The Best Church Tracking Software

OK, OK, the title of today’s post is a little misleading. I apologize in advance for disappointing you.

It gives you hope that I’m going to endorse or recommend or review one specific church tracking software and tell you “this is unequivocally the best package – go and get it,” but alas….

The truth is, there’s no such thing as great tracking software.

As you develop and strengthen your church’s systems, you’ll inevitably find that you want to track more information, view more reports and just generally “do more” than any of the available church database software allows.

Full disclosure: at The Journey we currently use FellowshipOne, and while we are happy with it, there are still things that we’d like to do that just aren’t possible.

All of the “big three” (FellowshipOne, Shelby & ACS) can prove quite expensive, and my experience has been that the less expensive offerings available on the market don’t get the job done.

Even though the available tracking tools are far from perfect, your church’s systems (especially Assimilation and Stewardship) depend heavily on your ability to keep track of vital information.

My purpose for today’s post is to say this: Don’t let the lack of a perfect database software keep you and your church from tracking the information that makes all the difference today and in the months and years to come.

And as long as you can do it securely, feel free to get creative…

We used Microsoft Excel for all of our tracking at The Journey until we had over 800 people in attendance!

P.S. Even if you’re tracking the right information, you may be missing out on prime opportunities to use that info to strengthen and grow your church.

Learn the proven, step-by-step process to move people from first-time giving to faithful (even extravagant) giving with The Stewardship Seminar.

2009 Year End Giving Statements – What to Include?

Each year about  this time I start getting emails from churches about sending their year-end giving statements, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts today.

While most churches send year-end giving statements, many of them miss out on a great chance to share information, celebrate & remind people of all that God is doing and cast vision for the year to come.

With that in mind, I think it’s important to consider what you will include with those statements.

Here’s what I like to send (at a minimum):

• Giving Statement
• Giving Letter (see below)
• Postcard about Our Upcoming Message Series
• Auto-Debit Form
• Giving Envelope

I’m also a fan of putting all of this in an envelope that will get attention (maybe a colored envelope, an “Important Tax Documents Enclosed” message printed on the outside, or even something “lumpy” enclosed).  After all, what good is it to mail something that never gets opened?

And just to help you out with the format and what you might want to include in your giving letter, here’s a draft of the letter I’ll be sending out to our folks:

2009 YEAR END GIVING LETTER

P.S. For more information on how to maximize your church’s Stewardship System, check out The Stewardship Intensive.

Should You Keep Mailing Offering Envelopes?

Any of you who have listened to The Stewardship Seminar or The Stewardship Intensive know that I am a firm believer in creating custom offering envelopes for your church and including them in each week’s program/bulletin.

In fact, I shared our latest envelope design from The Journey (including our Christmas Offering info) in a post a few weeks ago (click here to download).

Since there are so many different styles of offering envelopes out there (including those tiny ones that can barely hold a quarter) and methods associated with receiving the offering , the transition sometimes leaves churches with a few questions.

One such question is about using an Offering Envelope Service, with personalized printed envelopes for all of your church members, typically distributed annually or quarterly.

Many churches have been using these services for years and ask me about whether they should discontinue because of their new system.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a reason to stop the envelope service.  The cost of these services is typically very inexpensive, so just do both!

In fact, we do both at The Journey – we have envelopes in every program each week and we mail out envelopes to our members and regular givers.

Some people who get the mailed ones asked to be removed from the mailing and said they would use the ones we provide on Sunday, but we have a lot of people who appreciate the convenience.

That said, we saw a much bigger increase in giving when we went to envelopes in the program compared to when we add people to the mailed envelope service.

P.S. Is your church’s Stewardship System due for an upgrade?  Check out my most comprehensive stewardship resource, The Stewardship Intensive.

Cultivating the Spiritual Gift of Generosity

As church leaders, we’re all called to make disciples.  A big part of the disciple-making process is helping people recognize and grow in using their spiritual gifts for God’s Kingdom.

This is not a foreign concept to any pastor I know – in fact, you are probably doing it already with respect to some spiritual gifts.

