Anticipating Generosity: How North Point is Approaching End-of-Year Giving

In the third installment of our North Point Ministries blog series, we explore how North America’s largest church ministry is approaching an end-of-year giving campaign. In our exclusive interview with lead pastor Clay Scroggins, he discusses how North Point utilizes technology to encourage 100% member participation and unleash incredible generosity.

1 Timothy 6:17-18 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

North Point Ministries’ approach to year-end giving is to encourage their people to “be rich.” As the above passage emphasizes, this isn’t a call to amass wealth for personal benefit – it’s quite the opposite. The end-of-year campaign is a call to “be rich in good deeds.”

So, how does North Point plan to accomplish this amidst a global pandemic? It’s a combination of effectively delivering the message, encouraging participation, and utilizing technology to create a seamless giving experience for congregants.

Loud & Clear: Generosity is good for the soul.

The first step in executing an effective end-of-year giving campaign is to have a clear and comprehensive strategy. However, the world’s best strategy won’t do you any good if it isn’t effectively communicated to your people.

Take a note from the North Point playbook: disarm with humor. The goal of a giving campaign is to engage church members in the humble act of stewardship. It’s about encouraging selflessness and pointing to a purpose beyond self-service. However, walking the line between motivating your people to give without employing guilt…without being overly directive and affecting a receptive posture takes grace, established trust, and a healthy dose of humor.

Deliver the expectations clearly: This isn’t about getting more for our sakes, it’s about giving more for the sake of the Kingdom.

100% Member Participation

During our interview, Pastor Clay Scroggins highlighted a surprising twist on how we typically think about giving campaigns. Instead of setting a fundraising goal, North Point has a participation goal. They strive for 100% participation. There is an expectation–an encouragement–that every member of the church will give something during the campaign.

Built on a foundation of trust, guiding your people to participate–at whatever level they’re able–further strengthens the fundamental goal of an end-of-year campaign, not merely raising funds, but developing disciples with a biblical perspective on generosity.

“We don’t care about the amount given, we care about the number of people participating. We want 100% participation. Everybody can participate in this and we’re going to do some massive good. We’re going to unleash a tidal wave of generosity into our city, if every single one of you would participate.” – Pastor Clay Scroggins

Setting the expectation that everyone in the church is going to participate will have positive impacts beyond executing a successful campaign. The effect will be an inherent sense of fellowship and unity of purpose among your people. On the heels of this will be numerous opportunities for further engagement with church members. Be prepared for thoughtful follow-up by utilizing your church management software effectively.

Digital Giving is crucial to success.

When posed with the question of how the unique circumstances this year will change North Point’s approach to their “Be Rich” end-of-year giving campaign, Pastor Clay gave a paradoxically underwhelming yet encouraging answer: it hasn’t.

The fact that a global pandemic has driven so many other decisions (including fully remote church services), has affected virtually every aspect of ministry, and every aspect of life doesn’t mean it will have a negative impact on church members’ generosity.

The reason? Digital giving.

Digital giving is not limited by Covid-19 restrictions.

Solutions like ours give churches the opportunity to bring their people together by strengthening connections by unleashing generosity.

In fact, the difficulties of 2020 have set the groundwork for your congregation to be more generous than ever, because the needs are more apparent than ever.

Digital giving is not only convenient; but there seems to be a connection between digital giving and increased generosity. Perhaps it’s because of the exceptional user experience, thoughtful design, or the direct connection with the mission of the Church. In any case, digital givers are in fact more generous than non-digital givers and, on average, give 24% more in a month than offline givers.

“Giving is bigger than it’s ever been. And it’s because… the convenience of giving online has radically changed generosity for our church.” -Pastor Clay Scroggins

As 2020 is rapidly drawing to a close, you have an opportunity to execute an end-of-year giving campaign that could easily be your most successful yet. Follow North Point’s lead and instead of letting this year’s crazy circumstances be a stumbling block, leverage technology to connect and engage with your people like never before. And know that Pushpay and Church Community Builder are equipped to serve you, with ChurchStaq: a complete engagement platform, with a church management system, mobile apps, and a giving solution.

Unleash generosity in your church, unite your people around this shared vision, and see how the rest of 2020 will testify to God’s glory.

In the next installment of this blog series, learn how North Point Ministries evaluates congregant feedback, analyzes data, and assesses the status quo to determine how to re-gather. To hear more about the North Point’s pandemic response, watch our exclusive video interview with Clay Scroggins.