Called to Be the Church Planning Workbook This Planning Workbook is intended as a recordkeeping tool for the Giving Team and is referred to at various points in the program guide.
Giving Team Members Name
E-mail/phone
Meeting Dates Meeting 1: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Meeting 2: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Orientation session on face-to-face invitations: ____________________________________________________________
Inviting Every Person Method ■■ Face-to-face conversations: individuals/households or small groups ■■ Letter of Invitation/direct mail
Period of the Giving Program ■■ One Sunday (p. 6 of this workbook): focus on gratitude ■■ Three Sundays (pp. 7–9 of this workbook): focus on discipleship, generosity, and gratitude ■■ Five Sundays (pp. 10–12 of this workbook): focus on discipleship, local mission, Mission & Service, generosity, and gratitude Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
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Goal-Setting Helpful Data ■■ Percentage of members giving: ___________________ ■■ Average annual gift: _____________________________ ■■ Median annual gift: _____________________________
Number of People Giving at Various Levels Annual Donation Range (for All Purposes)
Current Number of Regular Givers in This Range
Our Goal for Number of Regular Givers
Total Donations in This Range ($)
Our Goal for Total Donations ($)
$5,000+ to $5,000 to $2,500 to $1,500 to $1,000 to $500 to $300 to $200 to $100 Total
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Giving Trends Giving to local mission and ministry: % of members giving to local congregation
The United Church of Canada
66%
Current % of our members
______________ %
Our goal
______________ %
Average annual gift for local congregation
The United Church of Canada
$953.53
Current $ amount for our congregation
$ ______________
Our goal
$ ______________
The United Church of Canada
42%
Current % of our members
______________ %
Our goal
______________ %
The United Church of Canada
$258.62
Current $ amount for our congregation
$ ______________
Our goal
$ ______________
Giving to Mission & Service: % of members giving to M&S
Average annual gift for M&S
Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) % of members who give through PAR
Average monthly gift of those who give through PAR
Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
The United Church of Canada
10.7%
Current % of our members
______________ %
Our goal
______________ %
The United Church of Canada
$135.21
Current $ amount for our congregation
$ ______________
Our goal
$ ______________
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Our Goals This is a list of goals to consider. (Check all that apply and add some specific examples): ■
To pray about mission—in our community and for our Mission & Service partners
■
To ensure that everyone knows about our mission as a congregation and what we fund, and what Mission & Service is and what we fund through it
■
To include our local congregation’s mission and ministry and Mission & Service in the invitation and offertory prayers
■
To preach about our local congregation mission and ministry, Mission & Service, and the life of the disciple or follower of Jesus
■
To speak about supporting our local mission and ministry and Mission & Service giving as a Christian spiritual stewardship practice
■
To tell the story of our local mission and ministry and Mission & Service on our website
■
To invite every person in our church to make giving to our local mission and ministry and for Mission & Service a regular part of their life of faith
■
To increase participation in local mission and ministry giving by ________ % or by ________ number of givers (e.g., We would like to welcome 20 new givers to our local mission and ministry and Mission & Service and have 20 other givers increase their gifts, so that the total giving increases by 10% and the average gift increases by 5%.)
■
To increase participation in Mission & Service giving by ________ % or by ________ number of givers (e.g., We would like to welcome 20 new Mission & Service givers and have 20 other M&S givers increase their gift, so that the total giving increases by 10% and the average gift increases by 5%.)
■
To increase the average gift to local mission and ministry by ________ %
■
To increase the average Mission & Service gift by ________ %
■
To increase the number of gifts for local mission and ministry by ________ %
■
To increase number of gifts for Mission & Service by ________ %
■
To set a goal for local mission and ministry giving of $ ________
■
To set a goal for Mission & Service giving of $ ________
■
To share stories from the congregation of why people give to our local mission and ministry
■
To share stories from the congregation of why people give to Mission & Service
■
To thank the whole congregation for giving to God’s local mission and ministry
■
To thank the whole congregation for Mission & Service giving
■
To thank the UCW for giving to God’s local mission and ministry
■
To thank the UCW for Mission & Service giving
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Main goal: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Secondary goals: ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ How we will measure success: ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Program Timeline/Plan One-Week Program: Gratitude Sunday If creating a more comprehensive giving program just isn’t possible at this time, you can simply focus on gratitude. Generosity is built on a foundation of gratitude, so this may well help prepare the way for another time when you can inspire and invite more generosity from people in your community of faith. We thank God for the blessings in our lives. God is generous again, again, and again. Consider how you can say thank you or show gratitude again, again, and again—and in many different ways. Find opportunities to say thank you directly. Find opportunities to deliver it personally. Gratitude needs to be planned if it is to become a habit in your congregation. Preach on gratitude: ■■ Share your own experiences of gratitude in a sermon. ■■ Offer your own gratitude in a sermon. ■■ Invite others to share their experience of gratitude. ■■ See Sunday 5 Worship: Giving Thanks—Modelling Gratitude to adapt or use as inspiration. ■■ In a sermon, invite members of the congregation to join in a discipline of • keeping a daily Gratitude Journal • sending two (or five) thank-you cards a week to people you notice doing good things ■■ Come back to this theme in a few weeks and ask people to share their experiences of increasing gratitude in their daily lives.
