1

2

Don’t Sweat Summer Giving10 Ways to avoid a Financial crisis during

an unpredictable Ministry season

1Outline yOur summer ministry plan

2assign specific cOsts related tO each part Of yOur ministry plan

3negOtiate with vendOrs fOr repeat business

4plan tO incur expenses during peak giving seasOns

5implement a 30-day review prOcess tO keep expenses

in line with actual giving

6hOld staff accOuntable fOr staying On task and On budget

7cOmmunicate during (and between) the weekend experience

8celebrate stOries Of life change regularly

9ask fOr special giving when OutrageOus success Occurs

and ministry needs rise abOve planned expectatiOns

10pray tO gOd fOr wisdOm, leadership, prOvisiOn, and life change

3

introductionSummer is coming. Are you prepared?

The mere mention of summer can make church leaders anxious. Why? Because we all know what happens to giving when vacation season rolls around. As attendance patterns are interrupted, so is the systematic giving most churches depend on to fund the budget.

We could spend hours debating the causes for the summer giving slump, but that won’t solve the problem. What we need is a strategy that maintains both financial stability and ministry effectiveness during this troublesome season of giving.

Ministry doesn’t stop during the summer. Church ministry doesn’t take a break; it goes into full swing. In fact, it is as busy—and costly—as any other time of the year. There’s Vacation Bible School, church camp, mission trips, etc. All of these things are spiritually formative events, but they also cost money.

There has to be a better way than simply “hoping for the best.”

You can avoid sweating through the summer giving season by developing and following a plan. Anxiety happens when we don’t know what to do next, but a plan helps us define our next steps to ensure we achieve our desired outcome.

Funding ministry is about life change. That task is not seasonal. To make sure you make it through the most unpredictable giving time of the year, consider these ten ideas as you craft your plan to fully fund ministry this summer:

1Outline yOur summer ministry plan

Think about ministry in the same way that individuals deal with irregular or inconsistent income. Take a close look at your comprehensive ministry plan for the summer and group activities together according to their priority. For instance, Vacation Bible School might be a top priority along with student camp and a leadership retreat. These are things you must do this summer. There will be some secondary ministry events as well, which will take place provided the resources are available. The third group will be the events or ministries that are “perfect scenarios.” These are the things you’d like to do but don’t consider vital to your ministry success.

Once you have everything identified, assign dollars to each one and then determine how far the projected revenue will go toward covering the expenses. Draw a line that separates the things you can fund from the things that fall below the anticipated revenue. Then have a conversation with each ministry leader to determine the importance of the items that are in danger of not being funded. Give them the opportunity to either cancel the event or seek additional funding. Whatever you do, make sure you communicate a realistic financial picture with all ministry leaders.

4

2assign specific cOsts related tO each part

Of yOur ministry plan

The best plans are the ones that have the least uncertainty. That’s why it is so important to identify the costs associated with each item on the ministry plan. If you plan to subsidize the cost of any events, include the total amount of the subsidy in the budget. In addition, allow for unexpected costs related to each ministry event. The more detailed the planning is, the more controlled the costs will be. No one likes surprises, especially when there are dollars associated with them.

It might be helpful to provide a budgeting checklist for each ministry leader. Incorporate categories of expenses that might be included in any event and instruct leaders to work through the checklist for each event or ministry. The list would include categories such as chaperone expenses, transportation and fuel, food, lodging, speakers, speaker travel and lodging, recreational activities, arts and crafts supplies, equipment rentals, etc. List everything you can imagine so you can be thorough in your planning.

3negOtiate with vendOrs fOr repeat business

Take a close look at the comprehensive plan for the summer and identify any vendors you will contract more than once. This might include companies that provide transportation, facility rental, equipment rental, etc.If you are planning to go on several trips, ask the bus company for a discount. The same is true for other vendors. Look for ways to trim dollars from the bottom line by taking small percentage discounts. The dollars you save might position you to better minister throughout the summer.

