By Russ Cantu: You spent $5000 and got nothing in return.

You heard it somewhere —a coach, mentor, pier, start up bro— that you needed a pitch deck. You were told to hire a designer, run a high quality print of their developed deck, and distribute it to prospective investors.

Fail. Whale.

And it’s not even your fault.

Pitch decks have been a thing for decades now, but how we think about them needs to significantly change. I’ve been developing decks for decades: from start-ups to church plants, investment decks for pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturers, and even some dream decks for friends.

Pitch decks aren’t bad, but the process is fundamentally broken.

It’s time to fix it.

Meet Brandon Penn

Brandon is a church planter starting a church in Fontana, Ca. It’s in LA and has a population of 220,000 people and less than twenty churches. The system is broken and what’s there just isn’t working. Brandon came to me and asked if I could help him design and develop their church plant’s deck.

I told him no.

Well, I told him no… but only no because we needed to go about this differently. The way we raised money ten years ago is not the same today, so our tactics need to change to meet our context.

So I made him a deal.

I would help him design and develop his deck, under one condition: we make it free for everyone. We would knock this out for him and his church, but then we would make the Keynote file, PDF, and article walkthrough available to everyone, for free.

He agreed, and here we are.

Three Pitch Decks Problems

Like I said, pitch decks aren’t bad; the process is just broken. What we want to do is think through a few aspects of the process so we can wrap our head around the problem and push forward.

Pitch Deck Problems

No matter how good a designer is, they’re not you. While there are some world-class designers I could recommend to you, most designers design for design, not conversion. When you are designing a deck for investors, your target market cares more about substance than flash. They want to know you have a successful track record with market opportunity, not that your deck looked better than the other guy.

In addition to designer problems, you will most likely run into design problems. These two are not the same. Assume now that your designer is amazing, they can create a great initial pitch deck template (aka Slide Deck), and they truly understand you. Assume they get your story. But never assume they know how to lay it out properly for you, in alignment with your business plan. Again, they’re used to designing for design’s sake, not you. You need to design for conversions, and that’s a completely different ball game.

Principles to remember when designing your deck: 

Share your wins. Your last success will indicate future success.
Less is more. Don’t say too much and narrow your focus on achieving your goals.
Design to multiple learning styles: i.e. visual, logical, kinesthetic.
Everything has a next step. Every point has a natural onramp for potential investors.

Pitch Deck Development Problems

Now that you’ve designed your deck, how do you share your story? Inherently, this is the most difficult part of the equation. While we will get to a walk-through of an example shortly, I want to run down some development problems you may run into and what you can do to avoid letting them slow you down.

“It looks good, but it doesn’t feel good.”

While a designer will bring the heat, they can never bring the feels without you. You must permeate every aspect of your deck. What is the problem you are addressing with your church plant and how are you uniquely prepared to meet this moment? This is the question you must answer on every page. It’s on you, and while it is certainly daunting, it is not impossible.

Principles to remember when developing your deck: 

Address problems head on. Name names and have a solution ready.
Be your own hero. People will be sold on you before they’re sold on your church.
Elevate your key team leaders. The people you have are the people you are targeting.
Don’t compromise. Your church is your baby. It’s unique and not cookie-cutter.
Be specific and measurable. Know your business model and key metrics of success.
Own it. This isn’t a church planting organization’s start-up; it’s your company vision.
Remember: You’re called to be faithful, not plant a church.

Pitch Deck Distribution Problems

This is the one that kills me every time. You paid a designer, you spent weeks outlining your story, and now you need to pay to print… or do you? This is it; THIS is the thing that keeps me up at night. It honestly frustrates me to no end.

Can we talk about money for a moment?

When you hire a good designer, you can expect to pay around $1000 for them to design your pitch deck. Assume you hire a designer who knows the investment space, who can interpret your story well, and who will lay it for conversion; expect to pay around $3000. But design costs aren’t the only thing we are talking about here. What about your time and energy? When you hire a designer, you are feeding them daily for weeks. This thing takes time. Because time is money, let’s just put an equal amount on it and price your time at the same rate as your designer’s between $1000 and $3000. So far, we are talking about a $2000 to $6000 hit to your church plant, most likely before you have investors (and before you even considered hiring a pitch deck writer).

You’re six thousand into this thing, and now you need to print. Ugh. Seriously, who prints anything anymore? Someone somewhere told you that investors need this, so you have to do it, right? Not a chance. Investors don’t give a rip. They want to know you’ve been successful and will be successful now. If you can write your story and a plan on a napkin, transfer that to a single email, and break it down over the course of a fifteen page deck, then you’re solid. But if you’re sold on print, you’re dropping between $1000 – $2000 every run. Since your plan is a living document, you will need a few runs along the way. Now your total financial hit is coming in between $3000 and $8000, but likely more depending on market size and capital to be raised. Print is not dead, but it is not right for you. So what works? Well, here’s what we do every time for start-ups.

Principles we remember when distributing decks:

Pitch Deck developed in Keynote or PowerPoint. Makes it simple for users to edit.
PDF exports for potential investors. Easy to view online or send via email.
Tactical Cards for handouts. Glossy on top and matte on back, makes people want to turn it over. Slap an URL on there for downloads and brand it alongside your deck and you’re solid. It’s a cheap run and instantly effective. Plus, if people throw it in the garbage, you won’t be diving into the can to rescue that printed gold.

Ultimately, your distribution plan is 50% of your design plan. How you disseminate your story to potential users or investors will determine how you raise capital. If you can accomplish this part of the puzzle, your audience will see a clearer picture and you will have more money in your pocket for your plant. And if that doesn’t show investors how you are managing money, I don’t know what will. It’s a brave new world, and they’re already ahead of the game. They want to invest in you. They want to reach your addressable market. It’s your job to make it easy for them to do so.