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Three-Week Program This version of the giving program focuses on discipleship, generosity, and gratitude and uses a Letter of Invitation to every person. Set yourself a modest goal, such as ■■ preaching one sermon on generosity and gratitude ■■ inviting someone to tell their “Why I give” story to the congregation ■■ writing two thank-you notes a week for two months ■■ noticing when people do good things and making a habit of saying thank you to them
Date(s)
Description
Volunteer(s)
Planning: Worship and Sunday School (pp. 50–114) A month or more before Sunday 1 • give the minister/worship leader/worship committee weeks 1, 3, and 5 worship outlines to review • give Christian education leaders the Sunday school sessions Introduce the Program Two weeks before Sunday 1 or in Program Week 1, announce the Called to Be the Church giving program in Sunday worship: • Make an announcement in your Sunday worship and bulletin, in a newsletter, etc. • Share one of the Giving Team’s “Why I give” story. Invite: Letter of Invitation (pp. 43–46) Two weeks before Sunday 1 write the Letter of Invitation to include in the Inviting Every Person Package. Inviting Every Person Package Assemble an Inviting Every Person Package package for each person/household to be handed out on Sunday 1: • Letter of Invitation: consider including a handwritten thank you at the beginning or end of the letter • Step Chart • Response Card and self-addressed return envelope
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Date(s)
Description
Volunteer(s)
Program Week 1: Living Thankfully Day by Day (Week 1 in program guide, pp. 49–66) OR Living Our Mission Locally (Week 2 in program guide, pp. 67–78) • Choose between focusing on individuals’ spiritual practice (Week 1 in the program guide) or highlighting the local ministry of your congregation (Week 2 in the program guide). • Hand out the Inviting Every Person Packages at worship. Deliver or mail those not picked up. • Highlight one program or ministry that is central to the life of your community: What is its impact? What difference does it make? • Publicly thank those who are leading or supporting that program or ministry. Be creative in your thanking—make it timely, personal, and sincere. Program Week 2: Participating in Our Church’s Mission for Mission & Service (Week 3 in program guide, pp. 79–90) • In your worship, include one or two stories from the current Minutes for Mission that inspire. Download the booklet from www.ucrdstore.ca/m4m. • Share Minutes for Mission photos and videos in worship: www.flickr.com/photos/UnitedChurchCda and www.youtube.com/unitedchurchofcanada. • Remind people to return their Response Cards next Sunday.
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Date(s)
Description
Volunteer(s)
Program Week 3: Inviting Generosity (Week 4 in program guide, pp. 91–101) OR Giving Thanks (Week 5 in program guide, pp. 102–115) • This is the Sunday to preach on generosity and gratitude! • While inviting generosity, you will also want to show gratitude for gifts received. • Receive the Response Cards at the offertory. • Party! Dedicate and celebrate the Response Cards as a symbol of people’s generosity. Thanking, Wrap-Up, and Evaluation (pp. 115–117) • Thank each giver personally, whether in person or through a thank you note or card. • Debrief, do an evaluation, and plan for next time.
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Five-Week Program Date(s)
Description
Volunteer(s)
Orientation session (pp. 41–42) A month or more before Sunday 1 • get some tips and practise inviting people to give Worship and Sunday School (pp. 50–114) A month or more before Sunday 1 • give the minister/worship leader/worship committee weeks 1–5 worship outlines and sermons to review • decide when you will announce the program at worship, in the bulletin, etc. • give Christian education leaders the Sunday school sessions • draft all communications at this time if you wish • plan to commission Giving Team members on Sunday 1 Invite: Face to Face or in Letter of Invitation (pp. 35–46) • Face-to-face conversations: immediately following Sunday 1 and going no longer than the Saturday before Sunday 4. Hand out the Inviting Every Person Package at the time of the conversations (described below, under Program Week 1). or • Letter of Invitation: mail with the Inviting Every Person Package (described below, under Program Week 1) immediately following Sunday 1 and going no later than the Saturday before Sunday 4. Between Sunday 4 and Sunday 5 follow up with those who have not yet responded or returned their Response Card.
