As congregational leaders enter the fall planning season, they likely have more questions than answers, especially as it relates to money. In-person worship attendance is roughly half of what it was pre-pandemic. Consumer prices and interest rates are trending upward. Under these conditions, congregations often take a defensive position. They scale down their plans so they don’t take on too much risk.
Risk management is not a bad thing, but too much of a good thing can have unintended consequences. As you make financial plans for the rest of this year and next year, try not to let yourself and other leaders get trapped in fearful speculation about the future. Since God can do a “new thing” (Isaiah 43:19a), even a church that is about to close its doors for good can have hope that their ending has the potential to be a new beginning.
As the world becomes more anxious about money, congregational leaders need to move beyond talking about money as a need for institutional survival and instead encourage people to think about money as a resource for ministry and transformation. It is difficult to encourage generosity when we start from a place of scarcity, because scarcity thinking is often rooted in fear. We sow seeds of hope when we find ways to publicly and frequently make the connections between what people give and what the church is doing for others.
These are challenging times for so many reasons. Speak about financial stewardship with love, grace and hope. Love and grace will help you convince the unconvinced. Hope can inspire those who are afraid.
