As we look at methods and ways to collect online gifts through church websites and using our digital channels.... let's look to scripture first to get our lens.
Paul's Collection from Gentiles to give to those suffering in Jerusalem. As we follow through Acts we see key components he used as he "asked" and fundraised to believers.
Churches and Pastors sometime do not utilize their best weapon in the fight to spread the gospel and fund the missions of the church. Listen in for more.
As we look at methods and ways to collect online gifts through church websites and using our digital channels.... let's look to scripture first to get our lens.
Paul's Collection from Gentiles to give to those suffering in Jerusalem. As we follow through Acts we see key components he used as he "asked" and fundraised to believers.
Churches and Pastors sometime do not utilize their best weapon in the fight to spread the gospel and fund the missions of the church. Listen in for more.
Welcome to the, this is HIS story podcast. The executive director
and pastor guide to sowing and reaping online givers.
Welcome to episode 17, collecting online gifts and donations.
Well with anything. Let's start with Biblical,
right? Let's get the right lens on.
It's so easy when we think about digital and online to think about Trends and,
you know, the newness of the technology and how it's sort of this separate thing.
And we need to think differently with it. Well,
you know, that's true except all things.
I want all the lenses we put on should be able to overlay on top of these things.
So there's nothing special about digital that changes giving
and what motivates people to give now where they're giving it changes.
And there are some advantages and disadvantages about online that we don't have offline.
Like we have the ability for video and you know the space that we do the Askin.
And our people on cell phones
or are they on laptops and their behavior
and the wording that we use when we ask for gifts or donation or for fundraising,
their barriers and hurdles when people give online that they may or may not have offline,
you have. So, yes, there's a lot of uniqueness to online giving
and the asking and the giving moments,
but in general, we need a biblical. Don't even know how to look at digital.
We talked off and in the industry about storytelling,
and that is very, very, very true.
But digital giving burst is really birthed from Real World giving
and then we're just changing the place that we do it in.
So, I like, looking back at scripture,
right? Churches, have a lot of things wrong when it comes to money,
giving And asking, it's really stuck in the Dark Ages with the mentality of,
passing the plate and how what? That looks like.
We have so many Traditions, especially here in the states.
And when we just sort of try to take those online this,
this idea of a giving button button,
being a digital giving plate,
giving opportunity is so archaic.
It's so broken. I spend my workday.
Trying to unravel the mess.
That is in a lot of churches and pastors head about giving and acceptable ways to to ask,
what's biblical and not biblical. So, let's spin a little bit here,
getting a better lens on, this is still, look at Paul.
I love looking in Acts at his story of his collection from the
Gentiles to give to those suffering in Jerusalem,
and it's funny, like, I don't know about you,
but I was raised in a church. I went to church at least three times a week.
Growing up. We did Sunday mornings. We did Sunday evenings,
which I don't. Why don't, why don't we all do that? By the way,
like what? Where did that tradition come Brahma?
Thanking? You had to go in the morning and in the evening, and then we didn't win today,
and of course then I went to a private school. So I pretty much Saturday was about the only day.
I wasn't at our church / School Compound growing up.
And I would say, I don't think I hardly heard anything about this
little thing going on all throughout acts of Paul,
being very concerned for the Jews that were in it,
with, in a drought in Jerusalem.
And as he was going along as missionary Journeys,
he was collecting funds to give back to them and it's not only an axe.
You also get references. It would then the other letters that he writes back to people
and churches and it says theme going on.
And once again, if you've heard if you listen to this podcast you listen to me,
I frequently talk about how churches have this wrong idea,
that a mature Christian gives to the church first and they have any extra,
then they give to those extra parachurch things,
but they have an obligation to give to the church first.
Not biblical. There's not a verse. You can do to prove that.
That I'm not saying it's not right to give two churches 100%
what the Lord wants a cheerful giver and Kingdom giving is okay.
And there's I would say though it is biblical to give to your local church.
The idea that it's church first and then something with the leftovers Above and Beyond tie,
that is what I and many other theologians.
I guess. We're all Philo jobs and some way professional theologians would argue that.
It's not biblical at all. It's not a healthy mindset and it also affects the way churches,
ask her. Don't ask for money.
Because if you think that your flocks obligation is to give then you really don't have to say a lot
or if some segment of your church is our healthy givers and you're meeting your budget,
then you just don't even preach on it. You're like, how we're doing?
Okay, we can pay for our light bill,
we can pay for our salaries. We're okay.
Forgetting that there's so much other Ministry to do and you know,
with an Evangelical mindset of spreading,
the gospel and missions.
Imagine what you could do, if you had more in churches,
do a horrible job. And I'll actually many times avoid the topic of giving
because they don't want to be Associated.
We don't do that. We don't ask,
but Paul did Paul.
Look, so let's look a little bit about this collection of collecting of funds.
He was very authentic. Make
and transparent about the needs that were going on
and telling people that he met and the Gentiles of the need.
He had a plan. He literally had a plan to collect
and to give and even I think in First Corinthians 16,
believe it is, he talks about how to get the money back.
Even tells them. When I arrived,
I'll send those whom you accredited by letter.
Her to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
If it seems advisable that I should also go.
They will accompany me. Like he had a plan to get the money.
He had the story. He's telling a story all along the way.
There was a problem. There was a need and needed to be solved and he gave updates all along the way.
And so these factors have pulled in.
It is a great model for us within churches.
We are allowed to be authentic.
We are allowed to have Plan, we are allowed to tell a story
and we are certainly responsible for updates to people to let them know where the money is going,
what we're doing with the money. These are all great,
milestones and methods for people churches to use online as they collect money,
for whatever Ministry needs. They may have their all key components.
So, we talked about collecting online gifts.
I am here to tell churches. Putting a give button in the top right corner is not digital strategy
and there are components to asking for gifts and it's not greedy.
It forget what people say forget what they think,
let's just think biblical with a Biblical lens of what it takes to do ministry.
Ministry is not cheap. It requires sacrifice of people's time,
their money, their resources,
their thoughts, their prayers, and it's okay.
It's Okay, for churches to ask to be authentic,
to make a plan to tell the story to give updates.
And so if your website as a church is,
just a online giving opportunity a digital passing of the plate and you don't do a good job.
Explaining the needs of ministry
and funding Ministry and just leave it up to whatever comes in
is what comes in and we're just going to be happy about that.
I challenge you go. Look at Paul go look at what he did.
There's nothing unbiblical about what he did and is about,
as not the approach he took at all.
So this this episode is called collecting online gifts and donations.
I'm not going to give Silver Bullet solutions to a problem that
can't be fixed with silver bullet Solutions.
It's got to be fixed with the mindset change of what it is,
that is allowable and needed for people to join.
Join in on Ministry,
and then once you have that lens on,
there are best practices of how you arrange your website,
how you tell your story? What is a case for support eliminating?
All the hurdles that your flock runs into online when it comes to giving and removing those?
It's not, there's no magic bullet, but there are best practices,
but you can't have any of them without this lens.
Hope this helps. God bless. Talk to you soon.
Thank you for listening to today's episode of.
This is his story podcast overwhelmed at all.
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