Last year record snow fall hit Virginia.  One of the largest churches in the country, one that many seek to replicate, gained media attention by holding services despite the blizzard.  Members gathered around their computer screens and watched the service live via the web.  While many hailed it as a stroke of genius there was one thing missing, a strategy to make up for the lost offering.  Here is a super mega-church doing everything right EXCEPT thinking about how to make up for the loss of revenue that one week’s offering provides.  Tragically that money typically is never made up.  Members and attendees don’t usually think to mail their checks in and they don’t think of bringing it with them the next week.

I often ask pastors and staff members around the country if they have a cancellation policy.  Without fail they tell them they do.  I then ask them if they have a policy about how to replace the lost offering that a canceled service wipes out.  I have yet to have anyone tell me yes.  From mega churches to emerging churches it is an ignored precaution that each year costs churches thousands of dollars.  Don’t make the same mistake.  Now is the time to have your bad weather policy in place not only for holding services but for missed offering opportunities.  Here are seven easy steps you can take to make up for any lost weekends of offerings.

1.  Develop a plan of action for bad weather ahead of time. The first step is to simply think through a strategy ahead of time.  Planning now will allow you to implement a strategy that is effective.  If you wait until the last minute you will either do nothing and miss thousands of dollars or do something hurried and make yourself look desperate.  If you plan ahead for closing why not plan ahead to make up offering loss?  Having a plan in place now will make it easier to act when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Your plan should be tailor made for your congregation.  One thing to remember is that you have various segments in your congregation and they each respond to different types of appeals.  Younger members might better respond to a text message appeal.  Baby Boomers might respond to email.  Senior Adults might respond best to good old fashioned snail mail.  Find the ways that best suit your particular congregation.

One other thing to realize is that you should never put all your eggs in one basket.  For instance even though we are more and more relying upon email, studies have shown that regular direct mail garners more dollars than online giving.  Another recent study found that email often gets people to mail in a donation rather than commit a gift online.  The key is to use a multitude of giving options for your donor base.

2.  Set up online giving through your churches web site. This is easy to do.  There are many ways to accomplish this.  Google some of the churches you follow and see how they have set theirs up.  The one thing that I always recommend is that you make the button highly visible for anyone to see.  Too many churches web sites that I go to almost hide their giving link.  Make it easy for those hitting your site to find.  While you are doing this you might also consider setting up the ability for your donors to text in their offerings as well.  The point is prepare now for ease of giving when times of bad weather strike.

3.  Update your data base to include email addresses and cell phone numbers. Since weather happens so fast email and even text messaging are the best way to contact donors at the last minute.  I am often surprised at how lacking some churches are when it comes to having up to date email addresses or cell phone numbers on their membership.  I once worked with a church running 2,500 hundred on a weekend.  Their email data base was woefully lacking.  On two consecutive Sundays we passed sign up sheets down each row asking for email addresses.  So, despite your size you can garner your members and attendees email addresses and cell phone numbers.

4.  Write your appeal letter ahead of time and have it ready at a moments notice. I recommend that the letter be written and printed and sitting on the shelf ready to mail.  The letter can essentially be the same as the email appeal.  The key difference is that the email appeal contains a link to your churches giving portal.  If you don’t know what to write email me and I will send you a copy for free.

5.  Order offering envelopes with a pre-printed postage paid stamp NOW. Utilizing envelopes like this means that you only pay postage if it is mailed back to you.  Ordering them now means you have them on hand ready to use in case of bad weather.  Even if you catch a break and the snow flies early in the week you can always use the envelopes for other mailings.  Every snow strategy should employ both electronic and regular mail appeals.

6.  Watch the weather forecast for the weekend. While we like to joke about the weather man being inaccurate more often than not they hit it right on the head.  Our current technology gives you a fair warning of impending bad weather.  So, if the forecast is for snow over the weekend I can get my appeal letter in the mail on Friday.  While your members might not get out remember that the US Post office has a motto that says, “Neither rain, sleet or snow will stop the US Mail.”  Here in Atlanta just the hint of ice or snow will cause people to hunker down for days.  So, even if the roads are not bad you can count on a lower attendance.  Don’t wait for bad weather to happen, anticipate it and take action!

