The Money Message
John PrestonNational Stewardship Officer, Church of England
Weather Forecast
• Will you a jersey?• Will you need an umbrella?
Motivations for giving…..
LOVE
Motivations for giving…..
THANKSGIVING
Motivations for giving…..
FOR A PURPOSE
Church Giving
Why do peoplegive to Church?
Breadth of audience
Incredibly diverse range of motivesfor giving, for coming to church; & wide range of understanding of thechurch’s mission and needs.
Becoming a generous people
Growing a culture of generosity
Dod yn bobl hael Meithrin diwylliant o haelioni
Communicating in three dimensions…..
The first dimension…..
What happens if we don’t preach & teach…..
grace
tru
th
truth withoutgrace
grace without
truth
grace andtruth
Why preach about money in church…..
• Not primarily to increase the offering!• To aid Christians in their discipleship• To explain the scriptural context• Within a regular diet of preaching &
teaching• To develop holistic and healthy habits• To develop generous livestyles
Faithraising not Fundraising!
The second dimension…..
To answer the question…..
Particular need is to
help parishes link generous giving with
mission & ministry outcomes and theparish’s vision
Need to communicate
The outcomes of giving to the Church.
The costs and financial situation of our churches.
The vision and purpose of our churches.
Communication to our givers….
Say “Thank You” annually
The third dimension…..
How does your church model generosity?
Money in mission and ministry….
• What we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do say!
• Money ministry can reach out in a practical way to help people struggling in our communities.
Sometimes ourcommunicationscan gettangled!
Issues….
• We have some fantastic stories of changed lives, ministry and mission, yet we don’t tell them.
• Charities are in competition with the Church.• Culture – “feels like blowing our own trumpet”• Talking about cost can reinforce “subscription
mindset”• Costs can limit giving, yet some information is
helpful to challenge myths• Many communication possibilities,
can be confusing
Lots of opportunities
• Parish Magazine
• Website
• Facebook / Twitter
• Weekly/monthly e-mail list
• APCM & Reports
• “Testimony” in services
Building up thefoundation of understanding.
So that we get…..
• The generosity of disciples giving to God’s work.
• Whose stewardship is aided by clear communication as to the impact of our giving
• Through churches who model generosity
• And who communicate clearly and consistently.