This post is a part of the “One Thing” series. Often we feel like we have to take drastic steps in our life or church to see significant change, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes the small things create the biggest impact. In this series, we’ll focus on “One Thing” you can do that will get you and your church moving in the right direction.

I was meeting with a couple of pastors this week, and we started discussing church finances. I was surprised to learn that neither of them was sending thank you letters to their givers.

Both of them agreed it was important, but neither of them had made it a priority.

What made it more surprising is that both of their churches are in very critical seasons where finances are a huge deal. Yet, they weren’t doing this one simple thing.

At my church our pastor sends handwritten letters each week to:

1. Every first time giver.

2. Every giver who gives a large gift. (For us that’s anything over $500.)

If you’re concerned about the pastor knowing what people in the church are giving, just have your finance person send the list of names and addresses without the amounts to the pastor each week. Problem solved.

Sending these letters has several advantages.

1. It creates a wow. Most people aren’t expecting this, so it gives them a nice surprise. You can read more about the importance of Creating Wow here.

2. It creates a connection. Having a connection with the pastor is one of the number one reasons people stay at a church. This is an easy opportunity to create one.

3. It shows appreciation. The church doesn’t thrive without people who are willing to be generous. How often are you showing these people appreciation? I bet not often enough. This gives you that opportunity.

4. It allows you to connect their giving with the vision. We can’t communicate the vision of our churches enough. This is an excellent opportunity to do that. One of the statements we’ve been sharing with our church lately is “Generosity changes lives.”

The amount of return you will see when you start doing this far outweighs the short amount of time it takes to write the letters. I’ll even leave you with an example to use.

Dear ______,

Thanks so much for giving to ______ church. Your generosity is changing lives. ______ church exists to reach those far from Christ, and your giving allows us to accomplish this mission. Please let us know if we can ever serve you in anyway.

Pastor ______

Do you send thank you letters to your givers? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below. Also, make sure to subscribe to the blog to get tips just like this delivered to your inbox each week.