Top 5 Techniques for Increasing Giving in Catholic Parishes

As we’ve looked at from various angles, spiritual giving is an essential characteristic of disciples of Jesus Christ. Followers of Jesus Christ have been contributing to the church and mission from the earliest days–and it’s the act of sacrificial giving, rather than the size of the gift, that’s always mattered the most.

Once you’re on the path to focusing on conversion and discipleship first, how do you set the conditions for a fruitful stewardship culture?

The Center for Church Management and Business Ethics at Villanova University provides valuable research into empirical trends shaping stewardship in Catholic parishes. In a 2014 conference presentation, Center Director Charles Zech brought together various studies to present the “five best parish activities” for positively impacting giving.

#1 — Open Parish Forum to Discuss Finances and Budget (29% increase)

Having an open forum to discuss finances and annual budgets results in a 29% increase in giving. Why? I think it’s due to a sense of ownership and transparency. Parish finances aren’t the sole responsibility of the pastor, business manager, or finance council–every baptized believer has the duty and responsibility to care about how the community’s resources are being used for the mission of the Church in this world. Ownership begets ownership. When missionary disciples in a parish are treated as relevant to financial/budgetary discussions, then these same disciples look to the parish as relevant to their own work of spiritual giving. The ability to manage communications content and media to create and share such forums is an important competency for ministerial leaders (while not specific to budget–check out how Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, MI not only hosts a “town hall” parish meeting, but makes the presentations and Q&A public via video).

#2 — Preach Tithing (27% increase)

Tithing is a framework for spiritual giving that involves discernment and commitment to give a set percentage of one’s income. I so rarely hear about it in Catholic preaching (see here and #7 here for some exceptions). Preaching tithing is not about fundraising. And, it’s certainly not about guilt trips. It’s about breaking open God’s Word so that the assembly is transformed by hearing how God’s plan has always been for His followers to consider material goods/resources a gift from which a portion must be first given back to God. Giving is a part of one’s worship, thanksgiving, praise, and spirituality as a whole–nothing less! Preaching is a critical means through which ministers lead a body of believers to a common vision and demonstrate what’s important for the whole church. From the Sunday Eucharistic homily to weekday night preaching after a potluck dinner, the message matters. If spiritual giving matters, it should make it into preaching messages.

#3 + #5 — Stewardship Committee [for 7 years or more] and Separate Stewardship Committee  (27% and 22% increases, respectively)

Now we’re getting into organizational techniques. Zech’s research synthesis shows that having a Stewardship Committee that’s separate from the parish council (or Parish Pastoral Council, Parish Advisory Council, etc.) and also separate from the Finance Council matters. Zech notes that the separation from the Finance Council is important because it shows that Stewardship isn’t some churchy-euphanism for fundraising, and in fact goes beyond financial resources. I’d guess that the greater impact of Stewardship Committees apart from a Parish Council is a result of difficulty translating vision and execution between two council/committees. And, the increased opportunities for synergy with other leadership circles in the parish (i.e. faith formation leaders, etc.) However, even slightly more important than how the Stewardship Committee is organized, is it’s presence and longevity. So 🙂 stick with it! No technique is a silver-bullet, and sustainable long-term improvements are more important than taking a quick/easy financial gain that sacrifices the bigger picture.

#4 — Communicate on Stewardship Through a Parish Newsletter (23%)

The take-away here is less about a “newsletter” (per se) and more about the idea of regular communications, rooted in the ownership and discipleship culture so important to the entire endeavor. Newsletters might be the most effective form of communication in many parishes today, but this will vary tremendously by location and parish culture. Most of the larger and more diverse parishes in the United States would likely need to use multiple communications media to be highly effective in communicating on stewardship. Bottom line, whatever the most effective form(s) of communication is in your parish, use it for providing regular updates on stewardship. Many of the techniques for effective church annual reports would also apply to regular updates on stewardship.

