12 Observations About Church Giving In 2018 JIM SHEPPARD CEO & Principal

1. The Big Shift Declining attendance frequency of “active” members accounts for more church decline than any one issue. In 2000, about 3.15 times per month. In 2018, less than 2 times per month. Dramatic shift in a short period of time. Affects everything in the local church!

The Big Shift If you are measuring Average Weekly Attendance (AWA) as the key stat, your math might be wrong. 775 AWA vs. 488 AWA = -37% Start thinking ENGAGEMENT, not just attendance.

DOWNLOAD generis.com/the-big-shift THIS RESOURCE WILL PROVIDE: Ways to adapt to changes in church attendance A new scorecard for attendee engagement Insights into Mobile Giving AND MUCH MORE! DOWNLOAD generis.com/the-big-shift

2. Multisite Is Just Getting Started In 1998, Less Than 100 Today, More Than 5,000 Leaders want it big – people want it small. Multisite is the way to do that! “The multisite congregation is the single most profound change in American congregations in the past century.”  Thom Rainer

3. Donor Participation Is An Issue Typical Donor Base 1,000 Households - 540 Giving $500 or More - 460 Giving $500 or Less

Donor Participation Is An Issue 1,000 Households 54% $6,200 $3,348,000 98.1% 46% $141 $64,860 1.9% $3,412,860 100.0% 465

4. Church Projects Are More Dependent Than Ever on Larger Gifts To Hit Top Numbers Giving Concentration 1% = 15 - 20% 10% = 45 - 55% == 20% = 70 - 80%

5. Two-Year Giving Campaigns Are Becoming The Norm Givers Like It – Shorter Planning Horizon Churches Like It – More Predictable

6. Aging Of The Established Church Donor Base 60/60 Trend It is not unusual to see 60% or more coming from givers age 60 or older. Hardly anyone in the established church is truly addressing it. Have to begin to transition.

7. Electronic Giving Is No Longer An Option - It Is Essential Minimum of 40% From Non-Plate Methods Mobile Is Mandatory Proliferation of highly usable mobile giving apps

8. The Jury Is Our On The Effect Of The New Tax Legislation From 27% Itemizing to About 9% Itemizing Bundling Deductions and Donor Advised Funds

9. Churches Understand Their P/L But Do Not Understand Their Donor Data Base New donors, lapsed donors, turnover, concentration Donor development has to be a priority

10. Communications and Vision Ownership Are Big Issues Vision and “Buy In” Impact Matters Givers Don’t See the Difference the Church Makes and Direct their Giving Elsewhere

11. Financial Transparency Regular disclosure of key financial information. It is expected, not optional. Younger donors see it as a non-negotiable issue.

12. Normalizing The Conversation About Faith and Money Still too many pastors that think it is a taboo topic. Don’t see the giving numbers. Discipleship is the long term win.

CONTACT JIM SHEPPARD jim@generis.com mark.dillon@generis.com