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- You only need 156 minutes a year to address money in the church 😯
You only need 156 minutes a year to address money in the church 😯
How three minutes can transform your church’s finances
Three minutes per Sunday, 156 minutes a year — that’s all. And, out of those 156 minutes, people are getting maybe 36 minutes of them.
In that vein, consistency is nearly non-negotiable.
Many churches may shy from frequently focusing on finances for fear of ruffling feathers or scaring people away, but think of it:
Most people do not attend church every Sunday — hence the 36 minutes out of 156 — and the ones who do are likely comfortable with their church, recognize the importance of biblical money management, and seek ways to navigate their finances.
Those three minutes on Sunday can make a world of difference in how your congregation views finances, giving, and money management — and it takes more than a simple QR code or website directions to do so.
Let’s dig in a little more into why this topic is so crucial.
The why is more important than the act itself
The mark of a believer is not the giving, but rather why we give that makes it meaningful. God does not want the money in our pockets.
He wants the idols out of our hearts.
In his eternal wisdom, He knows that money is a chief idol in the hearts of man. It competes for our affection, attention, and worship.
When we cling to money, we may:
Trust ourselves more than the Lord
Miss out on extraordinary transformation
Grow overly attached to earthly belongings
Our relationship with God should bring us more contentment and happiness than our monetary gains.
That’s why we give: for transformation through obedience to the Lord.
The role of money in our relationship with God
If we look at Psalm 24:1, the role of money is clear — everything we have is on loan from our Heavenly Father. He didn’t transfer the title of the resources; He charged us with their management.
All that dwells on the earth belongs to Him, including us. He is the one who has our best interest at heart because we are precious to Him; not because of possession, but because of fatherhood.
We’ve inadvertently let the idea that, since everything belongs to God, He doesn’t need us to give to the church — He can do what He wants with it, where it sits doesn’t matter, etc.
That thinking may be blocking extraordinary transformation. Why?
Because giving can lead to transformation in a way almost nothing else can.
When we give and trust in the Lord instead of ourselves, it can feel like a leap into a void — a leap of faith, as they say. We are not the ones with the full picture.
What may seem negative or like a loss may actually be the thing that opens the door to something beyond our wildest dreams.
There’s only one way to find out, and that’s trusting in God’s complete understanding over our limited view.
Friends, it’s not easy — we know. And, we’re not saying it’s unholy to have belongings. But it’s the keeping those belongings and finances in their rightful place — below God, for God — that makes the difference.
Action Items:
1. Start a drip sequence, not a tsunami
A drip sequence of messages around offerings and money management is unlikely to inspire many gripes or harshly worded emails, as a whole series around the topic may.
Through a consistent and steady touchpoint on this topic, over time, your congregation will begin to have a more well-rounded perspective on what it means to give in obedience to God and why we are called to do so.
2. Walk back the transactional mindset as needed
We briefly touched on how the mindset in the church has strayed to uncharted waters regarding finances in the form of a transactional mindset.
If that’s your church, it may be necessary to address that fact and speak on why a change from transactional to transformational is needed to bloom in better alignment with the Lord.
3. Don’t be afraid to stray from Malachi 3:10
Though the teachings in Malachi 3:10 are good and relevant, they’re not the ones that will move people — they’ve heard them a hundred times if not a thousand.
Explore other passages that mention the why behind tithing, offerings, and giving, such as the 14th chapter of Deuteronomy. There is more to glean about finances than what is typically referenced, and that is how people will begin to view the topic in a new light.
The willingness to open the conversation around money management regularly and with variety can lead to an extraordinary change of mindset across the whole congregation and, as a result, a deeper alignment with the Lord.