7.  When bad weather comes execute your plan! Someone on staff makes the call about whether you will be open when bad weather strikes.  Who will make the call about the make up offering strategy?  As I mentioned above don’t wait until after the fact act.

A final word about executing your plan.  Don’t rely upon one method of appeal.  I would always follow up an email appeal with a direct mail appeal.  Redundancy is often the key to getting a response.

Does it work? Ask my friend Pastor Jimmy Washington of Phillips Temple in Dayton, OH and he will tell you it does.  Three years ago bad weather one Sunday kept his attendance at an all time low.  We sent out an appeal letter the first of the week after that Sunday.  The result was thousands of dollars came in that more than made up for the loss of offering from the previous Sunday.  This allowed ministry to continue unabated despite the poor attendance.  His story could be your story.  For some of you it is not if it snows but when it snows.  Prepare now for that event by implementing these seven easy steps.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

PS.  If you don’t have a snow letter email me at Mark@TheCharisGroup.org and I will send you a sample for free!

I saw a report on the Salvation Army’s red buckets going high tech.  I well remember from my childhood throwing pennies and other coins into the red bucket while a Salvation Army rep rang the bell.  Millions of dollars have been raised every Christmas season by those red buckets and ringing bells.  Now the Salvation Army has added a new twist.  You can swipe your credit card or debit card to make your donation.

When I first saw this my reaction was negative.  I thought that it somehow demeaned the process of giving.    Call me old fashioned but I like the sound of coins clinking in the pot.  Also to be honest I hate change and I love to unload all my loose change into the red buckets.  So at first I was not a fan.  However I then began to reconsider.  Many people in today’s society never carry cash of any kind.  This approach gives the Salvation Army a new avenue to generate revenue.  Early reports from across the country shows that people are using the machines.  So perhaps this new approach has some merit.

I then of course began to think of how this might be applied to the church.  There are scores of companies out there that offer giving kiosks for instance.  You can simply Google giving kiosks and find tons listed.  While it might not be the way I would like to give none the less you will find that this method appeals to many who would rather go cashless or not carry a check book.  The one thing that I feel strongly about is allowing donors to charge their donation.  Most companies will let you set up the machines to only do debit from checking or savings.

The ultimate question is does it work?  I have several clients who have installed various giving kiosks.  All report that they are used heavily by attendees.  When churches are struggling to make budgets any tool that will help them should be welcomed.  After all there is nothing in the Bible that dictates how we should give our offering only that we give.  A few hundred years ago checks were unheard of.  I wonder if churches initially pushed back at receiving donations by check instead of cash?  At some point it became a non issue.  It might be time for we in the church to change the way we offer members and attendees the chance to give.  If the Salvation Army has gone high tech it might be time for you to consider something similar.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and time of the year.  I like it because it is simple and because it is important for all of us to pause from time to time to reflect and give thanks.  We here in America have much to be thankful for.  The church in America has much to be thankful for.  We should stop from time to time and reflect upon this and give thanks.

My profession and ministry is stewardship.  As such I keep an eye on things that as a pastor I never really ever thought about.  Where I used to spend my days of study in commentaries my days now are filled with reading about the economy and giving trends.  What has amazed me these last couple of years is how badly we in the church have been captured by fear and frozen into inactivity by the past recession.  We have too often read the alarming headlines touting churches on the verge of foreclosure or offerings drying up.  Pollsters have told us that giving was going to be in the tank and forecasted huge budget declines.  Too many gave into this hype never bothering to check the facts.

The facts are that giving to churches in American is alive and well.  To be sure in some places giving has seen declines.  I in no way want to minimize the damage that those churches feel.  Yet the reality is that there have been relatively few churches that have been re-possessed.  The few that have been have grabbed the headlines but I challenge you to think of a church near you or that you know of that has been forced by the bank to close their doors.  True some have struggled to meet their payments but they are none the less still operating.  This is something to be thankful for.

I was humored by the outrage that Giving USA’s report garnered this past spring when their findings revealed that giving to charity only slightly declined in 2009.  Giving to religion decline only .3%.  That is a far cry from what Barna and others were predicting.  Giving USA’s report smacked against our commonly held belief that we had received from a negative media, that giving was off the cliff.  Many argued with the report but it is hard to argue against facts.  I predict we will have similar findings about giving in 2010. Even though giving was off slightly it still the fact that the decline was so small is reason for thanksgiving.

