Creative Giving: Understanding Planned Giving and Endowments in Church

 Michael P. Reeves, Rob Fairl , Sanford Coon -

How does estate planning and stewardship fit in the ministry and mission of your church? Creative Giving sets out to answer that question, providing church leaders with no prior background or expertise in "planned giving" with a comprehensive guide to understand the transfer of wealth, and develop a program to promote creative giving within a congregation.

Features and Strengths

Practical.  Creative Giving is loaded with action-oriented practical tools and resources such as:
• A resource to help a church estimate its estate gift potential
• A Legacy Questionnaire to help individuals articulate what they want to pass along to the next generation
• How to establish an Endowment Committee
• Questions and Answers about Bequests
• Sample Bequest Provisions to guide members in their estate planning
• "Directions for My Celebration" for thoughtful funeral planning
• Charitable Gift Annuity Questions and Answers
• Guidelines for Selecting an Attorney
• Creative Giving Workshop Outline

User-Friendly . If you're like most church leaders, you may be somewhat intimidated by numbers. This book was written with "words-rather-than-numbers" staff in mind, to help them catch a vision for increasing church ministry impact through creative giving. While the topic of "planned giving" can be complicated, Creative Giving is delivered in a very refreshingly readable style.

Thought-Provoking.  The authors are not afraid to challenge conventional thinking on topics such as retirement. For example, in a section dealing with basic Christian theology of God's ownership of all that we possess, the authors contend, "Retirement is not the problem; the problem is the attitude that is most often reflected when people say, ‘I can't give because I live on a fixed income.' The reality is that many people who give this response are well fixed and have forgotten who fixed them in the first place."

Main Objection Addressed.  One of the most common objections church leaders give for not promoting estate gifts is the fear that large "windfall" gifts will negatively impact weekly offerings. On the contrary, the authors point out, "Research on the impact of endowments on regular giving consistently shows that regular giving is enhanced by a well-planned deferred giving program...the theology of fear must be challenged and dismantled by the evidence...[planned giving programs] have brought financial strength to congregations for the fulfillment of their divinely given call to do God's work in the world."

Unique Church Role.  Creative Giving reminds church leaders that most secular financial advisors are not asking their church-going clients if they would you like to remember their churches in their financial plans - the places that have fed them and their families spiritually during their lifetimes. The authors conclude that churches must ask this question.

Discipleship.  Creative Giving is rooted in a desire to help one discover and apply God's financial principles - from accumulating and protecting to faithful obedience; from holding wealth without plans to using the resources for God's purposes.

Things To Be Aware Of

Some readers may find it ironic the foreword to this excellent book on stewardship was written by a staff member from Crystal Cathedral, a wonderful ministry that God has used in so many ways, but has struggled in recent years with financial troubles.

Available at: www.christianbook.com