This week I met with two churches in the St. Louis area that are both seeing great growth in their giving. One reason why is that they both are doing positive things for the Kingdom. Nothing stimulates giving like a compelling vision. However there is another reason why they have succeeded when others have struggled, they have a plan and they work their plan. Do you have a plan?

As I met with the staffs of these two churches I analyzed their past two years of giving and looked at the first half of this years giving. Both showed positive increases in giving and were on track to increase giving this year as well. Yet I gave a word of caution to each of them. You can not assume that just because the first six months has gone well that the last six months will follow suit. You have to have a plan of action that allows you to close out the rest of the year well.

In this post I want to list out a plan of action for you that can allow you to end the year well. If I were you I would…

Assess where you are currently with regards to giving. You can not begin to end well if you do not know how you are presently doing. Few churches know how to analyze their giving so that they can put together a good stewardship plan. While my purpose here is not to “sell soap” we at The Charis Group can help you get a handle on where you truly are. Even if you do not avail yourself of services like ours you should at least keep your finger on the pulse of your giving.

Rally your leaders to rally your giving. Whether you like it or not the top 15% of your donors will make up around 80% to 90% of your gifts from now until the end of the year. I always recommend to churches that they hold a rally of their leaders before or just after the school year starts. August is a great time to gather them together to rejoice on the victories of the summer, recast the vision for the fall and thank them for their support. Doing so makes them insiders and all the more willing to continue giving to support the work of ministry you are doing. If you don’t know how to hold a meeting like this email me and for free I will email you back an outline of a typical leadership event.

Mail giving statements. If you are not regularly mailing out giving statements you need to begin now. These let members know what they have given but they also serve as reminders to keep giving. I like to see a thank you letter included with a soft challenge for continued giving. Since we just crossed the six month mark now would be a perfect time to send out a statement of giving. Also, include an envelope for them to mail their gift back in. This week you will probable get a letter from some ministry and I can assure you that it will contain an envelope in it. If it works for the big boys why would it not work for you?

End of year appeal. Around Thanksgiving time you should plan on sending every person attending your church an end of year appeal letter. Around this time donors are making decisions about what they will do with their giving. Many will meet with accountants to position themselves for taxes. You can count on the fact that para church ministries will be mailing appeals to your members so get your lure in the pond as well. Again if you are not sure what an end of year appeal should look like email me and I will send you a sample for free.

The bottom line of this post is that planning to end well should begin now. What plans do you have? Is your giving even on your radar? If not you could come to the end of the year finding yourself falling short of your needs. Failing to end well in this year will bled over into next year as well. Now is the time to start planning for success!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

In December of 2008 I interviewed a major donor at a church who happened to be on the board of one of the local banks. TARP money had just been doled out to many banks including his. I forget how many billions they got from the government but it was substantial. As we talked about the recession he commented to me what his bank had done with the money. He stated that, “with a third of the money we paid off our debts, with a third we put it into savings and with the other third we are acquiring businesses.” None of the money was going into the market place!

Not long after that the press picked up on this story and reported it. We continue to see the same thing happening today. This mornings headline in The Wall Street Journal proclaimed, “Loans Shrink as Fear Lingers.” The lead sentence said, “Lending continues to slow as bankers and borrowers refrain from taking risks, in a bearish sign of the economy.” The article then went on to describe how loans have shrunk and what loans have gone out are predominantly refinancing and renewing credit to businesses, not new loans.

The article stated, “The numbers underscore two related trends weighing on the economy. Financial institutions are clamping down on lending to conserve capital as a cushion against mounting loan losses. And loan demand is falling as companies shelve expansion plans and consumers trim spending to ride out the recession.” This is going to make a full recover harder and longer.

One problem with TARP is apparently in the rush to get the money out to save the banking institution and thus keep us from a depression, no one thought to include stipulations about increasing lending. So now small businesses including churches are finding it difficult to gain financing to move forward with future projects. Failing to do so halts growth and in turn makes it more difficult to find a full recovery from the recession. This failure of TARP is another reason I am skeptical of all the legislation that Washington is hurriedly throwing together. My fear is that in our rush to do something we are doing things that in the long run will make recovery more difficult.

What do you do?

The big question for you as a Christian leader who is thinking about a potential project is what to do about all this? Here are some thoughts…

Don’t let circumstances dictate your actions. We are to be people of faith. If God truly initiated the dream and vision you have He did so knowing full well about this recession. Churches have built in past recessions and you can too.

Develop a plan of action to navigate through these challenging times. I know I sound like a broken record but most leaders do not have a plan of action. If you fail to plan you are planning on failure!

