In providing generosity materials to thousands of churches and training thousands of pastors we have discovered there is a major shift going on in how churches want to approach generosity issues. For many decades, if you wanted to increase giving for any reason, the typical approach was to run a fundraising or stewardship campaign. But many of today's pastors and church leaders are realizing there are distinct differences between running a fundraising campaign and creating a generosity culture. Both are needed at different times in the life of a church, but here are the top 10 differences between the two.  While campaigns are needed some of the time, creating a generosity culture is needed all of the time.

1 - Transactions vs. Transformation

Campaigns focus on the “cha-ching” of getting people to make financial transactions. A generosity culture focuses the “cha-change” in people lives – the spiritual transformation that happens when they grow in their understanding that God wants them to learn to live generous open-handed lives.

2 – Budget-Bills-Buildings vs. the Bible

Campaigns focus on getting money for the church budget, bills, or buildings. A generosity culture focuses on giving people Biblical instruction about how to manage their finances and grow in the grace of giving. Church budgets are supposed to be spending plans, not the giving goal. When generosity is properly taught with a Biblical emphasis, budgets and building campaign goals are easily surpassed.

3 – Harvesting vs. Planting

Campaigns focus on harvesting people’s financial donations. A generosity culture focuses on planting the seed of God’s word in people’s lives. Any wise farmer knows that if you want to harvest later, you have to be planting and watering now.

4 – Short-term vs. Long-Term View

A campaign is usually a publicly focused effort for about 3 months with 3 year pledge commitments being collected. Creating a generosity culture takes a year-round year-in-and-year-out multi-faceted approach to encouraging generosity as a spiritual value in people’s lives.

5 – Asking vs. Teaching

A campaign focuses on asking people for money. Creating a generosity culture focuses on teaching people’s God’s Word, will, and ways on money.

6 – Manpower vs. Materials

A campaign often takes a tremendous amount of manpower to mobilize the people in the church to make giving decisions. Creating a generosity culture primarily focuses on materials that are given out, offered, or shown in the church year-round.

7 – Big Dollars vs. Modest Dollars Investment

Conducting a fundraising campaign often requires spending tens of thousands of dollars on outside consultants, custom printed materials, meetings, banquets, mailings, and much more.   Creating a generosity culture primarily relies on materials and programs that only costs hundreds or a few thousand dollars to encourage people to live generous lives.

8 – Fixed Financial Target vs. Unlimited Giving Potential

The goal of a stewardship campaign is whatever the budget is and the goal of a capital campaign is whatever the building project will be. In a fundraising campaign the total focus is on getting money in the church and for the church. When the focus is on helping people learn to become generous, all boats rise - - church budget, building projects, benevolence, missions, ministries, the needy, and more.  Campaigns help you reach your expected targets and cultures help you reach expotential unlimited targets.

9 – Cash and Coins vs. Changed Lives

The product of a campaign is cash and coins, the product of a generosity culture is changed lives (with the by-product being increased giving for the kingdom of God at the church and beyond the church).

10 - Pastor as Fundraiser vs. Pastor as Exhorter/Example

In a fundraising campaign, the pastor has to take a lead role in asking for gifts publicly and privately. In creating a generosity culture, a pastor teaches and models Biblical insights on finances and generosity and/or he helps identifies Biblically-based materials and programs that can help teach his people on these important subjects.

In the life of any healthy church, campaigns will be needed from time to time. But in the life of every church, doing things to create a generosity culture is needed all the time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Brian Kluth is the founder of www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org resources and FREE eNewsletter for pastors and church leaders. His bestselling www.GenerousLife.org 40 Day Bible devotional has been used by over 1600 churches to help churches create a generosity culture in their church. He recently founded the www.GenerosityPledge.org movement and has written a new 30 Day devotional called, “7 Keys to Open-Handed Living in a Tight-Fisted World” for churches to instruct and inspire people in their church to live generous lives for the rest of their lives.