It is time we stop all the hand wringing about the sky falling in.  It isn’t.  It is not as bad as you think.  While your ministry might have had to make some adjustments you are still ministering.  There are churches across the world that would love to have your problems.  It is time to stop whining and start being thankful.  The recession is really over.  The impact might still linger for months to come but all the indicators are there of the recovery.  The ice is thawing.  People’s attitudes are changing.  If you look hard enough you might just find the sun is still shining.  If you look hard enough you might just pull your head out from behind the log and believe you can start that growth plan that has been on the shelf.  If you look you will find reasons to be thankful.

So, since Thanksgiving is forced upon us why not take some time and reflect on all the things you have to be thankful for?  Make Thanksgiving not just a date upon the calendar but the spirit by which you live each day.  The old hymn Count Your Blessings has it right.  Let’s be surprised today at all the Lord has done!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

As you go to your mail box these next few weeks you will notice a rise in letters from non-profit and ministry groups.  Everyone that you have ever given to in the past, responded to or attended a meeting of theirs will send you a letter trying to convince you that you need to send them an end of year appeal.  Why do they send out these letters?  One simple reason, they work!  Direct Mail raises millions of dollars every year in this country.  While Social Media gets all the press and attention Direct Mail quietly brings in the bucks.  In fact a recent study found that 37 % of donors who gave online did so as a result of a direct mail appeal.

So, my question to you is, why is your church not sending a end of year appeal to your donor list?  Failing to do so could result in thousands of dollars lost to your ministry.  At a time of the year when you are struggling to close out your budget year in the black this simple yet effective strategy could help save the day for you and your ministry.  End of year appeals are not difficult to execute.  Here are some things to consider.

When do you need to send an end of year appeal? Right before or just after Thanksgiving is the best time in my opinion.  Donors are making end of year decisions in this time frame.  For instance in a couple of weeks I will visit my accountant to get her advice on how to structure our accounts so we will not have to pay as much tax in the coming year.  Did you know that your members who own their own business can through their business contribute to your ministry? Many are looking for a way to minimize the amount of tax they pay.  An end of year letter might give them the idea to divert funds to your ministry and legally lower their tax bill.  That is simply good stewardship.

Who needs to get an end of year appeal? Everyone.  While an end of year appeal will typically only be directed at your top end donors you do not want to show favoritism with your donor base.  Suppose you send me a letter but not a member of my small group.  At lunch I ask him what he thought of your letter?  He has just found out that I don’t view him as a significant donor.  While his donation might be small it none the less can add up when you see donations from across your donor base.

What should the end of year appeal ask for? Every appeal must have some compelling reason to give.  I call that a driver.  The appeal drives me to give.  An appeal that simply says, “Hey, help us make up ground on our budget,” is less appealing.  An appeal that says, “Your gift will enable us to continue supporting mission work in India,” is appealing.  Even if you need the appeal to go towards your operating budget make the appeal about ministry not about hitting some number.  Tell them why it is important to make the budget and how an end of year gift can make a difference.  The more specific the appeal the more effective the results.

What should the end of year appeal contain? Besides the letter itself your appeal should include an envelope that is postage paid.  That way if they throw it away you are not out postage.  If they mail it back with a check you have more than made up the cost of the postage you will pay.  You might also consider supplemental materials like pictures to drive home your point.  My wife regularly contributes to Smile Train a non-profit that helps repair cleft palate babies world wide.  Every letter has a glossy picture of needy children inserted into it.  What visual could you include in your letter that might further compel donors to give?

What should the tone be? Positive!  Negative appeals turn people off.  Always be positive.  I like to write the first paragraph telling about all the great things the ministry is doing.  I write the second paragraph telling what the ministry needs to do immediately to fulfill the vision God has given them.  The next paragraph lists how donors can help and asks for their support.  The final paragraph thanks them for their past support and for prayerfully considering this request.  I personally like the appeal to be one page.