Start raising funds today for your next project even if it is a year down the road. Banks are looking to minimize their risk in loaning money. When your balance sheet is strong they are more likely to loan you money than if you have next to nothing in the account. We have two clients who recently were asked by lending institutions to carry a $500K reserve before they would even talk to them about financing their project! You can raise funds even in a recession so the sooner you start to build that nest egg the easier it will be to get a loan.

Banks are businesses and as such they will look at your loan from a business standpoint. My point here is that you need to negotiate from a position of strength not weakness. You should produce documents and a plan that shows you are a safe risk for the bank. At the end of the day they are in business to make money off your loan. Show them that you will be a good client and you are much more likely to get the loan.

Start now for the project of your future. Perhaps the biggest mistakes churches make is that they wait too late to get started on all the plans of their project. You can not start too soon. Starting sooner will give you more options, make the journey more enjoyable, less stressful and in the end more likely to succeed.

I remain optimistic about the churches opportunity in this current crisis. As I stated we have gone through challenging times before and weathered them. You can make it through this time as well. Wise planning can help you avoid the mine fields and pit falls of this recession. Don’t wait to start your journey and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

As always we are here to help you in any way possible. It’s what God has called us to do.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

Everyone is waiting for things to get back to normal. We hope with each business day that the economy will take a positive turn and we will get back to the way things were. We look at our neighborhood and see all the for sale signs that have been in yards for months and wonder when the housing market will get back to normal. We look at our 401K and see some gains to replace our massive losses last fall and wonder when it will get back to normal. Each day brings new longing for the return to normal. What is normal? Will normal ever return? What will things look like when the normal does return? Will the normal of the future look like the normal of the past?

My last post created a bit of a buzz by those that read it. I stated in the post my belief that the economy is on the rebound. Ben Barnanke testified to Congress that he saw a positive return by the end of the year. While some are still out there preaching gloom and doom I still believe the recovery is in process and by year’s end we will be “technically” out of the recession.

What does that mean? If you have been reading my posts you will note that while I am bullish on the return of our economy this year that does not mean it will be the return to what we have equated as normal. Your house will not be back to its full value for a few years more. Your 401K while recovering some ground lost last year will not be fully back for a few more years. Jobs will return but slowly. Christmas will be better this year than last year but not as robust as three years ago. The closing weeks of 2009 will be better than the opening weeks of the year but it will not be back to normal for many more months.

My friend Dave Sutherland left me a voice mail the other day and talked about the redefining of normal. He said, “I don’t call these times tough times. When you do that churches have an idea that good times will come back which will cause the church to halt their project thinking that it will get better. They delay decisions until things change and then they will move forward.” That is certainly true of what we have seen this last twelve months as many churches pushed the pause button.

Dave went on to explain that these are uncertain times. In uncertain times you go back to what you know is solid. Our faith carries us through uncertain times. In our past the church has weathered other uncertain economic times and flourished. I have been working with a church that built their first facility in 1980 and paid 18% interest on their loan. That was certainly an uncertain time as unemployment almost reached 11%. Yet they did not shrink back from the mission that God called them to. People needed reaching and additional space was crucial for them to fulfill that need. They did not let the economy stop them from pursuing God’s vision.

Dave talked about the fact that we were establishing new norms. It might take longer to raise the funds to build the building but it does not mean you stop altogether. You don’t look at the economy but what are you trying to accomplish? I have always said that your donors simply want to know that you have a plan to pull off that vision. Even during recessionary times you can build that new facility!

So, while the recovery of our economy is going to be slower than we want it will be possible for you to move forward. We as church leaders need to redefine for ourselves and our ministries what normal now looks like. Then we can help our members do the same in their lives.

The new normal does not mean you have to put everything on the back burner or give up on the dreams and visions you have. As normal gets redefined don’t allow your vision to be redefined!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

A friend sent me a message on Facebook last night and said that my mentor in the stewardship field told him this recession would last five more years. My mentor is one of the smartest men that I know but I have to disagree with him in principle. I believe the recession will be over by the end of this year if not sooner. What I do believe is that the IMPACT of the recession will last five years or more. So, I guess in the end I both agree and disagree.

I listen with amusement as the pundits debate back and forth on how long and how bad this recession will be. You can find just about every view out there. Whatever opinion you have you can find an “expert” to back up what you say. I am no expert, and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night but I have done extensive reading on this subject. Here is what I think.

I am bullish on the economy. While we still have a ways to go there are good indicators that the recovery has already begun. Consider the following from economist Wesbury and Stein:

“The Producer Price Index (PPI) increased 1.8% in June versus a consensus expected 0.9%. The PPI is down 4.6% versus a year ago, but up at a 9.5% annual rate in the past three months.