How to Create a Great Investor Pitch Deck for Startups Seeking Financing

Like I said, pitch decks aren’t bad; the process is just broken. What we want to do is think differently about this, from the designer to the design, the process and financials, and how to make the most of your moment. So let’s bring Brandon back in, so we can walk through his deck, and you can see how it works for him, as well as a few presentation tips so you can walk away with valuable insight and actionable items.

Beyond Church and Their Pitch Deck Outline

Branded Cover Slide with logo.
Mission Statement
Reachable Market and Our Problem to Fix
Current Growth Metrics and Market Validation
Introduction of Opportunity
Introduction of Startup Founders
Introduction of Business Model – Values
Introduction of Target Users or User Testimonials
Continuation of Target Users or User Testimonials
Introduction of Team with Focus
A-Round Pitch Deck Financials with Financial Forecast
Stage Process and Financial Application
Contextualization of Current Crisis and Application
Investment Opportunities
How to Connect with Brandon and Beyond Church

Branded Cover Slide with Logo

Your first slide is not the time to pitch your product or sell your services. Potential investors care more about you than they do your “sell”, so start off your pitch by sharing who you are and why you are taking their time. This is an opportunity for you to make them a part of your team before they hear what you’re doing, so sell them on you and it will be easier to sell them on your plant.

Mission Statement 

Your mission is the framework that drives your business. From inception to implementation, your mission statement is how you will grow your team, how you attract your audience, and how you grow over time. Share how and why your mission statement is not only important to you, but instrumental to your success.

Reachable Market and Our Problem to Fix

While most cities lack enough church resources to meet the need, Brandon Penn and Fontana are unique. Fontana is an underserved and under-resourced population, so the fact that there are so few churches to adequately serve the city should be drawn out and made a central focus, not just here, but throughout the presentation.

Current Growth Metrics and Market Validation

Past is prologue, so Brandon is going to discuss how he’s been successful in the past and prove he will be successful here as Fontana is drowning without enough people to serve the city. This is where he will start discussing the implementation of the business model, his current audience, and the people that are currently on board (as team members and investors).

Introduction of Opportunity

Brandon is bent toward justice, not as a pocket passion, but as a guiding life principle. As Fontana has a clear and obvious need, and as his team is ready to meet the moment, he will lay the foundation here for the opportunity to be met by those in the room. For him, God’s salvation is not just a gift for him, but one for everyone. Because of that, he’s encouraging his audience to participate in immediately actionable items.

Introduction of Startup Founders

In the initial stage of development, the focus will ultimately be on the shoulders of those who lead the early church. This is one of the reasons why church plant coaches emphasize the need for the founding pastor to preach every weekend for the first six months. These initial months are all about attraction, so Brandon must sell you on him, as wella s his family. It’s a lot to handle, but it’s what needs to be done. No pressure.

Introduction of Business Model and Your Values

Brandon is now going to share the business model (in expanded terms) but also share the guide rails of his plan: values. One caveat here: you don’t determine your values, you discover them. While Brandon has three values here, he also understands that values are malleable and may need to flex over time as his audience morphs into who God needs them to be for their community.

Introduction of Target Users or User Testimonials

One of the fin discussion items I often have with clients is persona types, not because we want to have a “perfect person” we want to reach, but because we want to have multiple moving targets we seek to market to. People are fluid according to their in-the-moment context, so persona types must go deeper than the surface level of a single mother of three kids.

Continuation of Target Users or User Testimonials

Like before, we are laying out the persona types we are targeting our reach towards, but we are also sharing who we have already reached. This is where past success meets current users. Don’t just share your hope for people to reach; share who you have already reached and how you are making their lives better.

Introduction of Team with Focus

For Brandon, his new church startup is not about a new church for Fontana. Anyone can build a church, but Brandon is building a passion. Buildings and worship services will only get you so far. In today’s climate, passion outranks presentation (thank God). When all is said and done, Beyond Church’s end product will be a passionate people who just so happen to meet in a building every week.

A-Round Pitch Deck Financials with Financial Forecast

Part of the strategy here is to speak the language of everyone in the room. While some will be attracted to stories, others will be moved by finances. It’s your job to speak to everyone. Give a description of your need, where you are at, and forecast it a few years out. Just like you created a pitch deck outline for your designer, you need to create a financial overview for investors.

Stage Process and Financial Application

Every church and organization is different. While some angel investors may be moved by stories and financials, others may be moved by specific things you are spending money towards. Larry Osborne talks about this in his pockets presentation. While some may give their tithe out of one pocket and give to a need out of another, they normally only have one more pocket to give to: their individual passion.

Contextualization of Current Crisis and Application 

Covid sucks. Losing millions around the world and hundreds of thousands here at home has been an enormous loss. Churches that specifically address the wounds of Covid and assist in the recovery of our cities will be better positioned to serve their cities for generations, than those who chose to go back to business (and politics) as usual. Brandon has a plan, and it’s working.

Investment Opportunities

We’ve shared the problem, we’ve shared possible solutions, and Brandon has shared stories and user testimonials. You’ve seen the financials and our forecast, and maybe you’re sold on the vision. This is the time to give people their next right step. In this case, Beyond Church is specifically looking for three people: givers, prayers, and servers. They need money, they need people who will encourage them through prayer, and they need people with a passion who want to serve Fontana. All Brandon needs to do is make their next right step clear and simple.

How to Connect with Brandon and Beyond Church

The last step of your presentation is to continue the conversation. This is the beginning of a years-long relationship that requires trust and communication. Once you make the ask (and please, don’t forget to go for the big ask), you need to stay present in their lives. Investors are giving you their hard earned time, resources, and finances, but you must be the one to nurture the relationship.