Again, it’s important to remember that fostering the conversion in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit that evangelizes the world is what the Church on earth is all about. Stewarding our individual and communal resources, including financial ones, is an essential part of how we live in the Spirit as disciples.

Research gives us tactics that we can use to operate in a way that is optimal for giving. Think of it as removing barriers–solid management techniques like the ones listed above aren’t (usually!) the cause of life-changing encounter with Jesus or a means for spiritual conversion, but by having the operational basics down, we make sure that it’s not our choices (i.e. a lack of transparency, no preaching on giving, etc.) that prevent someone from growing as a Christian through the opportunity to be a faithful steward of the resources God entrusts to us!

Outward Looking Parish Finances

 

Weddell: One parish budgets 1/3 for parish, 1/3 for evangelization, 1/3 for the poor. #NCCL2014 // Anyone willing to suggest to your pastor?

— Jonathan F. Sullivan (@sullijo) May 19, 2014

Awesome. That’s looking outward, and putting your resources where our Catholic theology points! The follow-up questions would be [drumroll] … is this boldness communicated and understood by the parish? By the community? It’s not about marketing to make ourselves look good, but communications to share a vision. To inspire others by example.

Market Well: Lose the Outdated Fonts

We all need to remember this when it comes to bulletins, posters, fliers for events, and more. 🙂

Catholic Church advertising: where bad fonts live on. #comicsans #hobo #papyrus #letthemdie #honesttalk

— David Calavitta (@DavidCal) May 19, 2014

Seriously, there are probably folks in your pews (even teens) with some real artistic, graphic design, and marketing know-how. Find them and use them. Oh yeah, and leverage the creative-types on your staff. If the bulletin-editing secretary doesn’t have an eye for graphic design, find someone who does and make it a team effort!

Example of a Church of 1100 Members with 65 Small Groups

I’ve written before about how Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups is a great book for parish leaders and/or planners looking for a how-to guide on launching a vibrant small group ministry.

In an effort to gain more insight into the actual details of what a vibrant, thriving, encompassing small group ministry looks like, I went to the church website for Journey Church NYC, where the author’s of Activate minister.

Here’s what I saw:

1. An informative FAQ page. I can see how this would build comfort with joining a group and answer the basic questions most parishioners would have. It looks like at The Journey small groups start up 3x a year and meet in a variety of locations, with various topics and particular affinities (i.e. women, dads, college age, couples, meal-time groups, service groups, etc.) With such diverse affinities and topics, I really could see how a typical Catholic parish could channel all ministry into small groups (see “Vibrant Isn’t About Busy” for why more Catholic parishes should seriously consider this).

2. Examples of what’s planned for Summer 2014. Here are some of the 65 different groups (each approx. 15 ppl) that will meet:

– General Groups (open to anyone)
– Community Service Groups
– Worship Arts Groups
– Family Groups
– 20-Something’s Groups
– College Groups
– Teen Groups
– Activity Groups (running groups, mealtime groups, etc.)
– And more! 

There are also “Play Groups” which meet one-time for a social or fun event. I could also see one-time groups forming in a Catholic parish for specific service/justice/mercy events or needs.

 

How To Do a Parish Phone Census or Survey

A few years ago I was an intern adult faith formation coordinator in a parish. We wanted to launch some groups that would align with what our people were actually interested in, what spiritual needs they actually had. A co-worker and I set out to call as many people as possible from our parish phone book (we started with the As and made our way through the Cs before our focus shifted due to changes in pastoral priorities).

In short, it was a great experience. Why? Because it gave us a chance to talk to registered parishioners, many of whom don’t normally come to Mass or parish events. We asked them some basic questions–what brings you to our parish? what do you value most about our parish?–and were also able to give personal invites to our new adult faith formation offerings. Little did we know, we’d also be put in the position to help re-connect folks to ministries they had drifted away from, “I used to help with funeral luncheons but stopped getting calls about them. Do we still do that?” or new interests, “I’d like to bring communion to the home bound, but didn’t get a call back about training…”

But, my co-worker and I didn’t have a plan to systematically expand this to the whole parish in a short period of time. This article from unSeminary, “8 Lessons Learned from Making 2,005 Phone Calls” gives great, practical advice for how to train a team to execute a phone survey/census in a short period of time, with high quality, standardized results. I highly recommend this short article for any parish interested in reaching out via phone.  