The June increase in the PPI was mostly due to energy, which increased 6.6%. Food prices increased 1.1%. Even if we exclude these increases, the “core” PPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.5%, the largest gain in eight months.

Consumer goods prices increased 2.2% in June and are up at a 12.2% annual rate in the past three months. Capital equipment prices increased 0.5% in June and are up at a 1.3% rate in the past three months.

Intermediate goods prices increased 1.9% in June and are up at a 6.8% annual rate in the past three months. Crude prices spiked 4.6% in June, on top of a 3.6% increase in May and a 3.0% increase in April, putting the 3-month gain at 55.2% annualized.”

In another note the wrote the following…

“Retail sales increased 0.6% in June versus a consensus expected gain of 0.4%. Retail sales excluding autos increased 0.3% versus a consensus expected rise of 0.5%.

Retail sales are down 9.0% in the past year but up at a 3.5% annual rate in the last three months. Ex-autos, sales are down 7.9% versus last year, but up at a 1.6% annual rate in the past three months.

The increase in sales in June was concentrated in autos and at gas stations. Other categories of sales showed no major changes.

Sales excluding autos, building materials, and gas were down 0.1% in June with slight downward revisions to April and May.

Implications: Despite rising unemployment, retail sales continue to gradually rebound from the severe losses suffered late last year. Retail sales fell at almost a 20% annual rate in the last six months of 2008 but are up at a 3.4% rate so far this year. “Core” retail sales (excluding autos, building material, and gas) fell at a 7.5% annual rate in the last half of 2008 but have gone up at a 1.9% rate in the first half of this year. A V-shape recovery in consumer spending is apparent in the adjacent charts. We expect the rebound in sales to continue, and accelerate, as Americans realize stability is returning to the economy. Despite continued job losses, consumers are more willing to spend because the remaining workforce is more confident they will keep their jobs and the financial system is not facing collapse. In other news today, business inventories fell 1% in May on top of a downwardly revised 1.3% drop in April. All the data out so far suggest real GDP declined at about a 2% annual rate in Q2, with a small rise in final sales outweighed by a huge decline in inventories. This sets the economy up for positive growth in Q3 and beyond.”

They wrote later in the week about industrial production. Here are their findings and conclusions:

“Industrial production declined 0.4% in June, beating the consensus expected decline of 0.6%. Production is down 13.6% versus a year ago, but the monthly loss in June was the smallest since late last year.

Manufacturing output fell 0.5% in June. Motor vehicle/parts production fell 2.7% while output in the rest of the manufacturing sector declined 0.4%.

The production of high-tech equipment declined 1.0% in June. High tech output is down 21.7% versus last year but down at only a 10.4% annual rate in the past three months.

Overall capacity utilization fell to 68.0% in June from 68.2% in May. Manufacturing capacity utilization declined to 64.6% versus 64.9% in May.

Implications: Industrial production was slightly higher than the consensus expected in June and the decline was the smallest in eight months. Typically, industrial production does not increase until 1-3 months after recessions come to an end. We are likely to get that increase in July or August as auto companies, witnessing large inventory reductions for cars and trucks, are ramping up production substantially this summer. Meanwhile, the drag from the non-auto portion of manufacturing is diminishing. In other words, we expect to get further confirmation within the next two months that the recession is already over. In other news this morning, the Empire State index, a measure of manufacturing activity in New York, increased to -0.6 in July versus a consensus expected -5.0 and -9.4 in June. The overall reading is the highest since April 2008. The strongest parts of the report were the shipments index, now at +11.0 versus -4.8 in June, and new orders, now at +5.9 versus -8.2 in June. The weakest part of the report was the inventories index, now at -36.5, the lowest so far this recession. These inventory reductions are paving the way for higher production in the months ahead.”

While I am bullish on the economy I qualify that with a big IF! The big IF is the government. IF the government lets this recession run its course we will get out of this mess much sooner than if they don’t. All historians agree that the Great Depression was prolonged in part by tax hikes, both Hoover and Roosevelt raised taxes, and protectionism which in affect is another tax. The recent spending spree in Washington has done little to turn this economy around and I think in the long run will be judged a mistake.

IF the Senate passes the same version of the climate change bill the House passed we will be in serious trouble. First, despite what you have heard from Al Gore scientists are not all on board with global warming. I am not for trashing our ecosystem but at the same time I don’t want an over reaction right now as we are trying to climb out of this recession. This bill will make it all the more difficult on industries to get back on their feet. In the end the American worker gets penalized, our taxes rise and frankly it does little for our environment. Anyone remember the acid rain scare?

