[PhilThreeten] The Answer to Your Year-End Church Financial Problems
PhilThreeten
In an age where the Christian’s responsibility to financially support the local body of believers is becoming less and less acted upon, it’s evident that churches need to seek other avenues of reaching their budget. Some might suggest a discussion of the difference between wants or needs or, to put it more spiritually, worldly pursuits and kingdom pursuits. Others might suggest a Scriptural exhortation to the congregation on the Biblical commands to give generously as an act of worship. These are all good as far as they go, but there is a better way!
Say it with me – Corporate Sponsorship!!
As I considered the conundrum that a vast majority of congregations have with raising funds to support the activity of the church and the resulting shortfall, my mind wandered back to my early youth. How did those churches stay running? There didn’t seem to be this great dearth of finances then? What did they do?
And then I remembered – the fans. You remember them. They invariably had a picture of our Savior praying at the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane looking upward to His heavenly Father who shone a light down on Him. He was often dressed in red robes (though apparently he also had a blue pair) that looked like they had six layers under them (presumably, for warmth in the chilly Israel nights). But it was the back of those fans that put me on to this epiphany. The fans were ALWAYS sponsored by the nearest funeral home. If enough people were dying in your community to support several funeral homes there were competing fans. The traditional of course couldn’t be beat – the simple light cardboard fans worked as they always had. Of course, someone had to improve and as soon as the technology was available, popsicle handles were added to these fans giving them added leverage (though, unavoidably, bringing up questions of the spirituality of people who tried to fan more than God had originally provided and intended...). Of course, the richest funeral home had to show off and provide some churches (whose parishioners had given exceptional business) with the fans that had the plastics clips that would keep an origami folded fan closed.
But all the fans were corporate sponsored. So why don’t we do this today? It would cover the costs of the ministry and remove that annoyingly embarrassing moment that every parishioner has to go through when the plate is being passed in front of them. Think about it from our parishioner’s perspective - do they nonchalantly place the money in as a sacred act of worship, do they throw it in as they separate themselves from wordliness, do they put the envelope facing up in the plate so that they don’t seem to have false humility or do they place it face down so that others can’t see what they’ve given. It’s a rather ulcer-inducing moment.
So, here are some ideas for corporate and identity sponsorship:
• Pews – This has already, in a limited manner, been going on for quite some time in the Episcopalian and Catholic circles, but Protestants simply have not plumbed the depths of opportunity here. Naming rights for individual pews could be a huge boon for identity sponsorship. Having your own pew would not necessitate that no one else can sit in it, though, for a small additional contribution, a locked gate could be put on both ends. No more trying to see around people or not hearing the sound system. Pick the best seat in the house. And don’t write off the corporate sponsorship here either! By purchasing blocks of pews in prime locations, businesses could gain some high product visibility for those who are allowed to use their commodity.
• Ministry naming and product rights – The possibilities here are as limitless as your imagination. Picture if you will the Nike Youth Gathering being mentioned during the church services inviting young people to both pray AND play hard. And for those who do pray hard, Nike will provide at a discounted price knee pads that can be used during both prayer vigils and volleyball tournaments. Two functions for the price of one!! And don’t forget the choir! Their sponsorship could come from Amazon.com’s music site . Run an additional LED banner above the choir so that people can write down the discount code when their total CD purchase is valued at $35 or more!! Additionally, this program can be extended to more mundane parts of the ministry like the parking lot. Help your parishioners remember where they parked by creating sections tied into corporate brand awareness.
• Building name rights – Again, this has been used to some extent but there is so much more possibility here. For growing organizations with limited building resources, it is crucial to get the most out of this (a great possibility would be the AG Edwards ‘Take Control of Your Future’ - slogan in the front of your sanctuary)! But for those organizations with multiple facilities, this can be a goldmine of opportunity. Make sure you go for the conglomerate corporations who can use several different subsidiaries to name different buildings while keeping the entire campus within the corporate family.
• Changing billboard signs at baptisms – Think sports billboards here. Every 90 seconds or so, a different sponsor’s corporate information is shown. The same can be done during baptisms for each baptized person. You will find that fans of the baptized (primarily family members and friends) will have a greatly increased retention of the product if viewed while their family member/friend is being presented to the congregation.
• Points in the sermon – Not everyone will be able to afford these larger sponsorships. That’s why, in the vein of traffic and weather reports, points of the sermon will have a 30-second plug opportunity. These segue in seamlessly with what the pastor is preaching. “Do you want to know what God’s will is from this passage? Well, that information is brought to you by [insert corporate name here] who [explain list of services here]. Thanks to them, we find out in this passage that God’s will is…” Not only will this encourage smaller company involvement with your organization, but it will lead to more expositional preaching as every pastor seeks as many practical points from a passage as is humanly possible.
• Funerals – Of course, this will depend on the expected number of people coming during the viewing, service and internment. But for those drawing larger crowds, there’s a lot of financial support to be gained here. But as we’ve already noted, the funeral homes have been doing this for decades already and would probably be willing participants.
Well, there you have it. No need to worry any longer whether your people lack either money and/or faith. Let the corporations take away your anxiety in this area and in the mean time support the ministry of God. It’s like stealing from the devil to give to God! And an added side benefit is that rather than having committees that focus on monotonous material, an exciting bidding atmosphere can give life back to these meetings. Its just a win-win all around.
Categories: Fun
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Posted by PhilThreeten to PhilThreeten at 12/29/2005 03:08:00 PM