Regional Cohort Gatherings | Topic: “Financial Discipleship”Wed Oct 10, 11:00am - 2:30pm: NY/NJ Metro CohortThu Oct 11, 11:00am - 2:30pm: Greater Boston/New England Cohort

Contact & Quick Info [*all blue links are clickable in the pdf; these Cohort notes are posted at www.jasoncondon.com]

Jason R. CondonAssociate Superintendent & Director of Church Planting,East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church

• jasonrcondon@gmail.com• (860) 479-2020• www.jasoncondon.com

(Cohort handouts and resources posted here)

• facebook.com/jasoncondon• eastcoastconf.org• covchurch.org

Quick-Start Guide to Church Planting• "Understanding Church Planting on the East Coast

Conference" (or www.jasoncondon.com/2012/04/handout-understanding-church-planting.html) - seminar handout introducing concepts & strategy

• "What Are We Looking For in A Church Planter?" (or bit.ly/Qfbiue ) - an overview of what we value in a church planter and his or her ministry

• "Church Planter Identification Process" (or bit.ly/TfnyKr) - an overview of how we assess church planters and pursue church planting within the East Coast Conference and the Covenant

OpeningWelcome & Prayer (we’ll grab lunch whenever ready & convenient)

Discussion Questions:• What are some clichés we hear about the Church and Pastoring in relation to Money?

• What role do finances play in your church & ministry context?

• What Letter Grades would you give yourself in these areas?• _____ : personal theology and practice of financial discipleship in own and family’s life• _____ : preaching and teaching related to financial discipleship• _____ : financial systems and procedures in place at the church• _____ : individual counsel and soul-care for financial discipleship (think of how you do this with individuals in

areas such as finding a place to serve, struggles with habits and addictions, relationship issues, etc.)• _____ : fundraising and resource development beyond regular tithes and offerings

• When is a Money Problem not (just) a “Money Problem”?(individual giving in the church, or any non-profit organization, is a matter of both Motivation and Ability)

• Capacity issue?• Outreach issue?• Generosity issue?• Systems issue?• Vision issue?

• An Exercise: Ave. Monthly Offering ÷ Ave. Monthly Worship Attendance = Ave. Giving per Person• Example: $10,000 ÷ 100 people = $100/person/month (for a $120k Annual Budget)• But what if Monthly Budget Need is $12,000? ($144k Annual Budget Needed)

• Increase Giving $20 more per person : 100 people × $120 = $12,000• OR Grow by 20 more people : 120 people × $100 = $12,000• OR Cut Budget by $2,000/mo (e.g. fire part-time worship leader, go part-time, downgrade rental space)

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Book Highlights & Discussion | Not Your Parents’ Offering Plateoutline and notes: bit.ly/notyourparentsofferingplatenotes[special thanks to Josh Throneburg for the excellent recommendation!]

Reasons People Give• A Belief in the Mission:

• people want to believe that they can truly make a difference for the better• they want to be a part of something that changes lives

• Regard for Staff Leadership• “In every nonprofit with which I have ever worked, at the top of the job description for

their executive director is fund-raiser… whoever is perceived to be in charge must be the number one vision caster and fund-raiser for that vision. All nonprofits know this except the church.”

• Fiscal Stability of the Institution• “People do not give to sinking ships”• When people invest in nonprofits, they do not want to waste their investment

Discussion• What do you think of these reasons? • Those with experience in the non-profit world (besides the church), what do you think?• Other Comments, Questions, Reactions?• How Much Information should a pastor know about giving in the church?

What happens when a pastor does not know people’s Giving?• “First, when choosing leadership, the pastor often selects people whom he or she perceives to be good

leaders and stewards, but they may just have big mouths. I have frequently seen finance committees where the chair and the majority of participants were nowhere close to leading the way in giving.”

• “Second, it prevents the pastor from ever extending a personal thank-you to those who may have given generously. Understand, we are competing with one million nonprofits, all of whom readily thank their donors.

• “Third, and most important, it denies the pastor insight into what is happening within a person’s soul.”(all quotes from J. Clif Christopher in his book)

Discussion• What are your thoughts on the author’s perspective?• What would you add or subtract?• If you’re comfortable sharing, what is your practice at your church (and why)?

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The Three Pockets of Giving• The Earned-Income Pocket

• monies earned from salaries or retirement checks, the funds that come to us each month that we make decisions about on a regular basis.

• It is from this pocket that the preacher encourages persons to tithe or make proportional gifts. • Church does a good job of encouraging people to consider this “pocket” (offering during worship, sermons, etc.)• We are the envy of the nonprofit world when it comes to the earned-income pocket• Our problem is that we try to meet too many of our needs out of this pocket and leave out the other two.

