What to expect in 2011?  Get this question right and you can be the next great expert and have every magazine and media outlook contact you for your opinion.  Get it wrong and you could find that your fifteen minutes of fame has come and gone.  While it might be dangerous to talk about the future I think there are some indicators of what we can expect.  I am confident that 2011 can be a better year for the Church than 2010 was.  Here are some of my thoughts as we get ready for 2011 and why I have confidence in the future.

History shows us the way to the future. The only true way to know how things like the economy might play out in the future is to see how it has reacted in the past.  The problem here is that Americans and our media are poor historians.  The last recession was painted by so many as a depression when it was far from it.  What resulted was a panic that made things worse than they needed to be.

While this past recession was and still is painful it was none the less a recession.  For those that study history this past recession is very much like the recession of the early 1980′s.  Few however choose to notice this.  It simply runs inconvenient to our natural tendency to fear.  The truth is that the fundamentals of our economy worked and kept us from a recession and we are now on our way to recovery. Historically we have always rebounded from recessions and we are on our way once again to a rebound in economic health.

Historically the church has weathered the storms of recession better than any other institution.  The facts are that we are weathering this storm as well.  Don’t fall prey to those who paint a negative picture.  Sadly this includes most Christian leaders and pollsters.  While giving has declined it has done so at a small rate.  The Church has weathered past recessions and will be shown to have weathered this one as well.  Should Jesus tarry, we will look back in a decade and marvel at how so many panicked instead of responding by faith.

While not out of the woods there are good signs that show we are recovering. The media has a saying, “Blood leads.”  What that means is that good news does not gain attention, gain viewers or sell papers.  So, while there is a lot of good news on the recovery of our economy seldom do you hear about it.  The results of this negativity is that it impacts consumer confidence which is a key to fueling a rebound in the economy.  Consumer confidence filters down into to what I call Pew Confidence.  If the rank and file that sit in your pews, chairs for you contemporary folks, has a low confidence in our economy it will impact what they put in the offering plate.

You can expect the negativity to continue on.  We Americans would rather hear the bad news than hear that things are not as bad as we think.  If you are a wise leader you will work to negate this negativity.  Or do you think the Apostle Paul let the situations of his day stop him from the mission God had for Him?  The Church should be the one institution in our country that is shining a positive light.  What are you doing to give people hope?

The recovery of our economy will be slow but steady. The facts and data are all there if you care to look.  The problem with we Americans is that we want what we want when we want it, right now!  This economy will take some time to get back to where it was.  I suspect that confidence in the recovery will not gain force until the summer of 2011 or even the fall.  You can expect then that any plans you have for growth will still be met with skepticism.  Pastors wanting to move forward will be met in the board rooms with business people that have cold feet.  To move forward will take work on your part to communicate the plans God has given you.  Don’t expect them to blindly sign on to whatever plans you have.  You will have to prove your plan of action and part of that will be in knowing where the economy is for your area.

The churches that will succeed are the churches that plan ahead. Perhaps my greatest frustration these past two years is how so many churches have simply stopped planning for the future.  Even with the downward economy you have to work on your plans for growth and moving forward.  The typical building project often takes twelve to twenty four months of work, planning and raising funds BEFORE you ever break ground!  If you have delayed your project waiting for the improvement in the economy you have just lost two years.  Start now to plan for the future.  Those that worked their plan despite the recession are in a much better place to move forward than those that are now starting to wake from their slumber.  Do you have a plan?  Are you working weekly on your plan?  A lack of planning is planning for failure.

So those are my thoughts for 2011.  While I could be wrong about all of the above there is one thing I know for certain, God is in control.  Our hope is not based upon Wall Street or Washington but upon the God of the universe.  While I often question the best of man’s plans I never question God’s control.  As Christians whether the economy gets better or not we should always be hopeful.

I get asked often what it is I do.  Our bread and butter is of course stewardship.  We help churches raise money for whatever they feel God has called them to do.  However more and more I find that what brings us to the table is the need for an outside source to help in strategic planning and implementation.  Our years of experience in all settings of church life has given us wisdom to help any church succeed in the new year.  It might be that we are just the fit for you and your church.  Give us a call today and see how we can help you.

