Easter is only weeks away, and now is the time to start planning your Easter offering. The last thing the average church is thinking about right now, if they are thinking about Easter at all, is the offering. The typical church uses Easter as a gateway service towards attracting people to come back. For many churches, Easter is their largest evangelistic event of the year. The question many are asking when they read this is, wouldn't an emphasis on the offering when we will have so many guests, turn those quests off?
I view things differently. My question is, why would you NOT have an offering emphasis on Easter? Why not use Easter to teach the joy of generosity? With a good plan, you can change how people view the offering, which will change how they react to offerings.
Can you raise money on Easter? I believe the answer is yes! You are going to take up an offering, so why not do it right? By setting the stage for an effective offering, I believe you can and will see an increase in giving. In this post, I am going to show you how to do that. First, let me make a case for the Easter offering by sharing with you the major mistakes I see churches make.
Easter Offering Mistakes
- Deemphasizing the importance of taking up the offering. Deemphasizing the offering isn't just an Easter problem. We need to see the offering as worship, not as an intrusion into our order of service. Too many Christian leaders worry that any talk of money will drive people away. I have found that it is not that we talk about money that drives people away but how we talk about it. It's time to put a biblical emphasis on the offering!
- Not planning out the offering. Churches in the next few weeks will spend hours preparing for Easter services. Yet they will go about offering planning in a business as usual approach. If you are going to change how people view the offering time, you need to plan out each offering. You can't wait until 10 PM the night before Easter to start thinking about the offering.
- Not making a case for the offering. Never assume people know or understand what the offering is for or what it goes to support. It's essential to make a case for each appeal, and that includes your weekend offering. Too many churches fail to make a case for why people should give, thus losing the potential for them to act generously.
- Thinking the offering is "only" taken up during services. Thinking the offering only happens in our service times is a mistake many churches are making, not just on Easter but every week. Many of my clients have already reached a point where their digital offering is greater than their physical weekend offering. As you will see in my plan that follows, we need to position the offering in advance and allow people the ability to give wherever they are. The church offering is now 24/7/365. This makes having a robust online platform like what Online Giving offers so important. To find out more, contact Online Giving today at (615) 206-4000 or drop them a line at support@onlinegiving.org.
Let's avoid the mistakes the average church makes. Who wants to be average anyway? I have found that Easter offerings can be successful if you:
- Vision out the offering. I tell my clients that dollars follow vision. You want your potential donors to see the value of what giving accomplishes. You are attempting to make the connection of how a gift given in the offering will make a positive impact in the world. Your message is, "Every time you give here, you are helping change the world." The more compelling your message, the more likely you will receive a gift. You might share one key area of your church's work that your offering goes to support. Since you know you have guests, make the offering outward focused on mission support or your children or student ministries. In any appeal, the more personalized the message or story, the more impactful the offering.
- Plan the offering out. What you put time into with planning has a better chance of success. How will you communicate that message? After deciding what your message is, you must determine the best way to get that message across. Would a short video work best? Would a live interview work? Find the best way in your context to tell the story of the offering.
- Shout the offering out. Don't just wait for Easter Sunday to start getting people thinking about the offering. At that point, you only have about sixty seconds to get their attention. Using all your various platforms in the days before Easter helps cement the vision deep into the minds and hearts of your donors. I encourage the use of social media, email, and even direct mail to begin sharing the importance of the offering. Each of those appeals needs to offer an immediate way in which they can respond. Your online platform is a perfect place to tell your story. The bottom line is to not wait for Easter morning to begin your offering prep for your attendees on Easter.
- Act the offering out. Boldly ask! Remember, you are not asking for yourself. You are asking to fuel your missions and ministries that are changing the world. The Red Cross never apologizes when they ask people to give, so neither should we. Believe in your vision, and it will be easier to make the "ask" with boldness.
- Follow up on the offering. I believe one of the best ways to set up future giving is by thanking those that gave generously. What a difference saying thank you means. Make sure every person who gives is acknowledged and thanked for their generosity. By following up with a thank you letter or note, you are priming the pump for the next gift.
Could your church see an increase in giving this Easter? The answer to that question depends upon you. By starting your planning now, you have a better chance to have a successful offering this Easter. Get started now!
Easter is only weeks away, and now is the time to start planning your Easter offering. You are going to take up an offering, so why not do it right? By setting the stage for an effective offering, I believe you can and will see an increase in giving. https://t.co/bfXuEUeGb6 pic.twitter.com/khLDY0lSa2
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) February 6, 2020
