At Church Leader Insights, this is the first week of 2012 that you can pick up my freshly updated “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering” resource!

It’s only available for the next 3 weeks because NOW is the time to plan your church’s Christmas Offering.

Not sure about what a Christmas Offering is?

It’s simply a special offering given during a set period of time around Christmas that encourages people to give over and above their regular tithes and offerings.

And as I’ve seen for years now (at The Journey and in hundreds of other churches), the results are tremendous.

A well planned and executed Christmas Offering:

• Helps your people grow by giving sacrificially
• Enables your church to give more to missions
• Supports worthy causes inside and outside of your church
• Allows you to raise 2-4 times your weekly budget!

So, this week I’m going to post a few of the most common Christmas Offering questions (and answers) in celebration of the resource’s 2012 debut.

Perhaps the most common question I get from pastors is…

If we promote a Christmas Offering, won’t that negatively impact our regular budget offering?

I hear this question all the time, and the answer is NO.

In most cases, if you carefully and prayerfully determine the causes you’re raising money for, there will not be a negative impact on your regular tithes and offerings.

Like so many yes or no questions in leadership, however, there is a “BUT.”

BUT you will have to clearly and repeatedly remind your people that the Christmas Offering is above and beyond their regular giving.

Remember, that’s one of the biggest reasons WHY you’re doing a Christmas Offering in the first place: to help your people grow by giving sacrificially.

Along these same lines –

I’ve noticed that the Christmas Offering is the first gift a lot of people ever give to our church, so as we follow up with them, thank them for their gift and help connect the dots between their giving and what God’s doing through our church, they often become our most extravagant givers…

So, no, the Christmas Offering doesn’t limit your regular Tithes and Offerings (if presented properly).  Not to mention, in the long run it has the potential to bring in a bunch of new givers who will continue to give long after this special offering has past.

P.S. For more detailed, step-by-step training on how to plan, implement, promote and follow up on your Christmas Offering, click the link below to secure your copy of the updated for 2012 “How to Plan and Conduct an Effective Christmas Offering”:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/offering

Hurry – it’s only available for a limited time!

© 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.