Generous churches are led by generous pastors.
Attempting to lead anyone to do something you would not do yourself is a difficult, if not impossible, task. This is why I consider it critical to ensure that your church staff is financially participating in the mission before encouraging members to do the same.
“Do as I say, not as I do” simply doesn’t work.
So, how generous is your team? Unfortunately, I have found that the answer to this question is sometimes discouraging.
Use this as an opportunity to encourage your staff to follow Christ’s lead in generosity. Tell them your story. Let them hear what God has done in your life. Here are a few suggestions on what to include in your generosity story:
1. Share the Scripture that God used in your generosity story.
What passage helped mold your heart in this area? Was it a specific story—the widow’s mite, the Macedonians, or the feeding of the 5,000? Was there a specific verse? Tell the church staff how God used this Scripture in your generosity story.
2. Talk about your “why.”
Why do you prioritize generosity? Discussing your “why” can be powerful. Often, others are motivated by something similar but have not made the connection between the motivation and generosity. Maybe you want to see your community’s physical needs met. Maybe you want to see unreached people groups around the world hear about Jesus for the first time. And you realized that God can use your generosity to accomplish those things.
3. Talk about your “how.”
Tell the staff how you give. Do you use online giving? Is your giving automatically set to go out on the day your paycheck hits the bank? Providing the “how” moves generosity from theory to practice. The “how” allows those listening to consider their strategy for giving and, hopefully, take another step in their generosity story.
4. Challenge the staff to lead the church through their own generosity.
At some point, you will need to encourage the staff to live generous lives. And it is important to remember that giving is not just good for their leadership, but for their discipleship. Disciples of Christ are a generous people, reflecting the generosity of God toward others. So, if they are not placing God first in their finances, challenge them to do so.
God has given you a generosity story. Tell it to your team and encourage them to live generously, and prepare them to lead church members to do the same.
At SecureGive, we want to help your church, including its staff, give generously. We have an incredible plan to do just that. Feel free to contact us. We would love to hear from you.