Looking for Thanksgiving sermon inspiriation? Check out these 6 sermons. They just might make you ... thankful.
November 5, 2019
When was the last time you heard a truly fresh Thanksgiving sermon?
It’s been a while for me, too.
Let’s be honest:
If you can break the traditional Thanksgiving sermon mold, you will have a captive audience.
If you can find a new angle for a week that celebrates gratitude, you’re the next Tony Robbins.
But here’s the truth:
It’s actually not that hard to bring a fresh take to your congregation on Thanksgiving Sunday.
Author Austin Kleon published a book in 2012 that become the Bible of the design and creative world. It’s called Steal Like an Artist.
I’ll admit it: the title sounds sketchy.
But he’s not encouraging people to plagiarize (we’ve seen enough of that in the pulpit).
Kleon’s profoundly tactical point is very simple:
Find the best people in your field.
Learn how to imitate them.
Through imitating them, internalize their concepts in your own creativity.
It’s easy to think that, as a pastor, all your sermon ideas need to derive 100% from your own brain.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Throughout all of church history, the great preachers, theologians, and church fathers have drawn on those who came before.
In honor of that great Christian tradition of drawing on the greats to bring greatness into your own ministry, we’ve provided eight really insightful clips on thanksgiving that will infuse your sermon writing process with new ideas, inflections, homiletical insights, and Bible applications that will encourage, challenge, and uplift your congregation.
But here’s the deal, pastor:
There's a wealth of resources available you can use to find a new illustration or a different angle on familiar Bible verses about Thanksgiving.
To help you think through what you’re going to preach this Thanksgiving, we’ve pulled together a variety of Thanksgiving sermons you can watch or listen to.
Block out a quick 15 minutes, and get 15 hours worth of sermon prep from the videos below.
From Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church:
Don’t have the bandwidth to prepare a sermon this Thanksgiving?
From our friends at Ministry Pass, you can purchase a three-week sermon series on Thanksgiving. In this sermon series, you’ll get the following:
With this material, you can take their lead or adapt what they provide to suit your needs.
Here’s a brief video explanation:
From the late Eddie Long, former pastor of New Birth in Atlanta.
From Chris Brown, a senior pastor at North Coast Church.
Listen to the audio here:
http://sermons.northcoastchurch.com/audios/op01.mp3
From Charles Stanley, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and the founder and president of In Touch Ministries:
From Miles McPherson, senior pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, California:
This is the first part of a current short-term sermon series. So be sure to follow up the next few weeks for additional sermons for Thanksgiving.
From Brian Houston, senior pastor at Hillsong Church.
From Francis Chan, teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church and founder of Eternity Bible College.
From Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of Life.Church.
In a previous blog post, I shared the different ways your church can thank donors—from automated emails to year-end giving reports. Printed donation letters also play an essential role in your church’s stewardship efforts.
Donation letters are the Swiss Army knife of your church’s gratitude arsenal. It may not be the most powerful—but it’s versatile, handy, and gets used often.
Your basic church donation letter can serve many different purposes, including:
A single, well-crafted donation letter can pull together several of these things simultaneously. Better donation letters lead to more giving, which leads to more donation letters—thus creating a cycle of on-going church generosity.
Here’s the good news—you don’t have to write an individualized letter for every person who gives to your church. That would be tough to do for even smaller churches. And most donors don’t expect you to. They’d rather you be putting their gift to better use in the community, instead of ceaselessly writing thank you notes.
With the possible exception of some unique circumstances, your church can use template language for the majority of your church donation letters. You’ll have to add in custom details like the donor’s name and gift amount, but you can write everything else in advance.
To make this even easier on you, here are a few basic church donation letter templates you can copy and paste. Keep in mind that not all of these have to be in print—you could just as easily turn some of these samples into email appeals.
The Donation Acknowledgement Letter is a basic way you can confirm and affirm a monetary gift to your church. Sending these is standard practice in church and nonprofit culture.
Dear [first name],
I want to personally thank you for your donation of [gift amount] to [church name]. We’re honored you would bless us with your generosity. Donations like yours make a big difference in the work our church is doing in the community.
Without givers like you, our church can’t have an impact or influence in our community. With your support, we’re partnering with local nonprofits, sending out global mission trips, and hosting small groups on topics that help real people like you. Together, we can make a difference.
Because we’re a tax-exempt nonprofit, you also get to write this donation off on your taxes. This letter serves as official proof of your donation, so keep it in your records come tax season. At the end of the year, we’ll also send you an annual recap with how much you’ve given to the church.
Thank you for supporting [church name]!
Sincerely,
[your name]
Not every church member realizes the importance of giving, or understand Bible verses about tithing and giving. So a Donation Request Letter helps to spread that awareness and encourage a spirit of generosity.
