Thursday, October 18, 2018

Send Troublesome Givers to Eastside, Please!

I have a question, and perhaps need suggestions from Pastors...

I got a note from a respected "help the churches" group yesterday telling me that 31% of my giving was going to come at the end of the calendar year.

Earlier, I also received a note about how all the churches are scared giving will drop because there is less tax incentive to give. Apparently the IRS tax policies change how much people give.

I also see how some churches are scared when their $50,000 a year giver gets upset about something.
...
So my question is- Where are those difficult and particular givers?
My second question- Can you send us some of them?

I pastor a small church in eastern Gastonia, NC, just 20 minutes from the Charlotte airport. We have a nice building, but welcome anyone who wants to come into our church. We Love God, Love Others, Make Disciples and Let God Change Us. We help all sorts of folks in different ways, and let just anybody come in.
But I haven't found any of the folks mentioned.
- My people (well, most of them) give their tithes to support the work of the Kingdom, not for some tax benefit. We could use folks wanting a tax benefit to give.

- Our folks also give when they get income. We could use an extra push from someone who only gives once in a while. Send me one of those.

- Our folks are working people, or on fixed incomes. We only have 4-5 that have what you might call a "professional" position. No one gives $50,000. We could use one of those.

So I guess I will keep doing what I can to Love God and Others, Make Disciples and Ask God to Change me. If you can tell me how to get these other folks, please share. But if you need to get rid of someone who only gives for the tax benefit, or who just gives at the end of the year, or who gets upset after giving a lot, send them to us. We'll love them and let God change them, too! :)