Who should it come from? The Senior Pastor should always be the sender.  While someone else might write it for him he none the less needs to be the one to sign it.  Here is a thought, why not personally sign them?  While that might take a couple of hours it could mean all the difference.  The next time you are listening to a sermon for sermon prep, why not sign letters?  The more personalize the delivery the more effective the result.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get started on that letter now!  You might just find that your end of year appeal could bring in thousands of dollars.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

We have just suffered through the longest recession since WWII.  While most assume that it was our worst and compare it regularly to The Great Depression, neither is true.  First it was certainly far from The Great Depression.  There were no hunger lines and unemployment never reached anywhere near the levels of The Great Depression.  Politicians may say they saved us from a world wide depression to make themselves look better but the facts are simply not there to prove their point.  You can find a table full of economist who might agree that we almost plunged into a depression and a table full to argue that the very notion is nonsense.  One side argues that government action saved us.  The other side argues that government action made things worse.  Take your pick who you want to believe.  At any rate it is a moot argument as the worst of this past recession was no where near the misery of The Great Depression.  We Americans have poor historical memories.

Then there is the inconvenient fact that this past recession was in many ways very much like the recession of the early 1980′s.  Indeed in some ways that recession was worse.  Unemployment was higher then and interest rates were at 18%.  While banks took the brunt of this past recession in the 1980′s it was the Savings and Loan industry.  How many Savings and Loans have you past lately?  The point to remember is that we survived that one and rebounded to more robust times.  We will survive this past recession and experience a rebounding economy.

This view doesn’t sit well with alarmist who love a bad story.  Tragically many in the church are among those that look for bad news at every turn to bolster their theological position.  I am amused at how many Christians have fallen prey to the likes of Glenn Beck never realizing that his alarmist views are the off shoot of his Mormon faith.  While I believe in the return of Christ and that it could come at any minute the facts surrounding our present economic status are far from negative.  Consider some facts…

• Retail sales increased 1.5% in October, the largest gain in seven months.  Retail sales are now at their highest level since August 2008.
• Sales are up 7.3% in the past year.
• Real consumer spending increased at a 2.6% annual rate in Q3, the fastest pace since late 2006.
• Total cash earnings in the private sector are up 4.5% in the past year.
• Unemployment is inching downward instead of going up.  It is estimated that 900,000 more people will be employed this coming Holiday Season over last year.
• Even housing which remains sluggish has seen some increase as new single-family home sales increased 6.6% in September.

It is true that this recovery is much slower than past recoveries from recessions.  However we are out of the recession and moving steadily towards a solid albeit slow recovery.  To argue otherwise is to ignore the facts.

Worship Facilities Magazine sent out an email entitled, “Church Market is Sweet Spot in 2011 Building.”  The email was a release on an article about McGraw-Hill Construction based in Washington, D.C., part of The McGraw-Hill Cos., which released its 2011 Construction Outlook.  Their study predicted an increase in overall U.S. construction starts in 2011, with building expected to advance 8% to $445.5 billion following a 2% decline in 2010.  The church market is projected to see a 4% increase.

McGraw-Hill’s vice president of economic affairs, Robert A. Murray was quoted as saying, “While the economy is still facing headwinds, the stage is being set for construction to see modest improvement in 2011 from this year’s very weak activity. We’re turning the corner, slowly. 2011 will be the first year of renewed growth for overall construction activity, and 2010 becomes the final year of a very lengthy and unusual construction cycle.”

So, while the sun might not be shining in every part of our nation in terms of the recovery there is hope.  It’s March in terms of where we are.  For some parts of our nation March is a warm month and for others the snow still flies.  Yet spring is around the corner.  It is time to get the garden ready for planting.  There is a harvest out there waiting.  However you can not harvest what you do not plant.  There is no planting without planning.  Start now or you will find summer upon you with nothing in the ground.

The return of our Lord may indeed be soon.  It will not be brought about by the Market, a recession or most certainly by a TV personality.  His return is up to our Sovereign God.  Don’t be found like the wicked servant in Matthew 25 who hid the talent given him in the ground.  Now is the time to wake up from your slumber and start planting for a harvest!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

How do you go from nearly 80% approval rating to now falling below 50%?  Someone at the White House might be asking that question.  Unless the President does something drastic to improve the direction of his numbers he will be one and out.  If you closely look at the polls people still admire the President personally but his policies are what are unpopular with people.  This unpopularity cost his party dearly in the past election.  The same thing happened to Republicans in 2006 when George Bush was so unpopular.  Fair or not it is reality.  That reality many politicians heard on November 2nd.  My question is what can pastors learn about this slide that might prevent them from something similar happening?

