Stewardship Strategies: No Longer Optional
Are you primarily motivated or persuaded through emotive or cognitive appeals? I am a cognitive guy – I like facts. When people make emotive appeals, I often feel manipulated or suspicious if facts are not present. Others respond more to stories, to things that trigger emotional responses. Facts alone bore them and fail to move them to act.
Both elements are important in crafting your stewardship storyline. Researchers in the discipline of rhetoric claim while the mind is “hard-wired” for story, stories accompanied with foundational facts maximize a message’s ability to gain sympathetic approval. With “buy-in,” people more readily engage in an action.
Let me adopt a “Joe Friday – Just the Facts” persona to establish a foundational premise. Two generations control 70% of all American wealth: The Silent Generation, born 1928 to 1945, control 17%, and Baby Boomers, born between 1946-1964, control 53%. The Silent Generation was the hardest hit by the recent pandemic and will pass away in the next five to seven years. Baby Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day and have a life expectancy of 79 years. The coming wave of generational wealth transfer from Boomers will ramp up in the next four years. Together, these two generations will pass over $70 trillion through their legacy plans in the next two decades.
The unmistakable premise? The greatest wealth transfer in modern history has begun. As churches formulate stewardship strategies, including planned giving and creating legacy-giving opportunities is no longer optional. The Boomer and Silent generations are the most engaged charitable givers in most churches. As a result, stewardship metrics funding ministry often reflect a significant dependence upon gifts from these two generations.
How do we offer congregants opportunities to steward well the assets entrusted to their care? Those who are faithfully engaged in supporting kingdom work through their discretionary income will typically mirror that commitment in planning their estates.
John Bisagno was a mentor in my early years of ministry. Here is a principle he shared from his years of experience, “God’s people, given the facts, will almost always do the right thing.” Simply put, the two essential elements in creating a legacy culture are information and opportunity.
The Foundation’s House In Order seminars are designed to offer both. Most Americans do not have a valid or current will. By offering information and assistance to address this critical need, the Foundation unapologetically encourages congregants to include their church in their legacy planning. We provide churches with coaching on how to create a legacy culture as a critical component of their overall stewardship strategy. If we can assist your church in this endeavor, please give us a call.
Bart McDonald | SBTF Executive Director