Looking for a basic guide to begin planning an endowment fund for your congregation? Download this free 42-page PDF from Thrivent and the InFaith Community Foundation. It has plenty of good material to get you started. (Photo: Raul Hernandez Gonzalez, Creative Commons)
Call it financial stewardship, call it meeting the budget, call it what you will, but raising money is a necessity for just about every congregation to continue to serve God and God’s people. This handy guide offers some no-nonsense, practical advice for how to go about it. From Evangelical Christian Credit Union. (Photo by Mykl […]
Sacrificial giving requires of us that we put God’s priorities before our own, that we put the support of God’s Church and its mission before our own pleasure and comfort. In other words, we give to the Church a planned, proportionate amount of our income in gratitude for all that God has given to us. This six-week program will give you all the tools and inspiration you need to bring this idea into your congregation. (Photo by Lisafx, via Bigstock.com)
It’s an perennial question that congregations ask — do we get an outside speaker to preach the stewardship sermon? There may be many good reasons why you’d want to get an outsider, but Gerry Rafftery of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary says there are a lot of reasons why you wouldn’t. (Photo […]
Everybody knows the best stewardship efforts take place 365 days a year, and this manual is designed to help congregational leaders to formulate a vision for year-round stewardship and create a plan for implementing it. The manual gathers together some of the best resources of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Perfect for your fall campaign — here’s a six-week stewardship reflection series on the Lectionary Gospel lessons, beginning Oct. 5. Feasting on Gratitude invites readers to reflect and discuss stewardship principles and practices. Designed to complement and support a congregation’s annual giving campaign, Written for Lectionary Year A in 2011, the series is timely again in 2014. (Photo by JustCookNYC, used by Creative Commons license)
So your finance committee suggests a capital campaign and you want to make sure everybody is on the same page on what that’s all about? This FAQ from the Georgia United Methodist Foundation. (Photo by Stephen Yeargin, used by Creative Commons license)
By spend$16,000 on energy efficiency, First Unitarian Church in Minneapolis saved $17,000 in just the first year! How much money could your congregation divert from utility costs to mission! First Unitarian shares its story in this article, which includes links to resources. (Photo by TheLatin10 via Bigstockphoto.com)
Churches often maintain benevolence funds to assist needy individuals in times of financial crisis. However, these churches may not have enough structure in place to provide essential direction and documentation. Here, from ChurchExecutive.com, are some helpful dos and don’ts.
Most pastors would rather preach on almost anything other than finances and stewardship. But as the preaching pastor, you are the chief development officer for your church. This is part of the job. From Ministry Matters. (Photo by Fallonyates, used by Creative Commons license)
