My little book The Generosity Ladder: Your Next Step to Financial Peace, continues to help more and more churches and I want to say Thank You to all who already picked it up for yourself and for the people in your church.

AND, with Black Friday behind us now, ’tis the season for savings – I just found out that Direct2Church.com is offering HALF OFF cases of The Generosity Ladder!

This book is a great tool for you to use to help educate your people on the truth of Biblical giving, and now you can order bulk copies for your church at 50% Off.

Click here to order bulk copies of The Generosity Ladder for your church at 50% Off

Once again, thanks for all of your support and I hope this book helps you raise the level of stewardship (and discipleship) in your church!

Over the past three weeks I’ve been giving away some of the tips to planning a Christmas Offering taken directly from my new “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” resource.

Today, I’m sharing with you the four steps to an effective offering.  There are only 3 business days left before the resource and videos are gone and I really want to help you with this.

So let me give you an overview of this clear, step-by-step process:

Step 1 – I will help you clearly define your Christmas Offering.

Sharing a clear definition of your Christmas Offering will allow you to train and inform your leaders.

Having a clear “why” from the beginning will insure that everyone is on-board and fully engaged in the process.

I even give you four reasons why you should conduct a Christmas Offering so you’re fully prepared for any questions that you or your leadership may ask.

Step 2 – I’ll walk through each element of pre-planning.

 Pre-planning is the key to an effective Christmas Offering.

My experience over more than a decade of leading these offerings has given me a unique perspective on everything that you need to prepare to make your offering successful.

I’ll help you prayerfully calculate the goal for your Christmas Offering, select the start and end dates, and even suggest ten potential causes that your church can support through your offering, including:

• National Missions
• International missions
• Church Planting
• Evangelism
• Benevolence Fund
• Outreach to Needy
• Counseling Efforts
• Children’s Ministry
• Student Ministry
• Seniors Ministry
• Multi-site Location

Just imagine your church’s increased Kingdom impact by supporting 2-3 (up to 5) of these causes, above and beyond your current support!

Step 3 – I give you the plan and all the materials you need to promote your own Christmas Offering.

 Many Christmas Offerings fail simply because the promotion is not clear.

 I’ve had my graphic designer professionally design our materials so that you can update them and use them yourself with minimal effort – saving you hundreds of dollars.

We will walk together through a sample Christmas Offering calendar – Kick-off Sunday through Celebration Sunday, and every week in between!

You’ll even receive sample letters, emails, and mail pieces that we use at The Journey to promote and follow up with everyone in your church.

Step 4 – I’ll help you to see the “who” of the Christmas Offering.

It’s important to challenge your church that this offering is not about “equal gifts” – it’s about “equal sacrifice.”

I’ll share how everyone in your church can participate and how you can  motivate them all to get involved.

Plus, I will teach you the key to full church engagement, and the specific roles of the senior pastor, staff and other key leaders.

In addition to these four steps, I even give you a BONUS Q & A where I answer the 7 most common questions about conducting a Christmas Offering.

For example, how can you celebrate the offering even when you don’t reach your goal?  I’ll share the answer to that question and six others that often come up during the process.

As you can see from the step-by-step process above, you have to begin now to maximize your impact!

Secure your fully downloadable copy of “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” right now at the link below:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/offering

NOTE: You will NOT be able to obtain this new Christmas Offering resource after Monday, October 31st. I don’t want to do you a disservice by not giving you enough time to plan and prepare.

Don’t miss this opportunity!

Nelson

P.S. In addition to this powerful checklist, the nearly three hours of audio training, and dozens of documents and files included in the resource itself, I also recorded three videos to help you get started:

Video #1 – Why Do a Christmas Offering?
I outline for you each of the reasons why this offering can be the most important and impactful offering of the entire year.

Video #2 – What is a Christmas Offering?
I reveal to you the exact definition of what a Christmas Offering is and – most importantly – what it is not.

Video #3 – How Much Can I Raise?
I share with you the secrets of setting a goal for your Christmas Offering that will challenge your church and that you’ll be sure to reach.

It’s all coming down this coming Monday, October 31st!

Secure your new resource at the link below:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/offering

Pick up your copy of this new Christmas Offering resource by Monday, October 31st or you’ll miss out.
I don’t want to do you a disservice by not giving you enough time to plan and prepare.

Well, the clock is ticking…

Time is running out for you to secure your copy of my new resource and lead a successful Christmas Offering at your church.

This brand new “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” resource will no longer be available after this Monday, October 31st at 11:59pm Eastern Time.