For example, if someone has the gift of serving, you give them opportunities to serve.  If someone has the gift of hospitality, you let them serve as a greeter.  If someone has the gift of leadership, you give them opportunities to lead.

As Pastors and Church Leaders we have an obligation to cultivate all of the spiritual gifts.

But how do you cultivate those people in your church who have the gift of generosity?

Here are some ideas to help you cultivate the gift of generosity in the people of your church:

1 – Familiarize yourself and them with God’s generosity. Jesus talked about money more than heaven and hell combined.  Read through the Gospels and look at the generosity of Jesus with the person in question.  Read the parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16), The Parable of the Worker’s in the Vineyard (Matthew 20) and others.

Remind them that God doesn’t give us what is fair, he gives to us out of His grace.  Generous giving is an extension of God’s grace and His work.  Generosity is not fair.

2 – Don’t neglect the tithe. Generous giving is above the tithe.  The Bible tells us that the tithe belongs to God, so generosity is not giving something that already belongs to God.  Remind people to continue to be diligent in their tithe and know that generous giving is above the tithe.

3 – Help them to recognize God’s voice in their life. Most people who have the gift of generosity are compelled to give a specific number.  Help them to have confidence in the direction that they’re given.  Encourage them to only give what they’ve been told/compelled to give.  No more or less.

4 – Teach them to discern how they are to give what God calls them to give. Sometimes they are to give anonymously and sometimes they are to do it with someone else’s knowledge.  God may not only use them to give but to compel others to do so.

There may be times when they’re to give their gift with someone’s knowledge through a testimony to help disciple others.  Sometimes their giving and someone else knowing is to teach that person or to compel them to do the same.  God uses people with the gift of giving to be examples to others.  Encourage them to only do that which God leads them to do.

5 – Encourage them to never be motivated by guilt or manipulation. Others who find out that they have this gift or ‘are just a generous’ person may try to take advantage of them.  Encourage them to not allow this to happen.  God has given this gift to them and it’s their responsibility to be obedient.  He’s already found them to be a good steward, now it’s just up to them to be obedient.

6 – Challenge them to grow in their gift. There may be times when they’re to give a gift that seems completely outrageous.  Challenge them to trust God that this is the right gift to give.  Take it as a challenge and opportunity for growing their faith.

Look for ways to give in both large and small ways.  It may be as simple as leaving behind a larger tip for their waiter or it may be that they’re to give to a large endeavor.  Help them to look to grow in their gift not only by the amount that they give but by the number of opportunities that God gives them.

7 – Let them know there may be times when God doesn’t give them a figure to give. He just wants them to give out of the gift He’s given them.  That’s an opportunity for them to use their discretion.  During those opportunities let them know that there’s no right or wrong gift.  God just wants you to use the gift He’s given them.

8 – Challenge them to set goals for their giving. One of the things that Jesus taught in the Parable of the Talents is that “you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.”  Encourage them to look for opportunities to grow spiritually through their financial goals.

9 – Teach them to be wise about those who concern themselves with your gift. Studies have shown that generosity as a spiritual gift is given to a small percentage of believers.  With that in mind, they should be careful of people who seem overly concerned with their gift.

10 – Lastly, remind them that they can’t out-give God. We can try, but it will never happen.  In fact, it’s a lot of fun to try to out-give Him and watch how He blesses in return.

P.S. Here are some great resources to help you cultivate the spiritual gifts of the people in your congregation:

• For more on cultivating the gift of generosity, check out The Stewardship Intensive.
• For more on cultivating the gift of hospitality, check out The Assimilation Intensive.
• For more on cultivating the gift of serving, check out The Ministry Seminar.
• For more on cultivating the gift of leadership, check out Leadership Skills for a Growing Church.

How to Structure Your Church for Growth (Part 4)

Today’s 4th and final installment on structuring your church for growth is going to be a bit of a turn from the previous 3 posts.

After looking at the issues of by-laws, church governance, and budgeting, today I’d like to share a few quick thoughts about the importance of having your salary package set up properly.

For whatever reason, many of us in church leadership tend to neglect the issue of our personal finances, especially when it comes to how our salary package is set up.

