Questions on Programming Generosity

Is it OK for a pastor to give to his own church? Is it acceptable for churches to receive commercial income? Should visitors be encouraged to give? Generous Giving is committed to answering stewardship-related FAQs thoughtfully, and we have arranged our answers according to topic. While our answers address the many finer points of stewardship, our position statements summarize our general views. Learn what qualifies Generous Giving to answer these questions.

Help Desk Related Resources Curricula

1. What is the role of the stewardship committee in the stewardship program of the church?
   A church stewardship committee is usually a group made up of lay people (i.e., not clergy) who are jointly responsible for administering the stewardship program of the church. It is led by a chairman, who is commonly an elder or deacon of the church, and can therefore act as a liaison to the leadership. The committee’s responsibilities usually include: providing a stewardship curriculum and literature, planning occasional worship services on the theme of stewardship, overseeing an annual pledge drive, and maintaining pledge records, among other things. While committee members may make reports or appeals in public worship, more often they inform the senior pastor, who then acts as the spokesman before the congregation.
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2. What is the role of the senior pastor in the stewardship program of the church?
   While the senior pastor cannot be expected to shoulder the church’s stewardship program on his own, he certainly must be behind it. He should do two important things, at least: (1) He should preach on stewardship. The pastor has a unique platform to exhort Christians to give their money to the Lord who saved them. If he leaves Christian financial issues to the stewardship chairman or professional advisors, he forfeits the precious opportunity to speak the word of God into that part of people’s lives. He communicates to them, “God’s word is not relevant here,” which is completely untrue. (2) He should support the work of the stewardship committee. Senior pastors have sometimes been known to assign tasks without giving adequate authority and support. If the stewardship committee receives little or no support from the senior pastor, no one should be surprised when the church fails to meet budget or committee members burn out. Motivating congregational stewardship is a hard job, much too hard to do without the “up front” advocacy of the senior pastor.
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3. What is a stewardship pastor?
   A stewardship pastor is one whose full-time responsibility is to administer the church’s stewardship program. As large churches (i.e., 1,000-plus people) become increasingly common, there is also a trend toward more and more specialized pastoral staff, e.g., senior pastor, worship pastor, counseling pastor, executive pastor, youth pastor, singles pastor and more. In a very large church, stewardship responsibilities may become too great for a committee of lay people, at which point the church will choose to hire a full-time stewardship pastor. Such responsibilities might include discipling wealthy believers on a one-to-one basis; leading deacons in determining an appropriate budget; researching ministry needs in the community or around the world; establishing a church endowment; leading Bible studies on giving practices and giving priorities in God’s word; and administrating a personal financial budget planning course, such as Crown Financial Ministries. Of course, hiring a stewardship pastor should not be seen as the only solution necessary for discipling a congregation. All ministers and lay leaders in teaching and discipleship should be active in fulfilling the Great Commission, teaching all believers to obey all that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:16-20) about our money no less than any other area of life. While many aspects of teaching and leading stewardship may fall under the administration of a stewardship pastor, such tools only work when biblical stewardship is reinforced by consistent teaching and modeling from the pulpit, in Sunday schools and through public testimonies at various times.
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4. Should we hire a full-time stewardship pastor?
   Maybe. Whether a church hires a stewardship pastor depends on the church’s size and degree of need. Is the stewardship committee able to handle its responsibilities adequately? Are there other, more urgent staffing needs? Are many church members already giving generously to meet kingdom needs? If so, a stewardship pastor may not be necessary. If not, it may be time to start searching. In any case, it is important not to rely solely on the stewardship pastor to address stewardship. The role of all ministers and lay leaders in teaching and discipleship requires their participation in fulfilling the Great Commission, teaching all believers to obey all that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:16-20) about money no less than any other topic.
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5. How can we identify the gift of giving in our congregants?
   God gives all his people spiritual gifts for their mutual benefit and for the progress of his kingdom (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12). There are basically two ways to identify spiritual gifts in people: (1) have them take a written test, and/or (2) observe their behavior. In the American church today, the first approach is far more common. But it is wisest to make use of both approaches. Most written spiritual gift inventories include the gift of giving (Romans 12:8) among their possibilities. A written inventory will at least point you in the direction of people for whom giving seems important. But the real test of a spiritual gift is its evidence in a person’s life. Which of your people give especially large gifts, relative to their income? Which of your people give over and above their tithe to other ministries of the church? Which of your people give regularly to other ministries in addition to the church? Those people are likely exhibiting evidence of the spiritual gift of giving.
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6. Once identified, how can we approach these gifted people to challenge them in their giving?
   Identifying the spiritual gift of giving in a congregation is a huge step, but to identify spiritual gifts without putting them into action for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7) is worthless. How can a church put its people’s gifts of giving into action? First, approach people through the normal channels. A personal visit from a pastor or lay leader is the oldest and probably the best way. A phone call is acceptable, but it loses some the interpersonal element. A personal letter from the pastor or lay leaders, or alternatively, a group letter to all the people identified as givers, may be an appropriate first step. Second, whatever channel you use, approach your people with confidence appropriate to your office. Keep in mind that you are not a fund-raiser for your own cause but, rather, a spokesman and under-shepherd for God. Exhort a gifted person to give not primarily because the church needs their money but because God has called and enabled them to do so. It is good to be humble in your own right, but it is important to be bold to challenge people with the word of God.
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7. What are some examples of churches with good stewardship programs?