Before I give my thoughts here just a word.  It is not my intention to be political with this post but to talk about leadership issues.  So, if Obama is your man, good for you, but don’t ignore the point of the post.  If you hate everything Obama this post is not about building a case against him either. So, having dispensed with the disclaimer let’s look at what appears to have caused this slide and what you can do to prevent something similar from happening to you.

Be careful what you promise! One the major reasons Team Obama is having such problems is that they set an unrealistic bar for themselves.  It is a proven fact that during his campaign he made more promises than Bush and Kerry combined in the presidential campaign of 2006.  The bar of expectation was set so high that frankly he had no where to go but down.

I once worked with a pastor that prior to my coming on board had told his congregation that if they built the new building they would double in size and increase their offerings to pay the debt.  They believed him, built the building and did grow, by 5%.  Now they are saddled with massive debt that they cannot pay and the pastor is no longer at that church.  He made the classic politicians mistake of promising too much and delivering too little.

Like politicians who try to sell themselves to the electorate with unrealistic campaign promises too often pastors do essentially the same thing.  We tend to be overly optimistic and under realistic.  Every time you make a promise about something happening and then it does not you lose change in your pocket with your members.  Then the next time you are faced with a decision which needs your congregations support your past promises come back to haunt you.  So be careful what you promise.

The danger of unrealistic expectations. I personally think our president means well.  I think he actually thought that he could pull off all the promises that he made.  The problem was unrealistic expectations.  To be fair this is a problem that most presidents have.  The reality of politics soon comes crashing down upon them.

When you have unrealistic expectations it is only natural to over promise.  What results is all too often failure.  Each time a leader fails to deliver on a promise it makes it that much harder to lead those under him.

In my twelve plus years of working in the stewardship field I would say that unrealistic expectations is the number one problem churches have when it comes to raising funds.  They nearly all think they can raise far more money than they actually can.  I once met with a church that wanted to raise six times their operating budget.  When I advised that a number like that seemed unrealistic one member countered by saying that they believed they had many large donors that had gone untapped in the past.  This particular church has had two capital stewardship campaigns and has never approached six times their budget in the past.  Their attendance was essentially the same as it has been for the last two campaigns.  What was the basis for believing they could do six times their budget?  Perhaps they could achieve that level of giving despite their past record.  My fear however is that they have set themselves up for failure with an unrealistic expectation.

As an aside, when it comes to capital campaigns I fear my industry is much to blame for pastor’s having unrealistic expectations.  We tout from our websites and materials about churches that have raised four to six times their budget.  We make it appear the norm when in actuality it is far from the norm.  Raising funds above two times your operating budget takes large significant gifts.  If you do not have that type of donor to begin with it is highly unlikely that they will magically appear for your campaign.  Too often churches hear what they want to hear, someone telling them that they can achieve more than is realistic.  For our part we would rather tell you the truth and lose the contract than blow smoke at you and ultimately lose your respect.

The media in these last few weeks continues to speculate whether Obama will change direction and move more towards the center.  Bill Clinton did this and won a second term.  It will be interesting to see if Obama does the same.  If he doesn’t it might be difficult to win a second term.

While you as a pastor might not be up for reelection you none the less must continue to hold the confidence of those you lead.  Learning from the mistakes of other leaders, Democrat or Republican, can save you a lot of heart ache and more importantly a loss of your agenda.  After all our agenda is suppose to be God’s agenda.  Our business is eternal and vastly more important than the affairs of state.  A little wisdom can make all the difference in the world between success and failure.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

You could have heard a pin drop in the terminal in Dayton, OH.  I was traveling back from a speaking engagement and was waiting upon my flight back to Atlanta when I noticed a crowd around the windows of our gate.  I moved to the window to see what everyone was looking at and what had stopped all conversation.  Below us on the tarmac was a hearse, a group of motorcycles, Marines in dress blues and a small group of civilians.  Immediately I knew.  These Marines were there to escort their brother to his final resting place.  The motorcyclists were there to make sure no nut jobs from Kansas would interfere.  The small knot of civilians were the family members of the Marine returning home, in a casket.

