Breaking Financial Barriers

Author : Albert O. Aina
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781719350099
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (5 download)

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Download or read book Breaking Church Growth And Financial Barriers written by Albert O. Aina and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-05-19 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pastor once asked the question, in one of George Barna's church surveys, "How can we grow the church when God's people are giving less of their money for the work of the church." Dwindling church finance has put a brake on the drive of pastors and congregation for church growth and expansion. The purse drives the pulse for church growth. The per capital giving in churches is going down rapidly. Currently, less than three percent of Christians are paying their tithes. Salary cuts and jobs losses have worsened the financial fortunes of most churches. The first casualty of dwindling church finances is usually outreach. This majorly account for the reason why 87 percent of churches across the world are under 200 in attendance. The church purse often determines the pulse for church growth. After more than twenty years of practical experience as church growth consultant and as senior pastor of small, medium and large churches, overseeing and training hundreds of pastors, I have come to discover a powerful truth: If we are to help a pastor to break church numerical growth barriers, we need to show him how to break church financial growth barriers. Unlike no other book I have read on the subject, this book will show practical things the pastor must start doing and the things he must stop doing, if he must see the next level of growth. A personal experience will help the reader to understand the basis of this book treatise. Our first parish was oscillating between 350 and 450, four years after my wife and I started pastoring. We were on this level for about four years, until we knew what to do. Some of the things we discovered are contained in this book. We put those strategies to work and God gave the increase. Our church attendance went up by 49 percent, from 400 to 620, in 60 days! It did not stop there. When we got to our second parish and we applied the same principles, our church attendance and retention rate in four years went up by 800 percent. In fact, we retained 900 new comers over a four year period. Size barriers are not hard objects to be broken, but a hill to be climbed. To take a church to the next size level, a pastor requires at least ten sets of skills and essential conditions. These sets of skills are properly treated with practical illustrations in this book. It is often assumed that church size determines church purse. Church leaders often postulate that the fish will bring the coin. Practical experience often bursts this assertion. The coins that many fish bring in most churches, don't add up to pay the bills. Why do we have small and middle-sized churches controlling fatter purses than "large, mega" churches? Why do 80 percent of pastors live below poverty line? Why do 90 percent of pastors complain of low income? We outline 20 financial barriers that are peculiar to churches of various sizes. There are seven attributes that potential donors search for in deciding the viability of their investment in the church. Ten reasons account for why people will not give to any church of any size. There are new cash and unexpected income that need to enter the church purse if financial levels of the church must change. As a church grows bigger, stewardship mindset needs to grow deeper, if financial barriers will not arise. You will locate all these concepts and more in this book. You don't have to be big to do things right. But you need to do things right and keep doing the right things, if you want to be big. At the end of this book, you will discover that success is more than numbers. I will be interested to discuss further with you. Our organization, Christian Leadership Skills, provides courses, seminars and conferences on several matters of church growth, church finances and financial empowerment in churches and conventions.