Here’s why- I refuse to set you up for failure, and if you don’t get started now, you won’t have the necessary time to prepare for the best offering possible.

There are dozens of steps (some small, some more in-depth) that go into conducting an effective Christmas Offering.

Over the years, I’ve created a comprehensive checklist of these steps and included it as one of the key elements of this resource. I really do want you to succeed!

This checklist includes everything you need to do to prepare, collect and follow up every step of the way – and most of it I’ve already done for you!

Here are just some of the steps this resource will guide you through the “How,” “When” and “Why” of:

• Choosing a name and theme for your offering. This resource includes samples from The Journey to get your creative juices flowing (or for you to re-use at your place).
• Prayerfully setting your goal and causes. Deciding which ministries & missions opportunities you’ll support through your offering and how much you’re hoping to raise.
• Designing a logo and printed materials. You’ll find three complete sample campaigns in this resource that you can edit and re-use in your church with minimal effort.
• Introducing the offering to your church. This resource lays out the proven process for casting the vision of this special offering to your congregation.
• Following up on every gift to the offering. You’ll receive the actual documents we use to thank and encourage each giver – and help them understand the difference they’re making.
• Publicizing each of your causes throughout the campaign. The people of your church are ready and willing to support your various ministries & missions causes – by taking time to connect the dots, you’ll encourage more of them to participate and grow.
• Updating givers of progress along the way. This resource will teach you how to keep your people “in the loop” as to how the offering is going and how their sacrificial gifts are making an impact.
• Thanking each giver for their contribution to the overall offering. There’s no better way to reward a growing disciple than to help them see how their spiritual growth and faithful giving is making a difference in the world.
• And much, much more!

In addition to this powerful checklist, the nearly three hours of audio training, and dozens of documents and files included in the resource itself, I also recorded three videos to help you get started:

Video #1 – Why Do a Christmas Offering?
I outline for you each of the reasons why this offering can be the most important and impactful offering of the entire year.

Video #2 – What is a Christmas Offering?
I reveal to you the exact definition of what a Christmas Offering is and – most importantly – what it is not.

Video #3 – How Much Can I Raise?
I share with you the secrets of setting a goal for your Christmas Offering that will challenge your church and that you’ll be sure to reach.

So, the clock is ticking….

It’s all coming down this coming Monday, October 31st!

Secure your copy at the link below:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/offering

You will NOT be able to obtain this new Christmas Offering resource after Monday, October 31st. I don’t want to do you a disservice by not giving you enough time to plan and prepare.

Don’t let the clock run out!

Nelson

P.S. Here is the complete list of everything you’ll receive in this resource, plus the over $638.00 in Bonus Resources:

• Over two and a half hours of MP3 audio training from Nelson Searcy
• Fill-in-the-blank Listener’s Guide
• Step-by-Step Christmas Offering Checklist
• 25 sample documents – emails, letters and “how-to” files
• Over 60 sample graphics files – including files from three of The Journey’s most successful recent campaigns
• Over $638.00 in BONUS RESOURCES!
• BONUS – 7 Q and A audios with Nelson, including:
  • How will this impact our budget?
  • What if we’re also running a capital campaign?
  • How does this interact with missions and church planting?
  • What should I name our offering?
  • What is the best way to manage these funds?
  • How can I set the right goal?
  • How many causes should we support in our offering?
• BONUS – 4 Complete Sermon Series, and additional sermons to help you teach your people the power of Biblical generosity in supporting God’s work.
  • Christmas Traditions Sermon Series
  • Christmas in Narnia Sermon Series
  • The Grinch Sermon Series
  • Beyond the City Sermon Series (never-before-released)
• BONUS – Improve the Financial Fitness of Your Church (3-hour seminar)
• BONUS – How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering E-Book
• BONUS – Christmas in October Audio Training
• BONUS – How to Lead Your Church During the Financial Crisis Audio Training

As you can see, this resource will give you all the tools you need to lead an effective and fruitful Christmas Offering. Whether you’re hoping to raise $1,500.00 or $350,000.00, you will receive the proven principles, strategy and process to reach your goal.

Beyond all that, by securing “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering,” you will extend your church’s ability to fund missions and ministry in the coming year AND challenge your people to grow spiritually through the discipline of sacrificial giving!

DON’T DELAY though, the clock is ticking and planning ahead is the most important key in leading an effective Christmas Offering. To that end, this resource is ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 AT 11:59PM EASTERN!