Dear [first name],
How are the finances in your household? That was a rhetorical question, so you don’t have to answer—besides, this is a letter so we wouldn’t hear you anyway. But we still want you to think about that question.
Money is a uniquely human issue, one we all struggle with to one degree or another. Even if you’re financially blessed, you still have the burden of stewarding your money wisely. And we believe that one of the best ways to invest your money is into the local church.
Tithing (giving 10% of your income) on a regular basis not only supports the work we do at [church name]. It doesn’t just support local missions and community growth. It also shows an obedience to God by making his work a financial priority in your life.
So if you find yourself ready to put God first in both your heart and your wallet, we encourage you to make a one-time gift or sign up to make recurring donations. That way, you won’t have to ever wonder again about the financial status of your household.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Many church donations aren’t just one-time gifts. Plenty of givers contribute monthly—and that should be acknowledged.
Use this template to correspond with recurring givers.
Dear [first name],
Thank you for being an active and faithful member of our church community. By giving to our church on a monthly basis, you’re showing that our church has a meaningful place in your heart. We just wanted to write this to let you know that you’re in our heart, too.
Donating to the church monthly allows us to preach the gospel, make disciples, and support others in our community who need help. Others like the local food bank and the nearby homeless shelter. We’re answering the cry of the needy, and it’s all thanks to contributors like you.
We earnestly appreciate your ongoing support and want to let you know we’re here for you. If there’s ever anything we can do for you and your family, don’t hesitate to reach out. You are a valued member of our church family. And you’re financial support is making a difference.
Sincerely,
[your name]
At the end of each year, it’s customary to give your church supporters a summary of their gifts. The primary reason is for tax purposes, but it’s also a way to recap everything your church has done over the past year with their support.
Dear [first name],
You’re getting this letter because you gave to [church name] at some point during the past year. That might have been a one-time gift, or recurring donations. Either way, we want to thank you for your generous support. Every contribution helps.
One of the official reasons for this letter is for tax purposes. That’s right—you get to write these donations off on your taxes. Which is why we’ve included a summary of all the contributions you’ve made to our church this year.
But the other reason for this letter is to let you know what we’ve done with the money you gave. We take stewardship very seriously, which means we value spending our time and resources wisely.
During the year, our church supported local nonprofits, sent global missions teams, and baptised quite a few people. It was a great year for us—thanks in large part to donors like you.
So thank you for your support of our church, and we hope you’ll consider continuing to contribute to our mission in the coming year.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Sometimes you need to make a more significant financial push using tried and true church fundraising ideas. Some churches call this a Stewardship Campaign or a Church Capital Campaign. Either way, the goal is to raise a certain amount of money for a big project. And typically, a solid letter of appeal is an integral part of that.
Dear [first name],
God has a plan for everyone and everything. That includes you, and it includes [church name]. None of us can fully know God’s plan—the best we can do is pray and listen for clarity. Our church leadership has been doing just that and are excited to announce our latest church project.
[Detail the outline of the major church project—this could include a building campaign, or raising support for a global mission trip. Anything specific to your church that requires a fundraising letter. Be sure to include a fundraising goal so everyone knows what you’re shooting for.]
But we can’t pull this off without your support. Whether you give to the church on a regular basis, or just attend on occasion, we’re asking you to consider contributing to this massive undertaking prayerfully. It’s something we need our entire church community’s help with.
Even if you can’t make a large gift, know that every little bit helps. It’s more about coming together as a community united behind a common cause. We hope that you’ll consider making a donation towards this great step forward that we’re making together.
Sincerely,
[your name]
It’s not enough to just copy and paste this content and send away. The key to an effective church donation letter is a touch of personalization. Follow these tips to take your donation letters to the next level:
There’s no one right or wrong way to write a donation letter or request contributions. You’ve got to do what is right for your church and congregation. But if you stick to these general tips, you’ll probably start to see some traction when it comes to giving.
Most people don’t love talking about money in church. But it’s a necessary and vital part of your church. And maximizing your efforts when it comes to donation letters will help make those conversations more comfortable. So what do you do next to put this into effect?
And if you’re looking for ways to grow your church’s giving capacity, Tithely can help.
We provide several different ways your church members can support your church financially—from online giving, text to give solutions, and giving kiosks.
Tithely’s systems make it as easy as possible for people to give to your church. Now all you need to start doing is generating a culture of gratitude. There’s nothing standing in your way. Go unleash generosity in your church.
How does your church use donation letters to spread generosity? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Robert Carnes. Robert is a writer and storyteller. He's the author of The Original Storyteller: Become a Better Storyteller in 30 Days. A former church communicator and nonprofit marketer, Robert works as a managing editor for Orange in Atlanta.
Jesse Wisnewski is the marketing director at Tithe.ly. He lives outside of Nashville, TN with his wife and five kids.
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