My prayer for you is that you will boldly seek to achieve the dreams and visions that God has given you.  May 2011 be our best year ever!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Last year Rep. Paul Ryan’s Roadmap for America’s Future  http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov/ was called mean spirited by a Congresswoman.  Indeed the liberal media always makes those that are looking to cut spending as harsh, mean and cruel.  Liberal politicians like to talk about how they truly care about the poor in America while lampooning those who would suggest that we have to find ways to pay for all that we shell out.  Rep. Ryan points out that if we don’t do something programs like Medicare and Social Security are doomed to fail.  It seems many liberals would rather rearrange the deck chairs while the Titanic slips further into the freezing ocean.

As Americans recoiled from the massive spending that Washington was thrusting upon us liberals fought hard to make all those that showed up at Tea Party events as selfish.  There is only one problem, studies consistently show that the more liberal you are the less you give or give of your time.  The more conservative you are the more you give of your money and the more you volunteer.  Why is it we never hear this?  In part because the liberal media doesn’t want you to know how truly selfish and stingy they are.  They are for the most part all talk and no walk.

The Wall Street Journal on Friday December 24, ran an opinion piece by Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute http://www.aei.org/ .  Mr. Brooks is no relation to me that I know of but his studies in the past few years on giving has caused quit a stir.  He has shown that Conservatives out give Liberals but  a huge margin.  Today he wrote a piece in the WSJ entitled, “Tea Partiers And the Spirit of Giving.”  It is worth getting and filing away for the next time on of your liberal friends, neighbors or family members calls you mean spirited for advocating that the government get out of our lives.

Read what Brooks says overall about those that believe in limited government…

“Few would disagree that free enterprise is grounded in one’s self-interest.  But self-interest is not the same thing as selfishness in the sense of unbounded consumption or disregard for the less fortunate.  In fact, the millions of Americans who advocate for private entrepreneurship and limited government – whether they are rich or poor – may be stingy when it comes to giving away other people’s money through state redistribution, but they are surprisingly generous when it comes to giving away their own money privately.”

Consider some other facts Brooks points out…

• A recent study found that those who were against higher levels of government redistribution privately gave four times as much as those that were in favor or redistribution.
• Their giving was not all church related.  They gave 3.5 times more to non-religious causes as did those that were for more government redistribution.
• Anti-redistributionists were more likely to donate blood, give someone directions on the street and give food or money to a homeless person.

So the next time someone from the Left tries to make you look like an uncaring selfish jerk you can ask them how much they give to charity and how much they volunteer.  It is high time we call the Liberals out for what they are, phonies!  Oh, and lest you think I am being unfair, I criticized Sarah Palin’s giving record when she was running for Vice President.  Now that she is making a lot of money, and good for her, I want to see her give generously.  Not every Liberal is stingy and not every Conservative is generous.  But the facts are hard to dispute that overall the more conservative you are the more likely you are to be generous.

It is high time in this season of greed to consider the true meaning of Christmas.  It is found in John 3:16 which says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Since God gave so freely we have an obligation to give back.  End the year well by giving something.

Merry Christmas!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

I have been amazed at the reactions that have come about as a result of this past recession.  Just saying “past recession” gets people to raise their eyebrows and question your intelligence.  It is true that the recession is over, that is a fact.  While emotionally we still feel like we are in a recession technically we are not.  The impact of the past recession is obviously still with us and the recovery is slower than anyone would like.  Yet it does not negate the fact that the recession is technically over and we are on our way up.

But I digress.  Back to my amazement of reactions and perceptions.  We in America are prone to doom and gloom.  In part our media fuels this.  Journalist know the phrase, “Blood leads.”  What that means is that bad news gets attention over good news.  So, we rarely if ever hear any good news.  During a political season, of which we just finished, you can always count on negativity reigning.  So, in the past two years we have had to hear all kinds of outlandish statements that later are proven wrong.

One of my favorite fear mongering reactions was with regards to the Stock Market and 401K’s.  When the Market crashed due to panic in the fall of 2008 many lost 30% to 40% of the value of their 401K.  It kept falling until it hit a low of around 6,500 points.  I remember Glenn Beck saying the Market could and probably would go lower.  Most “experts” said that it would take a decade for our 401K’s to regain their wealth.  Thankfully the “experts” including Glenn Beck were wrong.  Yesterday The Stock Market hit a two year high.  Thankfully I ignored Glenn Beck and shifted my 401K to stocks when it was 6,800 points.  Last year I made 26% on my 401K!  It took only a little over a year to regain the loss.  The “experts” were wrong.

