At Servant Solutions, we are more than a just retirement and financial planning organization. We work hard to focus on the broader Kingdom and what we can do to support you in ministry. As part of this focus, we are sharing Part 2 of a two-part series looking at trends in giving.
As an influencer for the Kingdom, many of you either lead a church or are a major part of the leadership team of your local church or parachurch organization. And you know that resources determine much of what we do in ministry. Many times, those resources are equated in dollars, which leads many organizations into an unhealthy, dollar-centric focus. Below are excerpts from John S. Dickerson’s book, “The Great Evangelical Recession”. In our last newsletter, Part 1 of our series offered perspectives on our present realities in many of our churches today, and the impending crisis if we continue with present dollar-dependent ministry models. Although some may feel these are dramatic claims, we feel the questions are worth asking: Is American evangelical giving declining? And what, if anything, can we do about it? Part 2 of our series below offers some of what Dickerson identifies as most important in heading off these trends. It is marked by love for the church, confidence in God’s Word, and solid pastoral instincts. Each chapter suggests adjusted ministry priorities to match each area of decline.
If you would like a detailed PowerPoint presentation on this book, please email us at info@servantsolutions.org and we would be glad to email it to you. Thank you for allowing us to “Serve Those Who Serve”!
Four Practical Ways to Do More Ministry with Less Dollars
1. Hybrid Ministry: Learn and launch ministry models that do not depend solely on paid staff.
Still runs on donations, but requires less money to do more ministry
Careful about output (building and other overhead costs)
Use “alternative energy source” in unpaid staff – trained, called, qualified, and gifted staff and pastors, who work tent-making jobs and do not draw FT salaries
They won’t put in as many hours, but there is an unlimited supply
This is how the Apostle Paul served the New Testament churches Christ called him to plant and feed (Rom 12, 1 Cor. 12, Eph 4, and 1 Peter 4, 2 Timothy 2:22)
The solution is disciples (primary engine of the early church), not dollars (primary engine of the modern church)
A. Benefits of Hybrid Ministry
Prepares for financial stability over next 15 years
Propels staff to Christ’s disciple-training ministry model
Awakens dormant spiritual gifts in non-staff servant leaders
Eliminates “career” church workers
Attracts true Kingdom servants who have no other motive than to serve Christ
Pleasantly surprises younger Americans, who suspect church staff to be after their money
B. Will we spend the next decade working harder and harder at fundraising – or working harder and harder at disciple making?
We must plan to do more with less. If we don’t, we will end up doing less with less
2. Conservation: Avoid Debt Obligations Beyond the Next 10 Years
If you knew your salary would be cut in half in 15 years, would you take out more debt?
If you expected your income to decrease, wouldn’t you set aside additional savings now? (Joseph anticipated Egyptian Famine)
Before donation crisis worsens, build up ministry savings and reserves
Will not cover losses indefinitely, but will carry ministry through tough months and years
3. Preparation
Teach mature givers about the impending crisis
Create legacy vehicles (bequeathals, ministry trusts, etc.) so their gifts can outlive them
Essential – Kingdom work world-wide could be “made” or “broken” by gifts from the two eldest generations
We must be intentional or we will waste away this resource
4. Abandon: Disciple the Church in Life Surrender and Biblical Tithing
If all Christians tithed, we would add $139 billion more to Kingdom work
Crisis is not a shortage of funds, it is a shortage of commitment
We don’t believe in tithing or generous giving
If we did, we would get more excited about giving money away than about hoarding it for ourselves
Long-term solution – serious reproductive discipleship in micro-relationships
Only within a framework of committed disciples does biblical generosity make sense
CONCLUSION:
Successful ministries will survive the donation crisis by discipling their people into biblical living and giving.
1. Not desperate for donations – due to their investment in hybrid leaders/lay leaders
2. Not be mortgaged by earthly assets – cautious about taking on debt
3. They will have healthy savings and reserves in place in anticipation of the crisis
4. They will inherit unexpected funds from bequeathal gifts as informed older saints make investments that will outlive them
For a thorough study of this topic, we recommend you read the Great Evangelical Recession, by award-winning journalist and pastor John Dickerson.