We travelers watched in stone silence the solemn yet dignified process of loading the flag draped casket into the hearse.  Slow salutes were raised as the casket was moved out of the belly of the airplane into open air.  Six strong ram rod straight Marines lifted their brother and carried him to the hearse.  In the terminal not a sound could be heard.  Quiet.  We all stood silently at attention as we watched the ceremony.  No one complained that this could delay our flight.  No one was worried about missing connections or business concerns or any other matter.  We stood in silence and watched.

Tears streamed down my face as I watched.  I could not take my eyes off that small knot of civilians who were obviously this Marines family.  He had paid the ultimate price.  He would be forever young.  This family was now left only with memories of a loved one who just days earlier was alive and was now dead.  I cannot relate to their grief.  I so wanted to go thank them, hug them, pray with them.  I wished there was something I could do.

I thought but for the grace of God I would have been standing there like them.  Inches, a few feet and my son, Jon, wounded once in Baghdad, might have ended up like this Marine.  I thought about that again a couple of weeks ago when I held Jon’s newly born daughter Zoe.  Inches.  One life spared another taken.  One family in grief another in joy.  I cannot comprehend it.  I am amazed by it.

I get emotional when I think of our Veterans.  Words escape me to somehow say thanks.  That Marine whose remains were being returned home to Ohio and the thousands like him gave their all so that we can continue to be free.  It’s a long line.  From Lexington, to Valley Forge, Gettysburg, St Mihiel, Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Okinawa, the Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Kuwait, Baghdad and Kandahar.  Men and women invest their lives so that we can continue to experience freedom.  Freedom to assemble, freedom to vote, freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom to pursue whatever dreams we have.

Is there something we can do?  Is there some way to say thank you for all these sacrifices?  Is there a way in which I can thank that grieving family in Ohio that I will never know and probable never see?  Yes, we can live lives worthy of the sacrifice of all our Veterans.  Our freedoms do not come cheap.  They were established by the blood of veterans long since gone.  They were maintained by millions of veterans down through the ages.  Millions more today either served or are serving.  We owe them all a debt of gratitude.  Start paying it back by thanking a veteran.  The real way to pay it back however is to live life worthy of the sacrifices they have made.

Thank you Veterans!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

I love my industry. I really do.  Without question I believe stewardship firms offer a church its best chance of raising maximum dollars.  The cost you pay is far outweighed by the results you get.  Bill Hybels once remarked that, “There were only a hand full of pastors who could run their own stewardship campaign.”  I would of course agree with that.  It is not just my prejudiced opinion but a fact supported by numerous studies and tons of testimonials from pastors who tried going it alone and failed.  Oh, I know there are exceptions.  Yet even those that claim to have “done it themselves,” used some type of materials or program that they got somewhere.  The fact is that if you use a professional stewardship firm you will raise more money than if you go it alone.

While I love what we do for churches I hate the selling side of my industry.  You see before we can help you we have to “sell” you on how great we are.  Here is where things get sticky and I get cranky!  In our attempt to “sell” you on how great we are we tend to overstate and over inflate what we can accomplish.  The typical salesperson in any industry will always paint the rosiest picture for you.  Hire us and all your problems will vanish and you will raise 10 times your operating budget.  That is what stewardship firms seem to say.  The truth is when we sit across from you at the “sales table” we have no clue how well your campaign will do.  There are just too many unknown variables at that point.  To the question of how much can any church raise the truthful answer is, “It depends.”  That is not exciting and not what most churches want to hear.  So, what happens is we tout all these success stories of other churches that have raised three, four, five or more times their operating budgets.  Good for those churches but how does their success ensure yours?  It doesn’t.  It is the wrong measuring rod for determining who you want to partner with.

