The decline in giving to churches is one reason why you need a giving coach. Consider these facts…
- Since 1968 Americans have decreased the percentage of what they give to a church from 3.11% of income to 2.32%. This means billions of dollars lost every year!
- The most generous generation, The Builders, are almost gone and thus the largest transfer of wealth is about to take place. Fewer than 10% of churches are poised to take advantage of this.
- Baby Boomers give more than any other generation yet they are moving into retirement and will start decreasing the amount they give.
- Millennials, the largest generational group in America has left the Church in droves.
- 1% is the projected amount Americans will give to the Church by 2050.
If the above facts don’t cause you alarm then you are not paying attention. Sooner or later these facts will impact you and your church. Yet many in the church world are ignoring them or down playing them. Don’t be one of them.
Recently I wrote an article for Churchleaders.com entitled, “How the Coming Boomer Crisis Will Impact Your Church.” http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/173447-how-the-coming-boomer-crisis-will-impact-your-church.html I wrote it to be helpful yet the comments I received showed why so many are ignoring the coming crisis. Here are a few of the comments…
“By your article you are well on the way to suggest that the churches start the sale of the benefits of Christ forgiveness, as the Catholic church did. Money should be the last thing on our minds.”
“I think it is more time to reevaluate how important the how of doing church is to you. Perhaps the large facility and the paid professional staff is going to be replaced by a bunch of uneducated bi vocational fishermen and tent makers. I shudder at the thought.”
“Most of us understand perfectly what you wrote, and we completely disagree with your “it’s all about business and money” approach. Tell me why the church I’m am part of needs “an estate planning mechanism in place…”? There’s only one answer: MONEY. What the true Church really needs is not more talk about capital campaigns, and other business ventures, but more talk about truly being Christians.”
As a friend of mine once said, “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?” I tried to reply to those that posted the above but every time I did it just got worse. I finally just said, “Wow!”
So what does this have to do with you needing a giving coach? First and foremost if you don’t do something your giving will decline. You can hyper spiritualize it like the comments above or you can start doing something about it. Start by developing a biblically based plan of action. I provide easy to use and effective plans for pastors all across America.
Coaches take your talent and make it better. If you watch the recent Olympics you saw coaches huddling around athletes both before their event and after their event. A good coach makes a good athlete better. From Peyton Manning to Tiger Woods the great athletes all have coaches so that they can stay on top. With my coaching your giving will increase.
Coaches keep you focused. A coach keeps an athlete focused upon the goal. Left to themselves pastors and church leaders get overwhelmed with the tyranny of the urgent. Thoughts about giving come only in a crisis. A stewardship coach keeps you focused 52 weeks a year thus avoiding a crisis!
If none of this has convinced you then as we say in the south, go ahead on. Do your own thing. See what success you have. My guess is however that your giving will continue to be challenged. It might be time to realize why you need a giving coach!
Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach
Founder and President
The Charis Group and Charis Giving Solutions.
On Wednesday April 2nd at 2 PM I will be hosting a webinar on how to increase summer giving. To get a glimpse of the kind of coaching I provide go to http://thestewardshipcoach.org/fully-funded-summer/