Click the link below to secure “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” today:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/offering

Why do a Christmas Offering?

How much can be raised?

Is it possible in a ‘down economy’?

What if we don’t meet our goal?

What if we exceed our goal? (Wouldn’t that be nice!)

What ministries could we partner with?

What greater impact could we have as a church?

These are just some of the questions that I’ve faced (and had to answer) when leading a Christmas Offering at The Journey and while equipping my coaching participants to lead their offerings every year.

Since doing my very first Christmas Offering in the 90′s, I’ve discovered a step-by-step process that is applicable to any church regardless of size, location and denomination. And I’ve found more than a few ideas that just don’t work.

In fact, all told I’ve helped raise over $7 MILLION for my church plus my coaching alumni churches over the past nine years – all to expand God’s Kingdom work!

Once I realized the impact that the Christmas Offering was having in hundreds of coaching alumni churches, I sat down several years ago to try and distill the basic principles in a form that pastors could use as a guide – and that’s where my Christmas Offering E-Book came from.

The e-book was one of our most downloaded resources and it helped a lot of churches, but too often the feedback was that there were still gaps - too many questions were left unanswered. That’s understandable, how could anyone explain years of trial and error learning in a single 30-page document?

So I took the next step – I started leading an annual Christmas Offering Webinar.

For a couple of years, I pulled together our tech team and shared these principles in webinar form. And it helped… filled in some gaps and gave pastors the opportunity to hear the heart of the special offering concept.

But there were still unanswered questions - too many details left unfinished.

After last year’s webinars, I resolved to find a better way – to record everything I’ve learned in over a decade of leading Christmas Offerings into a single, comprehensive format that any church can use to raise enough funds to expand their missions and ministries AND to challenge their people to give sacrificially.

That’s where my brand new “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” resource came from.

And that’s why I’m so excited to share it with you.

You can learn more by clicking this link.

In this resource, you’ll receive:

• Over two and a half hours of clear MP3 audio training from me
• Fill-in-the-blank Listener’s Guide for you to follow along
• The Step-by-Step Christmas Offering Checklist that we use at The Journey each year

In addition, you’ll get:

• 25 sample documents – emails, letters and “how-to” files
• Over 60 sample graphics files – including files from three of The Journey’s most successful recent campaigns
• Over $638.00 in BONUS RESOURCES!
• BONUS – 7 Q and A audios with Nelson, including:
  • How will this impact our budget?
  • What if we’re also running a capital campaign?
  • How does this interact with missions and church planting?
  • What should I name our offering?
  • What is the best way to manage these funds?
  • How can I set the right goal?
  • How many causes should we support in our offering?
• BONUS – 4 Complete Sermon Series, and additional sermons to help you teach your people the power of Biblical generosity in supporting God’s work.
  • Christmas Traditions Sermon Series
  • Christmas in Narnia Sermon Series
  • The Grinch Sermon Series
  • Beyond the City Sermon Series (never-before-released)
• BONUS – Improve the Financial Fitness of Your Church (3-hour seminar)
• BONUS – How to Plan & Conduct a Christmas Offering E-Book
• BONUS – Christmas in October Audio Training
• BONUS – How to Lead Your Church During the Financial Crisis Audio Training

As you can see, this “nine-years-in-the-making” resource will give you all the tools you need to lead an effective and fruitful Christmas Offering.

Whether you’re hoping to raise $1,500.00 or $350,000.00, you will receive the proven principles, strategy and process to reach your goal.

Beyond all that, by securing “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering,” you will extend your church’s ability to fund missions and ministry in the coming year AND challenge your people to grow spiritually through the discipline of sacrificial giving!

Click Here to Secure Your Copy of “How to Plan & Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” (w/ over $638.00 in Bonuses) Now

DON’T DELAY though, the clock is ticking and planning ahead is perhaps the most important key in leading an effective Christmas Offering. To that end, THIS RESOURCE IS ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 AT 11:59PM EASTERN!

I hope you’ll let me partner with you on this once-a-year opportunity!

Nelson

P.S. BTW, if you haven’t caught my first two FREE Christmas Offering Training Videos, you can find them at the links below:

FREE Training Video #1

FREE Training Video #2

If you’ve felt like I’ve become fixated on Christmas over the last couple of weeks (in October)… well, you’re right!

I’m passionate about helping your church better resource God’s vision over the next year than ever before by leading an effective Christmas Offering as 2011 comes to a close.

That’s why I’ve released my brand new three-hour resource, “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering,” and why I’m sharing three new FREE training videos.

