Electronic Donations

Posted on July 31, 2012 Written by

Making donations or gifts without using checks or cash is increasingly routine and within a few years will become the norm for many churches (but not all – some churches will fight this tooth and nail). There are a lot of ways to give electronically – let me list a few:

  • Bank Drafts
    • Bank drafts have been around for a couple of decades or more. This is where you authorize your bank to send money to the bank account of an organization (either at your bank or even another bank). It is easy to do but the donor has little control over the situation and gets reports only from the bank statement or from the organization sending the donor a contribution statement. This system is okay, but antiquated.
    • I work with a church that has been using this system for many years. Each month, almost 10% of their budget comes in this way. The fees are very low and the church gets most of the money, too.
  • Online Giving
    • In the past 10-15 years online giving has become quite the rage – as it should be. Younger generations don’t carry cash or even plastic – they “keep” their money in their phones or other electronic devices. They want to be able to go to a website where they can readily and easily give money to the organization they wish to support. This is a very good way to support your church and every church should have an electronic giving portal.
    • Credit card fees range from 2.30% to as high as 5% of the total gift and debit cards are typically much less. These fees should be considered part of the “cost of doing business.” In general, the easier it is for people to donate, the more people and the more donations will be received which will offset the fees. http://www.serviceu.com/ or http://www.e-giving.org/ are good companies that know churches and can provide solutions.
  • Giving Kiosk
    • About 10 years ago the idea was born of a computer station in the lobby of the church where people could give by either swiping a credit card or going to a website to give money. This is very neat – Stu Baker with http://www.securegive.com/ can show anyone their product which was developed by his father, a pastor in Georgia.
    • This kiosk provides great flexibility to the donor who can set up a one-time or recurring gift (just like in online giving), but it also gives the donor the option to swipe a credit or debit card by which means that personal data is transferred to the account and that makes it even easier for the donor. I very much like the idea of giving kiosks.
    • A colleague of mine even dreamed up a “kiosk-lite” by finding an old computer and monitor, connecting them to the internet and programming the PC so that it would only stay on their churches E-giving website and never go anywhere else.
  • Texting Service
    • After natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti in 2011, several organizations advertised where people could text money. This is a very simple method for people to donate money to their favorite cause – the problem is that most of the organizations that coordinate these apps have amounts of $5 and $10 – nothing more. I’d like for there to be an “unlimited” category where people put in their own amounts. I read in June 2012 where they are exploring increasing the amount that can be given to $20 (this is negotiated with the cell phone companies).
    • This is very convenient but it limits how generous people can be. If I want to give $100, I don’t want to tap my phone 10 times (at $10 per time) to give money. I very much like this concept, I just want it to be less restrictive.
  • QR Code
    • A QR code is that square made up of hundreds of very small black and white squares. QR codes are free. What they do is to activate the web browser on a portable device (phone, tablet, etc.). Every QR code is linked to a specific website. Linking your QR code to your churches giving website allows people to navigate to that site immediately.
    • A friend of mine created the QR code for his church and now places the QR image in every Sunday bulletin. As the offering is passed, people can pull out their smartphones, scan the code, and give as much as they want.
    • This is ultimate flexibility – it puts the donor in total control of when, where, how much, and to what he or she is giving. People can take the document with the QR code and use it later or save the destination of the QR code for later referral.

Additional benefits to electronic giving:

  • There is the well-documented fact that online giving is pretty much impervious to Sundays where the church is closed due to weather (snow, hurricanes, etc.) and tithing declines due to vacations and holidays. The internet is never closed due to weather and it never takes a vacation or is sick.
  • What is less well-known is how much online giving will make it easier for people (guests and regular attendees) who want to give who don’t have cash or a check with them that Sunday. If they could, they would give – but they left their money at home. No one leaves home without their smartphone!
  • An insurance agent told me the church’s premium will decrease because of the reduced exposure since there is less cash on hand (fewer dollars that could be stolen). That is a good but hidden benefit!
  • Online giving is becoming the norm – society is teaching people how to buy things online and make them feel comfortable with it. Since the marketplace is already doing the education to/for church members, churches can piggyback on this and leverage this knowledge for the church’s benefit through its online giving.
  • Donors can keep track of their contributions themselves. People can see what they’ve given to and what they haven’t supported (yet). This will help the church’s Finance Office by having donors more informed and even be able to print out their own statements of contribution as they need.
  • It also makes it easy for the church to send an email to everyone who has donated online which can result in increased communication between the church and members, especially donors.
  • Also, it might help the Finance Office. Some online giving sites interface with church financial software so that online gifts can be imported directly to the member’s database. That will update the financial portion of a member’s record and help the church keep track of all contributions by that person.