Let’s put a bow on this pitch deck.

For those of you who have been wondering “what is a pitch deck” and “how to slide deck”, I hope this guide has provided you with clear next steps to accomplish your goal. This resource is free now and will continue to be well into the future. I have included individual slides of the presentation, as well as a working file for you in Keynote and PowerPoint, in addition to a smaller file size PDF (with active links). I would encourage you to save yourself some money and use this pitch deck template instead of hiring a designer and printing a full run of vision pieces. And if you need help along the way, reach out and I will do everything I can to help make you successful.

Download PDF Pitch Deck

Download Keynote Pitch Deck

Download PowerPoint

The post How to Effectively Share Your Church Story to Investors [Pitch Deck] appeared first on CATALYST CHURCH CREATIVE.

Source: How to Effectively Share Your Church Story to Investors [Pitch Deck]

The post How to Effectively Share Your Church Story to Investors [Pitch Deck] appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By unSeminary: Thanks for tuning in to the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re doing a bonus deep dive about operational reserves and how much our churches should be saving. We have expert Steve Carr from CDF Capital with us to help us think through these questions.

Maintain generosity. // During the pandemic, churches trended toward either maintaining their giving levels or increasing those levels. Most churches weren’t drastically impacted financially during this time because their congregation still gave. The blessing during this time is that many churches emerged almost financially stronger. The thing to be aware of now is: How are you cultivating givers to maintain that generosity?Plan ahead in savings. // Pre-pandemic the general rule was for churches to have three to six months of savings in reserve. Many churches are now looking at a six-to-twelve-month trend in judging how much they need to store in savings. It’s up to the church to determine what is a good amount and how long should they maintain it.Help in forbearance. // The Church Assistance Plan at CDF Capital allows the equivalency of two months forbearance for every church in their portfolio. The payment is offset to the end of the loan. 66% of the churches in their portfolio have used this plan for help during this time.Are you really reaching the community? // People tithe and give so that the church can have an impact. We don’t want to keep so little in reserve that it puts the ministry at risk. There is a tension to be managed. Even if your church has a lot of money in savings, for example in an endowment, ask yourselves: are you operating just to keep the organization flowing? Or are you actually being creative in the way you’re trying to reach your community?View through a theological lens. // The teams in churches should talk about their theology of stewardship. How do you allocate the funds you have now? How can you be generous with your abundance? How will you prepare for an economic dip that may affect those funds? View it all through a theological lens and be responsible in not spending everything you have post-COVID. Think about how you as church leaders will embrace the changing world in post-COVID reality.Hold onto humility. // We might think we know what’s going to happen, but we never do, and that shows our limitations as human beings. If we can hold onto being humble throughout this season, our churches will be better off in the years to come.Keep cash readily accessible. // Steve recommends that fifty percent of your church’s reserve should be in a flexible checking or savings account. You won’t get a great interest rate, but CDF Capital can help with that. Additionally, put some of your reserves into a higher yield certificate to get a better rate.Diversify your savings. // Diversification is still a principle that needs to be applied to congregational savings. It’s not wise to have all of your money in a single institution. There is an element of risk in anything done with money, so having them in different places can help lower that risk.

You can learn more about CDF Capital at cdfcapital.org.

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!

Source: Bonus Deep Dive: Current Best Practices in Operational Reserves for Your Church with Steve Carr

The post Bonus Deep Dive: Current Best Practices in Operational Reserves for Your Church with Steve Carr appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: Learning From Established Churches

The post Learning From Established Churches appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By NewChurches.com: In Episode 582 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Todd discuss creating a rolling budgeting cycle instead of budgeting for an entire year at a time.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

How you can move from a yearly budget to a rolling budget
What to do when you have a budget surplus

 Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

“The majority of our finances that go toward making ministry happen is what we are actually budgeting on a rolling cycle.” – @danielsangi
“We are planning ministry around an 85% budget, and if we hit 100% we would use that toward ministry initiatives.” – @danielsangi
“If you don’t end up using the surplus, you put it into reserves.” – @danielsangi
“There are always going to be ministry needs in the community that you can fulfill with your surplus.” – @toddadkins
“As a church you are stewarding Gods money for kingdom purposes.” – @danielsangi
“You don’t want to be in a place where every time something happens you are in crisis mode.” – @danielsangi

Recommended Resources:

Listen to Episode 580: The Effectiveness of One-on-One Meetings

Help us Multiply the Mission:

Please subscribe
Leave a rating and review on iTunes
Ask a question by clicking Send Voicemail on the right hand side of NewChurches.com
If you’re on a phone or a tablet, then go to www.speakpipe.com/newchurches to download the app and record your message
When you’re recording, introduce yourself and your context in about 15 seconds and then record your question for 30 seconds

This Episode’s Sponsor:

No matter how many people you have on staff at your church, there’s only so much you can accomplish in a day, right? Your church exists to serve your community, so the mission of your church and its staff is to reach as many people as you can.

So BELAY, the innovative staffing solution with over 10 years of experience serving churches with virtual assistants, bookkeepers and social media strategists, is offering a free download of their resource, ‘Church Leaders: Essential Strategies to Unleash Productivity.’

Let BELAY help your church live its mission in your community by helping you juggle less and accomplish more. Visit belaysolutions.com/lifeway for your free download.

The post Episode 582: Creating a Rolling Budgeting Cycle appeared first on NewChurches.com – Church Planting, Multisite, and Multiplication.

Source: Episode 582: Creating a Rolling Budgeting Cycle

The post Episode 582: Creating a Rolling Budgeting Cycle appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By unSeminary: Do you lie awake and ponder how your church will meet its budget for this coming year?

Are you wondering how to increase the generosity culture at your church?

