The Money Message

John PrestonNational Stewardship Officer, Church of England

Weather Forecast

• Will you a jersey?• Will you need an umbrella?

Motivations for giving…..

LOVE

Motivations for giving…..

THANKSGIVING

Motivations for giving…..

FOR A PURPOSE

Church Giving

Why do peoplegive to Church?

Breadth of audience

Incredibly diverse range of motivesfor giving, for coming to church; & wide range of understanding of thechurch’s mission and needs.

Becoming a generous people

Growing a culture of generosity

Dod yn bobl hael Meithrin diwylliant o haelioni

Communicating in three dimensions…..

The first dimension…..

What happens if we don’t preach & teach…..

grace

tru

th

truth withoutgrace

grace without

truth

grace andtruth

Why preach about money in church…..

• Not primarily to increase the offering!• To aid Christians in their discipleship• To explain the scriptural context• Within a regular diet of preaching &

teaching• To develop holistic and healthy habits• To develop generous livestyles

Faithraising not Fundraising!

The second dimension…..

To answer the question…..

Particular need is to

help parishes link generous giving with

mission & ministry outcomes and theparish’s vision

Need to communicate

The outcomes of giving to the Church.

The costs and financial situation of our churches.

The vision and purpose of our churches.

Communication to our givers….

Say “Thank You” annually

The third dimension…..

How does your church model generosity?

Money in mission and ministry….

• What we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do say!

• Money ministry can reach out in a practical way to help people struggling in our communities.

Sometimes ourcommunicationscan gettangled!

Issues….

• We have some fantastic stories of changed lives, ministry and mission, yet we don’t tell them.

• Charities are in competition with the Church.• Culture – “feels like blowing our own trumpet”• Talking about cost can reinforce “subscription

mindset”• Costs can limit giving, yet some information is

helpful to challenge myths• Many communication possibilities,

can be confusing

Lots of opportunities

• Parish Magazine

• Website

• Facebook / Twitter

• Weekly/monthly e-mail list

• APCM & Reports

• “Testimony” in services

Building up thefoundation of understanding.

So that we get…..

• The generosity of disciples giving to God’s work.

• Whose stewardship is aided by clear communication as to the impact of our giving

• Through churches who model generosity

• And who communicate clearly and consistently.