Methodist Foundation of Ohio
Category: Church Finance
What’s in your wallet (or checking account)
Politician Everett Dirksen is often quoted, “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon, you’re talking real money.” But what about trillions? Like $10.7 trillion? That’s $10,700,000,000,000. Americans had $10.7 trillion in their checking accounts at the end of…
Read MoreWhy 25 may be better than 5
When I work with churches to set up or revise their endowment funds, I usually suggest a 5% spending policy: take the value of the fund on September 30 each year and make 5% of that available for the following…
Read MoreReasons to have a capital campaign
I had a call from a pastor friend last week. He thought we were going to talk about bequests and endowments. We ended up talking about a capital campaign. That was my fault. He called me excited that a member…
Read MoreOf Methodists, hurricanes and you
As I watch the news about the impending invasion of Hurricane Matthew on the southeast United States, two memory tracks come to mind. The earlier of the two was in August of 1995 when we were vacationing in North Carolina…
Read MoreWhy pledging is so very important, and why it’s not at all.
Sometimes I talk about how critically important it is for your members to pledge. At other meetings I talk about why it’s not important at all, sometimes in the same church. The difference is which committee I’m talking with. The…
Read MoreA few more stories to tell
So you’ve read that the pastor should tell his giving story and you read Bishop Tracy S. Malone’s giving story. Let’s talk stories for one more week, because there are other stories to tell (see page 569 in the hymnal…
Read MoreBishop Malone’s Giving Story
Last week I encouraged pastors to tell their giving stories as they kick off stewardship season. We are grateful to Bishop Tracy S. Malone for sharing her own giving story. Joining her in the photo above are her husband, Derrick, and…
Read MoreWhat’s this for, anyway?
A few weeks ago I was in an investment seminar and the speaker suggested starting every meeting with account holders by asking each person in the meeting to write down an answer to a simple question: “What is the purpose…
Read MoreKicking off your campaign with a good story
There are about 750 churches in the East Ohio Annual Conference and if all 750 did a stewardship campaign, all 750 would be different. And I think that’s how it should be. Churches have different cultures, serve different demographics, are…
Read MoreNine numbers you need to know
As you continue to plan your campaign, it is important to know where you want the campaign to get you. And to know that you need to know where you are. There are some figures you need to have a…
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