There are lots of ways to leverage online giving. Wise churches will be looking at ways to maximize the number of ways to receive gifts and to make it easier for donors to give. If you make it hard, then you’ll be on hard times. Make it easy for people to give – use the KISS principle: “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church finances, church financial statements, generosity, young adults Tagged: , , ,

Bell Curves and Giving

Posted on May 24, 2012 Written by

Here’s an interesting stat: the most generous age bracket in any church are 50-somethings.

  • College for the kids is done and paid for
  • The kids’ weddings are over
  • The mortgage is low because they got it several decades ago (if they even have a first mortgage)
  • They are in middle to upper management at work making really good money
  • In short, their expenses are low and their income is high which means they’ve got more disposable income than other age brackets.

What about the other decade age brackets regarding their charitable gifts? Here’s my analysis of them:

  • 20-somethings are just getting started financially. Many have serious college debt, most are not ready to settle down with a spouse (much less kids), and their income is on the low side since they are just beginning their careers.
  • 30-somethings have begun to settle down with families and careers but they are financially strapped because of the mortgage, cars, retirement planning, new furniture for the home and kids, etc. They’ll give, but it will be usually from their financial leftovers. A few are giving more and more but they are the exceptions.
  • 40-somethings are well into their careers and an impressive number have even risen to upper management already. Many have figured out a financial strategy and are able to give surprising amounts. Others want to give but can’t, right now.
  • 50-somethings are the main givers to every church. Not every 50-something is a big giver but the preponderance of them give more than at any other time in their lives. They’ve reached the age when they want to live for significance, not success.
  • 60-somethings have retirement looming over them and their giving begins to decrease, sometimes rather sharply. Some 60-somethings have to keep working while others are planning comfortable retirements. However, in every case, they are beginning to ask the question that 70-somethings ask every day.
  • 70-somethings wonder “Am I going to outlive my money?” and that causes their charitable giving to drop off a cliff. Those with ample resources continue to give, but the ones with “just enough” cut their giving back significantly.
  • 80-somethings and beyond do not form a large giving base for two reasons: their numbers are smaller than other age brackets (and shrinking daily) and their financial resources are smaller than the other age brackets. An occasional 80-something will be a high-capacity giver, but most are hanging on by their financial fingernails.

How does this translate to a church?

  • At either end are the 20-somethings and 80-somethings: the goal is for the 20-somethings to be giving, per person, more than the 80-somethings. “More” is probably about 1.5 times.
  • Next are the 30-somethings and 70-somethings. In a healthy-giving church, the 30-somethings will be giving about twice what the average 70-something is giving, because giving by 70-somethings is plummeting.
  • The 40-somethings should be the second strongest age bracket in a church, and the third strongest should be 60-somethings. 40-somethings are the “left shoulder” of the bell curve and 60-somethings are the “right shoulder.” Strengthen that right shoulder as much as you can because in 10 years, they’ll be 50-somethings.
  • The peak of the bell curve is the 50-something crowd. Who are your 50-somethings today? Who coached them to give? What was their giving like 10 and even 20 years ago?  But wait, look at your church 10 and even 20 from now. Is estimated future giving by your current 30- and 40-somethings enough to replace what your current 50-somethings are doing? What are you doing long term to ensure that generosity becomes part of your church’s culture?

A church must be cultivating and encouraging generous giving with the 40- and 50-somethings. That should be the church’s main focus. Next should be the 30- and 60-somethings. Lastly, the 20-, 70- and 80-somethings should get the least financial emphasis focus, because they are in the weakest position to contribute to a church. By “cultivating and encouraging generous giving,” I mean that there should be a stewardship education plan for all groups but that those age brackets should get a bigger dose than other age brackets. Give them a second helping of generosity teaching; it will do them and you some good.