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Date(s)
Description
Volunteer(s)
Program Week 1 (pp. 49–66) • Prepare sample announcement, bulletin insert, e-mail, or other communications to introduce the giving program to the congregation. • Assemble an Inviting Every Person Package for each person/ household: • Welcome letter from the Giving Team • Narrative Budget • “Why I give” testimonials • Giving Guide and Proportional Giving Chart • Step Chart • Response Card and self-addressed return envelope • schedule of adult, children, youth, UCW or other learning programs; what children will be learning in Sunday school • anything else to draw attention to the ministry of the congregation and the giving program • Letter of Invitation: mail this week with the package above. Program Week 2 (pp. 67–78) • Face-to-face conversations: schedule for this week through the Saturday before Sunday 4. Program Week 3 (pp. 79–90) • Face-to-face conversations: continue this week through the Saturday before Sunday 4. Program Week 4 (pp. 91–101) • Face-to-face conversations: complete these this week. • Between Sunday 4 and the Saturday before Sunday 5: follow up with those who have not yet responded or returned their Response Card.
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Date(s)
Description
Volunteer(s)
Program Week 5 (pp. 102–115) • Tabulate all gifts received to announce on Sunday 5. Continue to make announcements as appropriate over the following weeks. • Plan to thank everyone at Sunday worship. Personal Thanks Thank each giver personally, whether in person or through a thank you note or card as soon as possible after their Response Card is received (ideally) or after Week 5 (if you’d rather wait till all gifts are in). Wrap-Up and Evaluation (pp. 115–116) • Thank each giver personally, whether in person or through a thank you note or card. • Debrief, do an evaluation, and plan for next time.
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Planning for Face-to-Face Invitations Description
Notes
Volunteer Inviters:
• One volunteer for every 10 individuals/ households
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________
• Two or more volunteers for every small group gathering of 10–20 people
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Dividing Up the Congregational List
• Identify who will attend each gathering, with the objective of everyone attending one. • Are there any members who might share their own “Why I give” story in the gatherings?
Inviting Period (dates/sessions): _____________________________________ _____________________________________
Start immediately following Sunday 1 and go no longer than the Saturday before Sunday 4, if possible.
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________
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Description
Notes
Inviting Every Person Package
Envelope or folder for each person/family, to be handed out at each gathering = _____________________ packages
• welcome letter from the Giving Team • Narrative Budget • “Why I give” testimonials • Giving Guide and Proportional Giving Chart • Step Chart • Response Card and self-addressed return envelope • schedule of adult, UCW, youth, or other learning programs; what children will be learning in Sunday school • anything else to draw attention to the ministry of the congregation and the giving program • ____________________________________ • ____________________________________ • ____________________________________ During the Visiting Period
• Ensure everyone is invited to give. • Encourage the return of all Response Cards on or before Sunday 4, regardless of the response. Those received beforehand will be put in the offering by the Giving Team. They can also report on how many have been received. (The amount received will be shared in Week 5.)
Follow Up
• Ensure all Response Cards are returned regardless of the response. • Between Sunday 4 and Sunday 5, follow up with those who have not yet responded or returned their Response Card. The goal is to have everyone return their card, regardless of whether they give a gift.
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
Planning for a Letter of Invitation Review Letter-Writing Guidelines
Draft your Letter of Invitation. • See the guidelines on pages 44–46 of the program guide. • See samples of excellent letters at StewardshipToolkit.ca/annualgivingletter.
Set the Mailing or Delivery Date:
Immediately following Sunday 1
Mail or Deliver the Inviting Every Person Package
Envelope or folder for each person/family = _____________________ packages
• Letter of Invitation • Narrative Budget • “Why I give” testimonials • Giving Guide and Proportional Giving Chart • Step Chart • Response Card and self-addressed return envelope • schedule of adult, UCW, youth, or other learning programs; what children will be learning in Sunday school • anything else to draw attention to the ministry of the congregation and the giving program • ____________________________________ • ____________________________________ • ____________________________________ Follow Up
• Ensure all Response Cards are returned regardless of response. • Between Sunday 4 and Sunday 5, follow up with those who have not yet responded or returned their Response Card. The goal is to have everyone return their card, regardless of whether they give a gift.
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Evaluation 1. Reviewing the goals we recorded on pages 24–25 or in our Planning Workbook, how did we measure up?
2. What worked well?
3. What will we do the same next year?
4. What we will do differently next year?
5. Our next steps:
Download extra copies of this workbook from StewardshipToolkit.ca. Please consider contributing to improving Called to Be the Church: see Evaluation on StewardshipToolkit.ca.
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Called to Be the Church • Planning Workbook
