How are churches financed?  Who controls access to the giving records of church members?  Should pastors knkow what individual congregants tithe, and can such information be useful?  Pastor Larry Osborne of North Coast Church (Vista, CA) answers these and many other questions related to church financing and growth.  Picking up on a debate that recently arose in Christianity Today, we explore the reasons a lead pastor may want to know who is giving how much in the congregation.  Pastor Osborne admits to being of the mind that he did not want to know this information early in his pastoral career, but has since changed his mind and explains why and for what use this information can be.  He also notes that contributions to a church are not merely measured in monetary terms, but include all forms of contributions.  Larry also gives us a brief history of North Coast Church, which draws 8,000 attendees per week across three campuses.  He recounts the various challenges that he and his staff have faced over the three decades since he first became the church’s senior pastor including the need to change the style of worship to meet cultural trends.  He also notes that his church actually provides an array of different styles of worship from traditional to edgy.  Our discussion also covers the use of small groups and a pastoral strategy known as the “sticky church,” wherein attention is given to make sure newcomers don’t leave the church once they arrived.  As many churches often focus more attention to widening the entry doors, Pastor Osborne talks about how it is important to close the “back doors” so people don’t leave.  Recorded: August 8, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

North Coast Church in Vista, CA.

 Larry Osborne Live, Pastor Osborne’s blog and the specific post on whether a pastor should know tithing information.

Sticky Church, by Larry Osborne.

Sticky Teams: Keeping your Leadership Team and Staff on the Same Page, by Larry Osborne.

Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe, by Larry Osborne.

RELATED PODCASTS

Mark Driscoll on the Growth of Mars Hill Church.

Marc von der Ruhr on Megachurch Recruitment and Retention.

Daniel Stiles on Cowboy Churches and Rodeo (not really related, but it was a very cool interview).

---

2 Responses to “Larry Osborne on Church Finances and Growth”

1. Research On Religion | Thom S. Rainer on Baptist Conventions & Church Health says:

   July 14, 2013 at 4:02 am

   […]  Larry Osborne on Church Finances and Growth. […]

   Reply
2. Research On Religion | James Hudnut-Beumler on the History of Church Financing in the US says:

   October 1, 2017 at 4:01 am

   […] Larry Osborne on Church Finances and Growth. […]

   Reply