By the way, this analysis is true of annual giving (giving from your checkbook or income statement) but also of planned giving (giving from your estate or balance sheet). A church should encourage 40- and 50-somethings to put the church in their will. The 60-something and older crowd have typically already created a will (although the percentage of people without wills is shockingly high). Get some estate planning for 40-somethings and 50-somethings ASAP!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church finances, leadership, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , , ,

Strategic Budgeting for a Young Marrieds’ Ministry

Posted on May 18, 2012 Written by

One of my former churches has a strategic vision for reaching young and median married adults. They don’t ignore senior adults, but they put a vast amount of resources to targeting 20-, 30-, and 40-somethings (and that overlaps a little to the 50-somethings). Since I was on staff there, let me give you their “secret” plan. Actually, I don’t think it was strategically thought out except that God led them to develop a very good plan. The plan is actually buried in the detail of the budget which most people don’t see, but they do see the results. Serious financial resources (staffing, buildings, and programming) are expended – the results are that this church is known as the church for young married in that city.

  1. Nearly/Newly married couples (20-somethings)
    1. The church wants to get in front of engaged couples or even couples who are going to be engaged. Female staff members informed the male staff members that future brides spend a lot of time reading local wedding magazines. So, the church now hosts bridal shows, advertises in wedding magazines, reaches out to local wedding photographers and caterers, etc. They want to be known in their local wedding industry as a wedding-friendly church.
    2. The church has two small group or Sunday School classes for nearly/newly married couples. The teachers for these classes are couples who’ve been married for over 20 years who can provide good role-models. The female teacher regularly meets with the young women in the class and the same for the guys. This provides outlets for the genders to share what is going on with them as they go through life.
    3. The church also supports this age group with seminars by bringing in speakers and/or sending them to a conference at another church. Also, about two times a year there are fellowship meals  at the church (with childcare provided if needed). The goal of these times together is for nearly and newly marrieds to get to know each other and eventually to become the support network for each other as they go through the various life-stages together.
  2. Families with young children (20- and 30-somethings)
    1. When a couple announces they are pregnant, the staff assign another young married couple to partner with the pregnant couple. The assigned couple helps the pregnant couple in any way possible such as accompanying the woman to the doctor if the husband is away, providing childcare for other children while mom is at the doc, having at least one supper together during the pregnancy, and even organizing a baby shower especially if this is the first child.
    2. After the baby is born, the assigned couple coordinates getting food to the new parents, informing the church staff of the new baby, and getting a sign from the church which they place in the front yard of the couple so that their neighbors will know about the new arrival.
    3. The church has a bulletin board with 12 sections (one for each month) and pregnancies are made public by placing the couple’s name on the bulletin board in the month that the baby is due. When the gender of the baby is known, a small blue or pink ribbon is pinned by the parent’s name.
    4. At least once a year, the church hosts a nice supper for everyone that had a new child born in the past year. Childcare is provided and the parents get to enjoy a quiet dinner (maybe their first as a couple since the baby came) with a bunch of friends who are in the same life-stage as them.
    5. There are no “mass baby dedications” – only one baby is dedicated per worship service. The family is invited onto the platform, the pastor holds the baby, says a few nice words, has a prayer of dedication for the baby, parents and any siblings. BTW, the baby is kept in the nursery until the dedication time – then a volunteer brings the new baby from the nursery, hands the baby to the mom just before the parents go forward and after the dedication, the volunteer takes the baby back to the nursery so the parents can stay for worship.
    6. Each month there is a PNO (Parents Night Out) and a SNO (Social Night Out). PNO is meant for couples to drop their kids off at the church so mom and dad can have a date. SNO is for classes or small groups to have fellowship time together while kids are safely in a church nursery. The cost for three hours of childcare is minimal, about $7 or $8 per child in order to make this affordable for parents – yes, the church budgets money to subsidize this but not much since there is so much volume that a fair amount of income is provided by the parents.
    7. The children’s division had a priority for funding in the annual budget. If necessary, the pastor would solicit children’s workers and also encourage them. Teaching the teachers was emphasized by bringing in education specialists from nearby colleges.
    8. Facilities improvement was constant. A list of needs was kept current and as items on the list were ticked off, other items would be added. The goals was to keep the facilities in very good condition because new parents want and expect the best for their children.
    9. Over the summer, there were day camps at the church for preschoolers (“popcicles and pools”), weeklong summer-day camps centered on recreation at a nearby campground. These kept the children busy and provided opportunities for the parents to talk and support each other.
    10. The goals are for the church to be a place children WANT to go to and a place where young parents are finding the support and training network for this brand-new stage of their lives.
  3. Marriage enrichment (30-, 40-, and 50-somethings)
    1. The church provides bi-annual marriage conferences with a very good outside speaker. The conference is often a two or three day event where the speaker is on several times speaking in formal settings (such as Sunday morning sermon time) and informal settings (such as a dinner with a Q&A time). The topic of the conference is about making marriages work and improving communication between spouses.
    2. There are other seminars on personal finances which is critical to new marriages. The church provides training for small group teachers regularly; it continually improves the facilities, and even has on-campus counselors (a local Christian counseling org uses church space rent-free but gives church members a discount).
    3. The goal is for the church to support couples during all the difficulties of marriages. Couples who’ve been married 10 to 30 years go through massive life-style changes and adapting to them requires constant re-focusing by both spouses. The church wants to help each partner understand his/her role in the new patterns and understand what the other parent is going through. Yes, there are divorces at this church, but fewer than I’d seen at other churches.

