You know, we’re creatures of habit.
Oftentimes, things are done in churches (and in life) just because they’ve always been done that way. No thought is really given to the why and/or its current effectiveness. It’s done just because.
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a church that did not have a bulletin, worship guide or whatever you want to call them. The majority of ones I’ve seen included an update on offerings.
The question I want to pose today is, “Should the weekly bulletin or worship guide include a section on offerings?”
The answer – it depends.
Let’s dig in some more.
The first thing to consider is the purpose of the weekly bulletin. I mean, who’s the target audience? Is it visitors only? Members only? Both?
If your target audience is visitors:
What do visitors want to know? Beyond the initial ‘where’ questions, (Parking, Main Entrance, Kids, Worship Center, Restrooms):
a) they want to know what’s gonna happen in the service
b) they want to get a sense of what the church is about
c) they want to know what’s going on for the kids (and adults)
d) they need to know what the next step is.
I mean, have you ever heard a couple say, “let’s visit so and so church, and if they’re meeting budget, we might just join.” I’ll bet you never have.
The chances are diminished of a return visit(s) if:
a) your church is not welcoming/friendly
b) they didn’t enjoy the service (Worship and the Word)
c) you don’t have an effective follow-up process
If your target audience is members (which by default becomes both):
To the church member, info on weekly offerings serves as the single biggest indicator of how well their church is doing financially.
I had a hunch that most members want this info in the bulletin, so I did a little research. I ran across an informal survey conducted by Thom Rainer where he asked church members what they thought should be in the bulletin. He published the top 5 responses. Coming in at #4 was Stewardship and Attendance info. See that post here.
So, should you include this info in your weekly guide?
For visitor focused guides, maybe not. For member focused bulletins, maybe so.
Before we come to a conclusion, let’s consider these two things:
#1 – you need to promote financial transparency. (Wrote about that here).
#2 – your church family seems to want to know.
That still doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be in the weekly bulletin though.
However, I think it does mean it’s best to provide this financial info to your church in the best medium that fits the church’s leadership strategy and the expectations of the church members.
If it’s not in the weekly bulletin, make sure it’s in your monthly newsletter (emailed/printed), on the website or in some other format/medium that is easily obtainable to those who want to know.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of which medium you choose, make the data as compelling, impactful and informative as you can. Simply reporting the weekly, monthly or the YTD offering isn’t that meaningful if there’s no frame of reference. Provide context. Compare to budget or the same time frame a year ago. Or both.
In addition to the numbers – include some of these in this section on occasion:
>First, thank them for giving. Tell them why it matters and what you were able to accomplish as a result.
>Results of special offerings. Goal vs Actual. You spend a lot of time promoting and asking. Let them know the results and leave in the bulletin 2 or 3 weeks. Remember on any given Sunday 25% of your “active” attendees are not there or are serving elsewhere. (They didn’t hear the update from pulpit).
>Results of Special Community Outreach or Missions Events. Let them know how many families were served. # of times the Gospel presented/# of decisions following up on. Leave in there 2 to 3 weeks.
>Ways to Give. Inform them of the ways they can give. Promote recurring digital from time to time.
>Invite them to a new members class to learn how the church conducts its financial affairs.
There are tons of other things you could include here as well.
For those that choose to put the numbers in the bulletin – a thought or two:
On those High Attendance days where you expect a LOT of unchurched folk to be in attendance, consider foregoing the finance numbers in the bulletin that day. Seems silly, but people will look for any reason to not come back or shut the Holy Spirit out that day.
Also, if you’re including more than one fund in your bulletin, be careful. Probably the top 3 funds in most churches are the General Fund, the Building Fund and the Missions Fund. More than likely the 1st two will be much much larger than the Missions one. To the unchurched or dechurched, that may be perceived in a very negative light.
Just food for thought.
What have you seen? Scroll down and leave me a comment.