• The Capital Pocket• This is the pocket that stores our accumulated resources such as stocks, bonds, pieces of property, insurance

policies, savings accounts, and inheritances we may have received and put away

• The Estate Pocket• This is what we will have available to give once we leave this earth • Religion receives almost 33 percent of all charitable donations in America, however only 8 percent of all the

estate gifts in America, and the ones it gets are much smaller than the gifts to other causes.• Why? We do not ASK for it.

• Less than 10 percent of all the churches in the United States market for planned gifts.

• The vast majority of clergy never speaks about it or teaches about this responsibility• “In so many ways, planned gifts are the easiest, not the hardest, funds to raise for your church, because someone

else will do 90 percent of all the work for you.” (e.g. www.covenanttrust.com)

Discussion• What do you think of these “three pockets”? • How do they relate, show up, or not even seem to fit in your context?• Those with experience in non-profit world (besides the church), what do you think?• Other Comments, Questions, Reactions?• How would you grade yourself and your church with engaging each of these “pockets”?

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“The Top Ten Things I Would Do Now” (from the author, J. Clif Christopher)1. Pray, Study, and Get My Act Together First

2. Build a High-Expectation Culture

3. Have Weekly Testimonies• best place for this is worship, followed by the newsletter.• best time to have the testimony is immediately prior to when the offering is going to be collected• also ask the person to elaborate on his or her story, then include in newsletter and website

4. Have Regular, Ongoing Christian Financial Planning Classes. Trusted Recommendations:• Financial Peace University (www.daveramsey.com/fpu) [Highly Recommend]• Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org) • Master Your Money (www.masteryourmoney.org) • Good Sense (www.goodsenseministry.com) • Abundant Living (www.abundantlivingministry.org)

5. Preach Directly on Money Four Times a Year. Recommendation:• first Sundays in January, which is the time when people are rethinking priorities for the year• once during Lent (season before Easter) • once in the Summer• once in mid-November as persons are thinking about Thanksgiving

6. Target Market Your Correspondence. Recommendation:• Types of Giver: Consistent Tithers, Growing Christians (those giving regularly but not tithing yet),

Contributors (those who give something at least once a year), Non-givers• Generations & Age-Groups: Builders, Boomers, Gen-Xers (Gen-Y/ Millennials, College, Teens, Kids, etc.)

7. Spend More Time with Major Donors• so you can directly say thank you to those who make ministry happen with their giving• to listen as they share their hopes and dreams for the future

(do not use this time as a way to sell your agenda)

8. Write Ten Thank-You Notes a Week• As a part of the ten, you can count any thank-you note you send to someone who has just made an

extraordinary gift to the church• Advise the treasurer that you want to be notified no later than Monday morning of any gift that was out of

the ordinary so you can personally thank the giver in a letter and later in person, if you get the chance.• (e-mail is no substitute for personal, hand-written note)

9. Review Individual Giving Once a Month• We have very few insights into the hearts of people. Giving is the closest thing we have on a daily basis to

getting a true picture of a person's character• what you learn when you regularly review giving records for insights to help you do your work as a pastor

10. Never Send Out a Line-Item Budget Again• “Once I started working with nonprofits, I noticed that none of them ever sent line-item budgets out.”• Instead use “Missional Budget ” - divide budget along missional categories, including spreading

percentages of staff salary and expenses across categories as appropriate• You can and should produce a line-item budget and make people aware that it is in the office for anyone

who wants to see it so no one will think you are hiding things.

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Additional ResourcesRecently from www.LifeChurch.tv at open.lifechurch.tv(a multi-site Evangelical Covenant Church, headquartered in OKC, that gives away all their resources for FREE)

• “Church Leaders, People all around us are struggling under the weight of financial stress and debt. There is a better way, and those answers are as close as the Bible. That’s what we’ve been focusing on for the last few weeks at LifeChurch.tv during our current series, Strapped . We’re adding those resources to OPEN as we go and the complete set will be available in early October. We’re really excited to have Dave Ramsey join Pastor Craig for the final week of the series to answer questions from the church. They will cover key topics that can help your churchgoers toward financial health.

• In addition to the series videos and artwork, the small group video session, Money Matters, takes participants through Godly principles that will help lead them towards a healthy financial life.

• There are also several Bible reading plans through YouVersion that address issues of money, debt, and stewardship:1. Debt: A Biblical Exploration2. Undying Commitment: A 14-day study in Stewardship3. Money Matters

• And since it’s never too soon to learn what God says about money, we’ve also put together series for kids (Money Street) and students (Wasted).”

“Re-Runs” from Previous Cohort Gathering: • http://www.jasoncondon.com/2012/01/handout-from-ecconf-church-planters.html• From the Normal & Natural Pathways worksheet (part of new Church Planter Covenant Agreements):

“In this new church, what are the normal and natural pathways for…4. Instilling a Stewardship Culture of generosity, sacrifice, and faithfulness

a. How will you cast vision from the beginning for being generous, sacrificial, and joyful stewards?b. How will you present and practically handle tithes & offerings during worship?c. How will you address issues of stewardship in preaching, including targeted message series?d. What practical methods will you use to help people in their giving? (passing a basket, drop-box, online giving,

giving kiosk, etc.) What systems will you put in place for handling money well?”