   There are churches out there doing a great job on this, but regrettably, few of them make their material available to the public on the Web. One outstanding exception is Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. This church has posted its own collection of original resources on a stewardship Web page that includes: an overview, frequently asked questions, how to contribute, an online pledge card, an interactive giving percentage chart, a church newsletter, a 20-day devotional, a two-part group Bible study, a collection of sermons and streaming video. If you want to peruse actual materials from a church that is running a successful stewardship program, this page is the place to look. You also may wish to hear stories and testimonies from pastors about their real experiences with church stewardship programs. If you still want to learn more, probably the best way is to find a church in your own city or denomination that has a good stewardship program and learn directly from them by writing, calling or visiting.
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8. Should stewardship be included in our church’s mission statement?
   Probably. A mission statement is a concise summary of a church’s objectives, the things that it exists to do. The statement acts as an introduction for visitors and as a reminder for members. Such statements are helpful tools, but they are no substitute for action. A mission statement that is written down but not carried out is worthless. But mission statements aside, should generosity be a real priority for your church, along with teaching, worship, outreach, etc? Yes, indeed. Generosity shows up again and again in Jesus’ teaching on discipleship (Matthew 6:1-4, 19-24, Luke 12:13-21, et al) and the apostles’ instructions for Christian life (2 Corinthians 8-9, 1 Timothy 6, Hebrews 13:5, et al). If it is a priority in the Scriptures, then it should be a priority in our churches. Consequently, including generosity in your church mission statement is probably a good idea. What really matters, though, is not whether generosity appears in the church mission statement, but whether generosity is in fact a significant part of the life of the church.
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9. Should giving be a prerequisite for church membership?
   No, not in most instances. Because God accepts all who have faith in Jesus as members of Christ's body, church membership is determined on the grounds of a credible profession of faith. That is, a candidate for membership must: (1) profess to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Acts 16:31) and (2) live in such a way that that profession of faith is believable (James 2:14). In some instances giving may be required at membership or repentance and baptism if a person has been gulity of economic sin in the past. See the example of Zacchaeus for an example of the biblical principle of restitution. If someone has gotten wealthy off of dishonest business practices, lack of payment to workers, ungodly litigation, or through robbery, they should certainly begin to show the fruits of their conversion by giving at once, particularly if they have a reputation for such dishonesty. This requirement of giving could be compared to those who must give up sleeping with boyfriends or girlfriends before baptism and membership in a church. It is biblically appropriate for church leaders to give particular attention to an individual's generosity, because Scripture identifies charity for the physical needs of the poor as a key indication of true belief (Matthew 25:31-46; James 1:27; 2:14-17; 1 John 3:16-18). However, because Christians mature gradually as the Holy Spirit transforms their heart and behavior, church leaders, who are responsible for admitting members, should not expect candidates for membership to be sinless or fully mature in the area of generosity or any other area of Christian obedience. Rather they should look for some genuine evidence of the fruit of the Spirit and a changed life (Galatians 6). Once someone is a Christian and a church member, however, he can and should be held to some standard of financial accountability. If a believer fails to give generously, he should be gently rebuked and encouraged to imitate Christ's example (Philippians 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 8:9). And if he stubbornly persists in selfishness, he should come under discipline, as Paul teaches, even to the point of exclusion from fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:9-11). While generosity should not be used as a strict litmus test for church membership, it should be a requirement for Christian discipleship.
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10. How can I encourage greater giving in a church with declining membership?
    A church with dwindling pledges is certainly in some distress. But a church with dwindling numbers is in much more serious danger. The important question is not how to boost giving, but why people are not coming to the church in the first place. When faced with such a crisis, a minister generally will respond in one of two ways: (1) Either he will ask himself, “Am I using the most effective tactics to make my church more meaningful, so that membership and/or giving might grow?” (2) Or he will ask himself, “Am I faithfully preaching the message of Scripture, so that the people will understand what Christ has done for them and respond accordingly?” Asking the first question, apart from the second, inevitably will lead to failure. The evidence shows that high attrition rates and low giving levels are symptoms of a greater spiritual problem in our churches, especially evident in the long-establish mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. This universal human problem (i.e., guilt before God, love of worldly wealth, fear of death, obsession with self, etc.) is most noticeable among congregations that do not recognize the depth of their natural sinfulness, understand the need for a righteous God to punish sin, or embrace the personal relationship that God offers to those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Only once people understand how Christ has suffered death in their place will they experience gratitude that generates generosity (Luke 7:47). Pastors should examine both their tactics and their message, but they should start with the latter. A clever fund-raising campaign might cause a temporary spike in giving, but only the good news of salvation, applied by the Holy Spirit, can change people in such a way as to convert their minds and hearts and make them permanently generous. Toward this end, we recommend four books, the first two addressing the possible larger problem of distance from God, the second two offering short-term fund-raising “patches”: (1) The Treasure Principle Bible Study: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving will help your flock to explore the joy of giving as the irresistible response to what Christ did for us on the cross. (2) The Crisis in the Churches: Spiritual Malaise, Fiscal Woe demonstrates how church fiscal woes are a symptom of the spiritual problem of divorcing faith from money. (3) Financial Meltdown in the Mainline? examines the tactical problems plaguing these churches. Finally, (4) How to Increase Giving in Your Church: A Practical Guide to the Sensitive Task of Raising Money for Your Church or Ministry offers a practical and biblical approach to raising ministry funds.
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