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Most pastors know the feeling: the budget meeting is coming up, giving is down, and the only option left seems to be one more sermon asking people to give. Yet the most generous churches rarely start with the budget. They start with discipleship.
In the recent webinar, “5 Key Practices of Generous Churches,” Ramsey Solutions financial expert George Kamel and Subsplash’s Enterprise Growth Manager, John Warren, came together to discuss how churches can build a culture of generosity year-round.
Whether you’re planning your year-end giving push or thinking ahead to 2027, these five practices will help your congregation grow in generosity as part of their discipleship. Take a look at the webinar and highlights below!
Meet George Kamel & Financial Peace University
George Kamel is a personal finance expert, a bestselling author, and co-host of The Ramsey Show and Smart Money Happy Hour.
As a financial expert at Ramsey Solutions, their flagship program–Financial Peace University–has been taught in more than 50,000 churches, and over 10 million people have gone through the course.
George has lived the plan himself. He joined Ramsey thirteen years ago with a net worth of negative $40,000 from student loans and credit cards. In just under a decade, he became what Ramsey calls a “Baby Steps Millionaire.”
“[I’m] nothing special,” George said. “Just a W-2 employee working really hard to create that margin every single month.”
Building a giving culture that lasts all year round
Healthy church giving rarely depends on one big campaign or a perfectly timed sermon. It grows from steady, intentional habits that help your congregation see generosity as part of following Jesus.
We walked through five practices that churches of any size can start using right away. These practices can help your church move from a once-a-year giving push to a culture where generosity is part of everyday discipleship. Check it out!
5 Key practices of generous churches: Webinar recap with George Kamel
1. Treat generosity as a discipleship issue
Generosity is a discipleship issue before it’s a budgeting issue. “No one gets excited about a math problem,” stated George. “It’s just not how you want to lead with generosity.”
Instead, George pointed back to the heart of the gospel. “God is a giver. He gave his only son. We’re created in his image. We’re called to imitate him.” When generosity grows out of that truth, giving becomes an act of worship and not an obligation.
Many pastors hesitate to talk about money, especially if they’ve struggled with their own finances. George encouraged leaders to make money a natural part of their preaching, not a topic that only comes up during a once-a-year fundraising campaign. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to have the freedom to talk about money,” he said. “What we’re talking about here is freedom.”
George also noted that many people get the order of their money wrong. Of the three things you can do with money (give, save, or spend), people often “make giving a leftover.” That matters for the church, because Barna research shows that practicing Christians report higher rates of experiencing and practicing generosity than the general population.
2. Remove barriers to giving
In retail, restaurants, and even grocery stores, paying is made as easy as possible with just the tap of a card. On the other hand, churches often (and unknowingly) create serious barriers to giving, such as preferring checks, not offering in-app or online giving, or even offering guest giving.
But every extra step costs you as a church giver. George suggested a simple exercise you can try this week. “Go try to give to your own church and see how many steps it takes,” he said. Start a timer and write down every point of friction along the way. In George’s words, “This is a friction problem, not a heart problem. And the easier you make it, the more people will give.”
George’s own church uses Subsplash, and he gives automatically. “I know it's coming out, and when I see that coming out of my bank statement, it actually gives me joy,” he shared. Churches that go all-in on the Subsplash platform see a 14% increase in total donations in their first year. With Subsplash Giving™, your congregation can give with Apple Pay, Google Pay, instant ACH, text, or a quick tap, and set up a recurring gift in seconds.
3. Build a recurring giving culture
Recurring donations are the foundation of a healthy church budget. In 2025, 134% more donations came from recurring donors than from one-time donors on Subsplash Giving.
Today, subscriptions like Netflix and Amazon Prime withdraw money from your account automatically every month, meaning subscribers don’t have to sign in online and make the monthly payment each time.
Recurring payments are powerful and mainstream for a reason. They help people factor that payment into their budget automatically without having to think about it. People who can’t give online or enroll in recurring giving usually won’t write a check and drive it to the church building instead.
With his Ramsey hat on, George compared building recurring giving to the Baby Steps: start small to build momentum. His step one for churches is to teach on the tithe and then invite everyone to set up a small recurring gift. There’s no campaign or big goal, only a simple invitation. “Planned giving will survive a bad week,” George said. “Decisions made in the moment are going to get skipped.”
Timing matters too. George urged leaders to build this habit while things are calm, “from a place of strength instead of weakness.” He also shared that he and his wife keep a “bless-up fund” in their EveryDollar budget on top of their tithe, so they’re ready when an unexpected chance to give comes up. That could make a great sermon illustration for your congregation!
4. Tell the story of what generosity is doing
Trust is the gateway to generosity. According to Give.org’s 2026 Donor Trust Report, 67% of donors say trust is essential before giving to a charity.
George told a story from his own church. Its leaders realized they were paying $1 million a year in interest on the building’s mortgage. They took the challenge to the whole congregation, and together they paid off the $7 million mortgage in a single year. Today, that money funds wraparound ministries for adoptive families and for single parents who need reliable transportation. “That honesty and transparency created trust,” George said.
His advice is to keep it simple: “Real numbers, plain language, regular schedule.” After all, “People don’t remember a budget line. They remember what giving did for someone.”
John added that most people spend only one or two of the 168 hours in their week at church. When you share impact stories in your church app, emails, and social channels, people see what generosity is doing on a Thursday afternoon as well as on Sunday morning.
5. Go beyond end-of-year gifts
About 30% of annual giving happens in December, which makes year-end a huge opportunity. The goal is to turn a one-time gift into an ongoing journey of generosity.
George shared the story of a Tennessee pastor who writes a handwritten thank-you note every Monday to each person who gave for the first time. A first gift is often a step of trust, and a personal thank-you makes people want to give again. Pair that note with an easy next step, such as a QR code for setting up a monthly gift.
For busy pastors, George recommended starting small and getting set up before the holiday rush. “If you have one hour, set up first-time giver alerts,” he said. Then block ten minutes on your calendar to write five notes. With Subsplash Workflows, you can build a donor appreciation process so every first-time giver gets a timely, personal thank-you.
Start growing a generous church
Growing a generous church starts with discipleship. It starts with pastors who talk about money as a natural part of following Jesus, and with giving tools that make it easy for anyone who feels led to give. When you share what generosity is doing in your community and take time to thank first-time givers, your congregation can build a habit of giving that continues long after December.
The full conversation with George Kamel is full of practical, heart-level wisdom for pastors, executive pastors, and volunteers who want a giving culture that lasts.
Ready to make giving easier at your church? [.blog-contact-cta] Schedule a free demo [.blog-contact-cta] with our team to see how Subsplash can help your congregation grow in generosity all year long!
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