Is there a gap between the vision for which you believe God has called, and the funding your church currently is generating?

As church leaders, there is a connection between our beliefs on generosity, fundraising, funding, giving, and what happens in our churches. We must identify inherently negative ways of thinking and replace these thoughts with the mindset God desires of us. These negative mindsets can creep in over time, without us even realizing it. We need to actively align our philosophy on financial matters at our churches with what God would have us consider.

I’ve pulled together five negative mindsets I’ve seen within my own life that I’ve needed to uproot and address. These beliefs are also at play in other church leaders. I’ve wondered whether these mindsets are ultimately the cause for other churches’ lack of progress in this area.

Simple Silver Bullet Solution

As leaders, there’s a real temptation to attempt to find the silver bullet to this problem.

It’s tempting to think that simply delivering the right message on offerings or having an impactful year-end campaign would solve all issues pertaining to generosity and the finances at our churches. The reality is that there is no single silver bullet to funding issues at our churches. We are attempting to disciple people connected to our church into leading a generous lifestyle. That takes consistent work and a unified approach over time.

We need to continue to lead our churches towards a lifestyle of generosity.

A single sermon series would not be sufficient to accomplish this objective. We need to maintain a consistent focus on this for an extended period. Effort applied on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis will, over time, create the kind of desired change in our churches.

Our vision can be fully funded and arrive at the point where we have the resources required to accomplish what God has called us to perform. Some churches reach this stage because they applied consistent strategies over an extended period. There is no silver bullet to the issue of funding.

Too Afraid to Challenge People and Ask Them to Give?

I get it. Money is hard to discuss.

This reality is peculiar to our culture. It seems like we can easily discuss the most intimate of human relationships, even talking about sexual relationships. However, we get defensive when thinking about discussing money. People’s approach to their finances is at the very core of how people perceive themselves. It’s critical! We need to find a way to overcome this—whether by abolishing this mindset, using humor or simply calling out the fact that it’s a difficult topic to discuss.

Over the years, many church leaders have found a way to lean in and discuss money, ultimately challenging members to live in a more Jesus-centered way concerning their money. These leaders have been afforded incredible opportunities and accelerated growth on the other side of this approach.

Our ability to persevere in discussing money and generosity, and challenge people in this regard, is directly connected to people’s desire to grow in generosity. This approach will impact how funds are generated at your church.

It’s Unspiritual to Talk about Money.

One of the biggest lies propagated among church leadership is that it is unspiritual to talk about money.

This belief comes from a strange disconnect between our views on faith and its impact on our lives. It’s a dangerous notion that, somehow, our faith only exists between our ears, that it’s only about what we think, about developing the right thoughts and having the right ideas. Some believe it not about how we live, and in this case, what we do with our money. This mindset has led some of us to the point where we believe that it’s somehow unspiritual to talk about money and generosity.

Jesus is clear on this: how we invest our lives and how we invest our money reveals much about what we value in life. [ref] Challenging people to think correctly about money, be generous, and lead generous lifestyles is at the core of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. At the core, Jesus challenged us to live another centered life. In a world so obsessed with money, there are few other, more obvious ways to a centered life, other than being generous and donating your resources to help others get connected with Jesus’ teachings.

Discussing money is incredibly spiritual, plus it is one of the things that people worry about all day long. Striving to ensure that people understand biblical teachings about money, and helping them apply those lessons to their lives, will accelerate your membership’s spiritual growth.

You Feel Like a “Used Car Salesman.”

Why is it that when we consider discussing money at a church, the stereotypical picture of a used car salesman comes to mind?

You know that guy: he’s little and slimy, his hair is greased back, he wears a bad suit, and he’s just trying to rip you off. Why do so many people possess this mental image when considering whether to discuss money in their churches?

Part of the reason that this is the case is that there have been “slimy car salesmen” in the name of Jesus. They’ve ripped people off and used their money for nefarious ends. There is no lack of evidence of church leaders who have abused this privilege and honor to help people with generosity and help them move into a more generous lifestyle.

But here’s the thing, you are not a slimy used car salesman. You’re not attempting to help people grow in their generosity because you want to get something from them. You’re doing this because you want something for them. You want to help people transition into a more generous lifestyle. You want them to experience the freedom and exhilaration of a fuller lifestyle through giving. You are not trying to extract cash out of them so that you could fund some new crazy plan at your church. You’re not a used car salesman. You’re a messenger of the peace of Christ, and this is a critical aspect of the conversation that must be communicated to our membership.

Your Personal Finances are in Chaos.

Are you drowning in debt?

Are you living your life with no margin?

Are you not being generous because of the financial decisions that you’ve made?

Too many pastors are living less than paycheck-to-paycheck. We’ve structured our financial lives in such a way that we’re struggling, and we’re not giving generously, and that’s ultimately driving us into debt. This issue of debt is an epidemic among church leaders nationwide.

If this is the case in your life, I strongly recommend that you get help in this area. Whether it’s Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University or Joe Sangl’s Financial Learning Experience or Good Sense, you can take control of this area of your life and get things right in your finances at home.

Too often, people aren’t generous because they have too much debt.

What is debt? Debt is simply living beyond your means. It’s not trusting that God will provide, and it’s leveraging other people’s money to live the lifestyle you want to live. The antidote to an active debt lifestyle is generosity. It is a tool that will break the debt mindset, because what is generosity at its core? Generosity, at its core, is saying that God will provide. That I’m going to give up this money to help someone else, and that I believe that God will provide for me. Maybe the thing you need to do is to be more generous.

Listen, I understand that living and life costs a lot of money, but this might be a wake-up call for you to get your finances in order, to help you speak more clearly and with conviction to your own people and, ultimately, see them take steps towards generosity.

