Many people may not put these two terms together – outreach and church growth. The reality is this; outreach should lead to church growth.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his disciples to begin spreading Christianity in Jerusalem, then go to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. The early church knew experienced rapid growth. Thousands were added to the church very quickly, and it was all through word of mouth. The early church didn’t have what we have right now from a technology perspective. They didn’t have access to demographic data or mass mailings or social
media.

The more people know you, the easier it is to lead. 

People follow who they know. As a ministry leader, they look to you for vision, spiritual direction, and biblical teaching. But a large church creates more demands on your time and more people to meet. Many leaders face this tension. There are usually a few responses: isolation or burnout. 

Thankfully, after working with tens of thousands of churches, we’ve seen other paths. 

Our latest resource, How to Connect Personally When You Can’t Know Everyone, shows a path you and your team can follow.

Let’s face it: we all want to feel known. 

Some people may say they prefer to get lost in a crowd. In reality, they want people to know how they are. They want to feel part of something. They want connection. 

Being a larger church does create more opportunities, but it also creates more ways for people to get lost. They slip through the cracks of large gatherings, an online presence, or constant activities. Their name gets replaced by a number. 

People should feel known at church. Our latest resource, Big Church Made Small: Make Everyone Feel Known shows a path you and your team can follow.

For many of your church’s most generous donors, less than 10 percent of their wealth is likely to be in cash assets. 

Discover how you can support donors who want to give of their assets through noncash gifts such as stock, property or bequests. This guide will also brief you on cryptocurrency and what churches need to know about this emerging tool.

There are some red flags that we as pastors and ministry leaders have to watch out for (and avoid
ourselves) if we’re to successfully create a church culture where giving grows. Unfortunately,
many organizations unintentionally develop toxic cultures that lead to staff turnover and
disengagement.

Discover the factors that are organizational poison in building a church culture that grows giving.
These key questions and tools provide pastors and ministry leaders with strategies for
building a church culture that is donor-centered and cultivates generosity.

You might have heard the old adage in the philanthropic world that attracting donors is difficult but keeping them is easy. There’s actually nothing further from the truth.

While it can be difficult and costly to secure new givers, it’s actually far more challenging work to retain those donors over a long period of time. Five Strategies to Engage Donors Now provides concrete and practical steps for managing your donor relationships in a way that keeps givers inspired, informed, and excited.

From navigating a crisis to how to make an appropriate ask, these tools will give you solid guidance
in advancing your church’s stewardship and long-term care of its givers.

“There are two times I hear from the church about my giving: asking for my stewardship pledge and letting me know if I got behind on it!”

We hear this from church members across the country too often. The reality is that today’s donors and tithers to our churches are most often donors to other causes and ministries. The harsh reality is that they’re often making their best and most sacrificial stretch gifts to those causes. 

While support of the church is a Biblical calling and obligation for most, many of today’s donors also have expectations shaped by their experience giving to other causes.  With the national decline in church membership and participation, churches have to re-evaluate how they’re inspiring donors and how they’re treating them year-round. 

Donors need relationship and ministry far more than we need their money. If we don’t see ministry to the donor as our higher calling, our donors are destined to be mere objects and the connection between them and our ministry will be sadly unsatisfying.

Donors of all sizes deserve to know the difference they are making. Henri Nouwen reminds us that fundraising is all about creating a relationship between those who have resources and those who need them, in order to advance God’s Kingdom. 

“We will find ourselves begging for money and they will find themselves merely handing us a check,” he writes. “No real connection has been created because we have not asked them to come and be with us. We have not given them an opportunity to participate in the spirit of what we are about. We may have completed a successful transaction, but we have not entered into a successful relationship.”

The Three Characteristics of the Cheerful Giver: Fundraising as Ministry outlines the key desires of donors and how churches can meet those needs.

Stewardship is a touchy subject in churches today. It’s something pastors often don’t like to preach about. But it’s inevitable. We have to at some point. 

It’s no secret that online giving is becoming more prominent in our churches today, especially because of the Covid-19 pandemic we faced in 2020 and are starting to see recycle itself again right now. If the pandemic did one thing for churches, it forced them to think about how to continue to receive tithes and offerings from its members while not physically meeting on campus each week. Do any churches actually pass an offering plate anymore?

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor. 9:7

AS A CHURCH LEADER, HOW ARE YOU COMMUNICATING WHY IT’S IMPORTANT FOR YOUR MEMBERS TO BE FAITHFUL IN THEIR STEWARDSHIP? 

Most everyone in your church knows why he or she tithes. The Bible calls us to. Furthermore, most of your members know how to give. In times past, they would write a check or drop cash in the plate as it passed during an offertory hymn. Times have changed, and now we can add swiping a credit or debit card at a kiosk in the lobby, giving online, or texting a tithe as options. As mentioned earlier, summer has now come to a close. People are returning to your church from a hectic summer, seeking relief and a sense of normalcy. So how are you, as a church leader, communicating why it’s important for your members to be faithful in their stewardship along with the various ways for your members to give faithfully?

HOW CAN YOU ENGAGE AND EDUCATE YOUR MEMBERS ON WAYS TO TITHE AND THE WHY BEHIND IT?

Many people may not put these two terms together – outreach and church growth. The reality is this; outreach should lead to church growth. 

In Matthew 28 Jesus gives his disciples the “Great Commission.” 

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”

This strategy was put in place in Acts 1:8 when Jesus tells his disciples to begin in Jerusalem, then go to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.

WITHOUT OUTREACH, CHURCH GROWTH WILL NOT OCCUR

In established congregations, or even small ones, many pastors and church leaders may find it harder to get their congregations to focus on outreach and why it’s so vitally important to the growth of your church. Congregations become complacent and steeped in tradition. Or they like their size. Or they’re comfortable with their building. But this is not at all what God calls us to. He doesn’t call us to a life of comfort or complacency. Some of the fastest growing churches in the Bible were those who were committed to outreach and evangelism!

WHAT DOES THE GREAT COMMISSION TEACH US ABOUT OUTREACH?