Okay, this is how one church (albeit with a lot of resources) does it. And I never said what this church does for children of these young marrieds. Frankly, the children get about the same as children in other churches but the difference is how much attention the parents are given in the church’s budget and programming.

How are you living out the key components of your strategic plan and vision?

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, church finances, young adults Tagged: , ,

Advice for Young Leaders

Posted on November 15, 2011 Written by
A good friend of mine recently became the CEO of a non-profit he’s worked at for several years. He asked me for advice on what he should do in his first few days and months. This is what I suggested to him and to anyone who finds themselves in the lonely position at the top of an organization.
·        MBWA – management by walking around
o   This is the single greatest act management can ever do – get out on the floor where things are happening. Don’t hide in your office. Wander around, have coffee, do idle chit chat, talk about football games, be visible and approachable. “The Boss” is scary enough – decrease the fear factor.
o   MBWA is absolutely critical and huge. You get to see how clean (or not) the building is, who is in the office, who isn’t in the office (because of vacation or sick), what offices look like, what the grounds look like, what the morale is like, etc. MBWA  is a great way to get feedback in a non-threatening manner.
o   Administrative assistants will make or break a leader. Keep them informed and find out what’s going on from them. Work the grapevine – make it your friend and put stuff on the grapevine as you need to. When it comes to office equipment, let the administrative assistants be the ones that make the decision about which copier to get (within budget boundaries), etc. Empower them – they are the ones that are going to use it more than anyone else.
·        Find a mentor/coach
o   The leader needs someone to vent to, to seek guidance and wisdom from, and to bounce ideas off of before sharing the ideas with those whom the leader is leading. Find someone you trust and meet with him/her regularly (should be a person of the same gender).
o   This should be one person – some form of sage and whose input does not need to be publicly acknowledged (that person is not in it for the credit).
·        Ask for staff input
o   Within the first 90 days, meet with each person and find out what is one thing they wish would happen or that they need to do their job. Then see if you can make that happen within the next 90-180 days. It shows the leader is listening, cares, and is willing to make things happen if it is within his power (and budget).
o   Meet weekly with the executive staff. Meet monthly with each level of staff, including having a monthly meeting with the secretarial/support staff. Listen to your staff and remind them at least monthly of the big picture vision and strategy for achieving that vision.
o   Always let your staff know what you expect from them and how they’re doing (“One Minute Manager” stuff). When the annual personnel evaluation comes along, you will have met so often with your staff that they will know exactly where they stand with you, so the eval should take about 15-20 minutes (enough time to fill out the paperwork and have a prayer).
o   Consult regularly with your staff and ask them sincerely for insight/input and then act on it. Ask your staff for ideas on how to reach the vision (tactical moves to achieve the strategic goals) – they’ll appreciate being heard. Don’t kill ideas before they’re hatched – let some ideas develop more fully before you either kill them or invest substantial resources in them.
o   If someone gives a great idea that is implemented, give credit to that person, publicly. It’s a great morale booster and costs you nothing, but you gain lots of capital.
·        Read together
o   Get some GREAT books on business leadership and read them together. Personally I prefer business leadership over “Christian leadership” books – I find them more practical and less preachy.
