Exactly how do you go about making a church more generous?

Cultivating a culture of generosity does not happen overnight – it involves teaching, talking openly about giving and living generously, making giving an easy and joyful experience, and modeling generosity throughout church leadership and culture.

On-going coaching is available to help you.  Together we will plan out what steps to take that will help nurture communities of joyful generosity.  We can also recommend resources as applicable including:

Generosity Assessment – helps congregations talk about money by looking at congregational giving and culture.  As an important part of church health is to nurture communities of joyful generosity and to help congregations talk about money and giving.

Theology of Abundance – Understanding the theology of abundance is crucial in avoiding ‘scarcity/fear’ mode in church culture.

Transparency & Accountability – helping churches understand why people give – and just as important – why they don’t.

Whole Life Generosity –  Generosity is not just about giving a portion of your time, talents and treasures.  It is an orientation how we do life together.  It is about who we are – and more importantly who God is. We will look at the whole-life generosity cycle and how it can transform our churches into generous communities.

Narrative Budget –   A narrative budget will help show your church how to connect the budget to the church vision and then share it in a way that people will both understand and want to support.  This tool will help your church stay ‘vision driven’ and not become ‘money-driven!’

Thank You Campaign – cultivating gratitude is key in creating joyful generosity.  Looking at multiple ways to say ‘Thank You’ in the church.

Generosity Storytelling – looking at opportunities to share stories of generosity.

Digital Giving – Adopting online giving is simply another opportunity to encourage generosity and remove obstacles to people’s giving.  This does not mean you do away with the offering envelops and what is already working.  But if you want to encourage generosity in this next generation, we have to look at how people now do life and handle money.  We must make it easy to give. Make it easy to express gratitude. Make their experience in giving as simple and joyful as possible.

5 Questions To Ask When Giving Is In Decline – before panic – and scarcity mode – sets in, there are questions to ask as a board that will help you identify reasons for a decline in giving and what you can do about it.

Zero Based Budgeting – resetting the ‘clock’ on ministry budgets to ensure that ministry is connected to the church vision and resources are wisely stewarded.

Asset Mapping –  a one hour to half day guided conversation that can best be described as a way of brainstorming real actions (the things we can do by putting existing assets together in new ways) and empowering people to do what God tells them to do. Through Asset Mapping people learn to:

  1. Recognize and appreciate their own individual gifts, strengths and assets (instead of focusing on needs and deficiencies). How did God make me?
  2. Look for ways to connect their gifts and assets with others in order to meet needs and take action. How does how I am made equip me to fit into God’s mission for this community?
  3. Formulate an action plan by “voting with your feet”. How can I best use how I am made NOW?

Grant Connect – Finding funding for projects that go beyond the church.

Planned Giving  – the FMCiC has partnered with ADVISORS with Purpose, a ministry committed to helping people manage their assets according to their faith and values.  Our partnership provides you with the services of Christian planned giving specialists that work for you and help you through a strategic estate planning process. This service is provided at no cost to you, there are never any obligations, it is completely confidential, and the Estate Planners will never sell any product.  We know that the help received from them will further your desire to be found a faithful steward of all that God has entrusted to you.

Teaching Stewardship Principles:

  • Messages on Generous Stewardship 
  • An Acceptable Gift –  looking at giving that delights the heart of the Father.  This seminar expands on the 4 biblical criteria that makes an acceptable gift.
  • Financial Fitness –  there is no question we live in a consumer culture where overwhelming debt is the accepted norm.  The bondage of living under debt creates a stress that can threaten even the best of marriages and families.  But you can have no debt and still be financially ‘unfit’. Being financially unfit can be just as stressful as being in debt and can also prevent you from faithfully stewarding all that God has given you. This free live seminar will cover the basic financial methods and biblical principles needed to become financially fit and connect your faith with your finances.
  • Financial Hope Small Group – connecting faith and finances is probably the most counter-cultural thing to do in today’s consumer culture.  Having the opportunity to discuss the cultural pressures of debt and consumerism while learning biblical principles and practical tools to live within their means, get out of debt, save, determine a healthy lifestyle, set long-term goals and live generously.  By the end of the 5 weeks, participants will create a realistic budget using their own financial data.
  • Love & Money –  Becoming one in marriage is hard enough with just learning to live with each other. But when you add money into the equation – it can potentially become explosive. This seminar will introduce and cover 9 principles to help create a joyful, successful financial future together.
  • Stewarding Your Stuff –  ADVISORS with Purpose has put together a program for churches to help Christians, in particular seniors, understand the importance of planning their Will and estate. The program includes a 4 week small group study, all promotional materials including bulletin inserts, a leader’s guide and DVD and the opportunity for participants to connect with an experienced Christian estate specialist to complete their own biblically based estate plan.

If your church would like generosity coaching – please contact Sandy Crozier, Stewardship Director at [email protected]