Have you thought about how you can share your church's vision on Easter in such a way that it increases the number of people who give and the amount of money given?
Right now, you might be thinking, who thinks about the offering for Easter weeks out? For that matter, who thinks about offerings? Me! I help churches by asking questions like, how can we use the one day of the year when we will have more eyeballs watching us to increase giving? In this day and age of the hybrid church, we have to keep in mind both those present and those online. Thanks to the Internet, you can engage more people this Easter than ever.
Let me share how you can pass the proverbial plate this Easter. Before we get too far, let me share with you three things that every church leader must embrace as we move through this fast-changing society that we are called to minister in.
- We must elevate the offering by making it a key part of our worship. If we fail to do so, we will fail to raise the next generation of donors. The offering is not an interruption to worship. It is worship.
- We must realize that the offering is not dead; it’s different and digital! The why of the offering hasn’t changed, just the how. More and more of a church’s dollars received are digital.
- We must embrace the 24/7/365 offering plate as not the future of giving but the present reality of giving. Commerce worldwide is changing, which is one reason we offer crypto-giving.
My question is, why not make this Easter’s offering one of the most memorable and impactful in the history of your church?
Wouldn't talking about money turn off many new eyeballs watching or people attending? Especially online eyeballs? That is the typical pushback I get. Here is my answer ... not if you do it right.
By telling your story of what God is doing at your church, touching lives for eternity, you can invite anyone to give financially to support your story. Americans are the most generous people on earth when motivated. It's not that we talk about money that drives people away but how we talk about it.
88% of evangelical churchgoers said in a recent survey that they were happy with how much their church asked for tithes and donations.1 Show people the difference their gift makes, and they will respond. To do that right takes some time and planning. It’s why in February, I’m asking what your thoughts are about the offering time for Easter.
Two tools to help increase Easter giving – We love to help churches. Here are a couple of ways you can get more help making this Easter one of your best.
First, some free help. On February 6, 2020, I wrote a blog post entitled, Now is the Time to Start Planning Your Easter Offering. Covid was barely on anyone’s radar. Within weeks we went from planning Easter pageantry to having churches around the world shut down. Yet the principles I laid out then will still work today. CLICK HERE to view that 2020 post.
The 2022 Successful Giving Plan – For years now, I have written a manual for the Easter offering with step-by-step plans and samples ready for use. I’ve just released the 2022 version. Those plans are available for free for all our OnlineGiving.org clients. To find out how to join our team to receive stewardship help, feel free to contact us at support@onlinegiving.org.
So, yes you can pass the plate this Easter. Let’s use this Easter’s offering to get more people started on the stewardship journey with their first gift. Let’s show them how their gift will make a difference, creating a willing desire to give within them. You don’t need to apply pressure. You don’t need to use guilt. Tell the amazing stories of life change that happens at your church. Then invite people to give to support that life change. That is how you increase giving and givers on Easter.
9 in 10 Evangelicals Don’t Think Sermons Are Too Long...... | News & Reporting | Christianity Today
The Stewardship Coach
