By Rickey LetsonCBF Congregational Stewardship Officer When I was pastoring, our church embarked on a significant capital campaign to fund much-needed improvements to our facility. In the process, our leadership felt that we should tithe on gifts to the campaign and thus trust that 90 percent of the funds received would be sufficient for our … Continue reading
Tag Archives: generosity
Endowments ─ Blessing or Curse?
By Shauw Chin CappsCBF Foundation President Endowments ─ Blessing or Curse? The answer is it depends. I have heard a spectrum of answers from pastors and ministers on this topic. I have heard horror stories and hopeful stories. In both cases, there are common themes for when endowments are blessings and when they are curses. … Continue reading
Church Financial Health Starts with Having a Plan
By Rickey Letson A dear friend shared a box of books with me recently. He is at the end of his professional career and had been doing some cleaning and down-sizing. In the process, he had gathered some items from his library that he thought I might like to have. As I thumbed through the box, one … Continue reading
Moving Beyond the Budget: Embracing the Three Critical Areas of Church Finance
By Rickey Letson, CBF Congregational Stewardship Officer My wife and I had our annual financial review recently. Our advisor has worked with us for years and the hour-long meeting had a very natural, conversational tone to it. Over the course of the call, we moved between three major topics. We started by discussing our careers, current salaries … Continue reading
Cooperative Baptists make immediate impact through giving to CBF Ukraine Fund
March 24, 2022 By Aaron Weaver and Jeff Huett DECATUR, Ga. — Nearly 975 Cooperative Baptist individuals, churches, partners and state and regional organizations have given more than $400,000 to CBF’s Ukraine Relief Fund in the month since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And those gifts are already making an impact in Ukraine and across Europe as … Continue reading
More From Less? Two Potential Trends in Church Giving
By Rickey Letson Perhaps the most unexpected element of church giving over the past two years has been just how well many congregations have fared despite the effects of COVID. Without question, not every church has weathered these two years in solid financial shape. But many congregations have done exceedingly well and, in some cases, have had … Continue reading
Get Inspired for #GivingTuesday
We’re only one week away from #GivingTuesday! Here’s a small peek into what we’ve been working on—get ready… People around the world will come together to celebrate generosity and make an impact. We have a goal to raise $10,000 to support the ministries and mission of CBF. Your gift can also make TWICE the impact, … Continue reading
Keeping Church Financial Focus During the Holidays
November and December are two of the busiest months of the year for churches. The Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas seasons add numerous activities to the typical congregational calendar that require lots of energy and focus. With so many events, worship services and holiday gatherings to juggle, it is easy to let stewardship matters fade to … Continue reading
Providence Baptist Church: 25 Years of Learning the Story, Giving Generously
In 1996, a small group of believers began to meet in the living room of a home in Cookeville, Tennessee. 25 years later, that same core group and others who have joined along the way continue to worship and serve the Lord together through what today is known as Providence Baptist Church. The story of Providence … Continue reading
CBF Podcast: Jen Hatmaker, Simple and Free
By Andy Hale Have you ever had a moment where you realize you are at an impasse with Jesus and his teachings? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most of us would never publicly acknowledge an agreement with that question. However, internally, many of us have wrestled with some aspects … Continue reading