The Bigger Problem: How Do We Fund the Great Commission When We’re Just Scraping By?

Welcome back to the conclusion of our three part series on funding the Great Commission. Two weeks ago we introduced Part 1: Do you need money to foster an apostolic parish? One week ago, Part 2: Is your parish keeping its money from the Great Commission? Welcome to Part 3 of 3: But we’re just scraping by as it is…! 

Friends, when we have parishes not financially investing in the Great Commission–and there are a few, let’s say–and the same parishes say, with complete candor, they can barely pay the bills as it is, there is a BIGGER PROBLEM. And that is, we do not have a community investing in the mission of the Church.

(I am not speaking of mission parishes that are in regions that are materially poor, and simply cannot invest. I am speaking of parishes of at least mixed financial means.)

It’s no secret that the percentage of Catholic giving per person is some of the worst among all organized religions and denominations in the United States. (“Protestants are four times more likely to give than Catholics,” for example.) It is more complicated to tease out why: a history of “free” labor by religious sisters and other brothers and priests to support an immigrant church, and the immigrants’ own commitment to church/community taking care of each other, and over time an increasing parish population affluence that was not challenged into first fruits giving.

Thankfully, the solution is relatively straightforward. We need to challenge parishes to transition into “first fruits” parishes.

A first fruits parish is a parish where people are challenged to give 10% of their income to others–not necessarily just the parish. It is rooted in Leviticus 23:9-14, the Jewish law to offer the first fruits of the wheat for sacrifice. It is a profound way of spiritually recognizing everything we receive is from the Lord, and he will take care of us. Now, we recognize sacrificial giving as a way to practice love of God through loving our neighbor. But the key is: we do other-centered giving  from our income first, before anything else. Otherwise, we are simply dropping our crumbs when it is convenient.

Even if people prudently judge they cannot give 10%, they still can be challenged to give first fruits…and move toward giving more if their financial situation improves.

Sounds great. But how do you make that transition? It takes dedication and leadership and, well, actually talking about money. A few ideas:

1. Parishes need to connect the dots and communicate their aspirational mission goals: they exist to love God and serve others, and it looks like…supporting St. Vincent de Paul? the evangelization outreach to young people? the pro-life ministeries? Name the mission and how the parish lives it out. People will give to missions that inspire them. People want to be part of the solution, and on the side of good.
2. We must recognize that intentionally fostering adult discipleship will encourage stewardship through gratitude. Grateful Christians who find their church community spiritually life-giving, and see the difference their parish makes in the town–they will give. Basically, people need to have a positive and encouraging reason to give, and the inner joy to do so. 
3. Talk about the spiritual meaning of money directly–not as a zero sum game (“we need this amount to meet the appeal”) but actually teach people how to be generous, how to be prudent, how to be attentive to those in need, and discerning the balance. The money in our hands belongs to God. We are given the choice as to how to spend it. 
4. Talk about the spiritual virtue of tithing, deliberately and with spiritual depth, once a year. Have Dave Ramsey make the argument if you can’t. As an incentive, consider reducing the numbers of fundraisers as an incentive toward tithing (“we get 100 people tithing, we won’t do the community rummage sale”). Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran’s book ChurchMoney: Rebuilding the Way We Fund our Mission is a great read on this.
5. Speaking of that–parishes, don’t just give money to those in deep need, but help people learn to spiritually and materially manage their debt and family financial planning. Financial Peace University is a phenomenon in evangelical communions for a reason. Catholics can also choose to work with Compass Catholic Ministries. Money issues split more marriages than any other issue, and ignoring how to spiritually and materially handle money doesn’t help your struggling families. Support healthy approaches to living true to God with your money.
6. Be transparent: people give for specifics, and to institutions they trust. A finance council is a good start toward transparency, but the broader parish needs to know where their money goes. A quarterly or semi-annual report that outlines the parish mission, the success stories, costs, needs, and more will help. A flip comment like “we have all the money we need and it is in your pocket” will not.
7. Don’t forget: don’t accomplish budget balance by reducing staff income. Pay your staff a living wage. Oy, this is difficult, and no one goes into ministry or church work to get rich. But plenty of good people leave ministry because they can’t make ends meet. If the salaries are living wage but weak, consider alternate ways to increase funding (missionary support is one). And get creative with perks: housing support (especially helpful for new youth ministers, or areas of the country with high rental rates)? Free tuition or childcare at a Catholic school? Perhaps a 4 day work week at full time plus Sunday presence/Mass support? Really good benefits? A spiritual retreat paid in full every year? Investing in their growth through conferences, institutes, etc.?

Should a parish gently encourage bequests, hire a development director, engage in capital campaigns? Possibly yes! But focus on first fruits giving, well, FIRST.

This transition to a first fruits parish is not easy, but imagine the relief and stability of a standardized budget. If you are a parishioner, imagine a parish that will support you in making financial decisions for your family–as well as not being pleaded with to donate to something new every season. And frankly, imagine a community that puts God first before money, trusting in his providence! In the transition to becoming an apostolic parish, sent out to evangelize–we need more consistent material support than fundraisers can allow, so parishes can steward more wisely in a disruptive time. And people deserve the spiritual opportunity to give thoughtfully and experience the graces of first fruits giving. The hard truth is, dedicated and growing disciples will engage in first fruits giving if encouraged, and first fruits giving will help us grow and reach more disciples. We have to choose where to start, and then begin.

Credit: Image by Armando Mr. from Pixabay