Get ready to unpack the future of church finances with insights from Jeff Harvey's compelling article, as we, Todd Rhoades of chemistrystaffing.com, take you through a journey of foresight and strategy on the Healthy Church Staff podcast. Discover how the shifting tides of generational engagement, particularly the rise of millennials as key players in the church-going and giving demographic, could reshape the way churches approach sustainability and growth. Their preferences for digital interaction and mobile accessibility are not just trends but a clarion call for churches to adapt and thrive in an increasingly online world.
During our conversation, we explore the burgeoning digital culture and its profound impact on congregational worship and connection, heralding the advent of the hybrid church model. With younger generations at the helm, this transformation is not a distant possibility but a burgeoning reality. We also tackle the critical importance of trust and transparency in church finances, emphasizing how accountability can solidify donor confidence in an age where online giving is the norm. This episode is a must-listen for church leaders and community members who are passionate about navigating the evolving landscape of church stewardship and engagement with wisdom and foresight. Join us as we chart a course toward a financially healthy and vibrant church future.
Get ready to unpack the future of church finances with insights from Jeff Harvey's compelling article, as we, Todd Rhoades of chemistrystaffing.com, take you through a journey of foresight and strategy on the Healthy Church Staff podcast. Discover how the shifting tides of generational engagement, particularly the rise of millennials as key players in the church-going and giving demographic, could reshape the way churches approach sustainability and growth. Their preferences for digital interaction and mobile accessibility are not just trends but a clarion call for churches to adapt and thrive in an increasingly online world.
During our conversation, we explore the burgeoning digital culture and its profound impact on congregational worship and connection, heralding the advent of the hybrid church model. With younger generations at the helm, this transformation is not a distant possibility but a burgeoning reality. We also tackle the critical importance of trust and transparency in church finances, emphasizing how accountability can solidify donor confidence in an age where online giving is the norm. This episode is a must-listen for church leaders and community members who are passionate about navigating the evolving landscape of church stewardship and engagement with wisdom and foresight. Join us as we chart a course toward a financially healthy and vibrant church future.
Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes, I'm one of the co-founders at chemistrystaffingcom and you are listening to the Healthy Church Staff podcast. Thanks so much for joining us today. Today we're going to be looking at four predictions for your church finances in 2024. This is comes to us from an article written by Jeff Harvey over at churchexecutivecom. You can find that link down in our show notes today. But four predictions for your church finances in 2024, according to Jeff.
Speaker 0:
I think these are good and I think they're something that should be on all of our radars as we head in and continue into this new year. First thing is first prediction is millennials will become the largest segment of new church visitors and a majority opportunity, major opportunity for churches to reach more people through online engagement and mobile apps. Now, this is a generational handoff, not just in finances, but church visitors, the inheritors of wealth, opportunity to reach and engage them. And because this is a generational handoff, there's a need to be proactive here. You need to engage with the millennials. You'll want to do so online, in person, through your website, through giving and through apps. This is really important. I think Jeff's onto something here.
Speaker 0:
A lot of churches depend not on millennials for their attendance and their income, but from boomers, but as being one of the younger boomers in that designation. Boomers they're getting older and while they still have money, that money is slowly, over the years, going to go away and you've got to continue to build your base, not just in attendance, but with giving and millennials. This is the beginning, over the next few years, of this generational handoff millennials. So take special interest. I think a lot of church leaders have always looked at millennials as, yeah, they're millennials, but millennials are the future of the church and they will become, if they're not already in your church, a really large segment of not only your attenders but your new visitors. And that's where you're going to find growth in the future not from boomers, but from millennials and the younger generations. All right, so that's the first prediction.
Speaker 0:
The second prediction is about digital culture. Digital culture will continue to deepen its roots, with a majority of church members enjoying a hybrid church model that offers both in person and online experiences. Now, some people are going to balk at this and say, no, this is just not true, but I think, the younger you get I think you're going to see this more and more that we really, we really need to get over the thought that, hey, we meet here every morning, every Sunday morning, at 11am. That's worked for the past couple generations meeting on Sundays at 11am in one building but it may not. Covid changed a lot of things, and particularly with the younger people, a hybrid model for many churches is going to be something that you really need to look into. Invest today in online ways that you need to connect, and even if you say, todd, that's just foolish, we're not ever going to change what we're doing on Sunday mornings, that's fine. Why not just supplement what you're doing on Sunday mornings to connect with the millennials and the younger people online? This, in some churches, needs to be a real shift and it needs to come from leadership and maybe even the board level, and the sooner the better. Churches are going to get left behind If you're not able to not only meet in person but also connect with people digitally and online through many different forms, whether it's website or social media. Okay, so that's the second one.
Speaker 0:
The third one is that building trust is becoming. It's always been a big thing, but it's becoming more and more essential for churches to receive donations. It is so easy. It is so easy to give to anything these days much easier than it was even five years ago, but particularly 10 years ago. You can give to people's GoFundMe page. You can send them something with a Venmo. You can do all the online giving has changed everything. You don't have to be there physically at Sundays at 11am to when they pass the plate to put your offering in. So, but building trust is essential to be able to continue to receive donations. Transparency and accountability in church finances are huge. People will give to the churches and to the organizations and to the causes that they trust, and that means that you have to be transparent. You have to be accountable. You have to be able to measure the impact that those donated dollars are bringing in and be able to share with your people how they're giving is changing lives. That's huge. You got to communicate often and help people feel apart. So building trust is number three. That's huge and it's something that, as the church continues, as the church continues into the new year, with everything that's going on in our culture and the mistrust of organizations and even the church in particular, building trust is hugely essential.
Speaker 0:
And then the fourth thing I will leave you with today says that generosity will be increasingly seen as part of discipleship, and churches should teach about generosity from the pulpit and model it as an organization, as the church, and make it a core component of your discipleship training. This is a trend we've been seeing probably for the last decade or so. That used to be when you talk about generosity, it was just about money. But it's not just about money anymore. It's about whole life worship. It's about celebrating and encouraging generosity in all forms, not just money, and you really need to try as much as you can to cultivate a culture of generosity in your church. That could be through volunteering and through donating. It can be through giving as well. But how can you? This is something I think that the churches would be wise to look at in 2024 when it comes to generosity. How can we include generosity not just money, but generosity into our discipleship, into how we train people and how we mature believers in Jesus? Generosity is a huge part of it. It's a lot about generosity in the scripture and increasingly seeing generosity as part of discipleship rather than just financial giving is going to be key in the future.
Speaker 0:
Okay, so those are four things, four predictions for your church finances. Things to be watching out for. Things to be looking out for. What's most important to you, what kind of sticks out to you? I'd love to hear your feedback and your input. You can always catch me at podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. If you've not subscribed. Please subscribe and join us again tomorrow. We've got an interesting title for tomorrow. You're not going to want to miss it. The title for tomorrow is All she Wanted was to be buried at the church.