A Christmas Offering is a special offering given during a set period of time around Christmas that encourages people to give over and above their regular tithes and offerings, and now is the time to prepare yours.

The second in my series of FREE Training Videos about your Christmas Offering just released – click below to watch it now:

And while you’re checking out the video, be sure to check out my new resource, “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” and secure your downloadable copy today.

P.S. Because I want you to lead a successful Christmas Offering, this new resource is only available for a limited time – through Monday, October 31. Don’t delay – now is the time to plan!

Have you noticed how early the seasons change in stores these days?

It’s mid-October and not only is Halloween candy available, but so are all the Thanksgiving decorations.

Well, this week I’m encouraging you to think ahead too – about Christmas!

No, I haven’t missed a couple of pages in my calendar…

Here’s why I want you to think about CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER:
Because NOW is the time to plan your Christmas Offering to make the biggest possible impact over the next year.

You may have seen the first of a series of FREE Training Videos that I released this week and it’s all about WHY you should do a Christmas Offering.

You can watch that first video here.

And here are four powerful reasons for you to plan and conduct an effective Christmas Offering:

1. To help your people GROW – Let’s face it, our primary calling is to make disciples, and stewardship is discipleship! By challenging people to give over and above to missions and ministries in this offering, you give them the opportunity to broaden their perspective and be a part of something bigger than themselves.
2. To give to MISSIONS – There’s no better time to give your people the opportunity to fund local, national and international missions work than Christmas. By concentrating your major missions giving emphasis on this annual offering, your people can focus their efforts without having to be asked again and again.
3. To support worthy CAUSES inside and outside of your church – Whether we like it or not, there will always be more worthwhile ministry opportunities than the general operating budget has room to fund. This once-a-year offering allows you to expand your impact and support these ministries without taking away from what you’re already doing.
4. God commands us to give SACRIFICIALLY – The people of your church (like all of us) need to be stretched from time to time to get out of their comfort zone, to reach and give over and above what they would normally give – ultimately forcing them to trust God with their finances.

These reasons, combined with the results I’ve seen at The Journey and in hundreds of my coaching alumni churches, are why I’m so passionate about helping you with your Christmas Offering.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to plan now for the most important offering of the year!

To watch the video and read more about my new “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” resource, click the link below:

Free Training Video #1

You’ll find that in this resource, I lay out the entire Christmas Offering process, and GIVE YOU the complete checklist that we have developed and used at The Journey to raise over $2,000,000.00 through these special offerings.

Here’s to growing your people and expanding your ministry,

Nelson

P.S. Almost forgot to mention this – because time is of the essence if you want to plan and conduct an effective Christmas Offering, this NEW RESOURCE is only available through October 31!

I want to help lead a successful offering – so get started now:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/offering

I have an odd question for you…

Did you know that a well-planned and executed Christmas Offering can enable your church to fund ALL of next year’s missions giving, plus additional key ministry initiatives?

Click the image below to watch the first special video and read more about “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering:”

Incidently, in all my years I’ve never met a pastor who said “we’ve got so much money I don’t know what to do with it!” But I have met quite a few who expressed to me that they have a clear vision for their church but lack the funding to pursue that vision.

The Christmas Offering is a powerful, once-a-year tool to dramatically increase your ability to fund missions and ministry efforts in the coming year!

I hope you’ll watch the video above, order this NEW resource and get started TODAY planning and preparing for your Christmas Offering!

Your Partner in Ministry,

Nelson

P.S. If you want a sneak peak, here’s what you will learn in the new “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” resource:

• How this special offering will grow your people during the Christmas season
• The ‘nuts and bolts’ of what constitutes a successful Christmas Offering
• How to implement a Christmas Offering without hindering your General Budget
• The step-by-step timeline for an effective Christmas Offering (and why today is the day to get started)
• How to identify the causes that will motivate your people to give sacrificially
• Keys to setting the right goals for your Christmas Offering
• A specific process for celebrating your Christmas Offering
• Plus much more!

To watch the first video I recorded for you and read more now, click the link below:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/offering

Sermon prep, Sunday follow-up, staff meetings, prayer requests, communication with the congregation, worship planning….

These are just a few of the items on your weekly to-do list that probably keep you from staying up to date on the latest changes in IRS tax laws.

And with the complexity of the typical pastor salary package and ministry expenses, it’s no wonder why many pastors get nervous – even afraid – around tax time.

