Church Stewardship: Why Do People Give?

About six months ago, I read a statistic about church giving. The statistic stated that in 2006, 43% of all charitable financial giving was made to a church. By 2018, however, giving to the church had decreased to 29% of charitable gifts. That means that people are giving less of their financial resources to their church. In just 12 years, churches  lost 14% of a donor's financial gift to other causes. 

I am sure these other causes are important, and many are doing great work for God's Kingdom. But, are we as a church not doing great work too? In today’s reality where many of our congregations are struggling financially, how can we remind our members that the work happening within and through our congregations is as important as those other charitable causes competing for their attention? 

The answer to this lies in the sad fact that people are not inspired to give to their church. People give, not because the sermon was especially good (Sorry pastors). People don't give because the deacon got up and told everyone again, "We might not meet the budget this year if you don't step up your 'payment to the church.'" 

People give because they are inspired. They give because they see impact in people's lives. People give because they know what they give will change lives and bring people to salvation in Jesus Christ.

Another article I read talked about the top reasons people give to a non-profit. This includes churches. It told a story where the speaker asked a group of ministers and advancement people to identify, from a list, why people give. The group called out tax deduction, moral obligation, ego, and many others. One person, who had been very quiet the whole time, finally raised her hand. She said she was not sure why she was at this event, but her church asked her to go because they wanted her help in a capital campaign. Her guess, more of a personal statement really, was belief in the mission. And she was right!

The article went on to say that the top three reasons people give to an organization are:

 1. Belief in the mission; 

2. Leadership's commitment to the organization; and 

3. Sustainability.

People need to believe in the mission of our churches, and part of that is seeing the impact the organization is making on people's lives. If people don't see the impact or hear about the impact, how will they ever believe in the mission of the church? 

Secondly, the leadership must show a commitment to the organization. When the leadership, in the case of a church, the council, is "all in," people will also become committed. Your council needs to be engaged in the church with their time, talent, and treasure. 

The third reason, sustainability, is an important one for a church. How often does the church wait until November or December to have the chair of the council or chair of deacons get up in front of everyone and say something about "If you don't increase your giving before the end of the year, I don't know if we will make it next year?" Stop that! Stop always crying wolf. If people think the ship is sinking, they are not going to get on board.

With these three important factors in mind, I’d like to challenge every council of every CRC congregation to consider The Challenge of 3s. There are three things you can start doing today and in the coming months that I believe will change your congregation's outlook on supporting the church. I challenge you to give them a try and watch how it changes your church.

Want to learn more about how to support your church's giving? Check out Part Two of the series!