Using Your Building Assets
Rosario Picardo says unused building space can be a goldmine of opportunity if a church has eyes to see how their space could be used…
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Rosario Picardo says unused building space can be a goldmine of opportunity if a church has eyes to see how their space could be used…
How can we raise money with spiritual integrity? Anyone who wants their work in cultivating generosity to reflect the gospel needs to wrestle with seven…
Learning how to be effective in asking others to support your ministry is a key to fruitful leadership, says Ann Michel of the Lewis Center…
Many churches need to think more creatively about funding their ministries in today’s environment. Church planter and consultant Rosario Picardo provides tips and resources for…
Do you wish your church could do more to support mission? Pastor Lisa Kipp gives tips for how special fundraising for mission can be done…
Stewardship consultant Cesie Delve Scheuermann suggests planning your calendar of stewardship activities for the year. But before you do any asking, she stresses that you…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that giving at year-end represents an increasing portion of total giving in many churches. Recognizing the many different circumstances that…
Pastor Rosario Picardo tells how selling two old sets of silver handbells that hadn’t been used for 20 years provided a surprisingly large infusion of cash…
Tom Berlin, pastor of Floris UMC in Herndon, Virginia, says that for Christians to become generous, they need the help of a church that itself…
Pastor Laura Heikes shares strategies for making stewardship season something people don’t dread, but to which they look forward. “It’s not impossible,” she writes. “Dream…
John Zehring and Kate Jagger describe five questions that can help you define a theme that can serve as an effective framework for your annual…
Stewardship experts Kristine Miller and Scott McKenzie explain why publishing weekly and year-to-date giving amounts in the Sunday bulletin with a “woe is us” message…
Adam Copeland of Luther Seminary says electronic giving is the preferred method of giving for most churchgoers, including your most faithful givers. Reducing the barriers…
Every Christian knows that we are called to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. But what about our wallet? We get…
Church members who make pledges give substantially more than those who do not, and congregations that seek annual financial commitments have significantly higher levels of…
As a new year begins, there will and should be a careful review of the past year. Perhaps there will be reports made to the…
Setting annual goals for your stewardship and generosity ministry is very important to help create focus and energy. These goals can come out of brainstorming…
My wife, Danelle, and I have always tried to live our lives with open hearts, open hands, and an open home. We have fed hundreds…
We regularly sing about living lives of thankfulness. Gratitude is on our lips in some way during virtually every worship service, and then we are…
Financial wellbeing is essential to the overall health and well being of those in pastoral ministry. Accordingly, the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health…
“For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Jesus talked a great deal about money. And in our monetized society,…
Is budget season in your church plagued with political maneuvering and game playing? Watch out for some of these common ploys that Richard J. Vargo…
I confess to a complicated relationship with wealth. When I was in college, I thought of money as the “root of all evil.” I even…
Many churches have a one-size-fits-all approach to their annual stewardship appeal. Everyone in the congregation receives the same “Dear Friend” letter inviting them to prayerfully…
How often have you opened up what looks like a form letter and read, “On behalf of blah blah blah, I want to thank you…
Do you sometimes wish for empirical evidence to back up your faith claims? In The Paradox of Generosity (Oxford University Press, 2014), sociologists Christian Smith…
Churches that have been around for many years often face numerous property challenges. With aging buildings, there are frequent unplanned property issues that arise and…
I pastor a church that believes in the power of fundraisers. Over the decades, Beulah African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a historic congregation in rural…
Every time I teach a stewardship workshop or class, this question invariably comes up: “Should a pastor have access to contribution records?” In some congregations,…
Sometimes churches have financial systems designed for the convenience of those receiving the contributions rather than for those who are giving. When you design and…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.