Whose Offering Plate Is It?: New Strategies for Financial Stewardship

Mr. Christopher makes a compelling case for a new approach to church fund raising, with concrete suggestions and a new vision for the role of the pastor in this process. As a lay person and current co-chair of my church's finance committee, I found this book to be inspiring about what the modern church can do to stay relevant in today's world. This approach is not primarily about money, but rather about how we can convince people that being a part of a faith community is integral to being a mature Christian. I hear a lot about having a personal relationship with Jesus from various sources, but I believe we cannot fully be in communion with God unless we accept that we are a part of the body of Christ. In other words, we need to be connected to other believers - working, serving, loving, worshiping, studying, etc. with them. I think this book promotes that view, too, and I was very glad to receive its message. I look forward to trying to implement this program in our church!

This is a great stand-alone book, but it’s even better when it’s read as a follow-up to “Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate.” My one and only issues with this book is the editing for Kindle. Many, many times when I was highlighting particular passages, it would draw my attention to the fact that quite a few words had no spaces between them. I can understand once or twice, but it happens throughout the book.

This book opened my eyes to many of the things we have allowed to be neglected in churches as they talk about and practice stewardship which have led to dismal giving numbers. It was a wake up call to changes I needed to make as pastor and gave good direction on leading the Finance Team towards those changes. One member who read this book told me was the first book about church giving that made sense to him! Thanks!

Outstanding information for those of us who volunteer as leaders for our church. We learned so much from someone who has been there-done that! Every group of volunteer leaders should take time to sit together and review what this church team has been doing.

Good ideas, based on lots of experience. Easy tone. Includes some sample letters. If you're not a conventional Christian, though, you'll need to "read around" some of the religious language.

WOW! This book has turned my perspective on church stewardship upside down. It is well written and gives a totally different approach to how we approach Stewardship and fundraising for all churches. And the author is right. We need to learn how to approach our church members like donors are approached by non-profit groups. I strongly recommend this book!

As new Finance Chair of my chair, this book was recommended to me. This book opened my eyes to why as a church we are struggling. Stewardship is not just about money! We bought a copy for everyone on the Finance Committee. Thank you Rev. Christopher for sharing your wisdom with all of us.

There are some good ideas in this book but the overall sense of it belies another era - when highly authoritarian, patriarchal church leaders could take a "father knows best" approach to their infantilized congregations. The overall approach is one that would dramatically undermine trust and cross boundaries of confidentiality - robbing the parish of credibility. This is an anxious book written in a time of dramatic change. What is needed is a far more thoughtful and reflective approach that truly engages the change that has come to all US religious institutions.