If you picked up an Annual Report, you will see that in my report the congregation I talked about three goals, or visions, I had for Trinity for the coming year. They are:
These goals I believe are crucial to the ministry of Trinity and I wanted to take the next couple of “Trinity Tidings” to talk about why I have chosen these items for goals, starting with the first goal. Last Trinity Tidings, I talked about the first goal of pushing ourselves out into the community more through service and meeting needs. Today I want to talk about the second goal, increasing the number of ways and means that we can give our financial support to Trinity’s ministry.
This goal for Trinity might seem to be a little strange as it could seem that it is the only goal that isn’t about expanding our ministry. But in actuality, this goal is all about expanding our ministry. Trinity’s ministry does not exist without your financial support. If there is no financial support, not only can we not expand ministry, but our ministry will decrease. If we want to grow as a church, if we want to try to accomplish the first and third goals you see above, then we have to grow in our financial support.
To help us do this means to increase the number of ways we can give beyond the checks in our checkbook and the cash in our wallet. When the Synod came to talk with church council after our financial issues in the fall, one of the suggestions they made was to increase the ways that the people of Trinity could give. And so we moved to add our giving app and to do credit card giving through an iPad. I have actually been thinking about these things for a few years now, even going to a workshop at an event two years ago to get some early information. At the time, I didn’t think Trinity was ready, but now I believe that it is.
Adding our Give+ giving app and the Giving Kiosk gives us flexibility to help you support Trinity. The Giving Kiosk especially will help us with special events as we can now process credit cards. The app and the kiosk help us when you feel moved to give but open up the wallet to only find a dollar in it or realize you have left your checkbook at home. More and more of our members are doing all their banking and financial management through apps and online and so implementing these new ways of giving in place now will help us in the future.
These new ways of giving can seem daunting and scary. We can be hesitant to try new things. Once you try it for the first time, you will find it to be really easy. I encourage you to give it a shot and I have an incentive for you.
The event that I first got information about kiosk and app giving is called “Walking Together.” I’ll be doing two presentations this year at that event with one of them about our “Mission Madness” event. If we get 50 transactions through the Give+ App or through the Giving Kiosk at church by Ash Wednesday, March 6th, I will wear a Packers Polo Shirt while presenting. So not only do you get to try something new, but you get to let me wear embarrassing stuff in front of the whole Synod. It is a win-win!
I hope you will try out the app and the kiosk. But I also give thanks for your financial giving and hope that you will continue to enthusiastically support the ministry of Trinity through those gifts, no matter how you choose to make them. As it says in 2 Corinthians 9: “For God loves a cheerful giver.”