If you live in the southeast you know that if the weatherman (or woman) mentions the four letter “s” word (snow) it usually means 3 things.

1. A mass exodus of bread and milk from the grocery stores.
2. No school
3. Church Planting Pastors praying hard that it melts before Sunday

Why is this? The bread and milk I’m not sure about. I guess there is something about a snow day that re-ignites that childhood passion for a PB&J and a cold glass of milk. The school closing is obvious. I’ll just admit it, we just don’t do snow and ice well in the south so schools close for safety purposes. While the first two are probably givens, the third does not have to be.

So here is my question for you. If you are a pastor, do you have to meet for the offering? Will missing a Sunday mean that you will have to dip into your savings (if you have any) to pay the bills for the month. Will a missed week put you so far behind that it will take weeks or even months to recover financially? If you answered yes, I want to help you prevent a missed Sunday or even two or three missed Sunday’s from ever being a cause of concern financially again. If there is anything more spiritually dangerous than a church finding themselves bound by having to meet for the offering, I would like to know what it is.

We have helped hundreds of churches, just like yours begin on a path of being fully funded and free from financial worry.

Do you have a strategy for increasing your savings?

Do you have a strategy for getting people to give to God by means of digital recurring giving? (When they are not there, they are still giving!)

What is your system for first time givers, consistent givers, high capacity givers? (no system is a system)

How are you going to beat the summer giving slump?

Are you helping people with there PERSONAL finances, freeing them from financial bondage and helping them create margin for giving?

Having these simple strategies in place will increase your giving 11% to 39%, guaranteed!

Call, email, or direct message me today. Here is my guarantee to you.

Russ Sorrells

678-245-2287

rsorrells@thechangegroup.tv

I suppose the best lessons are the ones learned from experience. At age 37, I am learning more about myself today than I ever have before. After owning a real estate company, serving on staff at a large church, and now into the world of increased giving and fund raising coaching for churches, one thing is glaringly apparent about myself. I live for “The Moment”. I thrive in the moment, I am confident in the moment, I get people fired up and excited about what they can do and are going to do in the moment.

Sounds great right? Here’s the problem. It’s what you do after “the moment” (or the show) that produce the results. Why is this? It’s because the moment, or to get really practical, the service, is where emotions are strong, feelings are good, energy is high, decisions are made then days pass, reality sets in and you have to do something.  So how does this translate to you and your church?

You can have the greatest Sunday morning experience on earth, you can build excitement, you can get people to commit but without an extraordinary follow up and execution process you will not grow your church, spiritually, numerically or financially.

You can have 50 people indicate a spiritual decision or that they want to go public with their faith through baptism and that is unbelievable, but if you do not have a quick, effective follow up process for them 50% of them will fall by the wayside.

You can have a “new volunteer” push, get people fired up, get people signed up, but if you do not have a stellar follow up and plug in process, they will not get connected to your church through volunteering.

You can preach the world’s greatest series on vision and giving, get people “excited” about what’s going to happen, get them to commit to give, but if you do not have a strategy on how to follow up and keep the vision, the need, and the commitment in front of them, their excitement will fade, their commitment will plummet and both you and them will feel disappointment.

Having a great “product” is important, it sparks, it initializes, it draws, but to maximize results, to have lasting growth, you MUST have a system beyond the moment.

I LOVE helping churches create systems for success beyond the moment. I want to help you. Email me today at rsorrells@thechangegroup.tv or direct message me on twitter (link above) if you need a strategy for increase in your church!

Some of the most asked questions that I hear from pastors are asked around the subjects of budgeting, margin, saving, and when and how to make large purchases. (buildings, staff, etc.)  I have to say that while studying the Bible this morning I was convicted on some of the teachings that I read concerning margin, saving, borrowing, and yes even co-signing or being a guarantor for others. My tendency at times when I read convicting scriptures is to pass it off as just a different time or to think that those principles just don’t work in today’s culture. So I want to share what God’s word has to say about these things and pray that you will allow God to speak to you through them. And yes, these apply to CHURCHES and PERSONAL FINANCES.

1.) SAVINGS and MARGIN – Proverbs 21:20 says “Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling but a foolish man devours it.” likewise 1 Corinthians 16:2 says “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” These verses are as clear as you can get. God’s word tells us to set aside money for saving and to create margin in our budget! I am amazed at pastors that have a “spend it all” mentality and call it faith.

2. Plan Before you Spend - One of the biggest questions on the minds of church planting pastors is this. “When should we build or buy?” Can you believe that the answer to that question is found in scripture? Contrary to Hollywood, build it and they will come, is not a wise mentality. Debt can handcuff you and your church. I’ve seen it happen.

Proverbs 24:27 says “Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, after that build your house.”

Luke 14:28-30 I must say that the overall context of this passage is about the “cost of discipleship” but the example that Jesus gave is insightful into Jesus’ perspective on spending. “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, “this man began to build and was not able to finish” WOW! I have personally seen churches who have done this very thing, began and couldn’t finish!

3.) Debt – Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” Romans 13:8 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” Don’t get mad at me, I’m just telling you what it says!

Also read Proverbs 22:26-27 and Proverbs 6:1-5 concerning putting up personal property as security for debt (If you are a pastor considering this, PLEASE READ THIS FIRST) and being a guarantor or co-signer.

There’s a lot of discussion these days on the pros and cons of using a giving kiosk as a method of giving in churches. First, just in case some of you don’t know what a “giving kiosk” is, let me explain. A giving kiosk is simply a device, either a desktop version or a stand alone version that allows people in your church to give to God by swiping a debit card instead of writing a check or placing cash in an offering plate.

The debate on giving kiosks amuses me. Most opponents of giving kiosk prefer and live life paying for things electronically (bills, eating out, groceries, etc.) but when it comes to giving at their local church all of the sudden technology becomes a big no, no. Anytime we speak about digital forms of giving, we always survey the audience by asking these questions. How many of you have more than $50 cash on you right now? How many of you have a blank check with you right now? The number of people who raise their hands to either or both of these questions are very, very low yet every week we pass a plate and ask people for cash and checks. Now don’t hear me wrong, these two ways of giving are perfectly fine, my question is, why not eliminate any excuse that someone may have to giving to your church? What’s wrong with having multiple ways to give? Why is it “spiritual” to give a cash or check but “nonspiritual” to give on my debit card?

Here are the pros to utilizing a giving kiosk in your church.

• People don’t carry a lot of cash these days.
• A lot of people do not “plan” on giving.
• People that carry checkbooks are very limited.
• Many times it attracts first time givers or people who would normally give nothing. (tippers)
• You eliminate any barriers on why people don’t or can’t give.
• It’s a small investment for the return. (around $2500 for desktop versions and $5000 for stand alone versions) Contact Stuart Baker at Secure Give for giving kiosk stats or to purchase one today.
• It allows people to “manage” their giving.
• Provides one more way for people to begin shifting their heart towards becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus.