I received the following e-mail recently from a pastor in one of our Ohio Synods. The questions were so good, and not uncommon, that I wanted to share it with you here in just the question/response format he wrote.

Dear Gene,
I am writing you at the request of our church council. We have seen a steady drop in the number of families at our Church who pledge. Over the last four years we've seen about 25% fewer families submitting a pledge. Families still support the church, and the amount actually pledged by the remaining folks is growing. But our leaders are concerned about the trend.

I would like to ask you to answer several questions for us if you can.

Q. Is our experience reflective of a larger trend, or are we unique?
R. It does not appear to be a trend. We see a few congregations dropping, but most remain about the same or grow a bit in the number of pledgers. Several factors may impact this. First, the response program used may have a major impact on the number of commitments received. Have you used the same program over a number of years greater than three? Has the program been home brewed, or is it a published (thereby tried and tested) program? What type of programs in particular have you used?

Q. Is there a known generational shift in the willingness of families to make a pledge commitment to a congregation?
R. No! At least, I don't believe so. Yes, generational issues are important, and some believe they do have an impact, however, the key issue behind stewardship is commitment. If members are committed, they will give (provided there is adequate stewardship education and ministry interpretation). It is my contention that those who taut generational issues as a reason for falling income are 1) looking for a scapegoat, and 2) treating stewardship as though it is merely fund-raising. When stewardship is lifted up as part of our commitment to Christ, then pledging, commitment, and growth in income do occur.

Q. Are you aware of any studies that suggest that those who do pledge support their church at a higher level (i.e. is it productive to put lots of effort into trying to increase the number of families that pledge)?
R. Absolutely! Glad you asked. Fact is, those who estimate their giving (pledge) give twice as much as those who don't. But here's the kicker: those who estimate their giving based on a percentage of their income, give three times as much as those who don't pledge.

Q. Can you suggest any proven resources that effectively educate congregational members about the merits of pledging?
R. First, Me! I'll be happy to come and talk with your Church Council and/or stewardship committee. Second, I've put together a Year-round manual for stewardship education and ministry interpretation.

Also, some stewardship programs are just better at this than others. If your church has not tried The Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program, by Herb Miller, I highly recommend it. In congregations where I've led this program, members increased their giving by an average of 28% over the previous year. The program is available from Cokesbury Distribution Center at 800/672-1789. Other programs do get good results too, of course, and I'm happy to talk with you and your leadership about any of these. I usually recommend about ten to twelve programs besides Consecration Sunday, though some are more specific to congregational size than others.