Easter Sunday: We Give Because Jesus Gave Everything For Us

It’s not that hard to raise money. That’s not the hard part of generosity and giving. The hard thing is transforming the hearts of givers. And that should always be our primary goal. 

As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ this weekend, it’s a great time to remind your people of why we give. It’s a response to the gospel through heartfelt giving. This is your opportunity to help people understand that giving is an act of worship for what Jesus did at the cross for us. 

But we're much more fluent in talking about where the money goes to—the project, the budget, the church, whatever. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's about 95% of our verbiage in the American Church when we talk about giving. Only five percent is us talking about where it came from, which should be the transformed heart of a surrendered Christ follower. 

Start By Focusing On One Verse

If we could embrace just one verse and one verse only, it would be a game changer for talking about money in the church. And it comes from a little bit of a surprising place, because it's not what Jesus had to say about money. It’s something Paul said in his letter to the Philippians when he thanked his first and primary supporters in Philippians 4:17. He says: “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.”

In other words, “It's not what we want from you, it's what we want for you.” Unfortunately, a lot of churches say that but their actions don’t back it up. That makes it really hard. It sounds so noble, but all the messaging, the system, and the structure, actually says the opposite. “It is about our budget.” “It is about funding our project.” “It is about a large offering on Easter.” I'm not saying there are nefarious motives, but there has been a drift in the church for the last 20, 30, 40 years. We've ended up at the wrong place because we didn't have the right focus. 

Think about it this way: Will your doors be propped open on Easter morning, or will you have people there to greet everyone who comes in? Propping the doors open is probably more efficient, but what purpose does that serve other than just getting people in the building? None. Instead, you want them to feel welcome. You want personal connection. You want transformation to take place. That’s your focus. The same will happen when you figure out a way to change your posture on giving through the lens of Philippians 4:17. If we grab that verse and start there, it could be so transformational on Sunday morning, including Easter morning. 

Bringing the Focus Back to Transformed Hearts

I believe generous churches are led by generous pastors. Start with the pastor, go out to the staff, and keep building those concentric circles throughout the church. However, we also know that many people don’t like for pastors to talk about money because the conversation is typically so much about where it goes to instead of where it comes from. 

The story element is the piece that’s often missing, but that’s what you need the most. 

• Pastors need to be able to share their giving story. The question I might ask a pastor who's telling me his giving story is, “Have you ever told this to your staff?” The majority answer is “no.” They have not. So let's just start there. Tell your staff your story, no matter how long it takes. That will set the tone. 
• Staff members and beyond should also share their giving stories. It starts with pastors, goes down to the staff, the elders, and other leaders. All of those people need to be able to share their stories. You can’t expect everyone to be able to do that on demand, but give them three weeks. Let them prepare and then come back to share their stories. What happens is that you make it important to them, and now you've got a chance for it to become important in your entire congregation. 
• Share struggles related to giving. When it comes to our giving journey, oftentimes we take for granted where we are now, and we forget some of the hard steps along the way. But many of us are still navigating issues related to giving. We are still trying to figure it out. You most likely know what the people in your church are going through, because you’ve been there. Share those struggles and the leaps of faith you’ve taken.
• Finding giving stories. Sometimes pastors tell me it’s hard for them to find giving stories. Here's what I can tell you: once you have a giving story, it'll be easier for you to find more and more and more. They will show up like crazy. They will be all over the place. 
• Giving all glory to God alone. There also seems to be a hesitancy about sharing giving stories, because it can feel like you're taking credit or you're celebrating when somebody else is still struggling. Some leaders are cautious, feeling like it's almost unempathetic to celebrate wins. But sharing, especially about struggles, gives hope. It gives encouragement, and it gives permission to open a conversation that can help others through their own journey. 

That's what we want. Sharing your giving story is about giving glory to God for something that is difficult to navigate. 

Creating the Best Easter Giving Moment

I think we know when something is amiss in our conversations about money. We know something is off, but we just keep pushing it. We put spiritual language on it. We try to put noble, virtuous things on top of it, but it's still transactional in its heart. These issues show up really clearly in the giving moment. 

These two minutes are crucial every week, and that’s also true for Easter. It should always be a priority. Pastors are so good at teaching on so many topics, but they tend to be not as literate on this topic, and so they feel compromised in teaching. They back away from it because they're feeling the transactional unease. 

It’s a learned skill, and my first piece is that I would never let anyone do a giving moment on Sunday morning if I hadn't already heard their giving story. You might think Easter Sunday is a great time to get your new student pastor up on the stage, but if you haven’t heard their story, I don’t recommend it. They won’t be able to pull it off successfully. Once you know their story and know that they can articulate it well, then they can probably do a great giving moment for you.  

The second thing I would say is to think of the giving moment as your opportunity to preach a two minute sermon. It should be focused and intentional, as opposed to random and unintentional. That's what leads to transformation in the giving moment. Lastly, you need to focus on trust. Why can people in your church trust you? You build that trust through telling stories of what happens when you give here. 

Easter Sunday, just like every other Sunday, is an opportunity to build trust or lose trust and to cultivate heartfelt giving as we remind everyone of what Jesus did for us on the cross. There’s no middle of the road. Whatever topic we're discussing, giving and generosity or otherwise, we must have the correct posture with our congregation, communicating with the right words and the right context. We give because Jesus gave everything for us.