Feb
3
2012

Finance Fridays: Story Telling & Picture Painting

An article by Matt

While planting a church in Baltimore I had a love-hate relationship with partnership development (a friendlier sounding way of saying fundraising). The truth is that fundraising for a church plant can be a bit of a grind: long hours, lots and lots of miles on the truck (just ask Dan Nichols), and if you are not a hyper-extrovert it will make you weary.

But, this process can also be amazing.

There are few things as exhilarating to me as being able to tell the story of what God is up to. Having the opportunity to share how God is changing lives is something that I will forever be grateful for. There is also something special about being able to help people engage with their passions. Some of our strongest supporters were those who loved Baltimore, but were not called to serve there at the time. It was an honor to help them pursue their passion, and while we were blessed by their financial gifts, the prayers and encouragement were even more meaningful for us.

Having been out of the fundraising season for a little while now, I often reflect back on that time and wonder why we don’t model all of our generosity conversations in the church world off of the conversations that church planters have over coffee (or, in my case, Diet Coke). What if, instead of playing special music we spent that time story telling, painting pictures of changed lives, casting radical visions, and inviting people to partner through prayer, service, and finances on a regular basis?

What if, instead of just passing the plate on Sunday morning you had a member of your congregation on stage, telling a story of a life changed, a family helped, or an opportunity that they had to serve because of the church’s generosity (for a great example of this, check out what Imago Dei in Portland does)?

My friends at Generis are fond of saying “people give to vision.”

How does YOUR church tie vision to giving?