IMPORTANT FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Each church is different. It is a living, breathing organism unique unto itself. As such, its approach to member support of church ministries will vary. When we talk about support of church ministries, we are talking about motivating and encouraging individual Christians who make up that body to become faithful stewards of the financial resources God has given.

Before making a decision about the best way to grow support for your church, your church needs to review and work through factors that may impact the effectiveness of the various approaches of support, such as:

• Location
• History
• Size
• Leadership
• Culture (Church & Societal)
• Economic Factors
• Congregational Demographics

MOTIVATIONS FOR GIVING

There are also different types of givers motivated by different types of giving. Church consultant Kennon Callahan provides us with a helpful analysis. He identifies five major motivational resources for giving among church members:

• compassion: the desire to translate love into caring
• community: the desire to build relationships with others
• challenge: the desire to achieve a proposed goal
• reasonability: the desire to act because careful analysis indicates the course of action makes good sense
• commitment: the desire to respond out of loyalty, obligation, and commitment
  - Callahan, Twelve Keys to an Effective Church: The Leader’s Guide, p. 76-83

In communicating the ministry and mission of the church, it is important to take these different types of motivators into account, thereby appealing to the wide range of givers in the church.

George Barna, whose extensive research on church giving, highlights some important issues in addressing people’s motivation to give:

• Leaders must present a compelling vision for ministry that describes how lives will be transformed by the church if people contribute their time, money and skills.
• Churches must communicate clearly why they exist and know how to motivate members with impactful activity that stimulates members to give beyond the norm.
• The church must impress potential donors with its ability to minister in ways that are efficient, effective, satisfying urgent needs and providing personal benefits.
• Members must sense that the church is revolutionizing the community

Click for Part 2