t may come as a surprise to some, but one of my favorite topics to talk about with church leaders is stewardship. I enjoy talking about money and the church because stewardship is discipleship. Jesus himself said where your money is, there your heart will be also. I got to spend a couple of days last week in our Manhattan … Read More
Year End Giving Letter
A lot of blog readers have asked me for my 2008 Year End Giving letter which will be mailed this month to everyone who gave to our church in 2008. I just finished it so I’m posting it here for you to download: YEAR END GIVING LETTER This is ‘my draft’ it will be posted on Letterhead and typeset by … Read More
Year End Giving Email
About 1/3 of most parachurch ministry income comes in during the month of December. Often times we as church leaders miss this opportunity. Here’s an email I have going out to our church on Monday, December 29 – feel free to adapt it for your situation: Subject line: A courtesy reminder . . . (The Journey Church) This is a … Read More
Bad Economy + Bad Decisions = Disaster
I continue to hear of a lot of pastors and church leaders making bad decisions because the economy is bad. If you make bad decisions when the economy is good, you may be able to ride it out with minimal effects. But if you make bad decisions when the economy is bad, disaster is almost certain. Before you make any … Read More
Q & A: How to respond to the financial crisis?
The most frequently asked question I’ve received over the last two months is: How am I to lead my church during this financial crisis? How do I prepare? What do I need to do and not do? To listen to my answer to this question, check out my latest podcast: HOW TO LEAD YOUR CHURCH DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS (Download … Read More
Christmas Offering Documents and Envelope
Yesterday we talked about my free report on “How to Conduct a Christmas Offering.” Today I wanted to share with you the packets we created to promote our Christmas Offering. I’m not sharing these documents because we got it ‘perfect!’ By no means. Instead, this document may help you with language and formating for your offering. On Sunday I’m going … Read More
How to Conduct a Christmas Offering
Last week I released my latest report entitled “How to Conduct A Christmas Offering.” Its been the fastest downloaded report I’ve offered (over 1000 people in a few days!). If you haven’t snagged your copy yet, grab it now (its not too late to plan a Christmas Offering) – its FREE: HOW TO CONDUCT A CHRISTMAS OFFERING FREE REPORT LINK … Read More
Third Quarter Giving Letters (Free Downloads)
As promised, here’s our Third Quarter Giving letter. Right click below to download: Main 2-Page Economic Hope Letter from me Small Church Stat Insert from Kerrick (Note: These may not be the final versions we actually mailed – they were proofed and designed on letterhead before the final two-color printing. Thank God for proof readers!) We sent the two letters … Read More
How I Saved $2000
In 2003 I had a conversation with Steve Merriman and from that one conversation I saved over $2000 in taxes that year. Steve is the founder of Clergy Advantage (ClergySupport.com – you’ve heard me talk about them in the blog before – they are the ones who cleared me when I was recently audited – you can read about it … Read More
Challenge Others Toward Godly Stewardship – Pastor’s Financial Life: Part 5 of 5
Today, I’m wrapping up my five-part miniseries on the pastor’s financial life. I want to conclude by asking you to make this fourth and final commitment: 4 – I commit to challenging others toward Godly stewardship. Most pastors make the mistake of being too timid in the area of stewardship. We aren’t afraid to challenge our congregations on many other … Read More