The second bill that concerns me is the health care legislation that is on the table. Again, I want everyone to be covered that wants to be covered. The numbers not covered are far less than what we are being told. George Will on a recent ABC “Face the Nation” broadcast blew this argument away. Here is what he said, “you talk about the 46, 47 million uninsured. Fourteen million of them are already eligible for other government programs and haven’t signed up. Ten million are in households with household incomes of $75,000 a year and could afford it if they wanted to. Furthermore, an enormous number in that 47 million are not American citizens. Sixty percent of the uninsured in San Francisco are not citizens.”

The cost of the bill as it stands now is $1 trillion over the next ten years. To pay for this new taxes will have to be raised and you can count on it coming out of your pocket. Democrats may try to say they will hit the rich to pay for it but you can count it hitting the middle class as well. Speaking of taxing the rich, who do you think buys yachts and private planes from companies that employ regular folks. Me, I want the rich to have the ability to make more money and thus spend more money and fuel our economy. That beats government stimulus.

So, I think the economy is moving in the right direction but if some in Washington get their way we are in for a much longer period of recession. We may even see the decline of America as the leading nation of the world.

Emotionally I do think the recession will last for at least five years. There is an unease in America today. I think it goes back as far as 9/11. We are not as confident about the future and we will bear the emotional scars of this current recession. You can argue all day long whose fault that is but as they say, it is what it is. People will save more, spend less than before and generally be more cautious.

For Christian ministries this means we will continue to have to work hard at raising funds. The challenge will not be from the faithful, who have stewardship down. The challenge will be from those that are new to the faith or trying to reach a level of true discipleship. So in a sense I guess after all I agree with my mentor. He is after all one of the smartest men I know.

At the end of the day, recession or not, government over bearing or not, we Americans will still find ways to spend money on what we value. The new Harry Potter movie is packing people in by the thousands ranking in millions of dollars. All this is happening in the midst of a recession. It goes to show that people find money for what they truly value. Your task as a Christian leader is to get them to value what your ministry is doing.

Now forgive me for this long post. I have to hurry and get in line for the movie. I am scrapping up loose change and hoping my wife lets me get buttered popcorn and diet coke. Like the economy and Americans response to it some things just don’t make sense.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

Today I saw a tweet post from Leadership Network about a new study they had done on Senior Pastors of Mega Churches. It is a good report overall and gives interesting facts. Since I work with some of those pastors I thought it would be good to down load and read. I typically love Leadership Network’s stuff but this time I could not help but notice a huge missing piece in the survey. There was no emphasis whatsoever on stewardship and raising funds!

As I read through the document they never even asked one question pertaining to raising finances or funds for new work or endeavors. Yet when they asked, what is the top work-related issue you lie awake in bed thinking about, the number one answer was finances!

What amazes me is that the authors of the study never considered it a role that Senior Pastors of a Mega Church should be involved with. When they asked, Which two phrases best describe how you see yourself in your role as senior or lead pastor, they never gave an option that would have included stewardship as a chosen answer. They asked questions like, how often do you emphasize church membership? They asked a lot of questions but they never asked, what role do you play in raising stewardship awareness in your church? What role do you play in cultivating donors? Not one. They asked about the size of their budgets which was in the millions. They never thought to insert questions about stewardship.

So what? This study and the responses that it generated demonstrates one reason why churches receive so little of what they could in terms of stewardship. It is just not important to leading thinkers and leading pastors. Is it that we think money is somehow not spiritual? Do we think that we as pastors have no right to deal in matters of stewardship? Do we think that stewardship is “only” something that the other staff does and not the Senior Pastor?

I know some might think I am being unfair. Perhaps Leadership Network has done other pieces that examine this area. They might argue that stewardship was not the point of the article. I would agree yet without question when you have a multimillion dollar budget someone has to think of stewardship. Some might say that it is not the role of a Senior Pastor at all. In that I would totally disagree. John Maxwell once said that the difference between those pastors that succeed to the next level and those that don’t is in their ability to raise funds.

While I am disappointed with this aspect of the Leadership Network piece it is not surprising to me. Too many in academia fail to see the importance of stewardship. Too many pastors dislike or fear dealing with the subject and it sadly is a back burner issue with most of them. Many reading this post will think I am over reacting. Perhaps I am. I simply know that the funding of ministry fuels the dreams and visions God has given us. It can not be a back burner issue. The Leadership Network piece exposed the fault of a leading church think tank and the fault of leading church pastors. Don’t you fall prey to that fault.