o   Suggestions: “Me, myself and Bob” by Phil Vischer (of Veggie Tales – this is one of the absolute best business books I’ve ever read and funny as heck, too), “In Search of Excellence” by Tom Peters (or other Tom Peters’ books), “The Best Question Ever” by Andy Stanley (Visioneering is also very good but TBQE is one of the best books I’ve ever, ever read). Andy Stanley likes “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber and used it to guide his church to what it is today.
o   Discuss the books, learn from the books, critique them, implement what they say, move on to the next book.
o   Go through 2-3 books a year on leadership.
·        Have fun
o   Each quarter (or more often) have the staff do something fun, not professional. You’ll learn more about each other outside the office than sitting in your workplace.
o   For instance: bowling, painting pottery, ropes course, canoeing, ballgame, go to a movie, etc. This is not sitting in a restaurant but doing something together – essentially, making memories from an experience together.
o   Divide the staff and ask them (not your executive assistant) to plan the day and give them a budget (maybe $250 each quarter) for them to plan something fun in an afternoon (or even a whole day). This will help the staff to keep things light when life/work gets very tense.
o   I can’t stress enough how important it is for the staff to get out of the office and do things together and even have events when the staff families are invited to join in.
·        Know the numbers
o   Keep up with all of your financial data. Each month ask the CFO to meet with you (and the treasurer of the board) to review the past month’s financials and to forecast future expenses and revenues. Ask your CFO what numbers are of my interest to others (the ones he/she cites) and be able to repeat those key numbers to outsiders with ease (and understand what you’re saying).
o   Bring your CFO to key meetings and get him to speak to the finer points (the geek-speak detail).
o   Hire me as your financial consultant/coach or your CFO (just checking to see if you’re reading this).
·        Cultivate your top 25 donors
o   Learn who they are.
o   Meet one for coffee each week or every other week (make it a regular part of your schedule to meet with a top donor).
o   In your meetings, share with them your vision for the future of the organization. Ask them for input and insight – they’ll be honored to give it and appreciate your asking.
o   Don’t ask them for money – that’s what they’re expecting. After a few meetings, they’ll ask you how they can help – if they’ve truly bought into the vision. Be able to cite financial figures – they’ll be impressed.
o   Never be afraid to talk money with the wealthy – they’re over it. Non-wealthy types like us are the ones with a problem in talking about money. See “Robbing the Rich” in my blog. The wealthy want to give money away – give them a compelling reason to give it to you – one that they’ll tell others about and feel good about.
Lead On!
Filed Under: leadership, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , ,

Fundraisers for Youth Events

Posted on October 19, 2011 Written by

 

Fundraisers have two purposes:
  • To make money in an effective and efficient manner
  • To build unity among the participants and interested people around a specific goal

 

All fundraisers need to have a balance between these two purposes and do it in a fun way (that’s the “fun” in fundraising). Too often, the group putting on the fundraiser focuses on one purpose to the neglect or even exclusion of the other purpose. That is not good and will harm future efforts. For instance, if you put on a concert and ask a bunch of people to work really hard in all the areas of the concert but then receive only $350 after all that effort, the volunteers will probably come away disillusioned about the results (but have good memories of the event). They achieved one purpose but nearly killed themselves without achieving the other purpose. On the flip side, if you put on an event and raise lots of money with little vested support, people may not feel as committed to the cause but feel incredibly proud of how much money they raised. Balance is good. Balance is key.