Are you looking for more help to raise more funds for your ministry?

We’ve put together a few resources to help your church build even more in the area of generosity, providing an important example of what you do as a church leader. This free download includes an MP3 and PDF.

MP3 // Increasing Your Church’s Generosity Culture with Steve Stroope // Steve started as the first pastor at Lake Point Church about 40 years ago and has since passed the baton to Josh Howerton. Lake Pointe began with a launch team of about 60 people and has grown to eight campuses with over 15,000 attendees. In this interview, Steve offers practical tips on how we can increase generosity at church.PDF // 5 Free Resources to Increase Your Church’s Generosity // Each of these resources can be used and implemented to help your church see ever-increasing levels of generosity. This “read to apply today” PDF is a great tool get the conversation and action rolling with your team!

Click here to download these two resources and access the information to help your church increase generosity.

Download PDF Article

Source: 5 Negative Church-Leader Mindsets About Funding

The post 5 Negative Church-Leader Mindsets About Funding appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Source: How to Develop a Budget

The post How to Develop a Budget appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by unSeminary: Thanks for listening in to this week’s unSeminary podcast! Today we are joined by Jim Sheppard, CEO of Generis. Generis is in the business of helping churches and ministry organizations with giving development. They’ve been around for a little over 30 years and are most known for their giving campaigns as well as coaching churches in developing an ongoing culture of generosity.

Jim is with us today to talk about what he’s seeing as he speaks with a broad spectrum of churches across the country, and how churches can plan well financially for an unknown future.

Be intentional about the offering. // Around March 15, 2020 the coronavirus shutdown caused nearly all churches across the country to suddenly shift to remote services, leaving many unprepared as to how to handle the offering. As a result that first weekend was terrible financially for many churches. They didn’t pay enough attention to the giving moment during their online-only services, instead assuming that people would just “get it”. Suddenly giving dropped by 80% for some churches and they realized that if this trend continued while they couldn’t physically meet, they’d be broke in a matter of weeks. During moments like these, it’s important for churches to be specific when talking about the offering, and don’t assume that people who don’t give electronically will suddenly start doing so. Make a plan ahead of time so people have options and understand what they are.Increase your online giving. // Since the initial lockdown, many churches have seen a surge in giving. Not only has their giving returned to normal, it may be even better than where it was last year at this time. The churches that have made online giving easy have faired the best in this season. There are many robust options for third party online giving that are currently available to nonprofits. Make it a point to encourage more people at your church to give digitally to avoid the types of interruptions that can come during this type of season.Get an accurate picture of your giving. // Jim’s concern for churches right now is that people might be getting a little too comfortable with the giving rhythms that they’re seeing. When the government liquidity gets pulled out of the market, what new dynamics will we need to pay attention to? Some of your core donors may have stepped up in this season and given what they’ve committed to earlier than planned, but it may not change the overall picture at the end of the year. Take the one time surge of giving out of your numbers so you can discern how well giving is really going at your church.Build your reserves. // Take this season to be building your reserves. If your giving seems to be going well and your expenses are down while you’re not regathering, then take that money and put it aside as much as you can. You should have a minimum of three months worth of reserves. Think in terms of what thirteen weeks of reserves looks like for you. Setting aside reserves will help your church not to panic when you encounter times like the current one. Furthermore, make sure that you have a policy for spending reserves in addition to accumulating reserves. You don’t want to strip all of your cash out, but if you need some extra, it’s there for you.Increase revenue. // If your church isn’t in a place where you have extra to put aside for reserves, it’s time for the pastor to begin to cast vision around why this is important in order for the church to continue its mission. Cast vision to your higher capacity givers and your faithful core givers in particular because this message, while not glamorous, will really resonate with them.Plan for the worst. // Be prepared with an action plan before you might ever see a dip in giving. Determine what specific numbers will kick things into action and model out what this will look like through the end of the year. How will you cover your expenses? How will you continue to flourish and thrive? Plan now for a worst case scenario so that you aren’t behaving in a reactive way if it ever happens. Having a plan A, B and C enables you to be proactive no matter what scenario you encounter.

To learn more about Generis and how they can help your church, visit their website at generis.com or ” target=”_blank”>email Jim. You can also download their ebook Beyond: Forward Focus, Planning the Critical Next Seasons for Your Ministry.

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

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Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Industries

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Source: Navigating Your Church’s Next Financial Phase with Jim Sheppard

The post Navigating Your Church’s Next Financial Phase with Jim Sheppard appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Carey Nieuwhof

As you know, these are some of the most complex times in church leadership in decades.

As churches reopen their in-person gatherings, there’s one particular trap to watch out for.

The early indications are that in-person church attendance is lower than anyone expected. Most leaders I connect with who have reopened public worship say they are seeing between 10-40% of their former in-person attendance.

Whether that’s a temporary trend or something more permanent remains to be seen (sadly, I suspect lower in-person attendance is a more permanent trend), the reality is that almost everyone’s expectations of a great return to church have been dashed.

While so many leaders imagined that the first Sunday back would be like Chris Farley’s famous entrance on Letterman, that hope has given way to the tough reality of social distancing, the current inability to offer kids ministry, older or at-risk adults understandably staying away and a lot of people seeming to prefer digital church or non-attendance than in-person attendance.

Which leads into very real trap that’s emerging for church leaders. Most churches are now doing both in-person and online services as they reopen.

The trap: what if you end up doing neither well?

Regardless of your church size, that’s a very real trap for at least three reasons.

As hard as it is to acknowledge, in-person church attendance isn’t returning to pre-COVID levels any time soon. Click To Tweet

1. COVID Probably Accelerated Trends That Have Been Happening for Decades

While the full story of what happened to church post-COVID has yet to play out, I suspect that the disruption has accelerated at least two trends we’ve seen for decades.

