The momentum for the fall season is starting—kids are heading back to school, the nights are lengthening, and there are so many stacks of notebooks in every store. (School supply nerds, unite!) The same momentum is building in churches across the country as ministries get re-started for the fall and new programs get ready for launch.
And each one of those ministries has to be financed.
To make sure you’re setting your church up for financial success this fall, here are five key areas you’ve got to manage for ministry success:
- Know the difference between managing money and managing donors. Lots of churches fall into the trap of managing money and donations, but not thinking much about the people behind the donations. You’ve got to know who your donors are, why they’re giving, and how you can best communicate and connect with them.
- Create a mid-year “tell all” giving report for your church. You need to be giving your church members a complete giving report at the end of each year, but an additional mid-year report going into the fall season can help inspire donors to renew or increase their giving by showing how big an impact they can make in the upcoming months.
- Inspire and cultivate generosity across all your ministries. Generosity isn’t just about money. True, it’s the most familiar context where you talk about it, but you need your church to be generous with their finances, their time, their spiritual gifts, and their unique skills.
- Connect your online giving with your church management software (ChMS). Linking these two systems can have a tremendous positive impact on your church’s finances. We’ve talked about how doing that can help increase giving during the summer season, but those reasons hold just as true all year round. If you’re looking for a trusted partner to help you with online giving, we’ve just rolled out some exciting new features with PushPay.
- Optimize your online giving experience. If you haven’t looked at your online giving experience from an outsider’s perspective in a while, now is the time. For many church leaders, their own system and experience has gotten so familiar they’re not able to see the roadblocks that might exist for new givers. Here’s a quick overview of how to create an effective online giving process to get you started.
The new fall ministry season can be a time of tremendous excitement and momentum. Make the most of it by ensuring you’ve got the financial support you need to keep that momentum going all year long.