We have just observed the annual ritual in which costumed strangers knock on our doors, and after they say a magic phrase, we gladly give them candy. When you think about it that way, Halloween is a strange holiday.

One of the strangest aspects is that even as society has become less neighborly – much has been written about how we don’t know our neighbors the way we did in past generations – we still willingly open our doors and give away treats. Why do we do that? I don’t know about your answer, but I feel a certain cultural expectation to have the lights on and a bucket of candy ready, even if I don’t know the kids who are knocking on the door.

That makes me wonder what it would take to create a similar cultural expectation in our churches and ministries. What if your organization was full of people who were this open-handed? What if when you “knocked,” they gave happily and generously of their time and financial resources?

Based on my Halloween analogy, here are 3 factors that can help your church or ministry:

• Be willing to ask. The number of people that did NOT knock on our door but got candy from us anyway? Exactly zero. Leaders must ask if they want to get a generous response. Sure, some people will say “no,” but don’t let that stop you.
• Be clear what is needed. I know what the kids coming to my door are looking for. Are you as clear about you’d like others to contribute? Can you articulate the specific needs you have for volunteers? And while money may seem much easier, you need to paint a compelling picture of the positive impact of those contributions.
• Create the culture. The real point of leverage is when an open-handed spirit in your organizational is just “how we do things.” In my neighborhood, we turn on lights and give out candy on October 31. When generosity becomes the norm, you won’t need to ask as often because newcomers will pick up on the contextual clues to be open-handed. 

You may be thinking that this is a poor analogy because candy is cheap compared to the time or financial resources that you’re asking for. While that’s true, I also hope that the people in your church or ministry are much more committed to the mission than I am to giving away candy. 

It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.