The Perfect Storm
Literally every day
I encounter a pastor who is lamenting the current state of affairs at his
church. Sunday attendance is down, expenses are up and pledge income is less
than last year. Now the vestry is charged with making severe cuts to an already
austere budget and current staffing levels are in jeopardy. Instead of growing
and expanding ministries, it looks like the year ahead will be one of status
quo and survival.
While there may be
other factors, pledge income is often down due to the loss of an elder member
of the parish who was contributing a disproportionate amount of the budget. The
Rector says, "Betty was contributing what amounted to 10% of our budget and
we just didn't make up for it with new and increased pledges. If we could just
get a few new members to pick up the slack we would be ok." Like many
rectors, he believes the answer to the perfect storm of 1) declining
attendance, 2) increasing expenses, and 3) lower pledge income is to recruit
new members to make up the deficit left primarily by the death of one member.
There are several
observations to make:
- While we are called to create disciples for Christ, we are not called to recruit people to solve our budget challenges. If you think visitors don't feel the pressure of being the budget saviors, you are mistaken. Visiting a church where the conversations center around rising costs and budget deficits is a complete turn-off and most people will go someplace else. By teaching and preaching Christian stewardship principles, you will grow generosity within your parish and become more attractive to those who are seeking a church home.
- Most of our churches have a handful of people who are contributing a huge portion of the budget. Have you looked? It used to be 80% of the income was provided by 20% of the congregation in a typical church. Now it is often closer to 90% give 10% or even 95% give 5%. If this is your situation, you need to come to grips with the fact that you are only one or two deaths or moves away from disaster. In some cases the larger contributors are not even aware they are carrying so much of the load. Preferably before an illness or death occurs, why not sit down with the larger donors and suggest they provide a gift to the church in their will or estate that would endow their annual gift in perpetuity? Obviously they love your church and want to see its ministries grow, not crash.
- Remember people give to your church because they expect you to use the gift to make a difference in the life of another person. While strategizing about growing your membership, don't forget to tell your story throughout the year. Help people connect money with ministry and you will likely see an increase in giving to your ministries as well as an increase in attendance.
Pasted
from <http://www.tens.org/blog/the-perfect-storm>
