Toolbox For Faith

One of my great learnings over my years in ministry is that God always gives us the power to do what he calls us to do! That is one of the great lessons of Pentecost which we celebrate this coming Sunday.

I was reminded of that lesson last week as I was going over some old family photographs and found a picture of the construction of Reformation Lutheran Church in Greeneville, Tennessee in 1934, the middle of the great depression. That building is an amazing response of faith, hope and courage in the midst of financial disaster. They knew that God was giving them the power to do what he had called them to do.

The same day I found the picture, I talked to a member of the governing body of a nearby congregation who was sharing with me that they were cutting back because of the financially difficult times. Ironically, they have a “rainy day fund” built up over the past few good years but want to save it for when “they really needed it.” Their actions teach me that they have not looked at what God is calling them to do in mission and ministry. He never said that they had prayed, reflected and prayed again and after great discernment concluded that God was calling them to cut back.

In today’s financial climate, it is more important than ever to ask what God is calling a congregation to do in mission and ministry instead of simply cutting back. We might not be able to do everything we want but we have the power to do everything that God calls us to do. Once we hear the voice of God, we respond with the knowledge that God will give us the power to do what he calls us to do. That power even includes finances. Today’s environment calls for faith, hope and courage like displayed in the actions of the people in 1934 who built their church when everything financially told them not to act. God gives us the power to do what he calls us to do!

Developing Keys to an Effective Church: Strengths, Shepherding and Generous Giving
★ Learn to build on your strengths
★ Discover possibilities for the future
★ Learn what motivates people to act
★ Strengthen shepherding in the congregation
★ Grow generous giving

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Several years ago, St. Michael added the ability to receive online donations to our website. At the time, we were one of the few congregations I could find with an integrated donation section on our site. Over time, we have developed a small, but significant percentage of the congregation which makes use of this online giving option. In addition, we have several people who make donations through their online banking services. During an average week, we receive between 10% and 20% of our weekly offerings through online giving.

For years, congregations have tried to make it easier for people to give - offering plates, coin boxes, offering envelopes, and mailed offering envelopes. Since many people are paid electronically and pay all of their bills electronically, I seems reasonable to assume that the percentage of people giving electronically will continue to increase. If congregations want to continue to make it easy for people to support their ministry, then before long, an online giving option will probably be a necessity for most congregations.

Every congregation sends out annual giving statements at this time of year. At St. Michael, we put a thank you note in each statement which tries to connect the individual’s gift to the ministry which is taking place. The format of the “Thank You” note always stays the same, but the ministry picture changes. This year we created a half-page thank you note. On one side is a photo collage showing ministry throughout the year, while on the other side is thank you with a description of the 2010 Ministry Funds. I have posted each side of the insert below for you to see.

Thank You Note with Photos - Jan 2010
Thank You with Fund Summary - Jan 2010

Like most churches, St. Michael has several different ministry funds. For years, gifts to support our Spending Plan for Ministry have gone to a fund which is called the “Current Fund” by some people and the the “General Fund” by other people. This year we decided to change the name of this fund to the “Core Ministry Fund.” In today’s world where people are often more interested in giving to specific, designated funds, we thought it was important to make it clear that donations to the Core Ministry Fund are not just general donations, but in fact support the core ministries of St. Michael - worship, shepherding, education, youth ministry and senior adult ministry. Hopefully, this will help people make the connection between their generous response to God’s love and the ministry that their generosity makes happen in the world.

I woke up yesterday morning worrying about finances. Like many ministries, we were counting on a strong December to fully support our 2009 spending plan, but harsh weather required us to cancel one service and dramatically reduced attendance at three others. Unlike Rick Warren, I did not, and cannot, put out a plea to raise $2.5 million dollars in a few days, so we finished 2009 with a deficit in our Core Ministry Fund. We have reserves to cover the shortfall, so we aren’t in trouble, we simply aren’t where we want to be. We have done excellent ministry in the past year - completed a facilities expansion, expanded a community feeding program, served more people in ministry than ever before. When you include designated giving, our overall giving was as strong as ever, but still I worried about dipping into the reserves.


Now I have often heard it said that God acts in many and various ways, but Sunday morning was the first time in my life that God ever acted through the words of a song from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. As I was doing a little work between services, I started thinking of a song from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat where Joseph is telling the Pharaoh that his dream means that seven good years will be followed by seven years of drought. Joseph instructs Pharaoh to save food during the good years and then use the stored food during the lean years (Gen 41:25-36). Now I certainly hope that St. Michael’s ministry doesn’t experience 5 financial lean years following five strong financial years, because we didn’t save as much as Pharaoh did, but Joseph’s wisdom helped ease my mind about tapping into our reserves. God’s people gave generously and allowed us to build up an appropriate reserve over the last five years and now when we experienced a lean year, we were blessed with the ability to continue our ministry uninterrupted because of that generosity and stewardship. As Joseph counseled Pharaoh centuries ago, being a good steward when you are abundantly blessed can prepare you for those times of scarcity.


Now let me be clear - I am not advocating hoarding cash. As the Israelites discovered when they started hoarding manna in the wilderness - hoarding stinks. In fact, once we reached a level of reserves that we were comfortable with at St. Michael, we used any extra giving at the end of the year for extra benevolence gifts. I am suggesting, however, that it is wise for congregations to maintain financial reserves and, here’s the important part, to be at peace about using them when needed.