Putting a Face on Giving

Have you ever met a local television news anchor at a community event? When people have personal contact with a local media “star,” they typically make a point to tune in now that they feel a kind of connection however brief it might have been. Station management knows that personal contact can change viewing habits and therefore ratings.  Which makes you wonder how stewardship campaigns would be affected if church members connected—even briefly—with the people who directly benefited from their pledges?

Giving a face and a name to the needs of the church and community makes pledging personal; and when it gets personal, you’ve got their attention. Hearing about all the good things your church does is one thing; looking into the grateful eyes of someone with whom your pledge has made a difference, that’s another thing entirely.

 

About Face Pledge Cards

Create a template of a pledge card that includes a pledge form, room for a photo, and a brief statement. Take pictures of people in classes, in daycare, during service projects . . . everywhere you see people who benefit from a church project or service. And don’t be afraid to take close-ups; you want your photos to be of faces. Print and cut them out, then paste them onto (or into, if you’re computer-savvy) your pledge card template. Hang them on an artificial tree, a bulletin board, or even from the ceiling grid and let the pastor invite the congregation to choose a card. Personalize each card? You bet. This is all about personalization.

 

Example:

This is David. He is one of twenty-three homeless men who spent the night in our Fellowship Hall last month. The church not only provided the men with a warm/cool, safe place to stay, but we also served them a nice, filling meal.  Take this pledge card to honor David, and know that your contribution goes to support programs like Room in the Inn.

 

Template:

This is [first name]. [He/She] is a [single mother? four-year-old? recovering addict? what was the need?] who [took a parenting class? attended VBS? uses our counseling program . . .  what service was provided to help fulfill that need?]. Take this pledge card to honor [first name] and know that your contribution goes to support programs like [name of program.]

 

Face-to-Face with Pastor

At most churches people line up to shake hands and say a word or two to the pastor after the worship service. Take advantage of that with this idea: Select people who have benefitted from church programs and have them form a reception line just outside the sanctuary. Prompt them to thank people as they pass by for what the church has done to help them, but also ask a volunteer or staff member to “host” each person in case they need a little help. Have pledge cards available at the end of the line just before they see the pastor who is—again—at the end of the line.

 

Example for Those Helped:

My name is David. Nice to meet you. I sure appreciate the church letting me stay the night here during that cold snap last month. Without Room in the Inn, I don’t know what some of us would do. Thanks again.

 

Example for Host:

Hey, I want you to meet David. You know how the church supports Room in the Inn? Well, David is one of the men we were so happy to have stay with us one night last month, when it was so cold. We hope you’ll make a pledge to the church again this year to help us continue to fund these important programs.

 

Face It

This idea also centers on taking photos of those who benefit from the church’s programs, but would showcase the photos in a formal art show setting. Enlarge and/or frame as many photos as possible and display them on easels and movable screens. Post information next to each piece of art that describes the subject. Make the art show a big deal; invite the media, ask “patrons” to vote on their favorite, serve punch and light hors d’oeuvres, offer valet parking—you could even roll out a red carpet and stage a premiere event. All the hoopla serves as an interesting way to get the congregation to pay attention to the faces of those in need.

 

Important: Don’t Lose Face

Before adapting any of these ideas, you need to run them by your church’s legal counsel. While using photos of those who are involved in your programs may seem to be “implied consent,” it can get a lot more complicated than that.

“Churches would want to get approval from the person to use their information and image,” says Alisa Graner Napier, a music and media licensing professional in Nashville, Tenn. “The person would need to know what the pledge card is being used for, where, when, etc., and approve it in writing with their signature, date and, if possible, their address and phone number.”

Although not an attorney, Graner Napier has been in the industry for twenty years and says typically an organization, with their attorney’s assistance, creates a release form to use in situations like this. She suggests that before going to print, show those whose photos you plan to use what the stewardship materials will look like to avoid later confusion.

“Churches could create a mockup of the pledge card showing where the photo and information would go so the person could see how exactly it is being used. Also, for their church files, they should keep a copy of the pledge cards attached to the individuals’ releases so they don’t get mixed up.”

So, take these ideas and make them your own. Find ways to make use of social media. Make it intergenerational. Or let them inspire you to think of a new way to show your congregation that they can no longer take your pledge campaign at face value.

 

Judy Bumgarner is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tennessee.

Defying Financial Gravity

I have several friends whose parents are leaving homes where they have lived for decades, moving into smaller places that require less upkeep. That process requires people to figure out what possessions they are going to hold onto and what they want to release to family members who might enjoy them. When distances between relatives make it difficult to distribute possessions, companies are hired to sell these goods or just take them to charitable organizations or the town landfill. There is nothing like paying someone to cart off things you once paid someone else to put in your home to make you think about transient nature of possessions. Working through this process leads many to take a vow of austerity.