There is another popular statement that has been thrown around as a result of this recession.  That is that Americans have finally learned their lesson when it comes to debt and spending. I had to laugh when I read that one.  Whoever started that rumor doesn’t know history and is not a Calvinist.  Historically during recessions Americans cut back on spending.  After most recessions spending immediately goes back up rather quickly sometimes within the next year.  Why?  Calvin could teach us on this.  While I am not by any means a hyper Calvinist I do believe in the depravity of man. It is simply our human nature that causes us to be greedy even when we don’t like to admit it.

So, guess what?  Today the Wall Street Journal reports that, “The recession was suppose to have taught Americans the value of thrift, but lately it looks like they have been blowing that lesson off.”  The article goes on to state that consumer spending increased by 0.5% in November from October while income rose just 0.2%.  The WSJ article also states that Americans appear to be saving less now that the recession is over.  The WSJ states, “For all those who think a new era of frugality would be positive, the decline in the savings rate may be a disappointing sign that Americans are reverting to their profligate ways.”

I am not saying that Americans should spend more than they make or increase their debt.  I am simply saying that we should be careful about statements of fact that are based upon opinions, myths, conjecture or wishful thinking.  All too often the “experts” have been wrong.  It should make you wonder what else they are wrong about?  Perhaps just because the church down the street from you is seeing a decline in giving does not necessarily mean yours will to0.  Maybe we all might learn to trust not in the press but in “thus sayeth the Lord.”

I am just saying…

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

For those of you who read my blog post regularly you will find that I am not posting anything new.  On December 16th while going out to get the paper I slipped on ice and cracked my skull.  I spent 2 1/2 days in the hospital but am home recovering.  The doctor has ordered me to stay down for at least the next two weeks and will not let me fly for 30 days.  So, my posts will be few for a while.  I truly appreciate all your support and promise that as soon as possible I will get back to posting on a regular basis.

The Charis Group is in good hands as our Director of Marketing, Tom Holloway, is holding down the fort.  The rest of the team is covering the bases for us as well.  I am reminded of why it is important to have a team rather than just one person when you do what we do.  I am a blessed man.

If I do not get the opportunity before Christmas I want to wish you all a very Christ filled and Merry Christmas!  God is indeed good!

Blessings,

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

Here we go again!  It is poll season on giving to churches in the U.S.  Once again LifeWay Research has released a study that is gaining national attention showing a decline in giving to churches in 2010.  USA Today on December 13th ran a story on their findings.  The headlines typically say, “The Recession Catches Up To U.S. Churches.”  LifeWay is quoted as saying that giving to churches is 3 percent less than 2009.  Their poll was conducted by a telephone survey of 1,000 Protestant Senior Pastor’s on October 7 – 14, 2010.  So, why do I have problems with polls like this?  My problem is they can produce an incorrect assessment, based on a poor process leading many churches into faulty assumptions and ultimately bad decisions.  Specifically here are my objections to the findings.

Poor timing.  A study on giving taken at the beginning of the fourth quarter is like asking who will win the Super Bowl one minute into the last quarter. LifeWay’s data was collected the first week of the fourth quarter.  How can you tell if your giving is going to be off for the year at that point with any degree of certainty?  In a typical church December is such a huge month.  This one month can be the make or break for a churches budget.  When I was a Senior Pastor our largest donations came during this time.  The largest donor to my church gave 90% of his gift in the last week of the year.  Our studies of churches financial giving patterns shows that consistently the last quarter of the year is in most churches the best quarter.  So, why ask in early October how a churches yearly giving is going to be?  LifeWay is gathering incomplete data for the conclusions they have reached.  A better more consistent way of reporting their study is to say that giving appears to be in decline three fourth of the way through the year.  At best that is all their poll reveals.