Recommended Books for Pastoral Administration Courses

I know first-hand that many professors/instructors of Pastoral Administration (or similarly titled) courses in seminaries, lay formation programs, and graduate schools struggle to find quality, relevant texts for teaching this type of course.

On one hand, there’s plenty of literature on management, administration, and leadership in general–and a good amount that specifically applies to the nonprofit sector. But, parishes just seem different. So there can be a hesitancy to try to mold materials designed for a different setting into a Catholic pastoral administration course.

But, search no more. There are some books that work well on a syllabus and in various combinations could provide an outstanding base for a course. First up, The Parish Management Handbook, ed. Charles Zech (Twenty-Third Publications, 2003).

Chapter 1 provides an excellent integration of human resource management, information, consultation, conflict management, stewardship, leadership, decision-making, and liability. This chapter shows students (who might think of administration as an “extra” bonus, instead a fundamental skill of a minister) how important good management is and how it impacts theology made present in a parish or other ministry setting.

The entire book is of high quality and relevant updated material. I’d especially recommend Chapter 7 “Developing Stewards in a Parish Setting” and Chapter 9 “Parish Information Systems — Resources for Ministry” as top chapters to be included on any course syllabus.

My next recommendation moves from concepts and theory to action-oriented techniques. Though Tools for Rebuilding by Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran (Ave Maria Press, 2013) is a follow-up to Rebuilt (2012), the book can stand-alone as a primer on some basic managerial concerns. I’d recommend using:

• all of the Strategic Tools (p. 11-34)
• Building Tools #8-11 (p. 41-54)
• all of the Office Tools (p. 63-72)
• all of the Communication Tools (p. 73-88)
• all of the Money Tools (p. 189-212)
• all of the Staff Tools (p. 213-230)
• all of the Critical Tools (p. 231-254)
• and, all of the Fun Tools (255-268)

Then, depending on the duration and scope of your course, if more material was needed, I’d add in A Concise Guide to Catholic Church Management from the Vincentian Center for Church and Society (Ave Maria Press, 2010).

Now, despite being more recent that Zech’s work, this book feels a bit more dated and more maintenance-focused (rather than evangelization oriented).

Chapters 1-4 and 7-8 are too basic and bland to provide that much value to a course, but Chapters 6 (The Parish and Service Quality), 9 (Evaluating Parish Performance), 10 (Human Resources), 11 (Legal Principles), and 12 (Stewardship) are all value-added.

The Vincentian Center also offers a similar Concise Guide to Pastoral Planning. This book is not very tied into the need for parishes to be centers of evangelization, but it does provide good templates for pastoral planning (especially in Part 3). I wouldn’t really recommend this book, unless your course specifically needed an in-depth discussion of pastoral planning models.

In conclusion, Tools for Rebuilding and the Parish Management Handbook are the two texts I’d most want to see in a pastoral administration course.

Do you have any recommendations for pastoral administration courses or training? Please share in the comments!

“Teaching Johnny to Preach” by T. David Gordon

I just finished reading T. David Gordon’s Why Johnny Can’t Preach: How the Media Have Shaped the Messengers. 

I wouldn’t give the book a strong overall recommendation as a general homiletics text. Gordon’s concerns were a bit specific, and not that widely applicable to a broader Catholic, evangelical, emergent church, or non-denominational context (which wasn’t Gordon’s intent, but I’m just putting that disclaimer out there).

However, the final chapter, entitled, “Teaching Johnny to Preach” did have some good recommendations for congregations:  

For example, the Annual Review:

Gordon rightly notes, “Most ministers will never know how bad their preaching really is without an annual review. They look out on Sunday morning, see a number of people present, and reason to themselves: ‘Well, I must be doing a pretty good job as a preacher because many people come to hear me.'” Gordon notes that this is simply wrong-headed thinking, since many people come out of Christian duty, regardless of the sermon quality (p. 97). I’d say this sense of obligation is even stronger in Catholic contexts. 

