Rethinking Stewardship for a New Day - Key Insights and Reflections

RETHINKING STEWARDSHIP FOR A NEW DAY Pastor Jerry O Neal IK Synod Stewardship Director Presentations to St. Andrew s, Speedway and Faith, Avon October 9, 2021

CHECK-IN So, how are things at St. Andrew s and Faith? What has changed in your lives these past few years? What has remained constant through that time?

WHAT HAS NOT CHANGED The gospel story has not changed: Jesus is still risen from the dead! ALLELUIA! Jesus Lordship has not changed Our calling in baptism has not changed Our calling as stewards has not changed The church s mission has not changed: To make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20) To forgive sins (John 20:19-23) To pray for and participate in God s reign on earth (Matthew 6:10; Mark 1:15)

WHAT HAS CHANGED Everything, it seems The ways we worship (see picture ) The ways we fellowship, meet for Bible studies, stewardship workshops Our outreach ministries may not have changed much Honestly, our giving to the church hasn t changed much, but HOW we give has Our use of technology to share the gospel has EXPLODED I hope you invested in Zoom stock 19 months ago! Mask policies, social distancing, vaccine requirements Isolation Illness and death of loved ones due to COVID-19 What else?

WHAT IS A STEWARD, ANYWAY??? A servant, accountable to a lord Responsible for managing the lord s affairs in accordance with the lord s wishes Modern-day examples? We know that God owns everything (Psalm 24:1) God entrusts us with gifts God is, by nature, a giver (John 3:16) God wants us to manage God s resources for God s purposes Is it any wonder that environmentalists have picked up the word stewardship ?

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EACH OF US PERSONALLY How we utilize our God-given resources (time, talent, technology, treasure, testimony, etc.) both impacts and is impacted by our relationship with God Can someone quote for me Matthew 6:21? Where your _____________ is, there your ____________ will be also Even if we quote this correctly, we often get this backward in our thinking Jesus talked about money and material possessions more than any other topic except one Which one? Why did he speak about M&MP so regularly? Example: this Sunday s gospel reading, Mark 10:17-31, the Rich Ruler Prof. Mark Allan Powell: Simply put, stewardship is the biblical path to spirituality (Giving to God 61)

HOW TO MANAGE THIS IN PRACTICE Begin with prayer Put God first in our time (beginning of each day), our resources (top of our budgets), etc. Watch out for impulses that can turn into addictions Technology: useful in moderation, but Impulse purchases The goal is simplicity and generosity Simplicity: a life filled with the essentials (1 Timothy 6:8), a life of contentment (Philippians 4:11) Generosity: giving ourselves away for the sake of others our time (volunteering), our talents (using them for the good of others), our possessions (financial and otherwise)

ITS SIMPLE, REALLY: WE NEED TO GIVE Book: The Paradox of Generosity People who give are Happier, better social connections Healthier, lower stress Wealthier Live longer lives and they found these links are causal Why do you think that is? Genesis 1:26: We are made in the _____ of God God s by nature is a _____ (John 3:16) And so giving brings us _____ (John 15:9-13)

HOW SHOULD WE GIVE? HOW MUCH? From Deuteronomy 26:1-11, we give ____________ ____________ In practice, we have a BUDGET, a plan for how to spend the money we receive, and the top expense item on the budget is ____________ We then trust God to provide enough to cover our other expenses The technical how can occur in many ways: through the offering plate (cash, check), through Online BillPay, through electronic means (Tithe.ly, GivePlus, PayPal, Venmo, etc.) The Biblical standard for giving is the _______, defined as ___ % of income We aren t anywhere close to that: the median Lutheran household gives 0.62% of their income to their congregation Better is to encourage growing in generosity (example)

WHY GIVE? Lots of reasons: What we discussed earlier about our need to give In order to participate in God s work in the world, like our ELCA tagline says Because the need out there is great, and we have the resources to help It brings us joy Because where our treasure is, there our heart will follow Others? Most important reason: we give in response to God s grace, in gratitude Psalm 116:12, 14: What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me? I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CONGREGATIONS Just like we as individuals are responsible to steward God s gifts well, so also are our congregations Giving outside of ourselves: Mission Support, outreach ministries Budgeting well Having transparent, appropriate financial practices Two non-related people count the offering each week Person responsible for managing donations not related to person who writes the checks Policies so funds are spent appropriately (two people sign checks, credit card policy, etc.) Maintain appropriate confidentiality of people s giving Most importantly, steward the gospel story well!

LETS TAKE A BREAK! If you d like to ponder some Scripture during break, here s a passage to consider: [Jesus said,] Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:25-33)

CHECK-IN Any thoughts, questions, etc. from our first time of conversation? Any thoughts, questions, etc. from the Scripture passage during break?

