The Essence of Running a Commitment Day

In my book Giving Generously: Resourcing Local Church Ministry, I advocate running an annual commitment day, where the minister asks the people to do two things: First to sign a card indicating how much the person intends to give to the church over the next year. The second, was to give a cash gift to one or more individual projects. We used to have six projects each year as people like to support areas that engage their hearts.

The following areas are extremely important in making the outcome fruitful.

1. A compelling vision for the ministry for the future. The key idea is that money follows vison rather than need. People do not get inspired by simply paying the bills. They wish to know that their dollars will make a difference in people’s lives.
2. There will be a suitable date in your calendar. For our Anglican Church our commitment day settled on the first Sunday in November for historic parish reasons. It also had the advantage of securing our revenue as increased staff generally was coming on board from early January. However, another time may be in June at the end of the financial year. It could also coincide with any date that may have particular celebratory significance for your church.
3. High confidence in the leadership is vital. People won’t give if they feel their money will be squandered, wasted or misused. It was for good reason that the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the collection for the Jerusalem poor.

We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 2 Cor 8:21

4. The commitment day comes at the conclusion of a five or six week preaching series. This series will probably contain a message on generosity but it will not be a series with the majority of the message on money. Rather the aim of the series will be to build personal faith or advance the mission of the church or both. People often find that this commitment series is the time where their faith grows more than any other time. That is because in making a financial commitment they are showing in very tangible terms that they trust God, not money.

5 A fruitful commitment series will have very clear communication. We used multiple sources including brochures, response cards, letters, and in particular audio visuals. It is incredibly important to produce engaging audio-visual material that clearly conveys what you are asking people to give to.

6. The entire concept needs the engagement and endorsement of the church staff and leadership. At Figtree, the staff and parish council were involved in choosing the projects for the coming year. They also signed a commitment card. It is vital that they not only verbally endorse the process but show by their giving they have ‘skin in the game’.
7. It is absolute crucial that the senior minister clearly asks people to give. People should not be left wondering what they are being asked to do. This task shouldn’t be left to the treasurer. It is the senior minister’s role and should not be shirked.

I would always say something like the following.

‘What I am asking you for on commitment day is to do two things.

First please sign and return the commitment card indicating how much you are intending to give to the ministry next year. Second, place a special offering in the envelope supplied and indicate which project you wish you support. I would sometimes add, with a big smile on my face, ‘please stuff the envelope full of money and make our treasurer very happy’.

7. Plan ahead. There is a lot to do here in terms of getting alignment from key leaders and preparing communications and producing a compelling sermon series. I used to start the entire process about six months in advance. It is simply folly to leave it to the last couple of weeks when some crisis makes everything urgent and rushed.

Last by no means least, pray. At Figtree we always had whole church times of prayer for the ministry and for this process.

For more on running a commitment day see my book,

 Giving Generously. https://givinggenerously.com/

How to overcome the end of year Financial Crisis

If you have been around churches long enough you will have seen or experienced a scenario something like the following. At the end of the year either the treasurer or the senior minister stands before the congregation and tells them that the church is behind budget and asks people to dig deep to make up the shortfall. There are lots of negatives here.

 First, while it may be necessary it doesn’t convey the feeling that the church is powering ahead and kicking goals for Christ’s kingdom.

Second, the appeal is framed in terms of need rather than vision. Remember that money doesn’t follow need, it follows vision.

Third, and this is closely allied to the above, the appeal  addresses budget shortfall. Budget is a perfectly acceptable word and very necessary in terms of responsibly running a church. However, the term should be banned in any discussion of raising money. Budgets don’t fire up the juices of the average parishioner who don’t want their money plugging up holes in a leaky ship.

Fourth, this request generally means the church is not having an alternative appeal such as a Christmas request for a mission project. The visionary project often gives way to the ‘stop the leak’ project.

It is not at all unusual for a church to be around five percent behind budget and while this should not be ignored neither is the sky falling in. So what should be done? In my book Giving Generously I detail how to raise money for local church ministry. If such a process is conducted prayerfully, boldly and sensitively people get excited about the ministry and will give to it. One of the items I describe, is a request to support up to six special projects. One of these projects was called ‘Our Church Our Ministry’. My successor at Figtree Anglican  Church helpfully broadened the name to ‘Our Church Our Community’.

