Not Your Parents' Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship [Paperback]

J. Clif Christopher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008

Hearing a young attorney speak of the faith-based reasons for which he had just made a substantial monetary gift to a community youth center, Clif Christopher asked the speaker if he would consider making a similar contribution to the congregation of which he was an active member. "Lord no, they wouldn't know what to do with it" was the answer.

That, in a nutshell, describes the problem churches are facing in their stewardship efforts, says Christopher. Unlike leading nonprofit agencies and institutions, we too often fail to convince potential givers that their gifts will have impact and significance. In this book, Christopher lays out the main reasons for this failure to capture the imagination of potential givers, including our frequent failure simply to ask. 

Written with the needs of pastors and stewardship teams in mind, Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate provides immediate, practical guidance to all who seek to help God’s people be better stewards of their resources.

Also available: The engaging follow up book - Whose Offering Plate is It?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

“ I highly recommend this book for pastors and church leaders. ” Hal Mayer  |  18 reviewers made a similar statement

“ The book was a very easy read. ” Mint2b  |  10 reviewers made a similar statement

“ I loved this book, however, it really pointed out how wrong we have been behaving in our church for so long. ” T. Kershner  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE are you telling your Congregation? March 14, 2009

By Jay Stevenson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Every coin has two sides, but the church seems stuck on one side.

This book is not about the traditional biblical stewardship message of tithing (i.e., one side of the Stewardship coin). Of course, all church folks should be responding to the grace of God by returning a tenth (In case you need a reminder, go read the OT prophet book of Malachi, Chapter 3).

This book focuses on the other side of the Stewardship coin, HOW DO WE PROMOTE GIVING in the church when we COMPETE against all the thousands of other non-profit organizations asking for that same dollar traditionally given to the church.

What I like about this book is the new perspective on how to challenge people to give to the church using the good marketing techniques used by the competition. Yes, we (the leadership of the church) need to tell our people of the good things we do with the gifts (tithes and offerings) the church receives. We need to give the poeple of our congregations a reason to give their charity dollars to the church.

The book provides excellent examples of good and bad from the author's real life experiences. It also highlites what the pastor and Stewardship Committee (or Trustees) should be doing to accomplish this new marketing perspective.

I thought so highly of this book that I personally bought five additional copies for our church's Stewardship Committee and Pastor. After reading the book, you might want to consider doing the same for your leaders...

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener August 11, 2009

By Mint2b

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was an awesome read. Very practical solutions to understanding the dynamics of church giving and to rethink the ways of fund raising. A must read for church leaders because it makes us take a good look at ourselves regarding our ministerial responsibilities. The book was a very easy read. I flew from Michigan to Atlanta, GA. I was done with the book before the plane landed and I retained almost 90% of what I read.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good information for Stewardship giving January 6, 2011

By Littlbilly

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Excellent book about why people give and how churches have not changed with the times. The book discusses how different generations look at giving and how the churches messages are being received. You will not learn how to squeeze out the last dime out of people but you will gain an understanding of what motivates them to give. I was struck by declining percentage given to churches and how little is given through estates. I was also impressed with many of the ideas being very simple to do. We will be incorporating many of these ideas in our church, particularly telling our parishoners how we are changing/impacting lives (and showing them why they would want to give to us).