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.