The Come From Behind Series

This is the third in a series of posts on developing a come from behind giving strategy.

The question, what are the goals of a come from behind giving strategy might seem silly to ask.

Isn’t it to see an increase in giving? Yes, but if that is your only goal it will not be long until you are back asking again out of desperation for more money. After awhile everyone, including you, gets tired of continually pushing that rock up the hill.

Increasing dollars allowing more missions and ministry is the primary focus behind a come from behind series but it shouldn’t be your only goal. A good plan however, will help you accomplish this and more. Behind the ultimate goal of funding your church are several subset goals that are equally important. Here are a couple of subset goals you should implement with your come from behind offering.

One key subset goal of any come from behind offering is to motivate new donors to give to support your vision. Every year you lose donors either from death, transfer, or other reasons. We call this The Churn Rate. Like attendance, your church has a front door and a back door. Since you are losing donors yearly out the back door, you must continue to replace them with donors coming in the front door. Special offerings, done correctly, allow you to attract new donors as a result of your compelling vision and message.

Another subset goal of a come from behind giving strategy is to engage younger generations to begin their own generosity journey. Even before COVID19 hit giving was in decline and facing serious future challenges due to the aging population of most churches. With Baby Boomers, your largest donor group, retiring, we must raise up a new generation of faithful stewards if we are to be funded in the future. A good come from behind plan can help move younger generations from being a rookie giver to become radical givers.

A final subset goal of a come from behind giving strategy is to encourage and assure your leaders. Don’t take this key segment for granted! Let me share two important points. First, your leaders, especially your giving leaders, will always be the most responsive to requests for additional funds.  It is essential to take your message to the right target group if you are to have success. Yet, you never want to take them for granted, assuming they will always float the boat for you. The second important point is that your top donors will appreciate a giving campaign that includes everyone doing their part.

I always advise that you get your leaders on board early by informing them ahead of time about the special come from behind offering you will be launching. Stressing that your plan will help encourage others to do their part will greatly encourage your leaders to do more. To find out how to accomplish this check out how to do this in our special offer, Recovering the Lost Offering of COVID19.

While the primary objective of plans like Recovering the Lost Offering of COVID19 is to help replace at least one lost offering, this strategy can and will help you accomplish much more. If all we accomplish is raising one week’s offering, then you might very well be right back in the same place in a few months. However, if you have a strategy that attracts new donors and moves others up the generosity ladder, your path to financial stability is much brighter.