Everything from weather to vacation to sports can have an effect on church attendance patterns. That means they also affect giving. Summer is the perfect storm of these factors.
Just like sunscreen and a good hat protect us from the summer rays, these tips can keep the summer giving slump at bay.
- Connect Money to Mission
Communication with your congregation should focus on the joy of contributing to God’s work in and through your ministry. Of course the “light bill” needs to be paid, but that doesn’t engender strong feelings of greater purpose. Look for moments to share about specific summer ministry opportunities and how continued faithful giving will make those events more fruitful. Examples might include more scholarships for camps, outreach opportunities for VBS, and relieved financial burden for missionaries.
- Celebrate Wins
Remind your congregation of the good things they helped accomplish through faithful giving in the past. What local charities have you partnered with recently? How many families joined the church because of VBS last year? Who went on a short-term missionary excursion and committed to full-time missions as a result? Specific examples will bring names and faces to mind, and maybe even catalyze increased giving.
- Communicate Options Clearly
Churches need a clear communication plan about something as important as giving. Encourage your people to be cheerful givers! Show them where and how to give: during service, mail-in, online, or even via text or mobile app. Put this information on your website, in your church bulletin, weekly emails, and even announce it from time to time.
- Make it Recurring
Setting up recurring online giving is the number one practical step to make sure that families are able to give easily while they may be away. If you don’t have an online option that allows recurring contributions yet, your church is missing opportunities for people to give.
Solutions like FellowshipOne Giving even have an integrated mobile app that lets people set up recurring giving from their phones—anywhere, anytime. They can even see their own giving history from the app. Churches who implement online giving see an average increase in donations over 30%!
Don’t get burned! Remember: you apply sunscreen multiple times throughout the day. These tips take time and repetition to truly summer-proof your church’s giving.
For more information on how FellowshipOne can help your church avoid a summer giving slump, click here.