As I was writing this I was reminded of a history class I took my senior year of high school. We had to write a paper on some historical period. Since I had just returned from a trip to Israel I wrote about the formation of the state of Israel. After my presentation of my paper to the class one student asked, “Why did you not discuss the Palestinian issue in your paper?” I sat there stunned. In truth I had not even thought about that at all. I had fallen in love with Israel on my trip and in my paper had turned a blind eye to a key factor of not only that nation but our world. The teacher was kind to give me an A. I deserved far less for omitting an issue that is almost daily in our news.

As I read the Leadership Network’s report on Senior Pastors I could not help but feel that the omission of stewardship was a similar instance of overlooking something so crucial. The article is worth reading. However it could have been much better. My fear is that other pastors will read this and they too will dismiss their God given responsibility in the area of stewardship. In the end the article says a lot about the thinking of our leading church think tanks and the thinking of leading pastors. They both have a lot to learn.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

The economy has been on everyone’s mind for the last year or more. While we see some hope that it will end this year we are still in the midst of some trying times. However, as that hope spreads articles are coming out asking what the impact will be after the recession? It’s a good question and one that needs examining especially for those of us who raise funds.

Typically what I am reading goes along this line, “Consumers have learned their lesson and will be wiser with their money from now on.” Current behavior would tend to lend credence to this theory. Mortimer Zuckerman editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report wrote in The Wall Street Journal that, “The savings rate has jumped to almost 7% of after tax income from 0% in 2007.” I find this some what amusing that we were chided in 2007 for NOT saving money and now we are chided that we ARE saving money thus not spending it in the economy and prolonging the recession.

A June 23rd article in USA Today wrote about how the so called materialistic Millennials will be know as the Recession Generation. The article stated, “depending upon how long the downturn lasts, historians, economists and psychologists say it could shape Millennial’s values and attitudes in much the same way the Depression shaped the attitudes of those growing up in the 1930’s.”

The point that both these articles make is that times have changed. People are resetting their priorities and their expectations. The USA Today article quoted a young man as saying, “I just think we’re having to get used to living a little less luxurious than we grew up. We’ll have to realize we need to settle for slightly less than our parents had when they were first entering the job market.”

So, will this current recession change the American dream? Will we become a nation of savers? Will we indeed reflect the values of the Depression generation? In truth this recession, our longest since WWII has just about everyone scratching their head and guessing. That does not stop people from expressing their opinion. As you know, opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has one. So here is mine. My opinion that is.

Like a dog returning to its vomit American consumers will return to their materialistic ways. We might have scaled back somewhat but people are lining up to watch the latest Harry Potter movie. McDonalds is seeing great profits for the year. We still are spending billions on our pets. Americans are bombarded every day with millions of advertisements to buy this or that. As soon as we can we will return to our spending ways. It is in our bent. Our culture advances it and reinforces it. While we might be cautious in the now my guess is that given a couple of years we will be right back to where we were. In our fallen sinful nature we are materialistic at heart. Recessions simply dampen our ability to exercise to the fullest that sinful characteristic. This recession will end and when it does people will look to return to their same old patterns.

With regards to the Depression generation it is true they were shaped by that time. Yet that generation also brought about the Baby Boom, built homes across the nation and established the base upon which their materialistic children and grand children built their lives around. To say they are not materialistic means you have never been to Yuma, AZ or Florida. Have you seen some of the RV’s these eighty year guys have?

What about giving? We are beginning to see the results of studies on giving during this recession that is confronting the almost hysteria of some that donations are falling off the cliff. It turns out giving to religion actually went up last year. The average rate of change in giving during a recession is a drop of 1%. If you look at a chart of giving to religion since 1967 only one time has giving declined the year after a recession or slowdown year. So, what I think we will see in this next year is that giving will remain flat. In times of recession flat is better than a decline. By the year 2011 giving will resume its increase IF ministries communicate an effective and compelling vision.

While no one knows for sure what the future holds you should not simply sit back and wait for what happens. What plan do you have to sustain and increase your giving for the remainder of this year and next year? Those without plans are planning to fail.

The Charis Group can help you develop a strategic plan of action. Contact us today.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

Do you “feel” more confident today about the future or not? Wait, let me see what the Stock Market is doing. Ok, it’s slightly up but not by much, so I feel cautiously optimistic. No, wait its starting to go down and Warren Buffett says we need a second stimulus bill. So, now I am depressed and putting the building plans for our churches expansion back in the closet. A friend just called who talked to a friend who knows an economist who said this recession is only going to get worse. Now that I think about it on my lunch hour I heard a talk show guy say that we are in for much, much worse. So I locked the closet door with those plans so no one can dare pull them out now. It is just too dangerous out there.

