Bill Enright of the Lake Institute gave a lot of meaty information about talking about money and giving in Thursday’s teleconference.
He noted four characteristics of clergy who are do well talking about money at church:
1. Their personal financial house is in order.
2. They feel comfortable talking about money, budgeting, etc.
3. They understand who is giving what within the congregation.
4. They are comfortable talking with members who have more resources.
How might you work on at least one of these areas in a small way in your own ministry?
I want to highlight one small recommendation he made: “Say thank you.” He said, “We go for the generic thank you.” He suggested churches write a personal thank you to each giver, if it’s a small congregation. In a larger congregation, you can send a generic thank you with a hand-written note. How can we expect to encourage generosity if we rarely or never thank people?
Bill shared much, much more valuable information. The recording of the teleconference is available. E-mail me at Margaret@margaretmarcuson.com, and I’ll send you the link.