I would dare say that the vast majority of pastors I talk to about this are currently erring on one of two sides when it comes to the way they’re getting paid:

1) They are unsure/afraid that they’re in violation of Federal and/or State tax laws, or 2) They are leaving a considerable amount of money on the table (ie: paying more than their share of taxes).

What does this have to do with your church growing?  Well, you’re not going to be able to devote your attention to leading your church if you’re too busy looking over your shoulder for the tax man!

With the special nature of clergy tax laws and the myriad of unique rules and potential pitfalls, I have one big recommendation, Pastor:

Get some professional help!

I recommend Steve Merriman and his team at Clergy Advantage (formerly Clergy Financial).  They know more about clergy tax law than anyone I have ever met – including the IRS!

I’ve never been more thankful for the Clergy Advantage team than I was about a year and a half ago when I was audited by the IRS.

The minor expense of paying for a group of people who work with clergy salary issues EVERYDAY is more than worth the peace of mind of knowing you’re in good hands.

Don’t waste another day living in fear when it comes to your taxes – Get some help!

P.S. Clergy Advantage is offering a Free Webinar on Tuesday, December 15, called “Tax Free Money for Ministers.” You can read more and register now by clicking this link.

Your Christmas Offering Questions (Part 2 from Webinars)

Hundreds of you joined me a couple of weeks ago for my “How to Plan and Conduct a Christmas Offering” Webinars and hundreds more have downloaded the new Christmas Offering report that I released in October.

In spite of my best efforts however, there are still a few questions that I didn’t clearly address.  Today’s 2nd post is my effort to answer all of those unanswered Christmas Offering questions from the webinars and from your emails.

Here they are:

Q: If we start the offering around Thanksgiving (or just before) and run it through January, should we really call it a “Christmas Offering?”

A: The concept of this type of offering is about helping people stretch spiritually and fund Kingdom efforts at a time when they’re in the giving spirit in general.  That’s why I use the term “Christmas Offering” to describe this type of offering in my training and discussions.

However, you can feel free to call it whatever you think will best connect with your people.  If you’re planning to go into the new year, a “Christmas Offering” will not be as compelling.

At The Journey we refer to it as our “special offering” or “annual offering,” because we often end up extending it through January.

Q: Do you announce the goal amount and the progress to the church?

A: Yes! Once you determine your goal amount (remember, this should be a goal that you can meet and exceed), let people know.  We are all wired for a challenge and just knowing that goal amount may be just what it takes for someone to give more than ever to see it met – and learn some lessons about faith along the way!

As for the progress, you definitely want to keep people informed.  You don’t have to announce the exact amount raised every week, but you should make mention of how things are going on a regular basis.

Q: What happens to the funds if we miss our goal (or exceed it by a lot)?

A: This is a good question on both ends.

1) On the “missing your goal” side: If you have tried some of the ideas I shared in the webinars and still fell short of your goal, then something (or some things) simply go unfunded.

That’s why it’s so important to choose your causes wisely AND make sure that they are one-time causes.  In other words, don’t set up a staff person’s salary so that it depends on your Christmas Offering.

You also don’t want to promise anyone any certain amount (especially outside organizations) until your offering has concluded.  For example, even if you don’t reach your goal and can only give half of what you planned to a local homeless shelter, that’s still a meaningful gift to them.

2) If you exceed your goal (which I’m praying you do, by the way), then you can simply divide the extra between missions and the 2010 budget.  It can provide just the right shot in the arm to both your missions efforts AND your general operating funds for the upcoming year!

Thanks again for all the great feedback and interaction regarding the Christmas Offering report and webinars – I look forward to hearing how God uses it all to bless your churches and expand His Kingdom!

P.S. If you missed the Christmas Offering Webinar, you can listen to a replay of the audio by CLICKING HERE.

And you can also still download your “How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering” Report by CLICKING HERE.

How to Structure Your Church for Growth (Part 3)

Today’s post is the third in a 4 part series about structuring your church for growth.  If you missed the other two, you can find them here: Part 1 (by-laws) & Part 2 (church governance).

