Talking about Treasure

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Talking about Treasure

• Stewardship Day
• April 26, 2008
• John McDermott

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Goals for today

• What is the problem with Catholic giving?
• What is the solution?
• Case study - Saint Rita Church

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Andrew was talking to George
A well-worn 1-dollar bill and a similarly
distressed 20-dollar billarrived at a Federal
Reserve Bank to be retired
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Why Dont Catholics Give?

• Total giving to religious centers averages 2.2
  of income (2003 data)
• Tithing among all groups has been dropping
  recently
• Evangelicals are most likely group to tithe (10)
  of their income to church14 of total households
• Average giving was 2097 per household in 2000
• Catholics are least likely to tithe!1 of
  Catholic households
• Giving by Catholics in 1993 was 1.2 of income
• Yet Catholics have higher than average income
  levels
• Source www.barna.org
• Source www.generousgiving.org

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Key Drivers

• Differences in size of congregation lead to
  differences in giving
• Catholic churches require less support per capita
• Differences in attitude toward giving
• Stewardshipas a means to support an institution
  that is perceived to have some value for the
  family and the society.
• Stewardship as spiritual discipline, responding
  to the grace experienced in one's life through
  Jesus Christ by gratefully returning a portion of
  one's income to God through the church.
• Key Challenge How to Be Faithful in the Midst
  of Affluence?
• Source An Exploration of Roman Catholic Giving
  Patterns, by John and Sylvia Ronsvalle, 1995 at
  www.emptytomb.org

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Two Common Errors

• Dont talk about money ever
• Driven by fear of rejection or false faith
• Leads to a disconnect between money and faith
• Surrender to the attitude of the reigning culture
• Talk about money all the time
• Driven by lack of faith in Gods provision
• Leads to belief that the church is all about
  money or can be bought and sold
• Surrender to the reigning culture

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Solution Stewardship

• Stewardship of ones money is a key biblical
  theme
• Faith in God for daily needs is core Matthew
  633
• Jesus is our example 2 Corinthians 89
• Giving is
• Act of gratitude for Gods abundant care
• Act of faith in a loving and providing God
• Act of obedience to keep God first
• Giving is only secondarily related to needs

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How to Communicate This?

• In our personal lifestyles as leaders
• In our cycle of preaching
• In how we run our parishes
• In how we set expectations for members

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Case Study Saint Rita Church
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Saint Rita Church Profile

• Large, active church in Webster NY
• 2 priests
• 1 deacon
• 8 paid staff
• 2400 families
• Parochial school with 350 children
• Adding 100 families per year
• Over 200 people involved in ministries

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But Outward Success Masked Hidden Weaknesses

• The annual budget was under pressure
• The same core people were involved with little
  new blood
• We started a Stewardship Program but had not yet
  started to talk about Treasure

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Saint Rita Efforts on Giving

• Saint Rita had always had transparent reporting
  on giving and budgets
• Occasionally, there were appeals for money based
  on immediate needs
• No consistent teaching on biblical giving or
  tithing

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The Story at St RitaWeek by Week
Annual low during summer
Spring peak at Easter
4Q highs after return to school and Xmas giving
Beyond this, we really didnt understand what
drives giving at St Rita
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Our Journey Began with a Snowstorm
2. Pastor appeals for help!
3. Finance Chair reports on need
4. Result No major change in finances!
Collection for Tsunami
Hurricane Katrina hits!
1. Snowstorm hits!
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2006First Halting Steps
Financial pressures remain
Pre-Cana Weekend
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Attitudes toward Money God

• This is my money. What does God have to do with
  it?
• Giving money to the church is like paying user
  fees at the Y.

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Giving Has Been Flat
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Average Giving Masks Big Differences by Age Group!
Seniors give 3-5 times as much as young
households!
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What Are the Implications?

• New families coming in 100 per year
• Average giving 100 per family per year
• Total impact Gain of 10,000 per year
• St Rita is losing 55 parishioners per year
• Average giving 600 per couple per year
• Total impact Loss of 16,000 per year
• Net result is a loss of income to the parish of
  5,000-10,000 per year
• The pastoral challenge is to engage these young
  families in the life of the parish

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2006First Halting Steps
Talk on tithing
Pre-Cana Weekend
Study on demographics of giving
Giving drops back down without follow up
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Timeline Plan for 2007
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Planning
Stewardship Commitment Program
State of Parish / Financial Report
Introduction (June 9/10)

• Vision/Pillars
• Letter from Fr. Chuck
• Parish Highlights
• Financial Highlights
• Parish Needs / Plan
• Financial Statement
• Addendum Parish Survey Results

Follow-Up
Information Meetings with Ministries

• Thank You Note
• Database Entry
• Information Sharing w/ Ministries
• Follow-up Calls

Parish Thank You (Jan, 2008)

• Pastor Homily (Sept 15/16)
• Deacon Talk / Ministry Fair (Sept 22/23)
• Witness Talk (Sept 29/30)
• Commitment Weekends (Sept 29/30 Oct 6/7)
• Reminders (Oct 13/14 20/21)

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Stewardship Letter
Second Letter
First Letter
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Trifold Brochure Distributed
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2007Breakthrough Begins
Stewardship campaign begins
Giving keeps rising during 4Q
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2008Sustaining the Momentum
Giving continues to increase into 1Q08
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Results of the Campaign
10 average increase in collections
A sustained increase 6 mos. after the campaign
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Key Learnings

• Create a balanced message linking finances with
  discipleship and faith
• Create broad based leadership to ensure
  commitment
• Make sure the message gets through
• Celebrate early successes
• Keep moving forward!

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Challenges Remaining

• How do we continue to engage with young
  households to drive increased time, talent and
  treasure?
• How do we get people to step up again each year?

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Thank You!