If you think that is over blown it is not. I hear that same kind of talk day in and day out. Our problem is we can not hear for all the noise around us. For Christian leaders the even sadder truth is too many are listening to what Glenn Beck says and not what the Holy Spirit says!

We have lost our perspective and there are too few who are providing positive leadership. So, amidst all the other stuff you are hearing let me put in my two cents.

Some Realities to consider:

It is a bad recession. I am feeling it, members of my family are feeling it, American feels it. There is no sugar coating what we are experiencing. Yet at the end of the day people still go to movies, buy Big Macs, drive automobiles, eat too much and enjoy life unparalleled by any other society in the history of the world. Yet we are experiencing challenges and I do not want to minimize that in the slightest. However…

This is a recession not a depression! Don’t be fooled by the alarmists who are either trying to bolster their ratings or get their government approved project passed. We are not on the verge of collapse. The free market economy will function if we let it.

Recessions don’t end on a dime. I have repeatedly stated that recessions occur region by region and sector by sector. We did not get into this recession over night and we will not get out of it over night. Everyone wants some finish line projection but it will not happen. In fact we will not know we are “technically” out of the recession until after it is over. If you remember we were months into the recession before it was declared official.

While recessions don’t end on a dime the do end. If I could predict exactly when this recession will be over I would make a pretty dime indeed. I believe we are already starting the climb out. While that might go against some, like those that are building their hopes on short selling, the indicators are indeed all there.

Things will not be back to normal for a few months longer. What is normal? It will take some time for the shock of this recession to work its way through the American consumer. Washington and the media made the situation much worse than it could have been. Confidence was shaken and will not be easily replaced despite the recovery of the economy.

You know what? The Harry Potter movie will gross millions when it is released next week. People will buy popcorn and cokes and candy all the while complaining about the economy. Then on Sunday they will pass the plate without putting anything in because in these tough times who has money to give to the church?

Dear Christian leader, now is time to raise up like the men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. What plan do you have to weather this recession and move your ministry forward? Who are you listening to, the media, your friend or the Holy Spirit? Instead of basing our actions on how we “feel” why would you not find the mind of God and move forward by faith? I believe the eternal destiny of many hangs in the balance in how you answer that question.

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

PS. A site that I go to often for good economic insight is sponsored by First Trust. Bob Carey their Chief Investment Officer and Brian Wesbury also put out weekly email analysis of key market and economic trends that are very informative. I highly recommend that you spend a few minutes less in the sports page and a few more minutes understanding the times we live in!

Before you start writing off this post let me say that I love Twitter and Facebook and all the social media tools. Like many I probably spend too much time on Twitter and Facebook. At least I am not cheating my boss, I am my own boss! While I have learned some things on Twitter and made some contacts the fact remains that in terms of business it has netted me nothing. Not yet at least.

Oh, I know that there are tons of programs out there that claim you can make thousands using these tools. The real truth is that few if any are making thousands as of yet. Twitter is not at this point a viable business option. This is especially true when it comes to stewardship and donations.

My Twitter friends and those committed to social media as the next great stewardship tool are missing the point. Social media campaigns result in only small infrequent donations. Small gifts, while helpful do not carry a ministry or church budget. While small gifts do ad up in the long run the bulk of funds are still raised the old fashioned way. I know you can point to a multitude of high profile events where funds were raised by social media. Let’s explore that for a moment.

The Obama Myth Most think that the bulk of what President Obama raised in his campaign came through the Internet and small donations. While it is true that Obama did use the internet to raise considerable funds its impact was over blown. The Campaign Finance Institute found that “only 26% of his money came from donors whose total contributions aggregated to $200 or less. Obama’s 26% compares to 25% for George W. Bush in 2004, 20% for John Kerry in 2004, 21% for John McCain in 2008, 13% for Hillary Clinton in 2008, and 38% for Howard Dean in 2004.”

They further stated, “Obama received about 80% more money from large donors (cumulative contributions of at least $1,000) than from small donors. While the large donors thus were responsible for much more of Obama’s money than either his small or middle range group, he received somewhat less proportionally from large donors than did his rivals or predecessors. Forty-seven percent of Obama’s money came from large donors compared to 56% for Kerry and 60% for both Bush and McCain. However, because Obama’s 47% is based on a larger total, that means he also raised significantly more large-donor money in absolute terms than any of his rivals or predecessors.