While the first two topics (by-laws and church governance) are areas where some churches are tied by denominational mandate or tradition, today’s topic addresses an area where every church has options: the budget.

Most of us in church leadership are familiar with the old quote, “show me your checkbook and I’ll tell you what’s important to you,” but too often we fail to strategically do the same analysis with our own church budgets.

Without serious attention, your church’s  budget can become bloated and confusing, often doing a poor job of allocating your resources toward the fulfillment of the vision.

I make no secret of how much I’ve learned in the area of church finances from Steve Stroope (co-author of Money Matters in Church and Senior Pastor of LakePointe Church in Rockwall, TX) over the years.

In their book, Stroope and Aubrey Malphurs suggest – based on studying growing, spiritually healthy churches – allocating your budget something like this:

• 10% – Missions
• 20% – Programming
• 50% – Personnel (staffing)
• 20% – Facilities

This is a great starting point.

Depending on your church’s unique situation, you may need to tweak these specific numbers, but the basics are solid. And the core principle is to have a plan! These percentages will help keep you from getting overextended in one area or another.

One area where you can adjust is personnel.  If you’re a small church you may need to spend a higher percentage on staff, and less in a larger church.  In fact, at The Journey, we aim to spend only about 30% on staff salaries.

We are able to run very lean in this area (and still compensate our staff well – check out ChurchStaffing.com for a good reference on how much to pay) and free up more of our budget to be used in the other areas.

So, how does your church’s budget break down?

Are any of these 4 areas drastically out of line with the above recommendations?

What can you do for 2010 that will help your church be a better, more effective steward of the resources that God provides?

P.S. For a great resource on church finances and more about this topic, check out Improve the Financial Fitness of Your Church (with Steve Stroope).

Your Christmas Offering Questions (Part 1 from Webinars)

Hundreds of you joined me last week for my series of “How to Plan and Conduct a Christmas Offering” Webinars and even more have downloaded the new Christmas Offering report that I released a couple of weeks ago.

In spite of my best efforts however, there are still a few questions that I didn’t clearly address.  I’m writing this post today in an effort to answer all of those unanswered Christmas Offering questions from the webinars and from your emails.

Here they are:

Q: If we really push a Christmas Offering, won’t that negatively impact our regular budget offering?

A: No.  In most cases, if you carefully and prayerfully determine the causes you are going to raise money for, there will not be a negative impact on your regular tithes and offerings.

However, you will need to clearly and repeatedly remind your people that the Christmas Offering is above and beyond their regular giving.

Remember, that’s one of the biggest reasons for doing a Christmas Offering: to help your people grow by giving sacrificially.

Q: We just kicked off a new capital campaign – should we conduct a Christmas Offering or wait until next year?

A: With a new capital campaign, I would say it’s probably best to wait until next year.  So much energy and effort goes into launching a campaign like that, that the Christmas Offering would likely be too much.

I’ll say this though: If you’re in a capital campaign (just not at the beginning of one), you can still run a successful Christmas Offering.  Just keep that in mind when you set your goal.

Q: If two of our causes are giving to US/World Missions and Church Planting, should we present them separately or just list them in the same category?

A: That really depends on a couple of different factors.

1) Are both of these causes at the heart of your church’s culture? In other words, will your people be more prone to support the offering if you present each cause separately?  If so, then I would definitely separate them out and promote them individually.

2) How many overall causes are you promoting?  Keep in mind that 3-4 causes are enough for most churches.  Many more than that and you run the risk of people tuning out because of too much information.

Hopefully you’re getting ready to roll-out your Christmas Offering, but it’s not too late!

I’ll be back next week with another post to answer the rest of your questions…

P.S. If you missed the Christmas Offering Webinar, you can listen to a replay of the audio by CLICKING HERE.

And you can also still download your “How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering” Report by CLICKING HERE.

Did You Miss It? – Christmas Offering Training – Free Replay

I wanted to send out a big Thank You this morning to all of you who joined me for one of the 4 Christmas Offering Webinars that I did last week (over 825 of you participated).

I’ve also heard from a bunch of you who either found out about them late or couldn’t attend for one reason or another, so I’m giving you all a chance to listen.

