5 Reasons Not to Fear a Major Gift Campaign
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says a capital campaign or major gift drive can be a positive experience that energizes a church and…
Browsing: Stewardship
Articles
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…
7 Key Questions for Fundraising with Spiritual Integrity
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…
10 Ways to Master the Art of Asking
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…
What Church Leaders Need to Know About Grants and Crowdfunding
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…
Doing Mission Fundraising Well
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 Resolutions for the New Year
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…
5 Ideas to Increase Year-End Giving
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…
Some Old Handbells Became Our Fish and Loaves
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…
People Want to Attend a Generous Church
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…
Reimaging Stewardship Season
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…
Five Questions for Discerning Your Annual Giving Theme
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…
A Better Way to Report on Giving
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…
Embracing Electronic Giving
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…
Christian Wallet Principles
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…
50 Ways to Improve Your Annual Stewardship Campaign
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…
When Higher Giving May Not Be Good News
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 Stewardship Goals for the New Year
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…
Living with Open Hands
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…
Cultivate Generosity through Thankful Living
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…
Ten Ways Congregations Can Promote the Financial Wellbeing of Clergy
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…
Why Clergy Personal Finances Matter
“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,…
Games People Play During Budget Season
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…
Overcoming the Fear of Talking About Money
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…
Crafting Better Commitment Campaign Messages
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…
Inspiring Generosity with a Thank You Letter
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…
9 Ways Generosity Leads to Healthier and More Purposeful Living
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…
Tying Facility Needs to Mission
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…
A Stewardship Intervention Counters Fundraiser Dependence
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…
Should a Pastor Know What Church Members Give?
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,…