Much of this money was raised the “old fashioned” way. Since only about 13,000 of those who started out small for Obama ended up crossing the $1,000 threshold, that means the bulk of Obama’s $213 million in large-donor contributions during the primaries came from about 85,000 people who started out giving big and stayed there.”

The Rock Star Myth Recently I read a good article about Generation Y not being selfish. Here is the essence of what the author said about how to motivate Gen Y to donate.

“Charities and nonprofits, however, must to be able to continue to reach out to these young donors to maintain their interests and expand in the future. Nonprofits have realized that the best way to reach this audience is through more interactive ways. Most nonprofits have been moving away from paper, reaching these short-attention span, tech-savvy audiences through hands-on programs and events, as well as virally.

Facebook fan pages, email blasts, postings on YouTube, and websites have made this paperless philanthropy possible. One of the newest tools to raise small donations is through text-messaging. Singer Alicia Keys raised over $40,000 during one of her recent tours, as she asked audiences to text and donate $5 each on their cell phones to the charity Keep A Child Alive. This method of donating is used now at concerts and professional sporting events all over the world.”

I confess I had to Google Alicia Keys to see who she was and she does in fact support Keep A Child Alive. However I had to wonder how many concerts she held on her recent tour and how many people in total attended those concerts? I would be interested in knowing how many attendees actually made a donation compared to how many attended? What was the revenue that she brought in through tickets sales and all other sales? How would that amount compare to the $40K that was donated? Frankly, $40K seems a fairly small amount compared to the average ticket price Gen Y’s pay to attend concerts.

My point is that making these kinds of donations might make Gen Y feel good about themselves but it hardly proves they are unselfish. In fact when you compare their giving to what they spend on CD’s, movies, Video Games, alcohol and other entertainment they don’t look all that charitable. They pretty much reflect their materialistic Baby Boomer parents. Too often we Americans talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.

Examples like this and others always focus on small gifts amounting to a large amount. What they miss is that events like these are one time asks. It is easy to raise funds in such a way. The real challenge is to get donors to repeatedly give and to give larger amounts. It also misses the point that these charities required many more times that amount to fund their ministries. While these events get high profile praise in the end the represent a small portion of what they raise annually. Comparing examples like this to churches is a misnomer in that a church asks weekly not simply one time.

Here are some conclusions to consider:

Social networking will only raise a small percentage of any ministry or churches funds.

Even though small it should not be totally discounted.

To be truly effective social networking must be seen as a starting point not an end.

Social networking gives a false sense of ease at raising funds.

No new tool, no matter how clever or convenient will replace the reality that the few will give the majority.

Smart leaders will spend the bulk of their time on those that hold the most promise for funding their ministries.

The future of stewardship is in discipleship not social networking.

I know this might not be a cool hip post. Gen Y’ers will probable not like it. However my fear is that while we chase the newest technology as a potential savior to our funding woes we will expend far too much effort for far too little results. There is no easy way to raise funds. It takes hard work and dedication.

Sadly too many Christian leaders do not want to give the time and effort needed to fuel their vision. My fear is that at the end of the day instead of making disciples we have simply attracted a crowd. Guess who is the first to jump off the band wagon when times of trouble hit?

Let’s focus on what really matters!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group

Ask a pastor what his growth plan is and he will wax eloquently. Ask him about his missions plan and he can instantly tell you. Ask him what is evangelism or discipleship plan is and again he can tell you. Ask him what his plan for assuring that this recession will not hamper his giving and his response is typically much less certain. Most pastors I know are leaving this area entirely up to chance.

You can not afford to risk to chance that your offering plates will continue to be full!

What is your plan? How long has it been since you actually thought about your plan to increase or even simply sustain your giving? A well thought out plan is essential for survival during these challenging days we are in. This recession lingers on and the recovery promises to be slower than we had hoped for. Can your budget within stand a decline in giving? The time to do something is now rather than later.

My passion and calling from God is stewardship. I know that makes me seem weird to most of you guys. However just as you get jazzed about preaching next Sunday’s message or creating that perfect mission plan, I get jazzed helping churches raise funds to do all those things you dream of. I have over eleven years of experience in the stewardship field. I have worked in the largest church in America to those that are emerging. I know I can help any church or ministry including yours! The frustration I have is that so few reach out for help.

An offer you can’t refuse!

Stewardship Planning Services We can help you develop a plan that will increase your offerings for a low affordable price. We can help in assessing strengths, weaknesses and opportunities Our plan consists of the following:

Stewardship Evaluation

* Financial Analysis - We will analyze past giving to your church to determine your strengths and weaknesses. This anonymous review will enable us through our years of experience to make observations and recommendations about giving to your budget.
* Budget Review - Looking at spending patterns in an effort to help better manage the funds the church is entrusted with.