Not me! (at least not anymore)

Several years ago I begin working with Steve Merriman and the team at Clergy Advantage on my salary, housing allowance, retirement and tax documents. They’ve been amazing to work with.

The team there eats, sleeps and breathes clergy tax law, so I don’t have to try and keep  up with all the changes.

They even handled everything for me when I was audited back in 2006 (you can read about that here).

I’m writing today because Clergy Advantage is offering a FREE Webinar next week called:

Don’t Let Ministry Expenses Eat Your Lunch.
Set Up a Hassle Free Accountable Plan.

I highly recommend that you sign up and carve out an hour on one of the dates below to make sure you’re being a good steward of your finances.  Not only will they make sure you’re not in danger, but also that you’re not missing out on any potential benefits or deductions.

Here are all the details:

Every minister and church treasurer or finance committee MUST understand why and how an Accountable Plan is the ONLY way to account for Ministry Expenses.  Ministers are extremely vulnerable to IRS audit in several areas.   If you’re like most, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table at meal times and when entertaining.

Properly account for all ministry expenses including car mileage, travel, meals and entertainment:

• Increase your Take Home Pay
• Get Tremendous Tax Savings
• Reduce Audit Risk
• Spend NOTHING to implement a plan
• Maintain it Easily

So what is an Accountable Plan? Trust us, it’s NOT as scary as it sounds. It’s actually  a lot more frightening NOT to have one.  Simply put, it makes you accountable to the church for your expenses rather than the IRS.  In so doing, it completely removes those expenses from the tax return providing all the benefits listed above.

Not only all that, but it’s NOT Complicated if you follow our extremely easy design.  We’ve done the work for you now you can experience the rewards of our labors.

Discover how easy it is for your church treasurer to maintain and how much better this will work for you.

This is so important that we’re waiving the usual $99 fee and are making it available at NO  CHARGE. It’s free, easy and painless, (we promise).  There’s no reason to put it off any longer.  Register below and see how easy it is to get your house in order and start saving.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Mon, Oct 3, 2011 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM MDT

Tue, Oct 4, 2011 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MDT

Thu, Oct 6, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM MDT

Tue, Oct 11, 2011 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MDT

Thu, Oct 13, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM MDT

Tue, Oct 18, 2011 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MDT

Thu, Oct 20, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM MDT

Tue, Oct 25, 2011 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM MDT

Thu, Oct 27, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM MDT

Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration
with information you need to join the Webinar.

P.S. No matter what, you should definitely contact Clergy Advantage to discuss how they can help you save more money and stay above reproach with your taxes.

Here’s their website:

http://www.clergysupport.com/

One of the best parts of having coached over 1,200 Senior Pastors over the years is that many of them keep in touch.

That means that from time to time I get emails from pastors all over the country sharing how God is at work in their churches, lives are being changed, and the Kingdom is expanding!

Recently I got one such email from CLI Trainer (and multi-time Coaching Alum) Jamey Stuart, Senior Pastor of Believers Church in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Jamey shared how God is using my new book, The Generosity Ladder combined with a three month “Tithe Challenge” to increase giving and grow more disciples in his church.

In fact, here’s what he said about the results:

I laid out the challenge during our Accelerate Series in January and our giving has exploded!

This year we sought a 17% increase in giving… seemed like a stretch, but we are up at least 20% if not more!

Our attendance is also up… God is up to something here. Can’t wait to be back in coaching in the fall!

And he gave me permission to share the audio of the message he preached on Generosity with you:

Click here to Listen Now

Great job Jamey – Go God!

P.S. If you’re interested in using The Generosity Ladder at your church, check out Direct2Church.com for great savings (up to 50%) on bulk copies. Click here for more info.

P.P.S. If you’re ready – like Jamey – to join the ranks of my Coaching Alumni, to stretch and expand your leadership and grow your church, check out my new Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network – click here to read more and Apply Now!

If your familiar with my book Maximize, and my other Stewardship Resources, you know I believe that a pastor should know who is giving financially to the church.

In fact, sometimes the thinking on this issue is skewed by an improper theology of stewardship.

When you understand that Stewardship is Discipleship (where your treasure is, there your heart will be also), then the ability to look at someone’s giving record becomes an important tool in helping them grow spiritually.

I recently read a great blog post on this topic from Larry Osborne, Senior Pastor of North Coast Church in Southern California, that I wanted to share today:

Thanks for sharing this story Larry.

P.S. If you’re ready to grow stronger disciples in your church (and better resource your ministry efforts), upgrade your Stewardship System with The Stewardship Intensive Workshop.