Another key to fundraising is to spread out the “ask” over a period of time such as several months. Some organizations do a “blitz ask” but they’ve done months of preparation (and received gifts during the prep time, too). Success is always, always a factor of how much effort you put into it. Every good fundraiser will require lots of effort on everyone’s part – make sure that you get enough “return on your investment” to have made all that effort worthwhile.
Some fundraising ideas for youth events:
Penny War
  • Boys versus girls. Every penny placed in the girls or boys jar is one point towards them. Every dollar added to a boys’ or girls’ jar is a negative 100 points towards them. After a month of war, the winners will be decided by who has the most points. The loser will then have to prepare dinner for the winners.
  • This is easy to do and raises a few hundred dollars without a lot of effort. This is a good balanced way to raise money in that every week you can promote it and even have a running total. Frankly, I do suggest that the money jars are emptied each week for two reasons: to announce the weekly running totals to egg on each side and to not have money sitting around in a jar which can walk off.

 Spirit Nights

  •  I know that both Chik-Fil-A and Tropical Smoothie have spirit nights we can tap into where during a certain time period, receipts taken will yield a percentage (normally 10 to 15 percent) to the student ministry. TS will even let us host a plinko game which raises a lot of funds.
  • The secret to working with local vendors (and some companies will sponsor car washes) is volume. The kids are going to have fun at the store and that will build unity – that is certain. How much money is raised is entirely dependent on getting people to come and/or buy tickets ahead of time. Kids need to be “in my face” about buying tickets. This a good idea and it can be held multiple times between now and when you need the funds without getting old and stale.

Yard Sale

  • The church rents out parking spots in the parking lot where people can host their own yard sale on the church’s property (the church makes money off the rent of parking spots). In another part of the parking lot, the church sells items that people donated for the yard sale (the church makes money off the sale of items). The church can sell concessions and make some money. There is always a fear of someone selling something offensive, but that can be addressed with the individual and you can let them know what we won’t let them sell (like porn magazines or offensive t-shirts).
  • This requires a LOT of effort and extreme coordination. Advertising is the key, too – get the word out that there is a community yard sale and people will buy reasonably priced parking spots ($10 is suggested) if they know there will be crowds coming. This can be a huge unity event for the youth as they work ahead of time and spend the entire day helping. It will raise at least a couple of thousand dollars.

Auction

  • This is my favorite way to raise money for youth functions. People bring in items that are of good value – other items should go to the yard sale! In one evening, there is a silent auction followed by a live auction (with a real, live auctioneer). Every year I’ve seen this done, the church raises over $12,000. The youth sell tickets beforehand and they drum up interest; the youth spend the Sunday and Wednesday before moving items; a team of volunteers helps coordinate the event; the youth work the auction by serving food and telling their story from the stage while people mill around.

Scholarships

  • Asking people to sponsor a kid or part of a kid for a trip always works. By this I mean informing people how much it will cost and then flat out asking them to fund ¼, ½, or the whole cost of a trip. People will do that. Afterwards, you can have the kid(s) that got the scholarship(s) to write a thank you and say how much the trip meant to him (them).

Sunday morning doughnuts

  • Krispy Kreme will sell doughnuts on the cheap for fundraisers and then you can re-sell them on a Sunday morning by the box.

What other successful ideas have you been a part of?

Lead On!
Filed Under: budget, church administration, church finances, young adults Tagged: , , ,

The Church At Play

Posted on December 11, 2010 Written by

I really wanted to address two separate but related issues: church staff and the church itself.

What I mean by “at play” is very simple – how do church staff (and members) do fun things together on company time. Here’s why: years ago I had a boss who said that the only time he gets worried about his staff is when he did not hear laughter in the halls of the church office. Laughter is an indication that the staff is having fun together and not taking life too seriously. If you don’t hear laughter, you’re going to hear gossip. Laughter is much better.

