Preauthorized Remittance 2015 11/20/2018

How Do We Fund Ministry? Our Church’s Ministries are important. We provide a witness in our community. We make a difference both near and far away. How then do we ensure that our ministries continue to get the financial support they need. How do we get needed funding to Church? 11/20/2018

The Collection Plate Traditionally we rely on the Sunday Offering, the gifts placed in the collection plate. 11/20/2018

We rely therefore on our members coming to church, and bringing their envelope with them. 11/20/2018

But wait a minute. 11/20/2018

What about if people don’t come to church? According to the Yearbook, Church Attendance is down 52% in the last 20 years! What about if people miss a Sunday? Or a month of Sundays? You probably heard it said that attendance is down a lot. Actually, the year book says that in the last 20 years attendance is down 52%! Stats: 1993 attendance total – 314,628 2013 attendance total – 150,819 11/20/2018

Perhaps Just maybe, the truth is it is not as bad as it seems. Statistics may be scaring us more than we need be. 11/20/2018

The truth is many people are not gone completely! There are not 52% less people going to Church altogether. Rather, on any given Sunday, there are 52% less people. 11/20/2018

Church People are just away more on Sundays Lots of people haven’t broken their tie to the church completely. We live busy lives these days, even on Sundays. There are a lot of things going on these days on Sunday. Hockey, dance practice, figure skating, music, the cabin, grand parenting … 11/20/2018

Then there are others Shut Ins Those Living or working away As our church population ages, more people have difficulty getting to church, or difficulty getting there every Sunday. With the nature of our economy, especially in Atlantic Canada, more people are working away, or living away for periods of time. This affects regular attendance. 11/20/2018

So how does the $ for Ministry get to But if folks are not getting to church regularly, and if our ministries rely on people bringing their envelopes to church, how will we fund ministry this year and next? How will our offerings get to church? 11/20/2018

PreAuthorized Remittance!! There is another way PreAuthorized Remittance!! There is another way. …. Preauthorized Remittance! 11/20/2018

What is Preauthorized Remittance? A United Church administered program that allows people to financially support their Church through an automatic monthly withdrawal from their bank account. Slide

The Benefits of PAR Low Cost Increased Giving Increased Cash Flow Easy to Set Up slide 11/20/2018

People on PAR give more because they never miss a Sunday! Because the decision is made upfront, and the money comes out of our accounts automatically, we don’t miss it. It is built into our budgets. Increased Giving! 11/20/2018

Summers are traditionally a hard time to keep the church’s bank account in the black. Less people in church – less money. But the bills don’t go away. Many churches purchase Overdraft protection. This comes at a financial cost … not to mention worry. With enough people on PAR, the cash flow remains positive. Increased Cash Flow 11/20/2018

Low Cost 50 cents per transaction per month. There is a cost to have PAR, but it is not much. 50 cents per transaction, per month. The Church, not the individual, pays the cost. With 90 PAR givers of more, the cost tops out at $45. Believe me one or two givers, giving monthly, can recover that cost pretty quickly! Low Cost 50 cents per transaction per month. Max of $45 per month (for congregation) 11/20/2018

X Once you make a decision to go with PAR, there are resources and people to help you get started. Name someone from the charge to be your PAR contact. Get the Treasurer on board. And a way you go. Need more information, have a question. Contact Roger Janes, your Atlantic Canada Stewardship Staff (rjanes@united-church.ca). Or Cathy Guo at National (cguo@united-church.ca) Easy to Set Up! 11/20/2018

How to Start PAR Step 3 Make a Plan – include:Inspire Ask & Thank Board approval of PAR program Step 2 Board appoints a person or Task Group to plan campaign Step 3 Make a Plan – include:Inspire Ask & Thank Here is how a congregation might initiate PAR. A 6 step Plan. Step 1: Start with a presentation to the Board. (Perhaps this Power Point Presentation might be included?) Step 2: If the Board agrees to start PAR, the Board should, right away, appoint a person or a small group to work on an implementaion plan. There are resources online to help them. Roger Janes is available for support. Step 3: A plan is needed. Either the appointed task group, or person, puts the plan to paper. Plan is shared with Board and clergy. 11/20/2018

How to Start PAR Step 4 Inspire: Inform folks about program Step 5 Ask: Have a PAR Sign up Step 6 Appoint a PAR Contactand Thank people who signed up Step 4: Congregation members need to learn about the Par program, and how it can help them, and their church. Resources to inspire people include: skits done in worship, announcements in church, Newsletter article, bulletin insert, message in Annual Report, every member letter with sign up sheet, etc. Step 5: Very important to have an intentional ask. Sign up sheets sent to members of given out in church. Or a part of a stewardship campaign. Don’t just inform and assume you have asked. Step 6: Your church will need a contact person who has info on the program, has more sign up sheets, and change of info forms, keeps track of givers, and is the contact person for National. Finally, find ways to offer thanks – to the congregation for considering the program, and to those who have just signed on. 11/20/2018

Pamplets Skits Forms Bulletin Inserts Resources Pamplets Skits Forms Bulletin Inserts To learn more about PAR, or to explore some of the PAR Resources, check out Roger’s website: http://programleadershipdevelopment.weebly.com/pre-authorized-remittance-par.html 11/20/2018