NOW is the time – Planning an Effective Christmas Offering

If the latest Target commercial (and their store shelves for that matter) is any leading indicator – we’re officially in the holiday season! So are you prepared? I’m not talking about making your Christmas lists or even decorating for Christmas services. The real question is whether you’ve started preparing for your Christmas offering. Now, I know what you may be thinking: People’s … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship

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Call Out Your Congregation – Let’s Do a Tithe Challenge

By now someone in your church has been called out to take the Ice Bucket Challenge. But what if you could challenge your congregation spiritually? While it doesn’t involve dumping icy cold water on people, it does require your church to get out of their comfort zone and further impact the Kingdom. Challenge your people to tithe – just for 90 days … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship

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Christmas in November– Preparing for Your Christmas Offering NOW!

As the old carol says about Christmas, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” But when does that “time of the year” actually begin? Have you noticed the way retailers have started putting out Christmas displays as early as September? Every year, the push toward Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier. By October, children are making their Christmas … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship

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How the Tithe Challenge Helps Your Congregation Grow Spiritually

The number one reason to do a Tithe Challenge is to grow the people in your church.  The Tithe Challenge is really about discipleship. Perhaps the most profound equation I’ve ever heard regarding stewardship in a local church is that stewardship equals discipleship. I first heard Randy Alcorn say it. but since then I’ve heard others mention this concept — it … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship, Uncategorized

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Why Should Your Church do a Tithe Challenge?

I think this is a worthy question, “Why do a tithe challenge?” I could give you a list of probably 20 reasons, but here are my top five reasons:  1) It grows the people in your church. It disciples the people in your church.  It grows them closer to God.  It grows them more like Christ.  The tithe challenge, even though … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship, Uncategorized

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What is a Tithe Challenge?

Early on as pastor at The Journey in New York City, I tackled a message series on stewardship.  During the second message, we decided to hit hard on the importance of bringing the full tithe to God.  I just shot right to the heart of the issue and let everyone know they should be tithing– this was our first tithe … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship

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Pastor’s Financial Life: Part 1 of 5

For the last two months I’ve been preparing for Financial Peace, a new series we started on Sunday at The Journey. This preparation made me think about my own financial journey. If you know some of my story (and I won’t repeat it here) then you know that in my teenage/pre-Christian years I made a lot of money writing computer … Read More


Nelson SearcyStewardship

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Where There’s Slack There’s Lack – Part 6 of 8

SYSTEM #6: THE STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM Wednesday has rolled around again! Time for the weekly installation of our eight-part “Where There’s Slack There’s Lack” series. I’m particularly excited about the system we are looking at today. It’s a crucial system and one that’s surrounded by a lot of questions and misconceptions… Have you ever had a hard time getting new believers … Read More


Nelson SearcyChurch Systems - General, Stewardship

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