Transcript CHURCH FINANCES WORKSHOP

STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• As individuals and families, we give to our
churches for many reasons:
• Because of guilt, habit, family expectations
• Out of gratitude for the congregation that loves
and supports us and encourages us to work for
God’s kingdom
• Because the church needs our financial support
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• As congregations, we give because we
understand that the church is called to be
the eyes, ears, and hands of God on earth
• Acts of ministry (individual and corporate)
• Ongoing missional activities
• Support of other organizations whose work
contributes to God’s kingdom
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• A very basic reason for giving is because:
God has been generous with us
• By bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt
and to the Promised Land
• By giving us Jesus Christ, who gave up his own
life for our sakes
• The appropriate response to God’s
generosity is to be generous with the
resources God has given us, to give back to
God by giving to God’s kingdom
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• The Bible calls us to give in response to what
we have already received
• If we are to be imitators of Christ, giving is
NOT an option
• If you want to know what generosity looks like,
read the gospels
• Jesus gave intentionally and sacrificially, trusting
in God’s provision for the future
• Regular generosity is a mark of spiritual depth
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• In the Bible, wealth is value-neutral
• It might be a sign of God’s blessing, or
alternatively of responsibility
• The Bible is more concerned with what we do
with our wealth, what happens to us when we
have it (or don’t)
• Stewardship is therefore about attitudes and
choices
• Abundance vs. scarcity
• The Kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of this
world
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• Our attitude towards money speaks volumes
about our attitude toward God
• Tongue-in-cheek offertory prayer: “Lord, no
matter what we say or do, here is what we think
of you”
• In Matt. 6:6, Jesus says, “But whenever you pray,
go into your room” – the word for room is
literally “the place where you keep your money”
• Will I try to achieve a quality life by focusing
on money or focusing on God?
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• Finally, giving is about our sacrifice and our
willingness to trust in God
• We don’t feel financially secure because of what
we have, but because we trust God to provide
what we need
• Giving teaches us to be unselfish, to put God
first
• Offering is about the need of the giver to give,
not the need of the church to receive
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• Stewardship is not fundraising
• It is a spiritual discipline on a par with prayer,
worship, service, and study
• Whether the church budget gets balanced is
not a matter of ultimate importance;
whether our lives get balanced is
• Giving of our resources is one way to balance
our lives as God intends
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• How do you respond to this?
• What rings true?
• What is hard for you to buy into?
STEWARDSHIP AS A
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
• Our corporate practices need to reflect the
spiritual nature of giving, and allow
members to give as an act of worship
• Passing the offering plate and receiving the
offering is an important moment in the worship
service, even if many members are giving
electronically
• Stewardship should be a regular emphasis in
sermons, and not just during the annual
campaign to underwrite the budget
COMMITTEES
• Good practice posits three committees to
deal with stewardship and finances:
• The Finance committee deals with the day-in,
day-out work of church finances – paying the
bills, generating the reports
• The Stewardship committee teaches the
congregation about stewardship and runs the
annual campaign
• The Legacy committee oversees long-term
assets and educates the congregation about
annuities, estate planning, etc.
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
• The role of the stewardship committee is to
support the congregation in the practice of
giving
• Not just to identify needed financial resources
for the coming year
• Also to encourage the spiritual practice of good
stewardship of our money
• The best people to be on the stewardship
committee are those who give generously
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
• The role of the Stewardship Committee can
be taken as an all-year-round committee rather
than a short-term commitment, with the major
responsibility of educating the congregation about
stewardship
• Care of one’s self
• Stewardship of the environment
• Stewardship of relationships
• Stewardship of the gospel
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
• Activities of the stewardship committee
might include:
• Regular Moments for Mission
• Focus on how we can take care of the earth
• Personal testimonies about how God has been
generous in the lives of committee members
• Classes on personal finances
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
• Generational differences are significant
when it comes to money
• Many of the Greatest Generation give out of a
strong sense of obligation
• More recent generations want to be sure their
values and their money are aligned
• One way to encourage everyone to examine
their own attitudes toward money is to sponsor
a class on personal finances
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE
• One of the functions of the Stewardship Committee
is the annual campaign to underwrite the church’s
budget
• The Center for Faith and Giving has complete
materials for an annual campaign for $20
• It has a number of additional resources,
including:
• Annual Campaign Tip Sheet
• Stewardship Q and A
• Sermon resources around stewardship
STEWARDSHIP AS AN
ENABLER OF MINISTRY
• The church‘s budget (TH pp. 6-10) is a concrete
expression of our sense of calling
• A budget is both:
• A spending plan, the financial aspect of
implementing your congregation’s ministry
• The most concrete statement of a congregation’s
faith and commitment, and how it understands its
calling by God
• A narrative budget can be a way of helping the
congregation see beyond the dollars to what
they allow the congregation to accomplish
STEWARDSHIP AS AN
ENABLER OF MINISTRY
• The church asks for money to support its
ministry
Vision dictates expenditures
• Church budgets, like personal checkbooks, are
theological documents – they tell us what we
really feel about God
• Always include at least a short version of your
vision or mission statement with your budget
• Be ready to changing expenditures as the
congregation’s vision changes
STEWARDSHIP AS AN
ENABLER OF MINISTRY
• A narrative budget helps a congregation to:
• Identify and fund its priority activities
• Move mission and ministry from vision to
implementation
• Revisit and examine its activities in the light of
current circumstances as well as past practice
• Examples:
• The Treasury Handbook, p. 10
• Community Christian Church, Tempe, AZ
• See also www.centerforfaithandgiving.org, our
denomination’s stewardship arm
GIVING FOR MISSION
• Most churches allocate a portion of their
budget to go toward other organizations
• Outreach budget
• Should a congregation be expected to tithe (give
away 10% of its budget)?
• How do you decide what organizations to give
to?
• How often do you reconsider your outreach
giving?
• Does outreach giving get cut when money is
tight?
GIVING FOR MISSION
• We would like to suggest that giving to
support the larger church be a part of your
congregation’s outreach giving
• Disciples Mission Fund supports general-church
activities, including ministries, publications,
educational institutions
• When NW regional congregations give to DMF,
67% returns to support regional church efforts
GIVING FOR MISSION
• Special Day offerings:
• Each special-day offering is allocated toward a
specific aspect of general and regional church
activities (TH p. 46)
• Some of this money also returns to the region
• Pentecost – for new church development
• Christmas – all of this offering returns to the region
• It is helpful to make the intent of each specialday offering known to your congregation
(educational ministry of the Stewardship Comm)
GIVING FOR MISSION
• Should special offerings be included in the
congregation’s income statement?
• Yes – this represents giving by the members of
the congregation
• But it is passed through to the General Church,
it does not stay in your bank account
• This is a vital aspect of building trust
STEWARDSHIP AS SPIRITUALITY
AND MINISTRY - CONCLUSIONS
• The call to be generous is deeply embedded
in Scripture and in our understanding of our
call as Christians
• Education about stewardship is a large part
of the work of the Stewardship Committee
• A church’s budget and its fundraising should
reflect its sense of God’s calling
• The congregation as a whole should practice
generosity