I sometimes hear people say, “We can’t afford to use Sharefaith. Our budget is really tight this year.” I understand. Even though a year membership with Sharefaith, at $149, is very inexpensive, some churches have very little budget wiggle room. It may seem like spending $149 just for some cool media is a waste of money. However, a membership with Sharefaith is not simply a loss of $149. Instead, a Sharefaith membership is a considerable savings. If you’re still having trouble finding the $149 to purchase a yearlong Sharefaith membership, here are ten ways to find the money in your budget.
When you sit down and think about it, the membership cost for Sharefaith is an amazing bargain. For only $149, you have instant, unlimited access to all the media your church needs—videos, PowerPoints, bulletins, backgrounds, flyers, newsletters, clipart and more. To look at it in another way, you’re getting 38,000+ designs for $0.003 per design. Or, to look at it another way, you’re paying only $2.48 per week for all your church media. Or, to look at it yet another way, you’re spending only $0.82 (average) for media costs for every church event (assuming your church has three events per week). And we dont’ even have any hidden costs. NONE!
Nonetheless, here are some creative ways to find that extra buck or two in your budget. Some of these are tongue-in-cheek, but some may work for you!
- Get rid of the hymnals. Sell your hymnals and/or do not replace them. In an age of digital projection, hymnals are no longer necessary for congregational singing. Though some may protect this sacred cow with nostalgia, digital is cheaper, easier, and more aesthetic. For those who love to read musical notation, you can hang on to a few, but just go digital. Projecting lyrics using beautiful worship loops or worship backgrounds is a far more cost-effective way to go. The money that you’ll save or gain from selling your hymnals or from not replacing worn-out copies should be enough cash to purchase a Sharefaith membership.
- Use black-and-white bulletins. Color printing costs a lot of money. If you want to save quite a bit on printing costs, use grayscale printing, at least for a few weeks. Even Sharefaith bulletins look good in black-and-white.
- Take up a special offering. If you want to use Sharefaith, just tell your people about it and call for a special offering. You can even tell the folks to visit Sharefaith.com and see what the church is considering buying. If they think it will be a good enhancement to the worship and media of the church, they will give.
- Use a digital or e-newsletter. If you are accustomed to printing your church newsletters, you may want to consider sending out an electronic copy. More and more people prefer to receive news and updates via e-mail. Even an opt-in e-newsletter list will save you cash. Sharefaith’s customizable church newsletters can be easily adapted to electronic usage or PDF sending. We even offer a user-friendly and powerful email program, customized for churches. The email service costs extra, but you can get a no risk, no obligation, totally free trial for two months. Try it.
- Scale back on your church website. Are you paying a ton for your church website hosting? I’ve found that many churches are getting robbed by web design firms, either paying through the nose for hosting, or handing over fistfuls of cash for something that could be had for far less. I never recommend that anyone skimp on quality, but unless you have a really fancy website, you shouldn’t be paying a whole lot. Get together with a web-savvy person in your church—someone whom you can trust—and walk through each aspect and cost of your Internet presence. I think you’ll find that you can save a lot, either by shifting to a free site platform, or paying less for hosting. We recommend TruePath.com as an excellent Christian web hosting service. We also plan to unleash a new plan for churches to get on the web easily, quickly, and inexpensively. Stay tuned for more on that, later this year.
- Boost your offerings by using eOfferingPlate. Want an easy way to instantly boost weekly offerings? Add electronic giving as a method for church contributions. As discussed in the article, “How to Improve Church Offerings,” there is a way to increase weekly giving, simply by allowing people to give electronically. Chances are, using eOfferingPlate will bring in a whole lot more than just $129 per year. You may not be able to build a new church gym after one year, but you most likely will see a big increase.
- Bring in the experts for a budget overhaul. Now and then, you may just have to get an outside-in look at your ministry. Ministry coaching services, such as Ministry Design Concepts, brings in the expertise of seasoned ministry professionals to take an in-depth look at every aspect of your ministry. Obviously, what a church does with its money is a big part of the health of an assembly. Consider calling a ministry consulting firm for an expert analysis of your ministry.
- Got a fellowship coming up soon? Have the people bring their own food, dishes, and flatware. It’s wonderful to offer fellowship opportunities for your church, but perhaps you can save a bit by scaling back. Instead of having the church buy the food, let the bring their own. Your culinary experts will love the opportunity to share their amazing cooking. This is a legendary Christian custom, known as the “potluck dinner” (some prefer the sanctified term “pot blessing”) most practiced among Baptist assemblies, but occasionally experienced by other denominations. Give it a try and save a bunch of dough—the money kind—while you’re at it.
- Part with your book fund. If you’re a pastor, do you receive a book fund as part of your salary? Depending on how much you get in your book fund, you may want to allocate some of this money to purchasing a Sharefaith membership.
- Use more volunteers. Many churches can do a better job of using the talent, time, and expertise of church members, rather than paying top dollar for professionals to do work. Let me explain. A lawn service is a great help to making your church look nice, but could you perhaps have a volunteer yard crew do the work—at least for one or two weeks? How about an HVAC repair, or a plumbing job, or an electrical problem? Is there anyone in your church who may be able to contribute their skills to helping the church? This isn’t about mooching; this is about allowing your people to serve in areas where they are gifted and experienced. Nothing is more unsavory and distasteful than a person or institution who annoyingly wheedles people to give up their precious time and resources. On the other hand, it may be selfish and wasteful for a church to pay the professionals to do something that a church member is willing and able to do for free. Use caution and wisdom, but consider the spiritual and financial value of using volunteer work for church needs.
Obviously, there are plenty of ways to find that extra $129 in a year’s budget. We haven’t even gone as far as taking out a second mortgage on your church, firing your youth pastor, or taking a salary cut. Using Sharefaith doesn’t require a massive budget surplus or a new tithing millionaire church member. It just takes some forethought, insight, and faith. Start your Sharefaith membership.