I get asked from time to time what our pledge to budget ratio is.  The truth of the matter is I don’t know.  I don’t know because we don’t measure success that way.  We have churches who have done six times and four times their annual operating budget.  Yet they all had large donations to their campaigns.  Do you have that kind of giver?  Comparing your church to those churches would be a huge mistake.  We do a lot of work with minority churches who do not have that kind of donor base.  Is it fair to compare our results with them to you?  It is an apples to oranges kind of discussion.  Be wary of the firm that touts huge success without honestly admitting that not every campaign is successful.

How should you measure a stewardship firm? Well I am glad you asked.  Here are some thoughts…

1. What are others saying about the firm? While it might mean work for you check the references of EVERY firm you interview not just the one you settle upon.  Checking references first will give you a better feel for what to ask the firm’s representative when you do meat with them.  That is much better than hearing all about their company which you can do by simply going onto their website.
2. Did they fulfill their promises? I would be asking if the firm in question fulfilled what they promised.  Again, you have to ask others to find this out.
3. Were they there from the start to the finish? Typically after the commitment weekend you hardly ever see or hear from a firm until it is time to do another campaign.  Find a firm that stays connected and involved with churches for the duration of the campaign.
4. Did they add value? I believe you know immediately upon starting the conversation with a firm if they are going to add value to you or not.  You are paying a consultant for what he knows not his companies website or materials.

I can think of a multitude of other questions but this perhaps will get you thinking.  Success is always determined not be figures but by your perception and experience.  You are getting ready to embark upon a great journey.  Make sure the guide you take with you in the boat is one you actually respect and like.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Many churches are right now working on their budget for the upcoming year.  Budgets are estimations of what you and your leadership team feel will be needed to fuel the ministry you believe God has called you to perform.  A budget is also an approval of spending so that you are free to make day to day decisions without getting a vote on every roll of toilet paper you dispense.  Budgets done correctly can be a valuable tool for ministries.  Done incorrectly than can lead to disaster.  In this post I want to give some advice for those of you that are preparing your churches budget.

Just because it is in the budget does not mean it is in the bank. If there is one lesson this past recession should have taught us it is this.  You can set all the budget you want but if the money is not in the bank you cannot spend what the budget has approved.  Churches incorrectly look at a comparison of last year’s budget to any increase in this year’s budget.  What you should be looking at is what you are currently set to take in this year and then compare that to what your budget should be for the coming year.

Your past giving is the best indicator of your future giving. In the last week I have dealt with two different churches, both with basically the same size budget, that are in the midst of increasing their budget for next year from this year’s amount.  One is proposing a 19% increase in the budget but admits that the 2011 budget will be a 30% increase over anticipated giving.  The other church is debating a 10% to 15% percent increase in their budget for next year.  The difference is that their giving the past few years has increased 10% each year.  If you were a betting man which church would you say has the better chance of making budget?

Now before we rule out the first church proposing a 19% increase we need to ask some further questions.  For one, what gives them the confidence that they can hit such an increase?  Do they have additional growth in the last year that would give them that confidence?  Has the last quarter seen an increase enough that they feel they can sustain that?  What is their plan for hitting the increase in funding?  I never say to a church that what they are proposing is a dumb idea.  I first start by asking probing questions.  There may indeed be good reasons for the increase.

At this point, given what information I do have I think the first church might be biting off more than they can chew.  For one thing their past giving is showing a decline.  Add to this that according to their minutes attendance has been on a plateau.  Finally, the last two years nationally have seen not an increase to giving in churches but a slight decrease.  While we might technically be out of the recession emotionally it’s impact lingers on.  My guess is that those members at this church are still feeling the sting of the recession and they might wonder about their churches aggressive increase.

Why is budget planning so important?

First, poor planning can and will cause you to lose momentum. If you have not properly projected receipts and expenses you might blow through your money in the first quarter only to be sucking wind in the other quarters of the year.  All of a sudden you have to make tough decisions that can and will impact your ministry negatively.

Poor planning will cause you to lose the confidence of your donors. If you can’t manage the budget what else can you not do?  Both of the churches I mentioned above are in the midst of planning for capital stewardship campaigns.  I can assure you that their budget success or failure will have an impact upon their future campaigns.  One of the underlying questions that donors have is, “Can you pull this off?”  If you cannot pull the budget off why would I think you could pull the capital campaign off?  When I have multiple ministries asking for my over and above money I will give to that ministry that I know will be successful.  Missing your budget by a large margin might not make me move my membership but you can count on it giving me pause before I invest more money with you.

