As a church leader, you have a lot going on. Throw on the holiday planning on top of everything else and things can quickly become overwhelming.

From preparing your sermon notes for Sunday to establishing year-end initiatives to hosting Christmas celebrations, it can easily seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day. With all of this going on, how are you supposed to plan effective year-end communication?

Don’t overlook the benefits of effective communication, especially during the holiday season.

Year-end efforts often weigh heavily into the church budget for the following year. And with nearly one-third of annual giving happening at the end of the year, this is something your church cannot overlook. The difference between a year-end giving effort that funds ministry efforts and an effort that does not is effective communication.

The difference between a year-end giving effort that funds ministry efforts and an effort that does not is effective communication.

Below are three messages and how to effectively share them with your congregation to encourage generosity.

Message 1- God doesn’t need us, but He invites us.

Sometimes pastors avoid this message out of fear that it will be used by their congregants as an excuse not to give. But, this is essential for Christ followers to understand.

Psalm 24 tells us that God owns it all. The omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God of the universe is not worried about lacking supply. The reality is that God is never in lack.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. –Psalm 24:1-2

As stewards, God invites us to manage resources on His behalf. What a powerful, humbling truth to reflect on. When we give, God provides us the privilege of walking in faithfulness and obedience. We are being invited into the story that God is writing and the Kingdom that He is advancing.

During this season, remind people that God doesn’t need us, but He invites us. Let’s not miss the opportunity to be used by God and financially participate in the miraculous multiplication of His resources across the Church.

Message 2- God cares more about our hearts than the amount.

There is no denying the strong correlation between money and our hearts.

The Bible even tells us so in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” But there’s another significant story in Scripture about our hearts and money where Jesus turns modern day views on generosity upside down.

In Luke 21:1-4, we learn about the widow’s offering. It says that Jesus looked up and saw the rich placing their gifts in the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow who put in two small copper coins. Jesus then says that the widow had given more than anyone else. Giving those two coins was a huge sacrifice for her.

The world defines generosity in terms of amount. The larger the gift, the more significant it is to an organization. But Jesus says the opposite. Ultimately, it is giving from our hearts, out of sacrifice, that matters most. That is what defines a gift as significant in God’s sight.

During this season, remind people that God looks more on the heart behind the gift than the amount of the gift. A $10 gift is just as, if not more, significant than a $10,000 gift if the gift is given out of a sacrificial heart. This will inspire giving participation across the church.

Message 3- We’re giving a gift to the King.

Churches do a great job communicating that giving goes through the church, not just to the church. But one thing that often gets overlooked is that when we give, we are giving to the King.

The Bible tells us that giving is an act of worship. As people reflect on the birth of our Savior this season, remind them that they are giving a gift to King Jesus.

Point them to the story of the Magi in Matthew 2: 1-12. The story of the wise men is so common that we often overlook the significance of it. These men followed the star to where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. They were searching for “the one who has been born King of the Jews.” When they saw the star stopped at the place where Jesus was born, the Bible tells us that the men were overjoyed and bowed down to worship Him. And what immediately followed? They presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh – highly valued resources of the time.

May we bring valuable resources to Jesus in this season. And may we all be reminded that we are bringing a gift to the King, not simply to a church.

Where to Share these Messages

Now that you know what you are going to communicate, plan out where you will communicate these messages with your church on a regular basis. SecureGive recommends sharing these messages during church services and in church emails.

How to Share In Service

Go the extra mile and communicate about giving in multiple ways and at different moments throughout your weekend services. Go beyond what you typically do. Below are areas where you can incorporate generosity:

  • Church announcements
  • Offering moment
  • Share the impact of giving through story and video.
  • Share a devotional on one of the three main messages already shared. And if your church no longer has an offering time in your services, bring it back for the year-end season.
    Incorporate a moment of prayer during worship that is specifically tied to cultivating a generous heart.

How to Share in Emails

Usually churches send out a weekly email update to attendees. Typically, this includes opportunities and information on what is happening in the life of the church. From now until the end of the year, make sure you add a generosity section into this email.

Many churches do not send emails specifically to givers. This is something that we are passionate about at SecureGive because we know this segmentation increase discipleship, overall giving participation, and build a healthy giving culture. During the year-end season, send thank you emails to givers.

Our rule of thumb is that when you feel like you are overcommunicating, you are probably communicating just enough.

From now until December 31st, include generosity in every church service and email. This may feel repetitive and excessive, but it’s not. The reality is you never know when someone may be reading or hearing this information for the first time. You also don’t know what God is ultimately doing in their heart when it pertains to generosity or finances. Our rule of thumb is that when you feel like you are overcommunicating, you are probably communicating just enough. Don’t let the fear of overcommunicating prevent you from empowering generosity.