Past polls have been erroneously off. For the last two to three years the Christian church has fallen prey to the panic that spread throughout the rest of the country.  Never mind the facts.  We just knew that giving must be down.  The surprising thing is that studies done after the books have been closed have revealed a different picture.  Giving USA released a study this past spring that showed giving to religion only declined by 0.3%.  That was a far cry from what polls predicted.  In 2008 giving to religion actually went up by 1%.  Again this surprised many as the assumption was that since we were in a recession giving would go down.  Historically giving to religion during a recession rarely goes down.  When it does go down it is only slight.  The problem I have with polls is that despite the number of churches they talk to they still are dealing with incomplete data.  As a result their findings while perhaps interesting are suspect.

Consider LifeWay’s own research last year on giving.  In the fall of 2009 they asked 1,000 churches about giving.  Their findings were that through November of 2009 giving was flat with an actual increase of 0.2%.  Now in this year’s report Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research says, “Churches actually saw average offerings rise 3 percent in 2009.”  No where does he state the basis of that 3 percent finding or explain how it runs counter to what their poll last year found.  If you go on LifeWay Research’s website you can find that apparently this number comes from a March 2010 telephone poll.  All this causes me to question current findings.  To be fair in my criticism I have similar problems with Barna’s studies as well.  Barna produced a poll in early 2010 that said giving in 2009 would be off by 7%.  He was wrong.  These polls are based upon opinion and not facts.  Churches would do well to base their plans upon facts not polls.

Don’t ask the pastor! I do not mean this to be harsh but pastors typically have little to no clue about their giving status.  I was a pastor for twenty years and I have been in the stewardship field for over twelve years.  In my experience pastors seldom concern themselves with the full details of giving.  I have stopped asking pastors about giving.  Ask the Business Administrator or ask the Treasurer if you really want to know where a churches giving stands.  Better yet ask to see the data yourself if you truly want to know where they stand.  If you are a pastor reading this and you are the exception to this then good for you.  I wish more were like you.  The reality is that most have little to no clue of how giving is doing.  Asking 1,000 pastors three fourths of the way through the calendar year about their giving just does not inspire confidence in a studies findings.  Perhaps that is why so many past polls have been proven months later AFTER all the data is in to be wrong.

What really matters is your church. If the church across the street or across the state is struggling that does not mean you will struggle.  In the past three years most of our clients have seen their giving actually increase rather than decline.  Some have seen declines but the economy has not been the sole reason for the decline.  Assumptions based upon polls can lead to dangerous conclusions for your church and ministry.  The headlines are always going to be negative.  Sadly this has been true of the Christian Media as well.

Let me end by quoting what I wrote back on January 19, 2010 on this same subject. I said then, “Here is my counsel. Weigh what is happening around you. I am not saying to ignore this recession and its lingering impact. However don’t let surveys and polls keep you from moving forward out of fear for what others are experiencing. We have clients in the middle of Michigan that are growing numerically and financially AND building new buildings. Don’t be overly swayed by the crisis of another church and assume that you will experience what they experience. In the end it is not what the survey or poll says, but the final tally. The real question is whether or not your vision is compelling enough that your members will find ways to support it. Good vision always trumps bad economy!”

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

A few months back I wrote a post about how do it yourself campaigns typically fail.  I had one pastor object to my post and what ensued was quite a battle of posts.  He had managed to run his own campaign successfully and felt all pastors could and had done the same.  Actually the facts are far different.  Nearly every do it yourself campaign fails.  The few that succeed do so because the pastor is very good at administration, has campaign experience and is using some type of materials he got somewhere to help him.  So, I will grant you that a few can and do run successful campaigns on their own.  Most however need help.  That is not my opinion it is simply the facts.  If your experience is different then truly I am happy for you.  However most churches fail and fail miserably when they try to do their campaign on their own.

Why do most do it yourself campaigns fail? The number one reason in my experience is accountability.  When you go it alone there is no one to hold you accountable to the time line of the campaign.  For whatever reason I find that church leaders have a hard time keeping focused on stewardship issues much less a capital stewardship campaign.  Most think it is far easier than it is.  Most think they have plenty of time and that the campaign is far into the future.  Right now, in December, we are dealing with churches that want a spring campaign but do not realize they are already well behind in planning.  In fact if you have not started on your spring campaign by now you probably should look at moving it to the fall.  The bottom line is that no one on the staff truly owns the campaign and as a result no one’s feet is held to the fire to get tasks done on time.  Only when it is far too late do they attempt to spring into action.  That failure to act can and will cause your campaign to be less than successful.