First,  declining church attendance has been intensifying for decades.

Second, even Christians who attend church are attending less often.

So what does that mean?

Mybe the low numbers of in-person worship attendance isn’t just COVID related. Perhaps it’s an acceleration of the non-attendance trends the church has seen for decades.

Maybe the low numbers of in-person worship attendance isn’t just COVID related. Perhaps it’s an acceleration of the non-attendance trends the church has seen for decades. Click To Tweet

I certainly hope I’m wrong. In fact, I’d be delighted to be wrong.

I also realize I’m stepping on sensitive ground for church leaders who are already tired. But wise leaders don’t let their fatigue make decisions for them.

Whenever I suggest people won’t rush back to church, I get a string of comments and messages from church leaders who deny it, are angry about it, or argue incessantly that the church has always gathered and it will always gather.

I understand.

But denial isn’t a strategy. Or at least not a good one. Neither is anger.

And if this is, in fact, an intensification of trends that have been happening for decades, perhaps it’s time for a new strategy.

I outline some broad strokes for the future church in this post where I outline 7 new disruptive church trends.

Just know this (as hard as it is to admit): adopting a ‘they’re all going to come back just like before” mindset can land you right in the middle of the trap.

Denial isn’t a strategy. Wise leaders don’t let their fatigue make decisions for them. Click To Tweet

2. You’re Currently Staffed for Where You’re Seeing Low Returns

If it’s actually the case that in-person attendance numbers will continue to be lower even after COVID is completely a non-issue (which could be months or years from now), then that creates a challenge.

Namely, that many churches have the highest level of staff and budgets invested where they’re seeing the lowest returns.

Many churches have the highest level of staff and budgets invested where they’re seeing the lowest returns. Click To Tweet

Sure, in-person worship and gathering isn’t going away. As long as there are people, people will want to gather in person.

But in the same way almost every CEO is rethinking how much office space they really need in light of how well their teams are working from home, church leaders may want to rethink why they’re spending the vast majority of their time, budget and human resources at in-person services that very few people attend.

If this is indeed an acceleration of in-person attendance trends that have been in-play for decades, you could easily end up behaving like the CD salesperson in the age of Spotify or like a mall owner in the age of Amazon.

If your mission is to fill buildings, then keep going with your current strategy. But if your mission is to reach people, it might be time to rethink things.

If your mission is to fill buildings, then keep going with your current strategy. But if your mission is to reach people, it might be time to rethink things. Click To Tweet

3. You’re Deeply Understaffed for Where You’re Seeing the Highest Reach

The vast majority of churches pivoted to online quickly in March 2020 and saw a large attendance spike over previous levels.

After leaders figured out how to count more accurately and the novelty of online church sagged for leaders and congregants, most churches then saw a drop off in from their initial online attendance numbers (I share reasons as to why that happened here).

Consequently, when the option of resuming in-person worship again became available,  many leaders put all their effort back into that.

A few notes on this.

First, it’s probably wise to see where you’re currently getting the highest reach. My guess is that for many re-opened churches, the higher reach remains online.

Second, even if your in-person numbers are higher than your live-stream audience, take the time to add in the number of on-demand views you get for a message or service within the first week a service goes live. My guess is it at least matches your in-person attendance, and in most cases will be higher.

What’s strange is that experiencing higher online attendance than in-person attendance has been true for many churches long before COVID hit. It’s just that nobody was really paying attention to the trend or knew what to do with it if they noticed it.

Third, despite the fact that they’re reaching fewer people than ever in-person, many church leaders are pivoting back to putting 90-95% of their time and attention into in-person services.

To make it even more complicated, the necessary requirements of disinfecting, social distancing, touch-free experiences and a highly safe and secure environment mean that unprecedented levels of effort are going into in-person worship.

The big question is if the future is digital, why the lop-sided investment? Everyone you want to reach is online, and digital ministry scales in a way that physical ministry does not.

Digital ministry scales in a way that physical ministry does not.Click To Tweet

Again, I think in-person worship is here to stay. I think it’s necessary both theologically and practically. And yes, your physical gatherings may still grow once all the dust settles. All that being true, in-person services will still likely be your smaller footprint moving forward.

So…why invest the vast majority of your time, energy and money into the platform that has the lowest return and the lowest potential?

You can invest for the past or invest for the future, but personally, I’d be investing for the future.

Why invest the vast majority of your time, energy and money into the platform that has the lowest return and the lowest potential?Click To Tweet

Your Digital Ministry Is Just Getting Started

So what do you do?

As much as you have dreams, hopes and prayers that seem infinite, you and I both live within the constraints of limited time, energy and resources.

To really positions yourself well for the future, here are three suggestions.

First, staff your online ministry like it was real, because it is. As I outlined here (long before COVID) it was probably wise to start investing 30% of your staff resources in online ministry. Today that’s even more pressing.

You probably won’t have a big impact online when you spend 1% of your staffing resources on it.

You probably won’t have a big impact online when you spend 1% of your staffing resources on it.Click To Tweet

Second, treat the people you’re reaching online as though they’re real people, because they are.

Finally, some of the money you were going to put into physical ministry into better digital ministry.  (Hint, digital ministry doesn’t come even close to costing as much as physical ministry does. Here’s why.)

It’s not just new dollars that are needed. You can redeploy existing resources to have a better reach.

Treat the people you’re reaching online as though they’re real people, because they are. Click To Tweet

So here’s the thing about online church and online ministry:

You haven’t even really started yet.

The ‘innovation’ that happened in the first few months of lockdown wasn’t really innovation. It was adaptation.