THE STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN Really, it s not a stewardship campaign, but a generosity campaign We should be discussing the concepts of stewardship throughout the year, especially when they come up in the lectionary A good generosity campaign answers two basic questions: Why give? This is a _____________ question, one we helped answer in our first conversation Also, there are many canned stewardship programs out there that answer this reasonably well Why give to your congregation?This is a ___________ question, one only your congregation can answer

WHY GIVE TO ST. ANDREWS? WHY GIVE TO FAITH? People give to non-profits for three reasons (J. Clif Christopher, Not Your Parents Offering Plate): They BELIEVE in the mission They have high REGARD for the leadership, especially the CEO (i.e. pastor) They have trust that their gift will be stewarded well, that there s TRANSPARENCY in the finances And I would add a fourth: because we ASK (story)

BELIEF IN THE MISSION People want to know that through their gifts, your ministries are CHANGING LIVES through the gospel How are people coming to faith in Jesus? How are they growing in faith? How are being fed? Sheltered? Cared for in their times of need? We Lutherans know these stories, but we re often very quiet about them we need to tell the story! And the way to do this is through impact (outcome) stories These stories show how your ministries are having an impact in other people s lives Often, they are best told by the recipients of those ministries

IMPACT STORIES Make these stories as PERSONAL as possible Let me give you an example: suppose you need people to volunteer as Sunday school teachers and aides. You could say this: Sunday school teachers needed! Please sign up on the bulletin board in the narthex. ( by the way, it s a bad idea to use the word narthex ) Or, you could say this: I will never forget my Sunday school teacher from 1st Grade. Mrs. Anne Robinson is a deeply spiritual person, grounded in prayer and gifted with God's grace. Anne not only nurtured my faith as a child: she also supported me through my young adult years as I considered how I would serve God in my life. All this began when she taught me Sunday school... Would you love to be a positive influence like Anne? We are seeking Sunday school teachers and aides for this next school year

IMPACT STORIES (CONTINUED) Elements of a good impact story: Change: How has this person/these people s lives changed because of the ministry? Agent of Change: Who helped this change to occur? Generosity: Explaining how people s generosity helped make this change possible Ask: Asking people to support/increase support/continue to support this ministry

IMPACT STORIES (CONTINUED) How have YOU been impacted by the ministries at St. Andrews and Faith? Let s share some stories By the way, these stories are perfect to share as temple talks, not only during your stewardship campaign, but throughout the year People want to give when they know that their giving is making a difference! On the next slide, we ll see a video example of a temple talk

WE HAVE TO ASK! As I mentioned earlier, one key aspect of a stewardship campaign is asking people to give generously Leaders need to set the example here: the pastor and council should be willing to say if they are giving a tithe or growing towards a tithe The key phrase isn t go do it, but join us! By the way, one area we often fail to do this is with people s legacy giving, with their estates If you d like to set up a planned giving program, let me know: we have a new Regional Gift Planner for our synod (the Rev. Karl Biermann) who can work with you all on this

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT WORDS The two most important words in any stewardship campaign are THANK YOU! We want people to know that we appreciate their investment in our ministries Personalized, hand-written notes are best It doesn t have to come from the pastor necessarily After handwritten notes, a typed letter with a handwritten note at the end is good Tell people how their gift is being used Quarterly letters (sent with quarterly giving statements) are also a great way to say thanks and to share how God is using people s gifts Perhaps the best way to say it is this: I thank God for you!

FOLLOW-UP IS KEY I didn t realize how important follow-up is to a campaign until last year 2020 Holy Trinity campaign: At the end of the campaign, we had around 57 intent cards (pledges) returned, fewer than the previous year (around 61) Our council VP made personal phone calls to people who hadn t pledged; she knows most of them personally We had a goal to get to 80 pledges someone offered us a matching gift if we met the goal Over several weeks, more pledges streamed in Final count: 83 pledges, an increase of over $15,000 from previous year s giving!!! Be sensitive with the follow-up: this is encouragement, not badgering

SPEAKING OF MATCHING GIFTS You hear about these all the time in the non-profit world (e.g. NPR appeals on the radio) Most non-profits have a donor offer a matching gift, dollar for dollar For churches, consider seeking a goal of number of pledges; if we reach the goal, an anonymous donor pledges an extra $2,000, or $5,000, or whatever A matching gift provides motivation and impetus to reach the goal

WHATS THE END GOAL HERE? TWO goals, really: Help people to become generous stewards None of what we have belongs to us anyway We get to be generous as an expression of our faith People who get this tend to be remarkably generous with their whole lives Generosity is a fruit of the Spirit! (Gal. 5:22) Raise funds to support our ministries Henri Nouwen: Fundraising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission. Fundraising is a supporting effort: the main effort is God s mission for your congregation! Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

THANK YOU! Any questions? Comments? I hope this is the continuation of our conversation. Feel free to reach out to me: Pastor Jerry O Neal IK Stewardship Director (260) 307-1345 (cell) joneal@iksynod.org (email)