When you are considering large expenses, every percentage discount is a significant amount of money. Some vendors offer steeper cuts for advance payment or provide discounts for referrals. The fact is that most every vendor is anxious for business and will be more than happy to work with your ministries to provided the best services and products at affordable prices.

4plan tO incur expenses during peak giving seasOns

If you analyze your giving trends, you’ll quickly see when the peak giving seasons are. Either pay for expenses in advance when the giving is at its highest or set aside the money for future use. Some big expenses are very predictable because they are repeated year after year. You know you’ll need eight buses for student camp and a retreat center for kids camp. You might find some vendors willing to reduce their fees in exchange for advance payment. This is a win-win proposition for the church and the vendor.

5

If you don’t know your peak giving seasons, ask your finance team for a chart of the past two or three years. In most churches there are peaks in the fall, at the end of the year, and in the early spring. If your financial year ends in December, you might be able to pay for summer expenses with December overages. The bottom line is simple—look for ways to minimize the expenses in the summer by paying in advance for as many things as possible.

5implement a 30-day review prOcess tO keep

expenses in line with actual giving

The worst thing you can do is have an “it seems to me” approach to summer spending. Closely monitor expenses and receipts by implementing a 30-day review process. Never approve expenditures that exceed the cash on hand, and require all anticipated expenditures over a base amount to be approved in writing in advance. This might seem like a lot of trouble, but it will help you maintain control of your expenses and keep your ministries thriving.

This process is easy to implement. Let April income determine May expenses. May determines June and so forth. This keeps your budget in line with giving and puts your ministries on notice regarding any budgetary adjustments they might be forced to make if giving levels dips. With enough warning, most ministries will be able to find a way to keep events on the calendar even if the budget can’t provide the amount anticipated.

6hOld staff accOuntable fOr staying

On task and On budget

Most staff members want to keep their expenses in line with the budget and manage their areas of responsibility with care. Expenses usually get out of hand when staff members aren’t aware of their budget status. Information is power, so keep the staff informed of the financial conditions within their ministries by providing biweekly or monthly reports. Through the summer, it might be necessary to provide weekly reports. Help staff members understand the big picture by providing them updates on giving and the overall financial picture of the church.

Ultimately, it is the ministry leaders who function as the budget managers. If they are expected to control expenses, they must be given accurate and timely budget information. They can’t be held accountable for information they did not know. That’s why communication is so important.

6

7cOmmunicate during (and between)

the weekend experience

Today’s technology affords leaders the opportunity to communicate with church members even when they are traveling. People give in response to known needs. The more consistent you are about communicating, the more consistent people will be about giving. Take advantage of weekend announcements, email newsletters, online stories, ministry updates, and any other communication channel you have to keep people aware of the various ministries going on in the church.

One powerful yet often overlooked communication channel is social media. With people more connected than ever before, they aren’t likely to miss information communicated through these constantly monitored means. Don’t overwhelm people with repeated requests to give; simply make them aware of the many things that are taking place in and through the church. You’ll be surprised at how many people will give online or mail in their gifts once they know the church and its ministries are counting on them.

8celebrate stOries Of life change regularly

People give to support things that are having an impact on lives. That’s why it is so important for your ministry to distribute stories of life change. Show the stories during worship services and place them in a prominent location on the website. When people hear the stories and understand how your ministries are affecting real people, they will join you in supporting those ministries through their gifts and presence. The reason many people don’t give is because they are under the false assumption that the church is taking the summer off. When you show them what’s going on, they will be more than happy to invest.

Consider hosting a share service to highlight some of the life change that is taking place through various ministries. A share service will always attract parents, grandparents, and others who are excited about what is happening at the church. As you tell the stories of life change, people will be compelled to invest in the ministries of the church. These can be powerful and financially beneficial events.

