Enormous changes have transpired in recent years. As a result, church leaders may struggle to grow disciples and fund ministry in a widely different and rapidly changing ministry context. Therefore, we decided to offer an e-course called 5 Disciples of Financially Thriving Churches. It's a free e-course that encompasses the following:
Although changes to churches have accelerated in recent years, it's essential to understand giving. For instance, during the last four decades giving by Americans remained flat at approximately 2.0% of income. But, giving to religious organizations, such as churches, decreased. In short, it's about half of what it was 30 years ago.
If your church is ambivalent about its financials, this course and additional video are for you. This article aims to highlight the ministry funding challenges you may experience. If any of these issues relate to you, do yourself a favor and get the free e-course. It'll change the way you think about your church finances. So, let’s take a look at the top financial challenges facing church leaders.
The reality is that life gets more expensive, as do church finances. From the light bill to salaries, the operating expenses increase yearly. However, maybe your church finds itself with flat or even declining revenue. What you do when you start to see the signs of decline is essential. Don't think that your church could not end up at some point in time closing its doors. Therefore, embracing technology and data infrastructure is vital for redefining your church in the digital era.
For better or worse, the pandemic is leaving a lasting legacy. As a result, your church could leverage the changes in worship and giving to become one of the financially thriving churches—or it won't. The time is now to reorient your church. In other words, this is the time to re-evaluate and recommit to what your church values most. Further, it's the time to set a bold vision and execute it with a team of people who have the talent to see it happen. It's also time to move away from the distractions that have kept you treading water.
Do you find that your church worship services seem to have fewer attendees? Is there a sense of a thinning out? Perhaps, your church leadership murmurs about decreased attendance. But, no one's taking the time to really get into the data or the numbers. Why? Well, it's easier to ignore it than deal with a problem. Of course, that's a strategic mistake. It's vital to have your fingers on the pulse of your ministries and attendance. Doing so will ensure your church remains a thriving and central part of life for your members. (Grow Disciples and Ministry).
Perhaps your church started to embrace the digital world. If so, keep going. However, one of the biggest challenges many churches face is measurement. For instance, if you want to understand engagement, you need to include social media and marketing. The reality is that many church leaders simply don’t understand these metrics. But, all isn’t lost! There are ways to understand online participation and decipher any correlation to committed membership. However, it involves church leaders getting new talent on board.
5. Decline of Deeply Committed Followers
As we know, many churches went online for worship due to the pandemic. Hopefully, you did as well. Still, even if you seem to have many people attending your worship services, it doesn't necessarily mean you have committed followers? How so? Well, perhaps they're not located in your town. Or, they don’t support or help you fund your ministries. Therefore, in the digital era, church leaders need to understand the nuances of their online worshippers. In other words, why do they watch? And more importantly, are they engaged with your church?
Perhaps your church made it through the pandemic and recent years fine. You may have received the subsidies from the government, and you see a healthy bank account. Be warned. That often leads to complacency. Instead, it’s precisely at this moment, if you’re one of the financially thriving churches, where you need to ensure you stay that way. So, it’s vital to invest in technology, understand engagement, and ensure you measure everything.
7. Giving and the Lack of Church Attendance and Engagement
Did you know that when a church member stops attending, it usually takes about three to six months for them to stop giving? So, if you have seen a drop in attendance, you could expect a drop in giving about one quarter or half a year later. That's vital to understand, anticipate and address. The question is, how? One of the answers is creating a culture of giving and generosity within your church. People want to support your church ministries. However, they might not see a compelling reason to do it.
8. Challenge of Re-Engaging with Those Who Have Stopped Attending
Our last challenge has to do with those who stopped attending. The longer your church doesn't reach out to them, the greater the financial threat to your ministries. The reality is that once people stop attending worship, you need to reach out to them. A thriving church community needs to engage with people and remind them that they matter to the church. Moreover, when people feel valued and acknowledged (even in their absence), they usually re-engage.
It's not easy to create communities for financially thriving churches. But doing it involves more than vision. It also means engaging with your members both in-person and online. Further, for your ministries to thrive, it means being intentional about rethinking your discipleship pathways, especially when it comes to highlighting a spirit of giving and generosity.
Finally, a thriving church also means involving church leaders with varying backgrounds and talents. Meaning those with financial, marketing, operation, and social media engagement expertise. Building that community is what defines a thriving church in the digital era.
Download 5 Disciples of Financially Thriving Churches to get started on your journey to grow more disciples and fund more ministry.