What it is in effect saying, is, please contribute some funds that can be used by the church leadership in any way that is beneficial. Where people trust the leadership and are generally supportive of the ministry and direction of the church, this project is often amazing well supported. Naturally the funds can be used in a range of ways. One would be to assist the seed funding of a new staff member. Another may be topping up the shortfall in one of the other projects. Another might be paying for any expenses that may have been generated in running the financial campaign in the first place.

However, some of the funds can also be used to fill in any end of year shortfalls. Naturally this won’t the primary way in which the money should be used. It should go into visionary projects. However sometimes this is necessary and it is far better than going cap in hand to the congregation close to Christmas. An appeal at Christmas is an opportunity to stimulate generosity to an outside worthy cause. For more on this topic and raising money for ministry, see my book Giving Generously. https://givinggenerously.com/buy-the-book-2/

Midyear Appeal.

A church that my wife and I attend is having its annual midyear appeal. Yes we are asked for money. If fact the congregation was asked for an eye watering amount of $1.7 million. But as far as I know people do not seem to be aggravated, offended or annoyed. In fact there is a sense of excitement and  joy and positive emotion. What is going on?  I have been teaching on giving and generosity for nearly twenty years. I know it is a topic that exercises the minds of most ministers on a very regular basis. However, it is also a topic that can make some church leaders very edgy. The reason is that they do not want to manipulate their congregation or they do not see how to raise resources without embarrassment or antagonism.

So why were we happy to be asked to give to this appeal?

The first reason is that we basically trust the church leadership. We have known the senior minister and many of the senior staff for many years and firmly believe they are honest people who will act honourably and responsibly. This is huge. People will not give if they do not trust those asking.

Second, the church has an excellent track record. When they have asked for money before,  we are confident that it has used for the purposes stated.

Third, I am actually asked to give and give generously. There is no’ um’ ing and ‘ah’ ing around or hanging the head with a nervous embarrassment. It is clearly stated that, we are asking this year for $1-7 million dollars. Will you give generous towards the appeal? The simple fact is that if you want to raise money for ministry you have to ask and ask confidently.

Fourth, while we are asked confidently, the appeal is also transparent. We never get the feeling we are being tricked, coerced or manipulated.

Fifth, there is a spread of projects areas.  All the money will go to some form of ministry to further the outreach of the church. Some will go to support the church’s very impressive overseas mission work on which we are regularly updated. Some will go help the poor and refugees in our own community. Some will go to further the church’s counselling centre ministering to the church and community. Some will go to plant more churches in a roughly half an hour radius of mother church. There is a project in there that will stir the heart of almost every one.

Sixth, the message is communicated clearly and vibrantly and passionately. There is a month of messages where the themes of the appeal are repeated. But there are also testimonies from people who have had their lives changed  as a result of former appeals. Further, each week we are shown a different video highlighting work overseas or on other church campuses. These are powerful, well produced and engaging.

Seventh, the senior minister gave a lead in giving. It is a clear indication he has skin in the game as he asks us to play our part.

Finally, while most of the projects have some sort of social care element , they are all undergirded by a genuine desire to have people come to know Jesus as Lord of their lives and be transformed by His work and His love. This spiritual gospel dimension is not some sort of veneer on a social cake but informs every aspect of what the church does and what this appeal seeks to achieve.

So as we reflected on this experience this is why my wife and I are happy to give and we believe the vast majority of others feel the same. I don’t know what the results are as yet but even in challenging financial times we expect them to be good. We also expect to be asked on future occasions and we are totally fine with that.

For more on raising money for ministry, see my book Giving Generously : Resourcing Local Church Ministry. Buy The Book

Surprised by Joy: Some years ago I read C.S. Lewis’s autobiographical work Surprised by Joy, detailing his journey from atheism to Christian faith. I discovered the title was inspired by a poem by that name written by William Wordsworth, the master of Romanticism, lamenting the fact that he experienced a moment of joy but had lost in death his daughter, so the added joy of sharing the experience could not occur.

The phrase stood out to me recently with two events that captured the attention of the nation. The first was the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops the nation. I must confess that despite coming from a family where my maternal grandfather and grandmother were avid race horse owners and racing fans and punters, any gene for being addicted to the Sport of Kings lies completely dormant in my genome. Yet I am not insensitive to the excitement and joie de vivre that the race engenders in many in our community. The newspapers always publish photographs showing the sheer joy on the faces of the owners and jockey of the successful steed.