We have set up a special page where you can listen to an audio replay of one of the webinars from last week.  While it doesn’t include my slides or the bonus resources that I gave to everyone who joined me in the live webinars, you can get all of the content from the audio to make your church’s Christmas Offering a rousing success!

You can listen at:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/christmasreplay

Also, I’ll be posting some of the frequently asked Christmas Offering Questions from the webinars here on the blog later this week.

P.S. To get the most of the webinar replay, be sure to download your FREE copy of my new “How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering” Report. You can grab it here:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/christmas

P.P.S. Feel free to share this post (and the URL for the Christmas Offering Webinar Replay) with anyone who might find it helpful.  I can’t wait to hear all that God does in and through our churches through the Christmas Offering.  Thanks again for your support!

Sample Documents for Christmas Offering – The Journey Church (Free PDF Downloads)

I’m just about to start the first of 4 Free “How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering” Webinars that I’m doing this week, and I wanted to share some samples of what we’re using to let our folks at The Journey know about this year’s offering.

Here are the links to samples of:

• The letter & documents that explain the offering
• The large-format envelope we’re using to send the info packet
• The Journey’s special offering envelope design

If you haven’t already signed up for one of these Free Webinars, you can still sign up by CLICKING HERE.

I’ve tried to set up the times so that each of you can join me for one of them.

And don’t forget to grab your copy of my new E-Book by the same name, “How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering” (PDF) at:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/christmas

Let Me Help You Plan Your Christmas Offering (Free Webinar Today)

In case you haven’t heard – I’m doing 4 webinars this week (today through Thursday) to help you plan and conduct your church’s Christmas Offering.

I want to help you maximize your ministry potential and grow your people – don’t delay, register now!

Here’s all the info:

FREE – Register Now!

Join Nelson Searcy in this 90-minute webinar without ever having to leave your office or home! Nelson will teach you to challenge your people to grow spiritually and maximize the impact of your church’s Christmas Offering. Once registered, you will simply need a phone and a computer with internet access to participate. This is a great opportunity to train your entire staff with this webinar.

4 Convenient Times to Choose From! Tuesday, October 27, 2009 1:30PM – 3:00PM Eastern Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:00PM – 4:30PM Eastern Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:00PM – 8:30PM Eastern Thursday, October 29, 2009 4:00PM – 5:30PM Eastern Here’s what you can expect to learn: What is a Christmas Offering and how it will grow your people during Christmas The complete ‘nuts and bolts’ of a successful Christmas Offering The specific timeline for an effective Christmas Offering How to conduct a Christmas Offering especially in a down economy How to gain the support of your staff and key leaders How to implement a Christmas Offering so as not to detract from your General Budget How to identify the causes that will motivate your people to give sacrificially 5 simple steps that will increase your Christmas Offering How to set the ‘right goals’ for your Christmas Offering How to determine the right dollar amount A specific process for celebrating your Christmas Offering Specific examples of graphics, letters, etc used at The Journey Church Plus much more! These Webinars are FREE! Don’t miss it – Register now Tuesday, October 27, 2009 1:30PM – 3:00PM Eastern 12:30PM – 2:00PM Central 11:30AM – 1:00PM Mountain 10:30AM – 12:00PM Pacific Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:00PM – 4:30PM Eastern 2:00PM – 3:30PM Central 1:00PM – 2:30PM Mountain 12:00PM – 1:30PM Pacific Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:00PM – 8:30PM Eastern 6:00PM – 7:30PM Central 5:00PM – 6:30PM Mountain 4:00PM – 5:30PM Pacific Thursday, October 29, 2009 4:00PM – 5:30PM Eastern 3:00PM – 4:30PM Central 2:00PM – 3:30PM Mountain 1:00PM – 2:30PM Pacific

P.S. If you haven’t already gotten my Free, freshly revised “How to Plan and Conduct a Christmas Offering” E-Book, you can download it here.

Free Report – How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering (PDF)

What if you could greatly expand your church’s ministry potential and encourage spiritual growth within your church by adding one thing to your annual schedule?  Now is the time to start planning your church’s Christmas Offering.

