create a culture of supporting the church’s capital needs and prevent neglect of property concerns.
  5. Create a foundation or permanent fund, even if you have not yet received any bequests. People cannot give to what does not exist. Formulate policies for wills, legacies, and bequests. A large estate gift can be divisive if proper procedures are not in place.
Assist members in the stewardship of their personal resources
  1. Remember that personal finances and spending decisions are as much a part of Christian stewardship as giving to the church. Too often churches ask people to consider the church’s financial situation, but seldom offer to help with members’ financial situations.
  2. Teach members to think about their finances as an expression of faith. Use appropriate study resources to foster a theology of personal stewardship. Reinforce tithing and “first-fruits” giving as a faithful way of prioritizing one’s personal finances – not a way to pay church bills.
  3. Offer workshops on budgeting, financial management, and estate planning.
  4. Encourage sessions in which members can come together to discuss personal financial challenges. For example, parents of students preparing for college could discuss educational funding options. Those responsible for aging parents could come together to talk with other members who have learned of resources to help.
  5. Minister to the economic concerns of parishioners. Provide pastoral assistance and support groups for the unemployed, those in career transition, and those facing financial difficulty.
Develop a year-round, comprehensive stewardship program
  1. Preach stewardship sermons throughout the year, not just in the weeks before asking for an estimate of annual giving.
  2. Know that developing a congregation of faithful givers does not happen during a three to four-week stewardship drive. People do not become faithful stewards in one moment or through one influence.
  3. Create an annual stewardship calendar, emphasizing different stewardship concerns at different times of year – such as annual commitment in the fall, second-mile giving at year-end, planned giving at All Saint’s Day, etc. Develop stewardship themes that fit with different church events and liturgical seasons.
  4. Encourage faithful giving over the summer by preaching on stewardship the last Sunday before school is out. Everyone knows the churches bills do not go on vacation, so quit reminding your members of that.
  5. Make giving and stewardship education a part of your ministry with children and youth.
  6. Take the time to do everything related to stewardship well. Poor planning results in poor giving. Inspire generosity through sound management
  7. Know that people give to healthy organizations where they know their money is used wisely.
  8. Exhibit honesty and openness in financial interactions.
  9. Seek a good working relationship based on trust between the pastor, treasurer, and financial secretary.
  10. Make sure at least two unrelated people count the offering each week.
  11. Make sure all funds are administered properly. Keep precise records of income and dispersements. Keep your giving records secure.
  12. Keep the congregation informed of financial matters in meaningful ways. Issue timely financial reports and make them available to any member who requests them. Report financial concerns in a consistent manner.
  13. Send out pledge reports/giving statements in a timely fashion, always with a thank you and a reminder about any update that may be needed.
  14. Arrange for an independent audit or review of funds annually. Put a brief announcement in the Sunday bulletin a few times stating the completed audit has been reviewed by the finance committee and is available to members wishing to review it.
Say thanks often
  1. Find multiple occasions and ways to say “thank you” to those who make the church’s ministry possible — from the pulpit, in person, in the newsletter, and on their giving statements.
  2. Conduct an annual “thank-a-thon” not associated with a fund drive.
  3. Tell stories of how lives are changed because of their giving. People need to know their giving makes a difference.
  4. As a sign of appreciation, make sure all your procedures for giving are as convenient as possible. Avoid procedures and policies that are for the convenience of those who handle the funds rather than those who give the funds.

pdficon_smallDownload a PDF of this page to share with others.

Read and download free.
Quotable Leadership
Everyone is charged to lift what is low, to unite what lies apart, to advance what is left behind. (Abraham Joshua Heschel)
Resources for Your Church's Best Summer Ever
The mission of the church doesn't take a summer vacation. Browse the Leading Ideas archives for ideas and strategies to help you improve summer worship, serve your neighbors, and do good well through mission.
Explore articles on summer now.
Is Your Email Address Changing?
If the email address where you receiveLeading Ideas is changing soon, please click here to send your new address and effective date of the change to Matt Lyons so you don't miss a single issue. Thank you for being a Leading Ideas subscriber.
Update your email address now.

Connect with the Lewis Center.
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
***
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)