A Facebook friend recently posed this question: Why are so many churches (New Thought centers in this case) having such a hard time raising enough money to keep their doors open?
In every church I’ve attended – Religious Science, Spiritualist, Unity – it certainly seems to be the case.
What’s so different about fundraising for churches than for, say, schools? Our local public school system has a well-oiled fundraising machine in place. My youngest children’s elementary school raises upwards of $140,000 a year from about 320 students.
According to this study more than 45 percent of all charitable contributions in the U.S. are to organized religion. Folks who identify themselves as being religious in nature give six times the amount of money to non-religious organizations than people who say they don’t have a religious orientation.
Clearly people who go to church are generous. So what is it?
It’s better to ask and to receive
In any charity-based organization, you have to ask for donations in order to receive them. And, at church, it’s true we pass the plate (or the basket) at every service. But is that enough? And is it the right way to do it?
Perhaps stewardship and requests for support need to be a larger part of the culture. Not just saying thanks over the offering plate and asking during the offertory. But letting people know the impact that their donations make.
In Seven Ways to Instantly Increase Church Income, Denis Greene, the executive director of the Church Development Foundation, writes, “When a pastor reminds me that I am sitting in a pew that someone before me paid for, in a building that was funded by people I may not have even met, I am humbled and reminded that I can have that kind of impact on those who will follow me.”
Striking the right tone
People who go to New Thought churches have often been burned by religion. My experience shows that they often take requests for money the wrong way – as if the church should somehow exist on its own without their financial support. Perhaps that is just the lost and the lonely coming back to finding their spiritual selves, needing healing in many areas of their lives.
And hearing about stories of healing may be just what they need. Hearing about how lives have been changed, connections made, loves found, hearts healed. Because isn’t that what keeps us going back for more?
Everyone likes a good story
The case for donating to education almost makes itself. We see our innocent, bright-eyed children and can’t accept they could grow up in a school without art or P.E. or enough teachers – and so we open up our pocket books and give generously.
The case for supporting the place that nourishes your spiritual life and growth can be similarly compelling. Without invoking guilt, fear or shame.
Help your congregants tell their stories. During weekly services, on your Facebook page, in your annual appeal letters. Talk about the transformations your teachings have made, the healings that have happened, the friends who have been there in times of need – all the things that wouldn’t be possible without your church or spiritual center being there to bring people together in worship.
When we tell our stories, we connect people to why they’re there in the first place. We connect people to each other and break down the barriers between us. In a spiritual setting, that also opens up the connection with the divine. And there isn’t a greater or more generous presence than that.
And, if nothing else, there’s always your youth program – educating the next generation of children and giving them a spiritual home. It works for schools, right?