Gordon offers two main strategies:

1. Perform a review by calling several people at random on Tues or Wed and asking them what the sermon was about (it’s best if preacher isn’t one to make the call). If they have vastly different ideas, then the sermon’s clarity and focus was probably off (p. 98)
2. Do a general assessment of the pastor (and associates) and list ministerial tasks (preaching, counseling, administration, etc.) and have people rank the minister in order of competence (p. 98). This provides a window into preaching quality without the challenges of asking for a 1 to 10 assessment and having widely differing standards among survey participants, since the ratings will have a relativity built-in. 

 

Young Adult Catholics — Engaged in the Faith Online, or Not?

According to Robert DeFrancesco, Catholic Press Association president and editor and associate publisher of The Catholic Sun, newspaper of the Phoenix Diocese, a new CARA study reveals “younger Catholics are not clamoring for news online.”

Really? Younger Catholics are not clamoring for news online, but they want it in print?

Hmm. I’m a bit surprised. I’m a Millennial (in fact, among the oldest year groups in the Millennial generation). The majority of my Catholic friends do use the internet for reading Catholic news, learning about or finding spirituality resources, looking up Bible or Catechism quotes, reading magazine articles in America, etc. Most Catholics in my age group that I meet don’t make parish registration a priority, nevermind signing up for a print-based Catholic news publication.

If I had to take a guess, the reality is that maybe younger Catholics are not that active in the faith to begin with, and aren’t “clamoring” for news in any format. Maybe they are searching, however, for resources for prayer, spirituality, music, etc. Just a guess. 😉

I’ll be interested to see the details on this CARA communications study (I haven’t found them yet), to examine how it compares to a new Barna Group study entitled, “How Technology is Changing Millennial Faith.” Barna surveys Christian adults, not specifically Catholics as CARA does. However, a quick info-graphic from Barna’s report reveals some notable trends that make me hesitant to accept DeFrancesco’s conclusion, without caveats or further detail. For example…

This strikes me as true to my experiences and observations of peers. It will be interesting to see the age breakdown in the CARA survey, the sample size/methodology, and more to determine if the studies do reach different conclusions about technology use of young adults when it comes to faith.

If it turns out, that practicing Catholic Millennials are significantly higher or lower technology use than the broader Christian Millennial population, I wonder what that means? And, what does it practically mean for parishes, when different generations have significantly different trends and uses of technology? (which I’m guessing the CARA study will show).

I can’t wait for the details 🙂 Your thoughts?

On Being a Visitor…

Earlier this week over at NewEvangelizers.com, I reflected on my role as a baptized person in offering an opinion to a pastor–even when I know that my opinion is corrective or different. The question wasn’t merely theoretical. I’m living as a “visitor” in a different region and have seen some practices at my adopted parish that seem downright un-evangelical.

So here’s the first follow up question I’m wrestling with–is it more appropriate to offer one’s opinion as a “regular” or as a “visitor?”

I think the answer is both–but for different reasons. On one hand, as a regular, one has a relationship with their pastor. He knows that you’re speaking up for the right reasons. And, hopefully your actions match your sentiments.

On the other hand, being a regular can make it hard to spot things that might be opposed to evangelization or not presenting the Catholic faith clearly, since these things might be a habitual part of a particular community’s parish life. In this sense, a visitor’s eye can see what stands out as a possible obstacle or stumbling block for those newer to the faith, the Church, Jesus Christ, or just new to the parish.

My second follow-up question is about reception. For those in parish leadership position, how easy to we make it for regulars and/or visitors to offer feedback? To offer an opinion? How open and two-way are our communications? And, maybe most importantly, what is our spirit of reception?

Good questions for all of us–regulars, visitors, and leaders–to ponder.