Setting and making budgets for churches is more difficult now than in the past.  It takes wise planning and forethought.  You must understand the times we live in, your giving history and a host of other factors.  Given the complexity that we face today it might be time to get some outside advice.  I know just who you can contact!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Tonight I am making a presentation at a church wanting to hire a stewardship firm to help them with a capital campaign next year.  They are going to interview four companies in all, two tonight.  I am first up tonight.  While I love what I do I hate having one hour to show a group of people what we do.  I can barely say hello in one hour!

Every company will come in and tell this church why they are the right fit for them.  Some of the firms will come in touting their latest product or their great success.  I like to just come in and consult.  I like to talk church and stewardship.  I really don’t like to talk about our company.  While it is important to know who we are and what we do it is more important to know what we know and how that can help you.  I know however that you need to know what makes us distinct.  So, I wrote the following.

We believe we are distinctive for the following reasons.

We are Jerry Maguire! Remember the movie Jerry Maguire?  It is famous for the line, “Show me the money!”  Yet the driving theme of the movie was about a sports agent, Jerry Maguire, who at the top of his game had a defining moment about his industry.  He came to believe that to serve his clients best he needed fewer clients giving those he had more attention.

Too often in the stewardship industry consultants have far too many churches to do an effective job.  At The Charis Group our consultants limit the amount of clients taken each year.  This allows us to give more attention and more personalized approach to our churches.

We are consultants not salesmen. When we formed The Charis Group we intentionally did not hire a sales force.  Too often a stewardship firms salesmen would over promise and under deliver for a church.  Many churches felt cheated when after deciding upon a company they realized that the one who they first met with was not their consultant.

Our consultants stay with you seamlessly throughout the whole process.  The one you first meet is the one who will guide you through the entire campaign process.  We start from the first meeting doing what we do best, consulting.

We offer solutions not programs. Most companies sell you a campaign in a box.  Your name might be on the top but it is essentially a preset program.  Programs are easy to implement and cheap as well.  While all campaigns do have a program side to it, it is the least challenging part of the process.  At The Charis Group we go beyond offering programs to offering you true strategic consulting that leads to solutions and success.  Don’t fall for the latest trinket, website or other sales technique.  Find someone that can help you arrive at the best solution for your church.  We believe we are that someone!

We think outside the box. Too many companies are still delivering campaigns the way they did in the 1980’s.  Times have changed and so must our approach.  We are not captured by the way things have always been done.  Our task is to find the most effective way to bring you the most dollars for your need.  In our fast changing society that demands new outside the box thinking.

We are in it for the long haul. We have some of the stewardship industries longest tenured consultants.  We are not here today and gone tomorrow.  While we might not be the biggest we are striving to be the best.  We believe this ministry is our life’s calling.  Through lean economic times as well as times of abundance we are here for you.

Recently a pastor at the end of a three year campaign with The Charis Group said, “Every company promised us follow up before and never fulfilled that promise.  The Charis Group has stayed with us to the end.”  Every company promises follow up we deliver on that promise.  Make sure that your partner is in it for the long haul.

We are not fund raisers but faith raisers! While every church wants to raise funds it is imperative that the process is consistent with your core values.  Everything we do is to be done by faith.  Why would you depart from that position when it comes to raising funds?  In the end we believe that how you raise the funds is as important as raising the funds.  We believe in and stress the importance of a true spiritual journey in campaigns.  As a result we believe we will not only raise funds for the church but also raise their faith.

We are pastors at heart! All our consultants have spent time as Senior Pastors.  We know what it is like to sit behind the pastor’s desk.  We know the pressures he faces and the fears he must deal with.  While no longer actively serving as pastor, our heart is still that of a pastor.  Our goal is to lift the load of the pastor ensuring that the campaign not only raises maximum funds but keeps the pastors sanity in the process!

At The Charis Group we are passionate about serving pastors and churches.  We know what it is like to have big dreams that produce defining moments for our ministries.  We know that failure is not an option.  Our mission is to make your dreams become a reality.  As a result you can be sure that each Charis Consultant shows up every time giving you his best.  You should expect nothing less.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group