Tom Norwood

How to Increase Your Church’s Giving in Spite of the New Tax Law

by Tom Norwood | Nov 7, 2018 | Tax Laws, Tom Norwood

The headlines suggest impending doom for churches: “Charitable Donations Are Tough to Get Under the New Tax Law” “Charities Brace for Giving Plunge in Wake of New Tax Law” “Charities to Lose Billions in Donations Due to New Tax Law” This is not the first time that... read more

How J.J. Watt Raised $37 Million From Complete Strangers

by Tom Norwood | Sep 27, 2017 | Giving, Leadership, Mission, Tom Norwood

It started on August 26 with this tweet: Recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey will be massive.We must come together to help rebuild our communities.https://t.co/SR6DmnNbyM pic.twitter.com/iiMsG2i4dl — JJ Watt (@JJWatt) August 27, 2017 JJ Watt, all-Pro... read more

Stewardship from the Donor’s Perspective

by Tom Norwood | Jun 8, 2017 | Annual Giving, Generosity, Giving, Tom Norwood

If you are like most churches, you likely send quarterly statements reminding members of their pledge and the balance remaining. Typically, quarterly statements resemble electric company bills more than they do statements of ministry. Usually they include: Total... read more

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4 Disturbing Trends Behind the National Decline in Church Giving

by Joe Park | Sep 9, 2019

Church Giving Realities

Charitable giving has consistently risen from less than $150 billion to more than $400 billion in the US over the last 40 years. Yet, last year individual giving fell by 3.4%, charitable giving fell by 1.7% (inflation adjusted), and sadly, inflation adjusted giving to churches fell almost 4%.

What do these giving realities mean for churches?

If this trend continues for just five years, churches in the United States will have 20% less ministry funding.

What should church leaders do next?

In this video, Joe Park explains the trends behind this decline in church giving. He also offers some very practical advice to church leaders to address these giving realities. Some of what Joe discusses is likely brand-new territory for many church leaders. Churches who have made these practices part of their funding model are enjoying increased ministry funding.

If you want to watch the rest of the Giving Intelligence series and access a variety of practical tools to help you cultivate a culture of generosity in your church, visit our Giving365 resource center.

Click here to request a free 20 minute consultation by a Horizons Ministry Strategist about how your church can increase ministry funding and improve discipleship through a process we call Next Level Generosity.

How to Talk About Money and Ministry in Church

by Joe Park | Aug 26, 2019

Talking about Money and Ministry

Giving to religion fell 3.7% (inflation adjusted) in 2018* as people continue the trend of shifting giving away from the church to other non-profit organizations. How we talk about money and ministry in the church is one of the reasons.

It’s Easier than You Think

Changing the conversation about money is easier than you might think. You can begin with one simple vocabulary change. When you make this change, you’ll watch how quickly awkward money conversations can become opportunities to celebrate ministry impact and life change.

Listen as Joe Park, Managing Partner of Horizons Stewardship, explains how this simple change can resolve the tension you might be experiencing as you talk about ministry and money in your church.

If you want to watch the rest of the series and access a variety of practical tools and ideas to help you cultivate a culture of generosity in your church, visit our Giving365 resource center.

*Data provided by the 2019 GivingUSA report.

Why Shifting Your Fiscal Year is a Next Level Generosity Best Practice

by Joe Park | Aug 13, 2019

Shifting Your Fiscal Year

By shifting their fiscal year away from the traditional calendar, an estimated 40% of vital churches have become better equipped to manage ministry funding. In most churches, up to a third of yearly income is received in December. In the next offering from Horizons’ Giving Intelligence Series, Managing Partner, Joe Park describes why moving to a non-traditional fiscal calendar should be one of your church’s best practices.

To find out more about Joe Park, click here.

Horizons’ Next Level Generosity (NLG) is a framework that enables church leaders to align people and resources to do more ministry. We’re not talking about a capital campaign, but a shift in culture that multiplies a church’s capacity to change lives and make a lasting impact on its community. Churches that use NLG are reporting double-digit increases in year-over-year giving. To arrange a free 20-minute consultation to explore if NLG is right for you church visit nextlevelgenerosity.com or contact us at info@horizons.net.

Did you miss the first installments in Horizons’ Giving Intelligence Series? Find them in our free Giving365 vault by clicking on the Giving365 logo below.