VANCO BLOG

So much of the church’s celebration of Easter is based on common beliefs and similar rituals. But how people observe the holiday outside those walls varies greatly.

While the tide of giving to churches rises at Easter, we know that it typically ebbs afterward. Giving to churches continues to decline, and the percentage of members who tithe is significantly less than the traditional percentage of the tithe itself: It hovers somewhere between 1.5% and 4%, judging by the most recent figures from a variety of sources.

When it comes to managing change, thinking carefully about who and what it will impact is key. You may be integrating a new e-Giving solution, introducing an outreach program or starting a different worship service, but in every case, emotions will be involved, and people will seek understanding and time to process what the change means to them.

We are in an era when change is a constant, and the reasons for nurturing an active spirit of progress, whether we’re talking about technology, programs, services or any other aspect of the church, are more numerous every year.

Easter is Christianity’s oldest and most important holiday, and for many churches, it’s a bit like the religious “Super Bowl” – full of anticipation, preparation and celebration for huge numbers of people who may not have shown interest throughout the rest of the year.

Teaching children about generosity and giving practices when they’re young yields lifelong benefits. They grow up as disciples of wise stewardship. They engage with their church community early in life. And, more often than not, they end up with a sense that wealth comes from generosity — not the other way around.

“The last two years represent the highest and second-highest totals for giving—
and the third and fourth largest percentage increases in giving—
in the past 10 years, adjusted for inflation.”

~Amir Pasic, Ph.D., the Eugene R. Tempel
Dean of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

We talk a lot about how e-Giving helps members keep their commitments to contribute tithes and offerings to their churches. But electronic giving options can help churches manage another key financial necessity: payments and fundraising for all the activities that happen every day in your church community.

We’ve talked a lot this year about how important it is to offer members choices in how they give to your church. Smartphones and the Internet have changed how we do so many things, including how we make charitable gifts.

A look back at our 10 most popular blogs of 2016 shows that many of you share our interest in that topic and how it relates to setting up your financial stewardship program. Here are the conversations we’ll remember and revisit in the New Year:

I’ve wanted to make a donation three times in the past two weeks, but only succeeded once — and that was because the church offered online giving. My gift was also more than double what it would have been if I’d only been able to give cash or write a check.