Most church staffs do church together. Nothing else. That is not healthy – they need intentional times when the church approves (and funds) the staff going out on the company clock to do something memorable together: bowling, watching a movie, painting pottery, playing golf (if you like chasing a little white ball) or frisbee golf, playing softball or flag football, going fishing or sailing, etc. You get the idea. Do something that does not involve church. That will the staff something to talk about for months (years?) to come that does not involve “talking shop.” Give your staff something else to remember – not just last week’s worship and Bible study. After all, church is very stressful – giving your staff permission to play will reduce the stress and give them good memories and a pleasant shared experience. You’ll never regret it.

That leads to the church at play. I know a couple of churches that intentionally shut down their doors on Sundays for the entire church to go on a retreat over Labor Day or Easter. It’s the same principle as above – give the church members something to remember, an experience to share that is out of the ordinary. Going through seminary I worked for a large hospital company – 7000 employees. Each year during the state fair, the company rented a large tent, provided free food (served by top management), and gave away free admission tickets to the state fair to all employees and their families. Many churches do a picnic once a year and that is very healthy.

Most churches know that fellowship is a key component of a healthy church. Most churches view fellowship as punch and cookies after a Sunday music function or the Wednesday supper. Sorry to burst your bubble, that is not fellowship – that is a church program (church programs are quickly becoming a “four-letter word” to me – more in another post). The best fellowship invovles getting away from the church buildings – do something out of the ordinary and out of the four walls of your church. Get out, go away, make memories, take pictures, and have FUN!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church staff, generosity, leadership, planning, young adults Tagged: , , , ,

Fishes & Loaves with Kiva.org

Posted on July 26, 2010 Written by

Last Christmas the church staff did not give each other white elephant gifts. Instead, the money that we would have spent on buying knick-knacks for each other was pooled for a total of $450. We then went online at the Christmas party to Kiva.org which is an organization that makes micro-loans (loans of $1,000 or less per person) to people in third-world countries. These individuals have been screened by a local organization to determine the worthiness of what the individual plans to use money for – usually to fund a small business whose profits will repay the loan, provide income for the person’s family and reinvest funds back into their business. The default rate on these loans is less than 2% which is far less than loan defaults in the US. At the party we selected some individuals to receive our gifts and sent the money on its way.

Periodically I get an email from Kiva.org informing me of the status of our loans: the person is now fully funded, the person has begun repaying the loan, or the person has completely repaid the loan. In the seven months that we’ve had money with Kiva.org, all of the money that we originally loaned has been repaid and we’ve loaned others some money. In the past seven months we’ve had money paid back to us which we then loaned to others so that we have now loaned a total of $875 – yes, that is a “fishes and loaves” story.

This is a neat way to appeal to younger generations to get them involved in specific generosity events. They can actually see a picture of a lady in Ghana or Paraguay who received the money and track how she is using it and repaying it. Kiva.org is not a church or religiously affiliated organization, but they are changing lives around the world. BTW, all of the recipients of our church staffs’ money have some form of religious connection in either their name or in their bio – this is our small way of helping Christians around the world.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: young adults Tagged:

Business Books

Posted on June 9, 2010 Written by

Why don’t ministers read more business books? There are some classics out there by gurus such as Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, and Jim Collins. There are lesser known authors or newer authors such as the Heath brothers (right now I’m reading their book, Made to Stick – great stuff). Popular business books from the past few years are very readable and enjoyable.

If I could, I’d challenge every minister to read one business book for every two books he or she reads on theology or church life. Think outside the box! After all, a minister is the CEO of a corporation. An aside, a minister once told me that the church is the only organization in the world where the customers (who pay the bills) are also the stockholders (who control the company) which leaves the staff in the middle.

So, please read some business books. Here is a sample:

  • Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer (story of the rise and fall of Veggie Tales)
  • In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters (a management classic)
  • Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath (communicating your message)
  • Switch also by the Heath brothers (how to bring change to your organization)
  • Good to Great by Jim Collins (and the 30-page monograph dealing with non-profits)
  • How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins (how to detect and stop the decline of your organization)
  • Y-size Your Business by Jason Dorsey (not read it yet but gets rave reviews about including the next generation of 20-somethings)
  • and too many others to count but this list will get you started
Lead On!
Steve
Filed Under: leadership, wisdom, young adults Tagged: , ,
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