At The Charis Group we allow churches to determine what part of our services they want to contract us for.  You get the help you need for a price you feel good about.  You  don’t pay for what you think you already know and can do.  More and more churches, especially those that have held many capital campaigns in the past, are telling us they can do the campaign part themselves.  While I am fine with that I always warn them that all too often the campaign gets pushed to the back burner when no one is contracted to help them.  I warn them not to let the intensive part of the campaign sneak up on them.

A few years back a large church contracted with us to begin the planning for their next campaign.  They had used nearly every large firm in the stewardship industry from RSI to ISS.  In fact when I was with ISS I was their consultant.  Using The Charis Group they felt they could run the program side of the campaign.  They had multiple staff members and tons of support help in the office.  Yet after a few weeks the Business Administrator called to ask if I could pick up that part of the campaign too.  It seems no one had the time to run the campaign.  We gladly stepped in.

The number one reason why churches attempt to do their own campaign is that they want to save money!  Yet the tragedy is that doing your own campaign does not save you money it costs you money.  Can you really afford going it alone when so much is riding upon the success of your next capital stewardship campaign?  Call us today.  We can help.

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group

It is the end of the year and my mail box is filling up with appeals from various charities, ministries and churches asking for my support.  No doubt your mail box is filled with much the same.  You might have even sent out an end of year appeal.  Let me share with you two real examples that came to me in the mail recently.  One came from a church and the other from a ministry that feeds homeless people.  See which one you find compelling.

Help us refurbish our vans and bus. A church sent me a letter that asked for an end of year gift to help them refurbish their vans and church bus.  The letter was brief and to the point.  The reason they were asking for money for this project was that the vehicles were getting old and needed attention.  That was about the only reason given.  Would you donate to that cause?

Complete Christmas Dinner $1.92. A ministry that feeds the poor sent us a short card with that topic at the top asking for our support to help provide Christmas dinner to the homeless.  Included in the appeal was a Christmas card that we could sign that they will then give to those that attend.  As the letter stated, “It could be the only Christmas card they will receive.”  The ministry then talked about how not only will they provide over 29,500 meals but they will share the Gospel with each person.  Would we consider a gift to help them in this mission?

Which would you respond to? We are passing on helping with the vans and contributing to feed the homeless.  Probably 99% of those that read this would do the same.   Yet the van renovation is probably not a bad need it was simply not presented well.  If I had been asked to craft their letter here is how I might have written the appeal.

Dear Friends,

No one ever notices the ox pulling the load until something happens to the ox.  Here at First Church the load we carry is eternal.  God has called our church to share the Gospel and extend His Kingdom.  We do this day in and day out in a variety of ways.  We minister not only to our own members but those around us.  Often the work we do goes unnoticed.  Think about how many volunteers staff our various ministries.  Most never are recognized and in fact would never want to be recognized yet without them we would not accomplish a fraction of what we do.  Like our volunteers, who can so easily be overlooked, the tools we use for ministry can be overlooked as well.  One such tool for ministry here at First Church is our vans and buses.  These tools of ministry could be one of the most overlook and undervalued of any we have.

Consider that in this past year our vehicles have…

• Transported scores of our members to mission projects around the country.
• Allowed out Pre-School to continue its ministry to the community.
• Given our Senior Adults easy access to events that they might not normally be able to attend.
• Transported our children and youth to many events around our city and state.

In short these vehicles have been our faithful oxen carrying the load for First Church.  Now they need our attention.  To maintain their effectiveness we are asking members to consider an end of year gift to helps us renovate our fleet.  While certainly there are other aspects of our church that are more visible dependable transportation is essential for us to perform what we believe God has called us to accomplish.  Would you prayerfully consider a gift to this cause?  Please fill out the enclosed card with your gift and either drop it in the offering or drop it in the mail.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request.

Your pastor,

Would that kind of request make a difference? Ok, maybe it is still not as appealing as feeding homeless people yet it does put the need in a different light.  If it is your church it might just merit a response from you.  It is much better than simply stating that the vans need new tires and will you please help?  Donors want to feel that their contribution is making a difference.  Whatever you are asking for make sure you give them a good reason why they should give.

How you write your appeal will make all the difference in whether it gets a response or gets tossed into the trash!

Mark Brooks

Founder and President

The Charis Group