When giving is down

Church plants are experiencing financial challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss how to handle budget problems.

1:41 Since giving can fluctuate from month to month, Danny says planters need to be careful not to overreact and make any super drastic, long-term decisions.

3:13 Lee recommends working with whoever handles finances in your church to project if we play out the same giving habits over the next (x) number of weeks, when will we not be able to make payroll or pay rent?

4:27 Danny says vision always works better than desperation when talking to your people about a financial need. "Desperation will work short term, but you have only a few times that you can use that."

5:15 Danny says you need to be honest about where the church is at financially.

6:27 Lee encourages pastors not to be afraid to talk about money. "Just make it a normal part of the conversation of what it means to be a disciple."

7:24 Lee says pastors need to be proactive about having this conversation. Knowing ahead of time that this could be a hard season, engage them before that becomes a reality.

7:59 Lee encourages pastors in May to ask people not to forget about the church financially during the summer.  

8:35 Danny explains why he advocates for the lead pastor knowing how much individuals in the church give.

10:23 Lee says when talking about giving, acknowledge everybody in the room. "Give a way out or a way in depending on where they’re at financially. Don’t just speak at people like everybody in the room is rich, but also don’t speak at [them] like everybody in the room is poor."

14:11 Lee cautions against giving everyone on your staff a credit card.

18:08 Lee talks about two areas in the church budget he’s not willing to cut.