A collection of tips, advice and success strategies from leading industry influencers and pastors to help you leverage the power of the pulpit in motivating members to become more generous with financial support and volunteer hours.

1. The Power of the Pulpit
Creating the Case for Generosity

2. Introduction
Many pastors struggle with“the money
talk”because it can feel like a distraction
from a higher spiritual purpose. But
without the support of members, how
can your mission thrive? Here is a
collection of tips, advice and success
strategies from leading industry
influencers and pastors to help you
leverage the power of the
pulpit in motivating members to
become more generous with financial
support and volunteer hours.

3. “Clarify your own thinking about giving.
The clearer you are, the easier it will be for
you to offer a challenge to give. Then define
your views in your stewardship sermons.
See them as opportunities for the
congregation to hear what you think,
rather than occasions to convince them
to do something.”
Margaret Marcuson
Author of Money and Your Ministry
Clarity

4. “Give because‘we are your local church’
no longer compels enough members to
support the mission. There needs to be a
recognition of members in their 21st
century life. Members want more
information on the vision and giving
tools that work with their everyday
living. Pastors who can help lead their
organizations to this recognition
will see amazing things happen.”
Ben Stroup
Author of Church Giving Matters:
More Money Really Does Mean More Ministry
Vision

5. “Change comes in fits and starts in small
congregations. But it can come. In churches
I’ve pastored, we built buildings, bought
property, revised our bylaws, hired staff,
altered schedules, moved classes, created
new programs and started new groups.
Your leadership as pastor is the key to
transformative change in your church.
Take the time to listen, link, learn, love
and lead, and you’ll reap the rewards of
positive changes in your church.”
Chuck Warnock
Chatham Baptist Church in Chatham, VA
Change

6. Culture
“Churches, even small ones, need to
overhaul how they look at giving. And they
need to make the‘money talk’a natural
part of the culture instead of just once
a year stewardship drives. It’s a sensitive
topic. There is a general thought that it is
taboo to talk about religion, money or
politics, and in the stewardship talk you
are talking about two of those things at the
same time. But we must ask members if
they are part of a life-changing
organization or not. And if they are,
then we need to make the case for
regular support.”
Rev. David Norman
Pastor of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church
in Heuvelton, NY; Consultant to churches

7. Generosity
Donations from America’s individuals,
estates, foundations and corporations
reached an estimated $373.25 billion in
2015, setting a record for the second year
in a row. However, religion’s slice of the
total recipient pie chart, which measures
the percentage of donations made to nine
charitable subsectors, has steadily shrunk
for decades. Churches can learn from
nonprofits and their fundraising methods to
recapture some of that lost share.
Giving USA
2015 Was America’s Most-Generous Year Ever

8. Electronic
A study of the payments system in 2016
documents the shift from cash and checks
to electronic payments: From 2000 to 2015,
the number of checks paid declined by
more than 50 percent as payments through
cards, direct deposit and other services
more than tripled. 64 percent of consumers
write fewer than three checks per month —
up from 35 percent three years earlier. And
a recent study by Bankrate.com reported
that most Americans carry less than $50
with them. Forty percent have less than
$20 at any given time. This holds true inside
places of worship as well, which means that
churches must examine their own options
for giving to meet the evolving needs of
their members.
The Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve Payments Study 2016
Bankrate.com
Financial Security Index: Cash’s Cachet

9. “More than 25 percent of our offerings are
electronic in some form and we anticipate
that going up radically. People carry less
cash and checks, so we don’t want to make
it difficult for them to give when they are
moved to do so. Churches tend to be late
adopters, because we as leaders are older.
If a 20-something set up a church they
wouldn’t think twice about
electronic payments.”
Hal Seed
Founder and Senior Pastor of New
Song Community Church, Oceanside, CA
Experience

10. “Giving isn’t an adjunct thing we do, but
what we do as a fully committed follower
of Jesus. It’s up there with worship and
praying. It’s part of what it means to be
a Christian, to be a person of faith. We
wouldn’t talk about prayer just once a year.
If we look at giving and stewardship on par
with those other disciplines, we’re really
doing people a disservice by not talking
about it regularly. We rob people of the
joy of giving if we don’t talk about it.”
George Wasson
Founder and Senior Pastor of Faithpoint
United Methodist Church in Floyds Knobs, IN
Communication

11. “What would happen if your church
was known to be a giving church? What
would it look like if you were known first
and foremost for your generosity? If you
really want to know the heart of a church
take a look at how they spend their money.
This is not about what individuals give to
the church, but rather, what does a church
do with what they have been given.”
Larry Barker discusses how to become a
more generous church in
Larry Barker
Director of North American Missions for the
Baptist Missionary Association of America
Giving
pastors.com/becoming-generous-church

12. Brian Kluth, known as the Generosity
Minister, is working with a Florida
community to create a massive wave
of generosity in September and
October 2017. He wants to change the
generosity fabric of the community by
creating a multi-organizational model
linking everybody — church, business,
nonprofit and government agencies —
to perform service hours and acts of
kindness and celebrate generosity
like never before. To learn more, visit
lovingnorthbrevard.org
Brian Kluth
Inspirational Speaker
Celebrate

13. Call to learn how Vanco’s Give+ Suite of electronic giving options
can help you manage and grow financial stewardship within your church.
800-675-7430 | VancoPayments.com
Growing Giving Through a Kiosk:
Case Study > Download Now
Give+ Text Expands Church Giving:
Case Study > Download Now
e-Giving Success Strategies > Download Now
70% e-Giving Adoption:
Case Study > Download Now
Interested in more inspiration and tools
to increase generosity in your church?
About Vanco Payment Solutions
Vanco Payment Solutions helps churches effectively manage and grow financial stewardship. Working with more than
20,000 churches, we’re the largest provider of electronic giving and payment solutions designed especially for faith-
based organizations. For nearly 20 years, we’ve listened to our loyal, long-time family of customers, understood their
giving needs and supported them through every step of building a complete electronic giving program. We can help
your church select the right combination of services and grow e-Giving across your congregation.
FB PS SPP 042017 v2