"Don't Preach a Sermon on Giving"
By Dr. Rod Rogers - The Dynamic Giving System
Preach A Series Of Sermons On Giving.
In my fifteen years as a senior pastor I learned that a stand-alone sermon on financial stewardship, even if preached twice a year, had little impact on people's giving. But the first year I preached a four-week series on the biblical principles of stewardship, my weekly giving increased 32%!
Which being translated means we had an extra $20,304 to invest in ministry that year. I think we used the increased offerings to hire a badly needed, part-time staff person.
It turns out my personal experience is universal. According to George Barna,
Churches in which pastors preach a series of messages about giving are nearly two-and-half times more likely to experience an increase in giving than when preachers speak about giving, one sermon at a time, on two or more nonconsecutive occasions during the year.
Preach your stewardship series effectively.
A four-week stewardship series, preached once a year, if delivered effectively, can increase your weekly giving by 10%-30%. An effective stewardship sermon series can be summed up in two words:
Spiritual power to change the giving habits of your congregation resides in God's word; not in great stories. Therefore, in every series be sure to open the Bible and expound the following biblical truths, in this order:
- Preach that we are not owners, but stewards of God's money and possessions. Tell your flock that a steward is someone who manages the resources of another, to accomplish the goals of the owner. Joseph's stewardship of Potiphar's household in Genesis is an excellent illustration.
- Teach biblical principles of wise money management. The book of Proverbs is an excellent and easy source of sermon texts on using a budget, avoiding debt (Trust God, not Visa), saving, working hard, avoiding get-rich-quick schemes, and many others.
- Next, preach about the biblical principles of giving. If you're new to this, start with 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. You will never run out of Scriptures on this subject—no matter how many consecutive years you teach on stewardship in the same church.
- Always end your series by proclaiming the rewards God promises to faithful givers. See Scriptures such as Matthew 6:19-21, 25-33, Luke 6:38, Acts 20:35, Philippians 4:19, and 2 Corinthians 9:6-11. (There are many more.) These promises of spiritual, financial, eternal, and emotional rewards for good stewards are amazing. As a matter of fact, they seem so good, we're often afraid to take God up on them!
Dos and Don'ts of Bold Stewardship Preaching
- Don't apologize.
- Don't shrink back from preaching the hard stuff (Acts 20:20,27).
- Don't let a critic or two discourage you.
- Don't be afraid to challenge your people to give generously to their church.
They aren't giving, or they wouldn't be critical. If you throw a stick into a pack of dogs, the one that gets hit howls the loudest!
- Do preach the word with divine authority.
- Do trust God to work powerfully as you do.
- Do have confidence God will greatly bless your people and your church.
In an online survey by BuildingChurchLeaders.com, only 32% of pastors and church leaders agreed that "Our church can improve financial giving most by teaching on biblical stewardship." That means that 68% of church leaders are missing out on the life-transforming, offering-increasing power of preaching a stewardship series.
Don't be one of them!
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Dr. Rod Rogers, is the founder and president of Leaderskills International, Inc., a church consulting firm specializing in stewardship development. Rod is the creator of a 10-step church stewardship program, The Dynamic Giving System™, which has been used by 3000 churches in 25 countries. He is the author of Pastor Driven Stewardship: 10 Steps to Lead Your Church to Biblical Giving andhas shared his stewardship insights on television and in seminars at Moody Bible Institute. He can be reached at rodkrogers@gmail.com.
Posted: August 29, 2011
By: Dr. Rod Rogers |
