Too many clergy think they can’t talk about money in church.

They may have had one sincere curmudgeon tell them that “everyone will leave the church if you talk about money.”

Or they may tell themselves, “I’ve heard all those tele-evangelists talking about money. Ick. That’s not me.”

Or, “No one ever told me in seminary that that was part of the job description.”

But friends, there is another way.

A few key stats about giving in December:

- nonprofits raise 26% of their annual revenue in December
- of a nonprofit’s total online giving, 17-31% comes in December
- 10% of all giving happens the last three days of December

All of us tend to get a bit wordy when we start talking about how wonderful our congregation is. We start listing all the good things we are doing and going into great detail about a particular ministry. But those descriptions are less compelling than they might be because we are using too many words.

Joe Park of Horizons Stewardship recently said:

”The best time to receive estimates of annual giving is January-February.
Over the last several years, I have been encouraging churches to move the collection of estimates of giving to January and February. Why? Because that is when I have observed churches achieve the largest increase in year over year giving.”

This may be a good place to remind you that in your congregations and nonprofits there are some who need to know about people like Charles Feeney. Maybe they are primed to give a great gift that will change the trajectory of your congregation or organization.
They may just need to be asked.

The church surely has its problems. We can all acknowledge that. However, one of the most beautiful things it offers is a chance for generations to interact, to learn from each other, to grow in love and faith.

Something like this is unique. It’s unusual in our society.

The phone – whether it’s via Ma Bell or an iPhone 15 – is your friend. It's a way to keep connection with people, both of your generation and of others as well. It continues to be way to convey,
“You matter. God loves you. Thank you.”

So sure, S.U.R.E. (simple, urgent, repetitive, and emotional) has guided much of my writing when I compose appeal letters or any other kind of “ask” that’s on paper. It’s true. S.U.R.E. has served a lot of the churches and clients I’ve worked with well over the years. I commend it to you too.

What if instead we reframed our thinking and started viewing fundraising and stewardship as ministry?

We are the oldest Methodist church west of the Rockies. We know that the church is built on the ancestral lands of the Kalapuyan tribe who made their home in the mid-Willamette Valley. We have a strong connection with Willamette University, founded by Rev. Jason Lee.

Every now and again, a piece of history that you didn’t know pops up and changes everything.