Plan of Action

* A written detailed analysis of our findings
* A proposed plan of action to stimulate current donors and develop new donors
* Help in implementing long-term programs that lead to better Christian stewards.
* Providing help with writing appeal letters on a quarterly basis. There is a reason you get appeal letters in the mail, the work! Let us help you discover how to unlock hundreds to thousands of dollars with each mailing.

In my experience one of the major factors that keeps pastors and Christian leaders from availing themselves of outside help is the fee. We have affordable pricing for every church size. It runs from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand for larger churches. The return on investment is almost immediate. We have helped hundreds of churches let us help you.

As an added incentive we are guaranteeing a full refund of your money if you are not completely satisfied with our services.

Call or email me today to find out how we can help your church not just survive through this recession but thrive! You can’t afford to leave your ministry dreams to chance. Let us help you today!

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group
Mark@TheCharisGroup.org

The Dow rose 838 points for the quarter the best quarter return since 2003. Its up 29% from its 12 year low hit on March 9th. Yet despite that the confidence and mood in the country is one of uncertainty. The last day of the quarter saw the Market decline by 82 points. The down turn that day was explained in part to the surprising news that consumer confidence had plunged after gaining ground in previous months. Daily we see the Market fluctuate from highs to lows based upon this report or the other. The word for the day is volatility. This is caused by uncertainty.

What does all this mean for you and I? What lessons can be learned that you might apply to your church or ministry or even your personal life. Here are some observations to consider:

The second half of 2009 will look a lot like the first half. We are going to see the continued slow recovery from this recession. The recovery is under way but much like our awareness that we were in a recession we will not know when we are out of recession until months after the fact. This is not what we as Americans like to hear. We like things clearly defined for us. We want there to be some bell that signals like the close of the Stock Market that the recession if finally over. There is no bell that will ring in the end of this recession. No one knows when it will officially be over. You can find any opinion about that from the most optimistic to the most pessimistic. When it comes to the economy the one thing I have learned is that even the experts don’t know.

The Stock Market will continue to be volatile but will by year’s end continue its upward movement. A week ago I shifted my 401K from a much more heavily stock mixture to bonds. I had moved from bonds back to stocks when the Market hit 6,800. Doing so allowed me to gain back much of the loses of 2008. In July of 2008 I moved out of stocks into bonds and was saved from the fall meltdown. Since moving out of predominantly stocks the Market has declined. During times of volatility I chose to be safer and more conservative with my investments. At some point I will re-balance my portfolio and move to a position with more stocks in the mix. For right now I will chose to wait out this current up and down for a more stable time. However, given time the Market will rebound and while it may be years before we see 14,000 again we will see our 401K’s regain strength. Stay in the Market for the long term but don’t foolishly keep in funds that are declining. No one but you will manage your investments.

The mood of the country will continue to be one of uncertainty. As a result of many factors, the war in Iraq, the recession, how our government has handled things, the almost daily unraveling of one politician or another, and the volatility of the Stock Market we remain wary. This has manifested itself in a lot of things from saving more, spending less and giving less. We have lost confidence and we do not have any leaders that can instill a renewed since of hope and optimism.

To me this gives we in the church a perfect opportunity to provide leadership that will give hope to Americans. Americans are looking for answers and they are quickly learning that despite the rhetoric Washington can not produce results. Churches should be on the forefront of providing practical help to people on how to weather the economic storm we are in. Churches need to be on the forefront of helping those that are impacted by this recession cope with their losses and the challenges they face. We need to be the leaders of not looking for government bail outs but teaching people how responsible living can and will produce ultimate happiness. This then will serve as our entryway towards pointing them to what really matters in life, the eternal. We know the one who truly is The way, The truth and The life, Jesus.

What is your plan? What are you planning and doing to meet this opportunity?

What messages are you preparing to point the way through this recession? Are you reading all you can to understand the times we live in? Frankly parsing the Greek will not help you now but reading the Wall Street Journal might give you some perspective. Then go parse the Greek.

What programs are you introducing to help people? Some type of debt reduction ministry should be standard at your church. Counseling for those without jobs or in major debt should be considered. Work programs, seminars on practical financial matters and others can minister to the practical needs of not only your members but the community at large. Then you will win the audience to share the Good News.

My point in this post is that we have an opportunity that I fear we are wasting. Start today, right now, thinking about how you and your ministry will seize this opportunity for Christ.

In the midst of all this volatility and uncertainty we need to pull out that old hymn that says, “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid Rock, I stand - All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.”

Mark Brooks
Founder and President
The Charis Group