Stewardship
Stewardship Resources
There are two new stewardship resources in the Resource Center that we would like to call your attention to. These resources along with many others will be located on a Stewardship Resource Table that will be set up at the Ministry Association Retreat in September. They are available for preview in the Resource Center and we will be glad to order copies for anyone interested.
Irresistible Invitation: Living and Giving in Response to God’s Extravagant Love
Maxie Dunnam. Abingdon Press.
We have been given an invitation – an irresistible invitation – to enter into a
relationship with God and experience the infinite abundance of God’s
extravagant love. When we accept God’s invitation, we are transformed.
We become more God-centered and focus less on the busyness of life and
more on the business of God. And we desire to give back. Stewardship is not
simply about giving money. True giving is an outpouring of ourselves in
response to God’s extravagant love. We give back with our gifts, our
strengths, our abilities, our time, and our relationships.This is a 40 day journey complete with a book, workbook, leaders guide, DVD
campaign handbook and media kit.
Growing a Grateful, Generous Heart: Stewardship Resources for children and their families
Living the Good News.
One of the delights of teaching and parenting is helping children discover
their own giftedness, seeing themselves as persons to whom God has given a
unique assortment of gifts. An even greater joy is encouraging their discernment
of the ways that God hopes they will use these gifts. Stewardship also involves
giving authentically from ourselves, in ways that honor and celebrate our
individuality. Stewardship asks us to serve as channels of God’s loving
abundance for families and friends, our communities of faith, our neighbors and
the world.This program is designed to help churches and families bring this fresh
perspective to the congregation, including children and their families, a
perspective of thankfulness and abundance, authenticity and responsibility. It is
an invitation to replace the cultural imperative to gain, grasp, and guard with an
invitation to grow a grateful, generous heart.These resources include a leaders guide, a parent/family resource, and children’s
workbooks in different age levels.
Stewardship Commission
The 2006-2010 Provincial Stewardship Commission begins its work this fall as we meet to discuss and plan for the items coming out of the 2006 Synod. The commission will work specifically on providing training and resources to local church stewardship leaders, committee chairs and pastors. This has been a continuing priority for the commission in the past and remains an important part of its ministry with our local churches. Materials for both this training and use by local church stewardship committees are available through the Resource Center of the Board of Christian Education. The commission will also begin initial work on the design for an intersynodal stewardship education event for our pastors serving in the province. The commission feels as did synod that this will be an important part of our stewardship education work during the next four years.
Stewardship Formation and Resources
Many of our congregations utilize the Fall season to highlight stewardship formation and education. It is a time when important programmatic and financial planning is going on for congregational ministry, and it affirms that we must be intentional about “forming stewards” if our congregation is to grow and be vital in its life of mission and service for Christ.
The provincial Stewardship Commission has been reviewing materials and approaches which have been productive in our congregations as they do stewardship formation work, and here are several that are recommended:
- New Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program (with CD-Rom) – Herb Miller’s highly successful stewardship program called Consecration Sunday has been used over the recent years by many of our congregations. The new edition is similar in many ways to the basic program, but offers more support and planning features along with a CD-Rom that carries a PowerPoint presentation for pastors and local church stewardship leaders. If you haven’t used Consecration Sunday in the past, or you haven’t used it for a long time, the new edition is worth a look for your church stewardship committee and its planning.
- Cycles of Stewardship – A Stewardship Program for the Local Church by Jack Phillips – Phillips’ material is based on the first stewardship model of the early church outlined in 2 Corinthians and centered in the strong belief that for the Christian disciple giving is a privilege and an act of grace. The material includes program guides, a training DVD, resource materials, a Bible Studies CD, and age-appropriate program suggestions for 3-year olds to adults. It offers good support and ideas for stewardship committees doing year-round planning and emphasis.
- The Great Permission, An Asset-Based Field Guide for Congregations by Bob Sitze – This small book is an adaptation of Luther Snow’s stewardship model of “asset-mapping” for helping congregations act on their gifts. Its theology of stewardship starts with grace and helps congregations see and learn how to act out of their gifts rather than a sense of neediness or scarcity. It is accompanied on-line by a complete notebook of plans and ideas by the same name that is available through the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As a planning methodology, asset-mapping is also useful in a number of groups and church settings other than stewardship. It has been used in several of our congregations in the Southern Province in the last year.
For more information on these resources or help for your Stewardship Committee or congregational planning group, contact the commission through the Board of Christian Education (336) 722-8126 or email to Rick Sides. These materials are also available in the Resource Center at 500 S. Church St. or on-line at “www.moravianboardofce.org”. (Rick Sides)