The ‘innovation’ that happened in the first few months of lockdown wasn’t really innovation. It was adaptation.Click To Tweet

After a month of online church, a lot of church leaders settled into a pattern that would get them through the next few months and stopped experimenting.

Which means the innovation hasn’t even started yet.

If you’re really going to grow your mission, serve your people and reach new people, it’s going to take a lot of innovation and experimentation.

Which means you’ll need to stay curious and agile.

Positioning your church for strong digital ministry positions your church for the future. And if you really want to reach people, it’s the best strategy you have.

Positioning your church for strong digital ministry positions your church for the future. And if you really want to reach people, it’s the best strategy you have. Click To Tweet

Position Yourself to Thrive in the New Normal

Yes, there’s a ton of change happening right now.

Some organizations will survive, some will thrive, and others won’t make it.

I’d love for you to be one of the thrivers.

Who will thrive in the new normal? The future belongs to the pivoters.

How well positioned are you for future pivots?

My brand new online training, the 30-Day Pivot, will show you how to develop your agility as a leader and as an organization to position yourself for growth.

The 30-Day Pivot is a simple 3-step process you and your team can utilize every as often as every 30 days to respond to the change around you and capitalize on it.

In the 30-Day Pivot, you’ll learn:

A simple 3-step process your team can use to arrive at your next pivot in 90 minutes or less.
An approach that fosters team-generated innovation.
An implementation and evaluation framework that will help your team move quickly and accurately.

I’ve led teams through multiple pivots, and in the 30 Day Pivot, I show you the strategy and framework you need to make quick, accurate and responsive moves that can position your organization for growth, even in the midst of deep uncertainty and change.

Some organizations and churches will thrive in the new normal.

Others won’t.

While the future is uncertain, yours doesn’t have to be.

You can learn more and gain instant access to the 30 Day Pivot here.

What’s In Your Future?

I realize not everyone will agree with these ideas…but what do you think about the future?

What’s the best investment for your time, energy and resources?

The post In-Person Attendance v. Online Attendance and The Emerging Trap Of Doing Nothing Well appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: In-Person Attendance v. Online Attendance and The Emerging Trap Of Doing Nothing Well

The post In-Person Attendance v. Online Attendance and The Emerging Trap Of Doing Nothing Well appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by NewChurches.com: In Episode 491 of the NewChurches Q&A Podcast, Daniel and Ed discuss preparing for the financial impact of COVID-19 in the short-term and mid-term.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

The waves of financial challenge to expect
How gospel work continues in light of financial changes

 Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):

“There are three waves of financial challenge.” – @edstetzer
“The more people you have giving online, the easier you walk through the first wave of the challenge.” – @edstetzer
“We are beginning to see what the new normal is looking like.” – @edstetzer
“You have to figure out where the new bottom is, where the new normal is, and then refigure your finances.” – @edstetzer
“Job disruption impacts your church, your mother church, and could impact you as well, but that doesn’t mean your mission is done.” – @edstetzer
“If your funds are dried up and you are in financial difficulty, it doesn’t mean that God has withdrawn His call.” – @edstetzer
“Huge disruption does not end gospel work, it sometimes propels gospel work.” – @edstetzer
“There are people in your church that had money 2 months ago that don’t have money now, and there are people in your church that did not have money 2 months ago that do now.” – @edstetzer

Recommended Resources:

Read Leading Beyond the Blizzard by Andy Crouch

Help us Multiply the Mission:

Please subscribe
Leave a rating and review on iTunes
Ask a question by clicking Send Voicemail on the right hand side of NewChurches.com
If you’re on a phone or a tablet, then go to www.speakpipe.com/newchurches to download the app and record your message
When you’re recording, introduce yourself and your context in about 15 seconds and then record your question for 30 seconds

This Episode’s Sponsor:

For more than 25 years, Portable Church® has helped thousands of churches launch strong and thrive in a mobile setting. They design custom solutions that fit each budget, vision, and venue. Everything you need to launch a mobile church — an inviting worship space, kids ministry areas, welcome spaces, storage cases, etc — all in a system refined to make it fast, easy & fun for the weekly volunteer teams.

The post Episode 491: Preparing for the Financial Impact of COVID-19 appeared first on NewChurches.com – Church Planting, Multisite, and Multiplication.

Source: Episode 491: Preparing for the Financial Impact of COVID-19

The post Episode 491: Preparing for the Financial Impact of COVID-19 appeared first on Passion for Planting.

“You can teach people analysis, but you can’t teach them experience.” – Matt Mashburn

by unSeminary: We’re heading into a time where the future of staffing and team development will look very different. As church leaders, we will inevitably be facing some tough decisions around staffing in the near future, and that may mean severances of staff in some cases.

Principles for navigating difficult transitions with staff

1. Don’t offer a golden parachute option. 

This is a situation where you say, “We’re going to offer six severance packages; whoever grabs it first, gets it.” By doing this, you’re randomizing your leadership and the ones who are going to take that offer will be your best leaders who have other opportunities for employment.

2. Do it all at once, if possible. 

Prolonged staff reductions only puts your team in an extended season of mourning. It also distracts the team from the mission because their primary vision becomes about their own personal survival, and it creates confusion because of constantly changing job responsibilities.

3. You need to severance well and you need to be generous.

Decide what you think is fair and then double it. We’re the church and we want to be way more generous than the marketplace. Pay for health insurance for the term of the severance or some counselling sessions. People leaving in a healthy place are much better for your church and for their families. Do this now while you can still have the funds and can make the decision to do it.

4. Prepare a well written letter of reference.

Present this letter to them when you have the severance conversation. It softens the blow and shows that you care and believe in them.

5. Agree on the answer to the “why” question that you’re both inevitably going to be asked.

Decide on the answer for severance together and then make sure you’re all saying the same thing. People always want to know the real story. You need to be united in your answer and just keep repeating it.

