Nine Stages of Giving

From Brad Leeper

Clipped from: http://www.xpastor.org/articles/leeper_generosity_new_normal.html

• A consumer – a person that utilizes the church resources, but does not have the spiritual maturity to give. We want as many people as possible to enter the journey here, as this entry point often is their first step into engagement with God. We do not want them to stay here, but to grow in their understanding of God. Based on my frequent analysis of church-giving data, about one half of your people are here. Many never get past this stage.
• Minimal giving – people give because there is some level of emotional attachment, because they are growing spiritually, and because they are asked to give. Consistently reviewing church-giving data finds about 25% of your people park here.
• Involved giving – a person gives consistently because he or she is involved and has a strong emotional and spiritual motivation to give. Most churches have the standard 25% of people engaged at this level.
• Giving as much as possible – rare, but you will find that person or couple that choose to live purposefully to fund Kingdom work. All income levels can embrace this value.
• Giving to maximize tax advantages – giving as much as possible to legally take advantage of charitable tax laws.
• Giving beyond regard to tax advantages – these people give because they want to give and sometimes in places that do not always provide a giving statement for tax purposes. For example, a family chooses to consistently give to the single parent family that is financially strapped.
• Giving a percent of wealth – a person realizes how much he or she can give away and still live contentedly in our culture. A person does not have to be wealthy to give a percentage of their wealth. Some prefer different terminology, such as “becoming a percentage giver.” Every season, the family or person chooses to give an increased percentage to the church.
• Capping wealth – I still remember the first successful businessperson who explained to me how he lived on a budget and capped his personal income well below what he could have received. He gave away the balance. I was stunned that someone could even think this way, countering the American dream.
• Estate giving – while still leaving an appropriate amount to heirs, a person determines to give the bulk of the estate to the church and Kingdom purposes.