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How do you inspire the church to be generous?
We are created in the image of a generous God. He is the first and most generous giver.
We believe God designed us to share His generosity with others and in this way reflect His heart to a world that needs to know Him.
For this reason, He calls us to live counter to the world’s culture of fear, scarcity, false securities, selfish ambitions, and endless consumption. We are called to open our hearts and hands and live generously.
Just like Jesus.
Generosity is much more than a financial a transaction. It is spiritual formation. It is how we think and live. Generosity is the mark of a maturing disciple of Jesus, and an integral part of our discipleship. Below are some important keys in encouraging and enabling Generosity.
Encouraging Generosity
Inspire Generosity
Leadership is crucial as you want to lead by example. Demonstrate how your church is giving generosity to missions, God’s Kingdom and your community. Celebrate generosity within the life of the church – people are inspired by stories of generous living.
Cultivate Generosity
Giving our money, time and service is part of our spiritual formation. People need to know what God has said about how they handle money – nearly a third of Jesus’ parables use financial themes to illustrate spiritual truths. Help people grow as generous disciples by teaching them about God’s generosity and showing them how to share their time, money, and skills.
Disciple Generosity
Be intentional about weaving generosity into every ministry and church plan. This is not just about a series of programs, but about changing our way of being and behaving. This does not happen automatically or overnight. It requires patience, intentionality, and above all, prayer. Ultimately, living generously is the most powerful way to reflect our Father’s heart and impact our communities for His Kingdom.
Enabling Generosity
People do want to be generous but financial habits have shifted. Here are a few keys to unlocking generosity in your church.
Giving Tools – make it easy to give
Because financial habits are changing, providing easy giving options can increase how much and how often people give. To maximize people’s ability to be generous, make sure your giving tools are accessible, visible, simple and straightforward.
Electronic Giving Options – Contactless, Online or E-Transfer Giving – Fewer people carry cash, making digital options essential. Drive generosity by launching electronic giving options on your website, placing physical card readers in your lobby for quick on-site donations and event payments. There’s a way to give to suit each person’s preference in their financial recording and management.
Pre-authorized Giving – Encourage people to set up pre-authorized/recurring giving as this provides the church with a consistent income throughout the year.
Cheques – Cheques typically carry higher processing costs in both bank fees and staff time. The church needs to balance that cost with the online service and security they include (something that a local church cannot afford to do on their own).
Legacy Gifts – Many of your church members want to know how to support the ministry in the future; offering legacy giving allows them to make a lasting impact by leaving a gift in their Will. Help them create a free estate plan and write an affordable Will at fmcic.ca/leave-a-legacy
Giving Processes – Review your church’s giving processes and think about any hinderances which stop people from giving:
- How can you invite visitors to experience the joy of giving and as an act of worship and personal generosity to God?
- Imagine you are new to church, how easy is it to start giving regularly? Who do people need to speak to? Is it clear on your church website? Are their QR Codes or Giving Info cards in the pews?
Sharing the Joy of the Mission
Celebrate the vision so people can experience the joy of generosity in the building of God’s Kingdom together. Explain the need for people to give, so they see how important it is and how it’s making a real, tangible difference. The real excitement happens when they see the live connection between their generosity and lives being changed. By shining a light on the vital needs of your ministry, you give everyone a chance to smile, get involved, and watch your community flourish! If they don’t know, they can’t contribute and share the joy.
Saying Thank You
Regularly thanking people for their time, money, and talents celebrates their faithful discipleship and proves their generosity is valued. It’s in these offerings of time, money and abilities, disciples show their faithfulness and makes them grow in generosity. A few ways to say “Thank You!” are:
- Every offering, showcase a ministry area and its impact and thank people because without their generosity, this could not be done
- Recognize behind the scenes ministry – cleaners, parking lot attendees, greeters, etc.
- Include a Thank You letter with all donation receipts
- Send a thank you letter to new/first time givers – not disclosing amounts, but thanking them for being part of your ministry to the community
- Showcase the impact of people’s generosity in an Annual Impact Report – celebrating what God has done through their giving and service.
- Share stories of people/leaders generosity. The joy people express through living generously is contagious and helps lead the way for others to give as well.
Build Trust - Accountability & Transparency
Trust is built when our words match our actions and is especially true in financial matters. When our church’s spending matches its words, proving we use gifts wisely on things that matter to our community we build financial trust. To maintain this trust, always clearly explain both how funds are spent and the direct impact they make. People are watching.
Trust takes time, but can be quickly lost. For this reason, we must always:
- Ensure there are good financial policies and systems in place
- Ensure you are transparent in all financial matters
- Ensure denominational and governmental legislation and guidance standards are followed
- Show how your budget is connected to the vision and mission of the church
- Say thank you regularly and explain the impact of people’s gift
- Regularly explain to the church (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) what was given and how it was spent.
- Take particular care with vulnerable people so all gifts are given freely and intentionally
Church Stewardship
Christian stewardship is the faithful management of all that God entrusts to us. Wise stewardship of God’s provision helps to fund ministry and outreach, builds trust, grows generous disciples and ensures that a church can sustainably serve the community.
Generosity Discipleship
For many people, giving is unnatural. We are hardwired for self-preservation. That means hoarding our resources to ensure we have enough. Sacrificial giving is not merely unnatural; it is supernatural. It is the result of God’s grace, His power acting in our lives to accomplish what we could never do with our own strength.
Planned Giving
Planned giving is a way to continue to bless others with the resources of your estate, creating a legacy that reflects your beliefs and the life you lived. When you create a legacy gift in your will for the FMCIC and any of our local churches, camps and ministries, your gift has a ripple effect …
Grants
Grants can be an excellent way to fund community outreach and innovative ministries. Consideration must be given the church can align with the grant provider without compromising beliefs and core values. To assist churches with grants we have the following resources/information:
Request a Visit
If your church would like a Generosity & Stewardship visit – either a Sunday message, a meeting with the board/leaders, a workshop on financial discipleship
Please send a message (use form below). Sandy Crozier, the Director of Generosity & Stewardship will get back to you to arrange a visit.