One of the most important pieces of wisdom a Christian can learn is the difference between a need and a want. We all have needs. Jesus kept it lean and simple. He had no home and few possessions. But Jesus did have friends with houses, knew fishermen who owned boats, people who raised children and those who lived in a community where they put down roots.  But he was still clear that a life of simplicity was preferable to a life of complexity. He warned his followers about the way money and possessions could begin to rule their lives. As one who came as Lord, he knew how easy it was to find an alternative master in wealth and the pursuit of more.

I think the insight Jesus brings that is most helpful is that many of us, after honoring the basic needs of life, tend to want more. Most of us want more of everything, whether for security, pleasure or anticipated fulfillment. The list of wants is never short. I have found that the desire for more is a gravitational pull in my life. The longer the list, the more financial gravity exerts its pull until we are bogged down by financial worries and more stuff than we ever imagined.

Last fall, we issued a series of challenges at our church. The goal was to offer a congregation-wide experience where people could see how much gravity possessions and money had on their life. There were three parts:

• The Clean Out Challenge: Clean out a drawer, closet or room of your home and bring the stuff to the church parking lot on a designated Saturday. We had an electronics recycler, an industrial paper shredder, two charitable organizations, and one truck headed to the landfill. It was fascinating the see the joy people had as they dropped stuff off. One woman threw her hands up in the air, shouted “woo-hoo” and did a happy dance. Married couples exchanged high-fives. At one point I thought a revival was going to break out. I think many felt more joy in getting rid of their things than they ever did when they initially purchased them.
• Budget Challenge: Figure out how much you spend a month on key budget categories and how much you should spend to keep a balanced budget. Giving was the first category to consider. We all need to look at what percentage of our income is invested in generosity. Most Americans give less than 2% to any charitable institution. Many are not ready for retirement years when they will no longer be able to work. I am convinced the reason is that both require a plan that most never create.
• Estimate of Giving Card: Write down the amount you plan to give in the coming year and submit it to the church. Many churches no longer ask people to make a commitment to give. I think it helps people to write down or electronically enter an amount they hope to give to the church. People will only do this when inspired by their faith in Christ and the ministry of their church. When people want to invest in God’s Kingdom more than they want the stuff that makes them feel like royalty for a short time, generosity is easy. I encourage people to follow the biblical standard of the tithe. No spiritual practice enables you to embrace Jesus’ call to simplicity and his desire to seek first the Kingdom of God like tithing. It is the way I learned the difference between a need and a want. It is how I learned to trust that God would see our family through lean seasons. I believe that God wants us to bless others continually rather than leave a few residual dollars in our will after the last bill was paid.

If you want to help people change and fully embrace the Christian life, your church will have to talk about money, possessions, and generosity. These issues are a part of our everyday life. We make dozens of financial decisions every week, each with a cumulative impact on our life and identity. If you can teach people to defy gravity and overcome the culture of more, they will discover how Christ truly sets us free. ‘’

 

Rev. Tom Berlin is Senior Pastor of Floris United Methodist Church (Herndon, Virginia). and A graduate of Virginia Tech and Candler School of Theology at Emory University, he has authored many books and studies; his latest, Defying Gravity: Break Free from the Culture of More, released in May 2016. 

How to Grow Generosity

Joseph Grenny, in his book Influencer, teaches that leadership is all about intentionally influencing people to grow and change. Joseph Grenny would argue that positive influence happens when you develop a strategy for growing a culture of generosity in your local church. Growth that is gradual is sustaining.

The reality is that sometimes, good behavior may feel bad and bad behavior may feel good without influencing leadership. In other words, acting selfishly may feel good by those motivated by greed, and acting selflessly may feel bad by those motivated by generosity. What makes the difference? Our feelings may work for or against us. Social behavioral studies indicate that people will not change unless they are influenced.

Strategy creates leadership for the future. It must be innovative. The innovative strategy is not managing the present. It is selectively abandoning the past. Strategy responds to changing needs of people and creating the future. Vijay Govindarajan offers an excellent strategic leadership model in his book, The Other Side of Innovation. Growing generosity requires a dynamic strategic planning process that happens every year. Year by year growth will result.

Über Thoughtfulness

Most of us can quickly name at least one person who is extremely thoughtful, and our minds turn to these wonderful friends as we count our blessings this time of year. If only we ourselves could be so thoughtful, we think . . . we do try to be nice and kind to everyone, but when God queued us up to receive our gifts, we decide that maybe He didn’t put us in the über-thoughtful line.