VANCO BLOG

For the past four years, Giving Tuesday has followed the widely recognized post-Thanksgiving shopping days Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The day kicks off the giving season, when many people in the U.S. focus on holiday and year-end giving.

Many people give to their church because they want to make the world a better place to live. They want to know that their charitable giving is making a difference in the world, and believe that the work their church does in the community meets that goal for them.

That belief motivates almost 75 percent of churchgoers to give to their churches, according to research we did last year. In order to capture that generosity, churches have a lot of work to do to let their congregations know how their giving makes a difference.

Fewer people attend church and giving to churches isn’t keeping up with the overall growth in charitable giving. That’s why it’s so important for churches to focus on projects that can help grow their ministries.

Whether your church wants to grow its membership, increase stewardship or has some other project in mind, success depends on starting with a strong strategic plan.

Here are some things to remember when you’re creating that plan:

Faithpoint United Methodist Church is proud of its e-Giving success, and rightfully so. Almost three-fourths of its members give online and its overall revenue has increased since the church added e-Giving to its stewardship program.

How did Faithpoint, which opened in 2003, launch and grow its online giving so quickly? Senior pastor George Wasson points to three key drivers: culture, convenience and communication.

Knowing how your congregation prefers to give is just part of the generosity equation. You also need to know where their interests lie so that you’re asking them to volunteer their time, contribute money or take part in outreach programs in ways that are meaningful to them.

How often do we hear or say that God loves a cheerful giver? We know as church members that it’s important to give to fund the church’s ministry, and many of us draw satisfaction from making a gift. But as church leaders, is there more you can do to make giving to your church an experience that your congregation goes about cheerfully?

With Easter just over four weeks away, you’re planning for your best-attended services of the year. Since average church attendance is nearly 50 percent higher on Easter than any other time, your biggest concern may be crowd control. But here’s something else to think about at Easter and any time of year – are you making it easy for occasional churchgoers to give to your church?

What a year it has been! Since we started the Vanco blog back in January, we have spent the year learning, growing and serving faith-based communities. It has been a fulfilling and successful journey, and we are enthusiastically looking ahead to what the New Year will bring.

The end of October also signals the end of Pastor Appreciation Month, so I would like to take one more opportunity to encourage you to rally support from your congregation and church community all year round.

Pastors will tell you that their job is sometimes taxing and oftentimes filled with stress. That’s why it’s important that congregations set aside time to honor their pastors and church staffs for their hard work.