Remembering Our Baptism...

Such a DUH! moment... simple and profound... one of those head-banging moments of "why didn't I think of this before?)

Sunday was a bit playful...a romp through the faith stories of Hebrews 11 as our Consecration Sunday sermon. We had a "faith kit" with items that reminded us of the faith journeys of Hebrews and our own. The last item was the "water" poured into the font...

And as people brought their commitment cards forward, they were invited to touch the waters of baptism if they wished...reminding them of God who claims them, gives them life and resources, and cares for them every day of this faith journey.

A powerful symbol that combined so well with our stewardship and commitment journeys...

It's a keeper!

Sample Stewardship Brochure

I know this may be late for many of you...but consider it fodder for next year...

Thank You and Encouragement...

We had a donor give a generous gift here toward the end of the year, and as we were thinking how to use it, it crossed our minds it could say "thank you" or "keep trying" to some of our new pledgers (who might or might not be behind on their pledges) or young pledgers. Here are some possible ways to be encouraging or say thank you:

Dear ___.
Growing spiritually means taking some risks and adopting new behaviors. We celebrate your willingness to take a risk and commit to regular, percentage giving. In honor of your willingness to work toward this new practice, a gift has been made toward your pledge by a fellow “traveler of The Way” who knows the joy of generosity and the challenge of learning to trust the practice. Don’t give up. Don’t feel guilty. Just keep on with the practice the best you can today, and know the Spirit will continue to grow your faith and your ability.

or

Dear ___,

We are grateful for the generosity you have shared and that you made a promise to the ministry of FHPC for the first time in 2015. In honor of your generosity, a special gift has been made toward the operating fund by a fellow “traveler of The Way” who knows the joy of generosity and the challenge of learning to trust God in the practice of stewardship. 

Thank you for your faithful commitment.

Even if you don't have a donor, we still need to encourage and thank...especially those who are trying to make generous giving a regular, faithful, spiritual practice.

If you have other practices you would like to share, please do so in the comments or send them to me and I will post them in the blog.

Prayers for Generous Giving...

Many of us have leadership dinners before our Consecration/Stewardship Sunday. If we don't have a dinner, we do have sessions that should be encouraged to be spiritual leaders during this time…which is opposed to the more natural inclination to hide and not be in any conversation about stewardship.

So, we prayed for our people this year. Obviously, if you are in a huge church, this is a bigger challenge…but you also have a bigger leadership team…so make it work for you.

We had one of our leaders start and end with this stewardship prayer, then the session members had a list of members and we "went around the table" and they each read a name until all names had been spoken aloud. We were at two tables, so each table did half the congregation. It took about three minutes. (As a bonus, it then stimulated a few conversations about who people were…)

Here is the prayer: (One note: "for such a time as this" was our theme this year…you can tweak it to include your main focus.)

Generous God,

As you call us to leadership in such a time as this, as we recognize more and more each day that all we have belongs to you, as we come into our time of congregational consecration, we lift up the names of this congregation to you:  (read names)

Grant them courage and blessing. Teach them generosity and grace. Make your presence known in their lives, whatever their circumstance.

We pray in the name of the one who lived a life of ultimate generosity, Jesus Christ our Lord… Amen. 

 

Church Budgets and Overhead

Sometimes someone else nails it. So consider this a signpost to a magnificent article on why church budgets are "overhead" heavy and why that might just be OK.

The Shocking Un-Truth about Church Budgets…

Seriously…don't miss this one.

Generational Realities of Stewardship

As you are communicating during Stewardship season with congregants of all ages, this may be helpful information for you. Some of the information was gleaned from Karl Travis's presentation at Stewardship Kaleidoscope, other information is from personal experience.

Generational Realities in Financial Discipleship

GIs/Civics   1901-1924

• Seniors are much more likely than any other group to describe themselves as religious; feel absolutely committed to the Christian faith.
• Likeliest to give, to tithe, to pledge
• Trained to give from childhood
• Give undesignated funds
• Express appreciation for past support and loyalty to the congregation’s life and traditions and for the legacy the GIs have given to the congregation.
• While GIs often find themselves asked for money, they are seldom asked for input, ideas, or problem-solving. Find opportunity to seek their input.
• Be willing to get to the bottom line. It is helpful to emphasize the big picture of the congregation in concrete terms, particularly numbers.
• See giving as a responsibility

Areas of focus:

• estate planning

Silent/Adaptive  1925-1942

• Likely pledgers, tithers
• Trained to give from childhood
• Undesignated givers
• Understand giving as public necessity
• Prefer face-to-face, relational meetings; be prepared to talk and listen.
• Use personalized, intimate stories to make your appeal.
• Stress the aspect of a fair share and proportionate giving
• Be bold in asking for a contribution

Areas of focus:

• estate planning
• Fear management (will our congregation survive)

Baby Boomers/Idealists 1943-1960

• Low rates of saving and giving
• Unlikely to pledge or tithe
• Charitable giving comes from “disposible income”
• Tend toward skepticism of church’s trustworthiness
• Giving is an option.
• Boomers get hooked on vision, environmental concerns, children, and justice issues. 
• Most Boomers still take a 24/7 approach to life, and often live to work
• Boomers want home to be a refuge from everyone and everything--including the congregation.
• Be prepared to speak at length because Boomers usually want to talk.
• Speak of congregational programs in terms of upgrading and enhancing quality, with a view toward making them the best.
• Highlight parts of a budget concerned with the environment, children, and social justice concerns.
• Stress the spiritual benefits of being a member of a faith community that gives fuller meaning to life and work.

