Thirty minutes a week could save your budget if you will spend that time wisely. If you think I am exaggerating I might be a bit. Perhaps the title and lead line should read, “Spend some time talking about giving every week and you will have a greater chance of making budget.” That doesn’t have the same pop to it but it is none the less true. Frankly the typical church staff hardly ever talks about stewardship. Could that be one reason why giving is in a continual decline? For me it is one of many reasons.
I’d rather you spent an hour but start small and move up! Frankly right now most pastors and Christian leaders don’t spend any time. So, if I can get you to spend 30 minutes a week you are ahead of most!
So here are my thoughts on how you can prepare yourself in this crucial area. Follow these steps to stewardship success!
1. Educate yourself! None of us were taught anything about stewardship at Bible college or seminary. Our professors didn’t like to talk about it, had no experience in it and therefore never taught it. So, everything you know about stewardship you had to learn on your own. How do I know that? That was my experience. Two degrees, half of a doctorate of study and never once was stewardship every taught to me. If it were not for George Barna’s writings and John Maxwell’s teaching tapes I would never have done a thing about stewardship.
So, you will need to make it a priority to educate yourself to fill the void in your training. Think about it, most of the leadership stuff you have learned you learned outside the classroom. So why should it be any different for stewardship education.
2. Read! Learning never stops and a good way to learn is to read. Commit to reading at least one stewardship related book a year. In fact you might make it a staff exercise. If you can’t find any good books I have a few!
3. Go online. You found one stewardship related blog in that you are reading mine. There are others out there. Make it a practice to once a week to scan through your list. You will find tons of free help.
4. Insert stewardship planning into your weekly staff meetings. Here is what I would recommend for the stewardship moment of staff meeting. First, review where you are budget wise. What came in from last Sunday’s offering. Talk about the offering and what went well or what did not. Why not talk about how you will effectively position the offering next week. Spend some time talking other plans for increasing stewardship awareness. This is just a start. You will be surprised how easy it is to fill 30 minutes.
Get help. Ultimately you need help. Who has the time to research all this stuff? How do you know what to read or where to go for help? Well I am glad you asked. I provide Stewardship Coaching to scores of pastors and I can provide you with coaching too. To find out more go here http://thecharisgroup.org/consulting/ We have plans for every size church even yours! Get the help you need for a price you can afford.
Start now scheduling out your 30 minutes! The time you invest will be rewarded. Don’t let your church be one of those statistics of declining churches. Thirty minutes a week could save your budget!
Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group and Charis Giving Solutions