Yet somehow all of this was transcended, and even made to seem hollow, by the sheer wave of joy that swept the entire continent of Australia when the news emerged that little four year old Cleo Smith had been found alive and well. It was the culmination of a massive search by police and volunteers that stretched over eighteen days, where the authorities threw everything at it, including a one million dollar reward and simply did not give up. Everyone from seasoned policemen, politicians, news reporters and the average man and woman in the street seemed captivated by a feeling of joy that seemed somehow purer and deeper than even the most significant sporting achievement could ever engender. I am not a particularly emotional person but I was surprised by the overwhelming sensation that this rescue engendered, the sheer joy that this dear little girl whom most had feared lost and perhaps never to be recovered, was found apparently unharmed. 

It made me reflect and empathize more deeply than I ever had before on the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus tells the short story of a man who has one hundred sheep but loses one. Rather than write this animal off as the cost of doing of doing business, the shepherd searches and searches till he triumphantly brings the stray home. Jesus concludes with the famous words,

‘I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.’ Luke 15:7.

Jesus spells out very clearly his heart and his priorities. His followers over two millennia have adopted this mission and feel a real rejoicing when any person puts their faith in Christ. For me, it simply reinforced the thought that the real overwhelming joy that I felt when I heard about Cloe Smith is really just a pale reflection the emotion I surely feel about the saving ministry of rescuing lost people with the gospel.

I have written a book about raising resources for ministry in the local church. It is called Giving Generously. One of the points I stressed in the book is that when properly and appropriately done raising money for ministry produces great joy. The reason for this is obvious.  No one gets excited about giving to paint the parish hall or buy a better dishwasher for the church kitchen. But when the object of the ministry is real kingdom work that involves heaven rejoicing as lost sheep are found, then people will give freely and generously and will be surprised by the joy it gives them.

Buy the Book

Almost everything you want to know about tithing

Landsell was born in Kent in 1841, son of a school master. He was a student at the London College of Divinity and was ordained priest in the Church of England in 1868. A teetotaller, he gained a reputation as a dynamic preacher, which he combined with a passion for missions. Obviously he was bitten with the travel bug, and not having been tied down by the incumbency of a parish, began a roving existence visiting many countries and distributing bibles and Christian literature as he did so. Initially he visited France, Germany and other western European countries but soon embarked on multiple journeys. These included Northern and Eastern Europe, and through Asia to Japan and across the Pacific to San Francisco.

Further travel followed. He reported on the conditions in Russian prisons, visited Mt Ararat in Turkey, the traditional resting place of Noah’s Ark, and attempted, with the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to meet the Dalai Lama. It was this latter trip that drew the attention of The Age newspaper.  Lansdell saw sights and places that were completely off the beaten track to westerners of his time. He blended in with the locals and photographs show him in highly unusual local costumes, hardly the image of a prim Anglican clergyman that gets aired on historical television shows. His energetic labours were recognised as he was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, a life member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and was member of the Royal Asiatic Society. Lansdell died in London in 1921, survived by his wife Mary.

During his journeys he made an exhaustive study of the practice of tithing throughout the regions he travelled, delving  into local practices and history. His findings are recorded in his book The Sacred Tenth or Studies in Tithe Giving, Ancient and Modern. It is a monumental work with detailed discussion of tithing in the Old Testament, Apocrypha, New Testament, Jewish Rabbinical practice, Early Church Fathers, and subsequent church history. Equally interesting is his survey of the subject in non-Christian nations from the Middle East to China.

I will give two examples among so many that attracted my attention. First, I was surprised at how wide spread the practice of tithing was in the ancient world with almost every society paying tithes in some shape of form.  I had always been somewhat puzzled that some of the early biblical references,-Abraham paying a tithe to Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20),-Jacob vowing to tithe (Gen 28:20-22) or the command in Leviticus 27:30-33- are discussed  out of the blue as it were, without any introduction. This becomes understandable when you consider that the scripture is probably referencing a practice that was widespread common knowledge.

Second, I had not realized that when Henry  8^th dissolved the monasteries,  around 1540 in England and parcelled out their lands to his aristocratic supporters, in many cases he also parcelled out the tithes to the new secular masters. I rather shared Lansdell’s indignation when I found that even at the end of the 19^th century, 350 years later, around one third of those tithes were still flowing into secular aristocratic pockets for their own personal use and not assisting Christian ministry.

Lansdell was a supporter of the practice of tithing. I recognize this is controversial but whether you believe that the tithe should be preached today or not, your knowledge and viewpoint will be greatly enhanced by reading this book which is still available online or in paperback. If you want to read more about raising money for ministry read my book Giving Generously: resourcing local church ministry. https://givinggenerously.com/