Areas of focus:

• Earning trust
• Providing control and choice in giving
• Education about generous giving as spiritual practice
• The congregation should model giving--tithing their budget to mission

Gen X/ Nomads 1961-1982

• Taught little to nothing about stewardship in PC(USA) churches
• Many come from unchurched backgrounds, even those who were “members”
• Giving understood as personal possibility, if understood as a spiritual discipline
• Especially for this generation, volunteering time and having a chance to put talents and skills to work are authentic expressions of their stewardship.
• Be brief to the point of bluntness. Stick to the main core and central themes and avoid details or nuances.
• Children’s issues and needs, particularly children’s safety, go over bog. Gen Xers really want a congregation to be a safe place--physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.
• The ways kids get real-world, hands-on experience through service projects speaks to this generation.
• The congregational Web site is important to this generation.
• Electronic funds transfer as a method of taking a member’s contribution appeals.
• They like to be invited to the table and listened to--given a sense of ownership. They need ownership if they are to give.

Areas of focus:

• Education
• Explanation of how a congregation spends and invests money in mission and ministry
• Interpretation of stewardship as spiritual discipline
• Modeling a tithe of congregational budget is significant
• Teach theological thinking about WANTS and NEEDS. Stewardship is a disciple’s antidote to economic materialism

Gen Y/Millennials/Civics 1983-present

• Need specific stewardship education, though they are familiar with a cultural use of the word, especially around environmental issues.
• Invite them to the table and listen to them. They want a sense of ownership.
• Electronic giving is necessary. They do not use checks.

Areas of focus:

• experience generous giving
• support fledgling practice
• mentoring is effective support
• Connect generous giving to God’s transformation of the world

Thoughts on Herb Miller's Consecration Sunday...

We have completed our third year of this particular way of doing stewardship. It is one of the best plans out there now. Most churches see an increase in giving because giving is set firmly in the practice of discipleship instead of making the church budget or paying the bills. However, here are some learnings from churches who have participated:

• The focus on giving as a discipleship practice is strong. Keep in mind that we are encouraging people to change behavior, a difficult task for the best of us. In your year-long stewardship work, encourage first time givers quarterly. Recognize in newsletter articles or Facebook posts that changing habits is hard and the idea is not perfection, but practice. If we don't recognize and support this difficult work, we will have givers who "give up" after their first unsuccessful try.
• A catered lunch is great, but the real strength is to get people there. The individual phone calls and follow up to get an RSVP from everyone in the congregation is the real strength. Pot-luck is not, however, a good idea. People forget or don't have time and then won't stay. One church had elders who enjoyed cooking. They made soup and bread for the congregation and the elders served the congregation. That is a great image and a great plan. The sharing of cooking is also a giving of gifts…and it is much less expensive than a catered meal!
• Miller schedules a leadership meeting at a restaurant with your guest speaker. This seems effective a couple of times, but I think by the third year, meeting in a home, bringing covered dish or sharing responsibility for the meal, and letting elders who have practiced generous giving or who are learning to give generously speak of their journey and encourage their peers. The pastor should share his or her story as well. By year three, the pastor must have a stewardship story to share or you cannot expect a congregation to change its behavior.
• I think a guest speaker is a great transition tool. Often a visiting preacher can say words that for a pastor would be high risk. As the congregation becomes comfortable with the change in practice, a guest speaker may not be necessary. We enjoy a variety of voices, however. And it is great living into our connectional system!
• Miller's letters are a bit weak. Our congregations often need more education about the theology behind generous giving. They also need support and encouragement. Don't make the letters too long, but include what your congregation needs to understand the practice. Don't assume that everyone understands what is going on. 
• The most important celebration is NOT the bottom line of how much money is pledged, but the number of giving units, the number of those who have pledged for the first time, those who commit to work toward tithe, those who tithe, and those who commit beyond a tithe. Those are the significant pieces of information. Be sure you collect that data and celebrate it! Your bottom line may not increase by what you consider "enough," but if you have increasing numbers that pledge for the first time and numbers that commit to move toward a tithe, you have a positive trend for the future. Celebrating that will move your church forward.
• Share the name of first time pledgers and first time tithers with your session and your stewardship team. Leaders in the congregation should know to be grateful and encouraging of their brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Herb Miller guarantees results, but only if you change NOTHING in his book. So this is a disclaimer that these are my opinions and the practices I've seen other churches adopt. I make no guarantees, except that God's faithfulness is sure and dependable.  

Enjoy your stewardship season! We are blessed!