As I post this, it is only days after Easter. So, why would I be talking to you about summer giving? I will give you seven reasons. If any applies to you, then keep reading. I recommend summer giving plans for the following reasons: 1. The Post-Easter Slump – A church leader said a few years ago, “It used to be that attendance dipped after Easter and returned when school started in late August. Now attendance doesn’t get back to pre-Easter numbers until October!” I’ve shared that comment with pastors nationwide, and I find agreement from large to small churches. That huge attendance and e ..read more

Can you really raise money on Easter?  I believe the answer is yes!  You are going to take up an offering, so why not do it right?  By setting the stage for an effective offering, I believe you can and will see an increase in giving.  Here are 4 keys to making your Easter offering a success… 1.  You have the right attitude – Don’t be an “ask” hatter!  Too many church leaders see the offering as an intrusion into worship rather than an act OF worship.  Not only is the offering worship, but it is also how you fund the mission God has called you to.&nb ..read more

At $99.99 a year, I’m the cheapest staff member you have and the most valuable in helping you hit your budget numbers. By subscribing to and following my advice each week, you can be fully funded to do all God has laid upon your heart. In this post, A Yearly Overview of Stewardship Planning, I will share how I approach building a culture of generosity built on biblical stewardship. Get a plan and work your plan! That has been my mantra for years as I have coached pastors and staff across this country. Few churches, if any, have a generosity/stewardship plan. Most rarely think about giving unti ..read more

“You never have to recover from a good start.” My mentor in the stewardship field, Dave Sutherland, taught me that years ago. Ask any football team if the statement is true or not. Consider this: 3/4 of NFL teams leading after the first quarter go on to victory. The first quarter is so important that I sharing this post, entitled How to Be Leading at the End of the First Quarter, to help you end your first quarter ahead. In my over twenty years of coaching pastors and church leaders on stewardship, I find that the first quarter is the make-or-break quarter for whether their church will meet th ..read more

How many games are won and lost in the last two minutes?  You remember the ones that you favorite team won and try to forget the ones that your team lost!  Yet if you follow football you know that often winning or losing comes down to who executes the best in the fourth quarter and often who does the best in the last two minutes.  NFL teams called it the two minute drill and they practice and practice how to run a winning drive in under two minutes.  Are you ready for your two minute drill? We are in the fourth quarter of the year.  Why is this significant?  Consi ..read more

Nonprofit employees want inspired leaders with bold vision: Nonprofit employees ranked vision, relationship building, inspiring trust, and strong communication skills as the most valued elements of leadership.  That was the finding of a national study recently conducted among nonprofit employees by a leading non-profit firm, Dickerson, Bakker & Associates.  You would find a similar result if you presented the same survey to your congregation.  Look at any growing church, and you will find an inspiring leader with a bold vision. Do you know what else grows with an inspiring l ..read more

What Does a Capital Campaign Consultant Actually Do? That was the subject line of an email I recently received from a non-profit fundraising consultant. The email began by saying, “Have you ever wondered what all these capital campaign consultants actually do? Is what they do all “smoke and mirrors,” or do they bring real value?” The answer is that it depends. As I continue my focus on raising capital dollars for the future, I’d like to take a stab at answering these questions, but first, I would change the key question slightly. I would ask, What Should a Capital Campaign Consultant Do? With ..read more

A church sent me the breakdown of their Over/Under split and it was 84% vs. 16%!  84% of the churches dollars come from those 50 in age and above.  This group gives $1.3 million of the $1.5 million church budget.  The under 50 crowd only gives 16% of the budget yet they comprise 60% plus of the churches attendance! The Associate Pastor pulled this data together for me and it is used with permission.  He did the math.  Unless something changes at this church they are in trouble!  But let me ask you… Have you done the math?  Do you know what percentage is give ..read more

I have 3 goals for a come from behind giving strategy and none of the three are about increasing dollars! Yet if you strive to hit these three goals you will increase the amount of money you raise. However, hitting my three goals will not only increase what you take in for any special offering but increase your giving long term. I just released my annual come from behind giving strategy that this year is called, “Recovering Your Lost Offerings: The Coach’s Annual Come From Behind Playbook.” With the majority of churches reporting giving off from last year most churches are ending summer, our w ..read more

Remember when our Christian leadership was telling us that we cannot “go back” to our pre-COVID world because it no longer exists? In this post taken from my weekly newsletter, The Stewardship Coach we will examine how The Way Forward is Back. During the height of Covid, it seemed that was all we heard. We were told to prepare for a future with fewer in-person attendance and more online engagement. We were told to stop moaning about the past, accept the reality of a Covid world, and do the best we could. Now, post Covid, American churchgoers are disproving that thinking. In at least one denomi ..read more