Resourcing is Your #1 Top Job
Creating a Church Culture Where Gratitude Meets Strategic Resource Development
We are just a couple of weeks out from Thanksgiving, a season that always causes me to reflect on generosity. I certainly have many things to be thankful for including a wonderful wife, two boys who have landed back at home between jobs and roommate reshuffles, work that brings me joy and purpose and a rich community of friends that love me and guide me as we do life together.
Of course, our colleague and co-author for Church Leader Insider, Jim Sheppard, thinks about generosity year round as he leads Generis.com and serves churches as they build generous ministries.
Recently, I was gathered with a group of young senior pastors that are part of our LeadWell Senior Pastor Cohort. As you’ve heard me say before, these gatherings are focused on addressing the current challenges and opportunities they are facing. As per usual, next to the top issue being related to staffing and leadership pipeline challenges, giving, generosity and $$ comes in a close second. Also, every cohort includes a couple of seasoned pastors that serve as mentors. We were joined this meeting by Jeff Jones, lead pastor at Chase Oaks Church. Jeff provided some fresh insights for the group has he laid out how they “do generosity” at Chase Oaks. Following are a handful of his insights.
Resourcing is your #1 top job
Before you push back and say shouldn’t casting vision and communicating truth and making disciples be higher up on the list, or let you think that Jeff is prosperity gospel preacher, let me assure you that of course, vision, truth and disciple-making are top priority and Jeff is anything but a prosperity gospel guy (go to Chase …. to see all that the church is committed to for “the local good.”)
That being said it’s hard for staff and volunteers to effectively execute the mission without appropriate resources.
So Jeff, and most leader pastors of large churches should be spending a significant percentage of their time building resources of every kind - money, people, partners, etc. To be clear, Jeff doesn’t do this solo. He has an elder who’s background and experience allows him to be comfortable in relationship with high capacity donors. Jeff brings the vision and strategy and his elder partner makes the ask. And, oh, by the way, these relationships with high capacity donors also are among the most fruitful discipleship opportunities in Jeff’s ministry.
In addition, the team works with donor development and engagement again as an intentional discipleship strategy. At the campus level, campus pastors are trained, responsible and accountable for building generosity on their campus. If you’d like to receive a copy of their training, shoot me an email at greg@ligongroup.com.
More key concepts after the scoop on LeadWell resources you may want to check out.
If you are intrigued by the insights gleaned for great leaders like Jeff Jones, I would encourage you to consider applying for one of our LeadWell Cohorts. The wisdom of well seasoned mentors and expert resources from multiple disciplines empower participants to tackle some of the most pressing issues and opportunities of our time. This collaborative community helps leaders bust through their leadership lids and create plans for accelerated results.
The groups are full for the fall, but spring dates will be available soon.
Note: Cohorts are by invitation only. If you're interested, contact me at greg@ligongroup.com or schedule a call here.
As Dave mentioned last week, two clients, who have worked with our services, have recently named or elected new lead pastors. And our 2025 calendars are beginning to fill.
I’m excited to partner with Dave to bring the Pastor Smart Succession process to support you and your church as you enter the succession zone. We’ll walk with you each step of the way, helping you shape a “framed fit” for your future.
If you’re beginning to consider what’s next, I’d love to connect, learn more about your needs, and share how we can assist. You can shoot me an email at greg@ligongroup.com or you can schedule a call here.
Philosophy
Developing health in the area of generosity and resources doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Chase Oaks has the following three part financial philosophy that is strong and bold and humble.
We know God has unlimited resources and is generous with them ... we won't play scared.
We have a responsibility to steward what we receive wisely ... we won't be careless.
We have a commitment to disciple people to handle money with a biblical grid and spirit of generosity ... we will focus on people and process more than outcome.
Approach
In addition their philosophy is supported by their approach including specific commitments to structure, accountability, risk management and intentionality. If you’d like to see their full document, shoot me an email at greg@ligongroup.com.
Structure includes statements like:
We will dedicate 10% of giving to external ministry both local and global.
Local initiatives will be funded through partnership with the community with a target of 50/50.
Intentionality is characterized by a focused and thoughtful donor development plan and process at every level of generosity.
Values
One of my favorite things about Chase Oaks is the commitment to great, relevant values that find their expression in the stories of ministry and not just on the walls of their campuses. A sampling of their generosity statements that support their value of radical generosity include:
Generosity is something God wants for us, not something He wants from us.
Thank you for investing in the mission, you are making an incredible difference ...
As Christ Followers we order our lives around generosity. With the resources God
gives us we Give in a planned and intentional way, we Save in a wise way, and then we have freedom to Live and enjoy the rest.
So, before you sit down with the family for a feast of all the good things, take some time to reflect on God’s generosity toward you AND conduct an informal generosity audit for your church. Do you have:
a plan?
a philosophy?
an approach?
real values?
Dig in to this work of resourcing your ministry well … and save a piece of pie for me!