1. Generosity begins in the heart of the pastor. If you don’t give generously, why should your people?
2. Money is both a thermometer and a thermostat for the heart.
3. When you teach about money, don’t apologize. Money is one of the biggest competitors with God, and helping people live in line with God’s financial principles is a huge gift. Better to say, “If you’re a guest, you couldn’t have picked a better Sunday to be here.”
4. Keep track of and thank first-time givers. It’s a big step of involvement in a local church (bigger than attending the first time), so treat it accordingly.
5. It’s not necessarily good to say, “I don’t know what anybody gives.” Set up a system where, as the Lead Pastor, you can find out what people give if you have a good reason. If you’re mature enough to know what everyone gives, fine.
6. People typically start giving months after they start attending and stop giving months before they stop attending.
7. There are five “pockets” that people give from. Wise churches provide opportunities over the year for people to give out of all five: (1) General fund — they like supporting the pastors and basics; (2) Building — they want the church to have good facilities; (3) Directed Designated — special projects that you identify; (4) Benevolence — helping the needy; (5) Missions & Church Planting — taking the gospel.
8. You need to disciple high-capacity givers. To whom much is given, much is expected — and they need help stewarding what God has entrusted them. If you don’t know how to help them, find some other higher-capacity financial people and do it together.
9. People do not give first to vision. They give to success.
10. Beware of assuming you have a right to people’s money. Everything they give is a gift.
11. It takes just as much work to do a 3-year initiative as a 2-year, but you typically get 25% more money.
12. Giving begets giving and generosity begets generosity. Don’t fear that giving to a big project or initiative will hurt the general fund. It will usually help it.
13. Create doable classes and pathways for people to get help with learning the nuts and bolts of getting out of debt and managing their money. Then you can say, with integrity, “This is not about what we want from you — it’s about what we want for you.”
14. In your first few hires, make sure they are in positions that will eventually pay for themselves — either by freeing you up to be much more effective or by being in key-growth areas.
15. People respond to being challenged (in general) — it’s true for money too. Don’t be afraid of doing a 90-Day Tithe Challenge.
16. Make the basics of your church’s financial situation visible regularly to the people, either through your bulletin or weekly email. They need to regularly know how the church is doing financially.
17. Every year, talk publicly on a Sunday through the basics of your financial situation. What you budgeted last year, how much was given, what the plan is for that year, etc. Shouldn’t be a sermon; more like an extended vision-casting announcement.
18. Do not outsource preaching on money to somebody else. The church needs to hear it from you and you need to build up your confidence.
19. Set next year’s budget based off of this year’s actual giving. This way you aren’t presuming upon growth.
20. Most people are 3S Givers (Spontaneous, Sporadic, Sparingly). Challenge them to be 3P Givers (Priority, Percentage, Progressive).
21. Sometimes you have not because you ask not. God can prompt people to give without you asking. He is also more likely to prompt people to give if you ask.
22. You will not do the church staff any favors by setting your salary artificially low. Develop a system to set your salary and staff salaries fairly without it having to be a huge ordeal.
23. Figure out your average per capita giving ($/attender/week). Use this as a way to plan for future hires — how much you have to grow to be able to afford them.
24. Churches that are in portable facilities need to have the discipline to save cash (of equivalent leasing payments) so that they have the money to move on something when the time comes.
25. More money rarely leads to more creativity — usually the opposite is true. Remember the “Apollo 13 table.” This is what we have—make it work.