The Gratitude Path

"Gratitude stimulates Generosity. How to help followers of Jesus give generously because they are grateful for all God has first done for them." Giving in local Protestant congregations is down all around the nation. The Christian research group Empty Tomb recently reported that Protestant giving per member reached a new low of 2.3 of income in 2011 and may never recover to before recession levels. Sylvia Ronsvalle, Executive Vice President of Empty Tomb said, "the church is not providing an authentic alternative to the consumer mindsetand the church will lose." Giving to Benevolences is down by nearly 50 since 1968. Matt Branbaugh of Christianity Today said: "Churches struggle with how to talk about finances. As a result, if it's not being talked about and if it's not really being taught, it may not necessarily grow into the culture of that congregation." In response to this decline in giving to support God's work, this book will provide a new resource to help pastors and congregations talk about giving from a more Biblical and Christian perspective. In the past, Stewardship committees in local congregations often presented the congregation with the proposed budget for the next year and asked them to "step up" their giving to meet the budget. Fewer and fewer local church members are motivated to give just to "meet the budget and keep the doors open and pay the bills." Years ago, Herb Miller developed the Consecration Sunday model which encouraged people to give to the church because of the individual givers "need" to give in order to be a whole person. This was an improvement over the "give to meet the budget" motivation. However, I believe that a deeper spiritual motivation for giving comes from counting our blessings from God and giving out of gratitude for all God has first done for us. We give because God has first given to us. The thesis of the book is that lay members of congregations will increase their giving of time, talent and treasure when their motivation to give is from gratitude to God rather than guilt or obligation. Over the past year, I have led numerous congregations through a Gratitude Campaign where we ask people to Count their many blessings from God and, if they have any sense of gratitude for all God has done for them to give time, talent and treasure back to God "just to say Thanks." We have a Gratitude Campaign rather than a Stewardship Campaign, a Gratitude Card rather than a pledge card, and a Gratitude Sunday rather than a Pledge or Consecration Sunday. During the Gratitude Campaign, we ask lay persons to share in worship and by letter their gratitude to God for some of the personal blessings they have experienced from God. Pastors and congregations who have used this model for giving out of gratitude report to me 10 to 30 increase in the number of people making commitments to support God's work and in total amount committed for the next year.