• Stewardship Series Example: www.artisanchurch.com/series/money_mavericks Support Materials: 1) Pre-Series Survey, 2) Planning & Simple Budget Form, and 3) “Try the Tithe” form

• Single Message Example: Life 2.0 Series: “Money 2.0” (part of larger series)• Communications Examples: search for “bulletin” at http://bit.ly/marketingmaterials

Practical Application | Actually Doing Something (Even When It’s Tough)• Christmas Offering (Peter Ahn at Metro Church has an excellent track record and resources with this)• Stewardship Series sometime in Jan-Feb 2013• Set-up Online Giving• Evaluate how you frame the Offering Time during worship• Write down one thing for each that you can do:

• This Sunday:

• This Month:

• By the New Year

• Next Year:• What resources do you need to increase the likelihood that these are accomplished?:

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Coming Events | Mark Your Calendar (subscribe at eastcoastconf.org/calendar)October

• COMS Interviews (Committee on Ministerial Standing) Tue Oct 16 – Wed Oct 17, approx. 2 hours in Berlin CT• necessary for those new to credentialing process• 3 year check-ins for those just with “license”• final-prep for those nearing Ordination

• Fall ECConf Pastors Retreat (“Ashram”)Sun Oct 28, 5pm – Wed Oct 31, 11am• Pilgrim Pines, Swanzey, NH, our ECConf Camping

& Conference Center, pilgrimpines.org• Non-Covenant pastors are welcomed if you’d like

to explore more of the Covenant and the East Coast Conference. Contact our office for details

November• NO Cohort Gatherings• Church Planter Training Intensive (Dallas TX) [NEW!]

Tue Nov 6, 5:00pm – Sun Nov 11, 12:00pm

December• NO Cohort Gatherings• Coaching Training: For new and current coaches

Time & Location TBD (likely CT, Office or Jason’s)

January 2013• Church Planter Cohort Gatherings:

• NY/NJ Metro CohortWed Jan 9, 11:00am-2:30pm (Location TBD)

• Greater Boston/New England CohortThu Jan 10, 11:00am-2:30pm (Location TBD)

February• NO Cohort Gatherings• Covenant Midwinter (San Diego)

Feb 4-8 (Mon-Fri): www.covchurch.org/midwinter• Feb 15 Deadline: COMS paper work for March

March• Church Planter Cohort Gatherings:

• NY/NJ Metro CohortWed March 6, 11:00am-2:30pm (Location TBD)

• Greater Boston/New England CohortThu March 7, 11:00am-2:30pm (Location TBD)

• COMS Interviews (Committee on Ministerial Standing) Tue March 19 – Wed March 20 (see Oct description)

April• ECConf Annual Meeting (Harleysville PA)

April 11-13 (Thu-Sat): eastcoastconf.org/annual-mtg

• Exponential Conference & Retreat (Orlando)www.exponentialconference.org

• Full Details: www.jasoncondon.com/2012/09/exponential2013.html (read first before registering)

• April 22-25 (Mon-Thu): Exponential Conference + Covenant Connections [NEW!]

• April 25-27 (Thu-Sat): ECConf Retreat!

• Optional Bonus Dates: Check-in as early as Sat April 20, 4pm (Jason will already be there :)

• Very Affordable: automatic $400 scholarship, crazy-cheap resort housing, plus other funding built into newer Church Planter Agreements. Housing and house groceries for week, only $300 (always let Jason know if finances are a hardship)

• Currently Confirmed Attending! (as of 10-05-12)1) Jason (& Lisa, Jaron, Bryn) (pre-paid spot)2) Howard (& Ann, Terra) (pre-paid spot)3) Kreig Gammelgard (pre-paid spot)4) Aaron Engler (pre-paid spot)5) Kiho Lee (pre-paid spot)6) Michael Carrion (& Liz?) (pre-paid spot)7) Efrain Alicea (& Erika) (pre-paid spot)8) T.C Moore (& Osheta) (pre-paid spot)9) Stephen Sharkey (pre-paid spot)10) Ryan Yi (pre-paid spot)11) Andrew Mook (pre-paid spot)12) Drew Hyun (pre-paid spot)13) Derrick Jackson (registered on own)14) Kim Wright (registered on own)15) Brynn Harrington (registered through CG&E)

Full Calendar for East Coast Conference• Visit www.eastcoastconf.org/calendar, subscribe

through Google Cal, iCal, or other calendar app • Entries labeled “Church Planting” specifically for

church planters, rest for Covenant pastors in general

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