7

9ask fOr special giving when OutrageOus success

Occurs and ministry needs rise abOve

planned expectatiOns

You can ask for additional gifts when needs arise as long as you haven’t made a habit of asking for money in every other communication opportunity. If money is a topic of conversation in every sermon, newsletter, or promotion, the topic becomes background noise and people tune it out. Save the ask for those moments when the need is significant. There are two times when asking works. First, it will work immediately following an event that was extremely successful. Let people know that their gifts made a difference and that they have the opportunity to make a difference through an upcoming event. Most people will give again. The second time you can ask is when the need is severe because of unexpected expenses.

Try not to ask when the need is the result of poor planning. There will be specific situations that present a challenge. These might include unexpected repairs to a facility or source of transportation, ministry opportunities related to a planned missions project, benevolent needs that arise from a company laying off workers, and so on. The more open you are about the planning process, the more willing people will be to support the ministries through special offerings. Be careful, however, not to use these special offerings every year. If people anticipate them, they will grow skeptical of the leadership of the church.

10pray tO gOd fOr wisdOm, leadership,

prOvisiOn, and life change

Use the summer as an opportunity to call the church together to pray for the many ministries that are taking place. In many churches, about half of the ministry events are confined to the summer. The church needs strong leaders and a prayer army to support the work that is taking place.

Nothing is more powerful than a church with a united vision, joined together in prayer about its ministries and their effectiveness. Approaching church as if it were a business is important when talking about planning. However, we should not plan the Holy Spirit out of our events.

Ultimately, God is in charge. It is His church. It is His money. It is His power. We can’t manipulate people into doing something God doesn’t want done. If we do, it becomes all about us. That’s not the message we want to communicate to the world. We want the world to see a loving, powerful God who meets needs in extraordinary ways. When the summer is over, it should be more about Him and less about us. We can maintain that focus through prayer.

8

conclusionPaul says we are supposed to be ready in and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2). This goes for giving too. The better our planning, the more prepared we will be to meet the spiritual needs of those God has entrusted us to grow and multiply. Many believers began their faith journeys through summer ministries like student camps and retreats. When called upon to tell their stories, they will talk about the difference a specific counselor made and be grateful that a church had the vision to provide life-changing ministries.

The events of the summer set the stage for the fall kickoff and the new church year. A church that maintains its vitality through the summer will be even stronger in the fall. However, a church that slumps in the summer will have to work hard to get back to where it was when the summer began. The real key is leadership. The more excited the church staff is about the summer, the more excited people will be about supporting the ministries. Your church doesn’t have to suffer through a summer giving slump. This year can be the year your church accelerates its ministries and positions itself for exciting new opportunities in the fall.

What happens this fall depends on what you do this summer.

What happens this summer depends on what you do right noW.

9

about tHe autHors

JOEL MIKELL is president of RSI. With more than 25 years of local church ministry experience, he brings a passion for helping churches cast their vision to reach people for Christ, as only a pastor can. He has helped church leaders raise more than $400 million for kingdom projects and has had the privilege of working with some of the most well-known churches and church leaders across the country. Joel can be reached at joel.mikell@rsistewardship.com,Twitter (@joelmikell), or Facebook.

BILL MCMILLAN served for more than 20 years as both a pastor and a pastoral counselor before joining RSI. He currently serves as executive vice president. Bill has led thriving stewardship campaigns in churches of many sizes and denominations, raising millions of dollars for local ministry. He is an excellent communicator and project manager, whose consulting hallmarks lie in communications strategy and major gift development. Bill can be reached atbill.mcmillan@rsistewardship.com, Twitter (@billmcmillanrsi), or Facebook.

10

Five easy Ways For youto connect WitH rsi

1. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

2. Subscribe to our blog on rsistewardship.com

3. Sign up for our e-newsletter.

4. Call us at 1.800.527.6824.

5. Contact us to discuss your church’s needs.

11

otHer resources FroM rsiclick image tO dOwnlOad

12

otHer resources FroM rsiclick image tO dOwnlOad

13

otHer resources FroM rsiclick image tO dOwnlOad

14

P R O D U C E D B Y

What is God calling your church to do next?Call us today!

1.800.527.6824 RSISTEWARDSHIP.COM