I just revised and updated my How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering E-Book and I’m giving it away FREE.  It’s designed to teach you the step-by-step process of planning and conducting a Christmas Offering at your church.

To download your copy, CLICK HERE.

ALSO — Along with the new report, I’m doing 4 FREE WEBINARS next week, where I’ll walk you through the planning process and help you get everything together to launch and conduct your Christmas Offering just in time.

When you download your report, be sure to sign up for the webinar that best fits your schedule next week!

http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/christmas

Q & A – Buying Our First Building

Q: I recently was a part of one of your Top 3 Growth Barriers events. It was very timely and helpful. I greatly appreciate your investment in us.

We planted our church about six and a half years ago. We run just under 200, but we have been stuck on a seesaw there for a couple of years. We have an opportunity to buy an existing church building from a church that built a new building.

It is more traditional in appearance than we would prefer, but it would double our existing space and give us land to build on in the future for a reasonable price. Do you think it would hurt a church plant to be in a more traditional building?

Also, we have enough money for a 20 percent down payment and are approved for a loan. We don’t have enough money to do all the renovations though. Do you think it is wiser to try and raise that money first or do the deal and raise the rest as we go?

Thank you very much for everything.

A: Thanks for coming out to the Top 3 Growth Barriers event. It was so much fun I’ve decided to do a few more in different parts of the country.

Here’s the big point on buildings (that’s many churches fail to realize until it’s too late):

You will never raise more money for a building
than you will BEFORE you move in.

Once you move in, people get comfortable.

That being said, I would raise the money to renovate the inside and do an overhaul of the outside (so it’s not so traditional) BEFORE I move in and complete the renovations before I move in.

You are at a good size to do a 3 year capital campaign (which should raise you 2 or 3 times your annual budget). For more on that, see “Money Matters in Church” by Aubrey Malphurs and Steve Stroope.

You have a great opportunity to grow, but take it slow and do it right.

That said, I think my coaching network could be good timing for you. I’ve had a lot of guys tell me that gong in a new building is the best time to be in a network – think and pray about it and check out www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

If I can be very direct – a building does NOT cause growth and most people do NOT grow when they move in to a new building. Mainly because they are NOT patient enough to do it right and do not have FAITH enough to raise the money ahead of time.

I’m praying that you will have patience and faith!

Your friend,

Nelson

P.S. Have you applied yet for my Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors? You can find more info and download your application at

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Stewardship Seminar Summary

With the current economic landscape, there has been a great deal of interest around the topic of church finances and stewardship in general. I think it’s a prime time for church leaders to clarify and communicate a biblical theology of money and to implement solid biblical principles within our churches.

I got the opportunity to teach The Stewardship Seminar live in Baltimore a couple of months ago and wanted to reprint this article for you today – it contains a nice summary of what I taught:

*This is a reprint.  The original article can be found here.

P.S. If you’d like to fill in the blanks in your church’s Stewardship System, invest in the full recording of The Stewardship Seminar.

Free Download – My Mid-Year Giving Letter

Just a couple of days ago I put the finishing touches on my mid-year Giving Letter that will go out with the 2nd Quarter Giving Statements to all of The Journey’s givers.  I thought I would take a moment today to share it with you (the link to download it is below).

In addition to the letter I’m enclosing:

• Year to Date Giving Statement
• Giving Envelope
• Auto Debit Form
• Series Promo Postcard
• And custom printed ice cream scoop

All of this in 6 x 9 envelope.  The ice cream scoop makes it lumpy so its certain to be opened.  Your giving letters are worthless if no one opens them!

In the past, my giving letters have been very well received.  You can see the ones I’ve posted prior for a sample on how to write this one up.

Here’s the current letter:

2Q 2009 Giving Statement Letter.doc

P.S. To learn more about how to get your church’s Stewardship System running on all cylinders, check out The Stewardship Intensive.

What We Give (A Saturday Quote)

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
– Winston Churchill, British prime minister

Strengthening Your Church Workshop

Many of you have heard me talk about Steve Stroope, Lead Pastor of Lake Pointe Church in Texas. It’s hard to place a value on how important he has been to my personal growth and development and to that of The Journey.

