Wes Kenney (Called According) has been looking into the CP giving records of the churches of men whose names have been bandied about as possible nominees for SBC president. Noting a general decline in the percentages, Wes asked if anyone has ideas re: why this trend?
My comment, assuming Wes was referring to the trend among SBC leaders, was that it merely reflects the trend among all SBC churches. Giving to the church is down; churches have cut CP giving to make up for a shortfall.
So why that trend?
I was recently at a workshop on Intentional Interims sponsored by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention; Denny Wright offered five reasons he believes giving to churches is trending down:
1. There is no compelling vision of making a difference. People in general, and younger adults in particular, want to know their money is doing something important. Keeping the lights on and paying the bills isn’t evidence of the church making a difference.
Keep in mind, younger adults and older adults differ in two respects when it comes to giving. Older adults tend to give 10% to their church regardless; they give just because it’s their church. Younger adults need to see a vision that impacts the Kingdom. And, I think they tend to believe they have honored God’s desire for them to be a cheerful giver if they give to Kingdom causes, not just to the church where they are a member.
2. People stop giving (or give less) when they don’t see a significant return on their investment. Reviewing a spreadsheet at a business meeting does not communicate the return on investment. Too many churches either don’t have “success stories” to share or aren’t making an effort to share those stories.
It’s nice for me to know we spent X dollars on VBS and that we stayed within budget. What I really want to know is how many children we reached with that money; how many families have begun to attend Sunday school or church because of the X dollars we spent? How many of those parents subsequently were saved? Those are the success stories that inspire giving.
3. Some don’t give because the church didn’t ask for the money; they didn’t know the church needed it. We’ve gotten in a rut of thinking that because people should give, they will give. And, we then think ill of them when they don’t.
4. Some may be ignorant of what the bible teaches about giving.
5. Selfishness: people are willing to give if it makes them feel good. Giving to maintain the status quo at the church doesn’t make them feel good.
It all boils down to: the local church is considered irrelevant in their lives.
Why do people give to the local church (instead of giving to parachurch or social agencies or not at all)?
1. Regard for the minister. (Yes, it really is about relationships.)
2. A belief in the church’s mission and vision.
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