The good news is, if we connect them to good people and great causes, current generations will give just as much of their time, talents and finances as previous generations did.

4. Telling Them Once Is Not Enough Any More

There’s a public caricature that most pastors are financial money-grubbers, taking three offerings in every service. But the vast majority of us actually have the opposite tendency. Most pastors don’t teach about finances often enough – usually because we’re so concerned not to come across as spiritual hucksters.

Most of us have heard the old joke about the wife who complained to her husband that he never tells her he loves her. His response is “I told you once. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

That’s how a lot of us approach the church’s finances. Once a year, we have a missions drive, or we present the church’s budgetary needs to the congregation. Maybe we take pledges. Then we pass the plate every week, but say nothing else about it until next year.

That used to be enough for previous generations. If grandma pledged to tithe, then give an extra $10 a month to missions, she never needed to be reminded again.

Today’s attention spans are shorter. Immediate needs often trump long-term pledges. The challenge for today’s pastors is to remind them without coming across like we’re after their money.

So how do we pull that off? I’ll talk about that in an upcoming post, 9 Ways To Reverse A Downward Giving Trend In An Otherwise Healthy Church.

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