Pastors from across Louisiana recently participated in a stewardship survey designed to help us better understand the opportunities, challenges, and needs churches are facing today. We are grateful for the many pastors and ministry leaders who took time to share their insights and experiences. By listening to pastors and learning from their experiences, we can better serve churches as they disciple believers, encourage faithful stewardship, and advance the mission of reaching people across Louisiana and beyond.
Below you’ll find a summary of the survey responses and some key takeaways from what pastors shared.
- Q1 – What is your role in the church?
52% of respondents said their role was “Other”, 30% indicated they were the pastor. - Q2 – How important is it to teach members/guests to give financially to the Lord through the church?
97% of respondents said it was important/very important to teach members/guests to give. - Q3 – When is financial giving to the Lord best taught?
79% indicated lessons in Sunday School/small groups were the best place to teach about stewardship/giving followed by 54% – Sunday morning sermons and 45% who said mentoring (followed closely by 41% who said separate lessons on finances). - Q4 – How often do you preach/teach financial giving to the Lord?
30% of respondents said they preach/teach on stewardship twice a year, followed by 23% who do so three/four times a year. - Q5 – What personal financial management classes have you offered in your church?
40% said they have used Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace curriculum while another 40% indicated this question was not applicable. 35% said they’ve used Crown/Compass or Other/developed their own material. - Q6 – What percentage of households/family units give regularly to the church (your estimate)?
Almost 43% of respondents believe between 26-50% of their households/family units give regularly to the church while almost 21% believe 0-25% do so. - Q7 – What would be the impact if more households in your church tithed?
79% said they could increase community outreach, followed closely by 72% who indicated they would invest more to the missions efforts of others. - Q8 – Which of the following BEST describes the majority of households/family units in your church?
54% selected “Stable” (they consistently make ends meet) and another 30% described their members as “Solid” (can meet discretionary and non-discretionary expenses). - Q9 – Which of the following best represents where your church is located?
35% of those responding to the survey said their church was located in a small town (5,000-25,000 people) followed closely by 34% who said their church resided in a community in a rural area of less than 5,000 people. - Q10 – What is the biggest obstacle to encouraging stewardship and giving?
Click on this link to view those open-ended responses.
