It’s a strange new day and age for funding congregational ministry. We know there are tremendous gaps between generations regarding contributions, with Builders/Silent Generation and Baby Boomers giving the lion’s share.

However, people also adjust their contributions based on the trust and impact they perceive about an institution. According to a 2022 Gallup survey, only 31 percent of Americans had great confidence in organized religion. When you compare that to 1973, 65% of the American public indicated they had a great deal to quite a lot of trust in the church or organized religion.

In short, congregations need a new set of tools and insight to adapt to the present and future reality. During General Assembly, we sat down with Shauw Chin Capps, the president & chief development officer of the CBF Foundation, Rickey Letson, the CBF congregational stewardship officer, and David King, director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving and an associate professor at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Subscribe or Livestream

CBF’s podcast shares stories from across the Fellowship and innovative practices of those working to renew God’s world. The vision is to share ideas, stories, and innovations from ministers, authors, and practitioners.

Join this audio Podcast by subscribing on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Facebook.

Sponsorship

This podcast is presented by:

• Baylor’s Garland School of Social Work: Social workers can be found addressing the full scope of the human experience in churches, schools, prisons, government agencies, senior living centers, nonprofits and Fortune 500 companies. 
• Baptist Seminary of Kentucky: BSK equips leaders through their Homegrown Initiative, offering ministry leaders training and growth that fits into their busy schedules.  
• A Model Ministry: A Model Ministry is a registered non-profit organization specializing in safety education, policy writing, and risk assessment to mitigate child sexual abuse in ministry organizations.
• The Gardner-Webb School of Divinity: The Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity aims to equip, nurture, encourage, and support men and women for their very best service in the Kingdom of God.
• The NRSV, Update Edition from Zondervan: Explore the depth and beauty of Scripture with the NRSV, Updated Edition. With revisions based on new textual evidence, historical insights, and linguistic precision, this updated edition of the NRSV delivers a translation of Scripture based on meticulous care for accuracy and readability.  

Listener Support 

We invite you, the listeners, to join us in connecting with the Podcast. Become a monthly listener supporter and receive some perks, including name recognition, questions for upcoming guests, free books from the Podcast, joining the Podcast for an interview, and a VIP experience with the General Assembly Podcast guests.

There are five levels of listener support, starting at $5 per month…learn more and become a supporter today at www.cbf.net/podcastsupport.

Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.