Any of you who have listened to The Stewardship Seminar or The Stewardship Intensive know that I am a firm believer in creating custom offering envelopes for your church and including them in each week’s program/bulletin.

In fact, I shared our latest envelope design from The Journey (including our Christmas Offering info) in a post a few weeks ago (click here to download).

Since there are so many different styles of offering envelopes out there (including those tiny ones that can barely hold a quarter) and methods associated with receiving the offering , the transition sometimes leaves churches with a few questions.

One such question is about using an Offering Envelope Service, with personalized printed envelopes for all of your church members, typically distributed annually or quarterly.

Many churches have been using these services for years and ask me about whether they should discontinue because of their new system.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a reason to stop the envelope service.  The cost of these services is typically very inexpensive, so just do both!

In fact, we do both at The Journey – we have envelopes in every program each week and we mail out envelopes to our members and regular givers.

Some people who get the mailed ones asked to be removed from the mailing and said they would use the ones we provide on Sunday, but we have a lot of people who appreciate the convenience.

That said, we saw a much bigger increase in giving when we went to envelopes in the program compared to when we add people to the mailed envelope service.

P.S. Is your church’s Stewardship System due for an upgrade?  Check out my most comprehensive stewardship resource, The Stewardship Intensive.

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.