6. Celebrate them publicly (as much as you can and is possible in this season).

What is the way your congregation could celebrate them, even in this season? This could be a reception, acknowledging their service over email, bringing them up front. The public level of communicating this transition is a feel thing based on the size of your church, the level of the positions, and a number of other factors. At any rate, be honest with your people. People will be upset or frustrated, but they will at least respect you for being upfront, honest, and open.

7. Ask the staff to extend the church the same courtesy that you’re extending them. 

Ask them to find one or two safe people to talk to when they’re frustrated and then, if possible, ask them to share those names with you so that when you hear things you know it’s coming from the right people. Then ask them to stay positive when talking to everyone else. If they hear something that you’ve said that they’re frustrated with, ask them to come back and speak with you directly.

8. Invest in the staff that you keep

This could include coaching, time off to take care of themselves and their families in this new normal, counselling benefits, boundaries, extra grace, support groups, ensuring support of the ministry spouses, transition counselling including resume help, etc. These are practical steps and they go a long way.

Creative alternatives for the future

The new normal is going to keep changing and there are alternatives on the staffing side that might be coming down the line, which means that there are things we should be thinking about creatively in this season.

Churches across the country are in for structural changes around staffing and hiring. Everyone should be thinking clearly about where we started and where are we going next beyond this, including the next two to three steps down the road and our eventual recovery.

Benefits of contractors, consultants, and experts:

Specific areas of expertise // They are experts and can address a specific issue or area.Temporary // There’s no permanence to a contract basis. You only pay for what you need for however long you need it.Flexibility // There’s room in the church world for us to look at how can we staff ourselves more flexibly. Contractors are one way to do that.No other associated costs // You don’t need to pay for additional benefits, vacation pay, sick pay, or payroll taxes.

3 things contractors, consultants, and experts do for us:

Fresh eyes // They see things we don’t see.Fresh perspective // They see things objectively. Fresh energy // They excite people.

“Experts smell solutions.” – Matt Mashburn

We see this creative alternative for staffing taking hold in other industries, so why has the church world been so slow to adopt this idea? The problem is we’re either trying to become an expert in an area or we pile work onto the people who are already getting things done.

Sometimes the pushback on hiring contractors over staff is that we want to be able to see the person and ensure they have full availability for us. It’s easy to hire staff, but is it good stewardship? As executive pastors, one of our main responsibilities is to protect the church. We’re the first ones who have to make sure that we’re doing what’s best for the church, not the staff member.

Caring for yourself and your team

When we talk about leading, we also have to talk about how we’re managing ourselves as executive pastors. Many of us are doing things right now that we’re not good at, and maybe there are some things we need to give away. You have to do what only you can do and let others do the rest. What is the most important thing you do that you shouldn’t be doing right now? 

When it comes to team leadership, there are some principles we should be thinking about. Coaching for your staff should be in the forefront because unless you’re an expert in everything, you shouldn’t be coaching your staff. Eventually they will hit your ceiling. Staff should know more about what they’re doing than you. We need to make our people experts, and to do that we should provide them with coaching. There is training but having a coach beyond that is important.

Question and Answer

Churches assume contractors are going to be expensive, but is it an expensive solution? 

Yes and no. The reality is they do cost more than an average staff member’s hourly rate or salary, but there’s no other associated costs. Because they’re specialized, it usually takes less time to perform a task or project. If they don’t pay for themselves many times over, then you picked the wrong person or the wrong project. Contractors and experts can be transforming for churches who don’t have these people to fill these gaps. Often when executive pastors hire external consultants, they find that it was a shortcut and they could move faster in that direction. It’s often an investment, but it’s one that ends up paying off.

What are some of areas a church should look at closely for considering inviting people into in a contractual way? 

Start by taking a good inventory of your team; think about who’s there, what they do, and what they are good at. Then look at the seats on the bus; what’s missing? Having someone come in and do that audit is helpful. Church communications is another huge area. Especially in this season, this is not a volunteer position anymore. Someone who can properly handle finances and HR is another big area. This area has a lot of landmines and churches often get in trouble here. Think about using outsiders to eliminate that liability.

How do you transition from being full-time at a church to being in a contract ministry position?

If you can, do it slowly. Talk to your leadership at the church and ask if they would be okay with taking on a few clients or a reduced pay. Take a phased approach; moving into things full force comes with a lot of stress. Also, consider that maybe you can make a kingdom impact with this transition. There’s something to be said for the big-C Church in these cases. The Church wins when local churches see an opportunity for their staff to move into other ministries.

How do you know if your position is the one that should be outsourced?

If there’s some natural uncomfortableness in what you’re doing, if you’re spending a lot of time doing things not in your wheelhouse, if you’re not busy, then maybe it’s time. Take some time and look at what’s out there. Go online and see if what you’re doing can be done by someone on the outside.

What are the financial markers you should use to know when it’s time for a staff reduction? 

You should be thinking about what your reserve needs to be. You should take as much risk as will allow you to sleep at night. When that reserve starts to become jeopardized, that means it’s time to make a decision because you still have the margin to do it well.

What are your thoughts on having two to three lead pastors who are specialized versus having one senior pastor who shoulders all of the weight? 

It’s an interesting way of dividing and conquering because it allows people to work within their giftedness. It requires a lot of honesty and transparency, and it would alleviate some stress and pressure on one person having to make all the decisions. However, one person does need to have the final say. Finding that leadership balance is important.

Track with Matt and Melissa Mashburn

The Mashburns Consulting Group

Schedule a free half-hour consultation with the Mashburns today to dig into how your church can move forward!

Source: Effective Churches Will Make This Shift

The post Effective Churches Will Make This Shift appeared first on Passion for Planting.