He is a great personal friend and a mentor of mine, and I wanted to let you all know about a special event that his church is hosting next month.

It’s a 2-day workshop called Strengthening Your Church in Tough Times, and it’s taking place Tuesday, May 12 & Wednesday, May 13, at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, TX.

It looks to be a great training opportunity as we all lead our churches through these trying times, and I consider Steve Stroope one of the best resources in America today on the issue of Biblical stewardship and leading your church in that area.

For all the information on this event, go to:
http://www.ministryadvantage.org/Workshop/ConfSchedule.aspx

P.S. Steve and I recorded a downloadable audio a while back called “Money Matters in Church,” which can be found here:
https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p699&navicat=31

Town Hall for Hope

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to spend 3 days in Nashville with Dave Ramsey. It was a great experience and I learned a lot in those three days (I’ll share more of that soon), but I wanted to make sure you know about a special, first of its kind, event that Dave has coming up.

It’s coming up on Thursday, April 23, and it’s called the Town Hall for Hope. The concept is a nationwide town hall where Dave Ramsey will answer questions and reassure the American people that there is hope in the midst of our struggling economy.

Here’s perhaps the best part of all: it’s FREE. Dave is working with LifeChurch.tv to make this FREE event available to as many people as possible across the country. Not only is the event free to the participants, it’s also free to any venue that wants to host it for their community. To find a local host OR to become one, check out: www.TownHallForHope.com.

Here are the details:
Town Hall for Hope
Thursday, April 23
8:00 PM Eastern Time
www.TownHallForHope.com

P.S. If you’re looking to teach your church what the Bible says about financial stewardship, you might want to consider the Stewardship Sermon Series, a collection of 5 of our most powerful and popular stewardship messages:
https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p64&navicat=31

Stewardship Intensive

t may come as a surprise to some, but one of my favorite topics to talk about with church leaders is stewardship.  I enjoy talking about money and the church because stewardship is discipleship.  Jesus himself said where your money is, there your heart will be also.

I got to spend a couple of days last week in our Manhattan office with 10 churches (coaching alumni and their teams – 32 people total) from all over the United States leading the Stewardship Intensive.  The intensive is a two-day workshop where we go far deeper than we go in the Stewardship Seminar, to outline and share the inner workings of the Stewardship System.

One of the ideas the gang really got a lot out of was the simple idea of paying more attention to how we receive the offering during each service.  Church leaders will plan every other element of a worship service down to the millisecond and not give the offering a moment’s glance.  In fact, many people don’t give at church because the offering catches them by surprise!  One simple truth: you can increase your weekly offering by intentionally giving your people notice that the offering is coming so they have time to prepare for it.

PS – The Stewardship Intensive will be available for purchase in about a month but until then, if you would like to learn more about the Stewardship System, check out The Stewardship Seminar.

Year End Giving Letter

A lot of blog readers have asked me for my 2008 Year End Giving letter which will be mailed this month to everyone who gave to our church in 2008.  I just finished it so I’m posting it here for you to download:

YEAR END GIVING LETTER

This is ‘my draft’ it will be posted on Letterhead and typeset by our designer but I wanted  you to have it first.  It will eventually be printed in 2 colors on nice paper.

We are also going to include a half-page insert from Kerrick, our Executive Pastor -  you can download it here:

YEAR END GIVING INSERT

We’ve found that doing an insert on a brightly colored paper is beneficial, as a lot of people will read the insert first.

We are mailing our statements in regular #10 envelopes with the following enclosed:

Giving Letter
Giving Insert
Giving Statement
Postcard about February 8 series
Auto-Debit Form
Giving Envelope

On the front of the envelope we are printing in red: Important 2008 Tax Documents Enclosed.

Giving letters are a great way to communicate to your key audience and to cast vision for 2009.  For more on building a healthy Stewardship System, see my Stewardship Seminar by clicking here.

Hope that helps,

Nelson

P.S. Full disclosure: I modified the first three sentences of my giving letter from an email I received from www.earlytorise.com