Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices - Vestry Papers - Rethinking Stewardship - Stewardship: More than an Annual Campaign

September 2015
Rethinking Stewardship

Stewardship: More than an Annual Campaign

Nancy Davidge and Susan Elliott

We don’t know if Jesus worried about money. We do know he saw the hunger of a great gathering of people who had come to hear him, that he fed them with five loaves and two fish, and afterward still had leftovers. That’s a tricky gospel for vestry members, responsible for managing and developing their church’s resources. It’s the disciples who make sense here. It’s late, and this is a desolate place. Send the people away so they can find food.

But Jesus is always focused on his mission, confident that God will provide. Jesus uses what the people have given, and it is more than enough.

This is a good stewardship message for vestries—a reminder that God will use the gifts of the people in our faith communities to do “more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). Your task as a vestry is to focus on your mission and vision. Be diligent in managing the property and resources in your care. Trust God and your congregation to provide the means to move toward the hopeful future you have discerned together.

Patterns for giving change as society changes so it is not surprising that we see significant generational differences in commitment to stewardship. People born before 1942 are likely to give to their congregations from a sense of duty, but succeeding generations (from Baby Boomers to Millennials) bring new needs, experiences, and expectations to the church’s stewardship efforts. Some expect transparency about finances and need to hear how their contributions make a difference. Others want to know that the church is a caring community and that giving is not an obligation. Still others are technology-savvy and looking for ways to be involved and to be heard. Economic anxiety cuts across all generations, making stewardship one more item in the long list of demands on one’s time and money.

Christians also understand practicing intentional stewardship can bring joy. Congregations find that when they see stewardship as a life practice rather than an obligation—as focused opportunity to grow as Christians—giving is transformed. And so are congregations, families, individuals, and the world.

Year-round stewardship formation

When stewardship is understood as the right use of the resources God has given us, it touches all aspects of our lives. Forming good stewards becomes an integral part of the congregation’s worship, education, community life, and mission. Relegating it to the annual pledge campaign means your leadership team misses rich opportunities to build stewardship formation into the church’s life and programs throughout the year.

Here are some ways to help your congregation grow into faithful and generous stewards:

Preach and teach stewardship as a Christian practice through sermons, book studies, rector’s forums, Sunday school classes, and new member classes.

Offer classes on managing finances and time to help members understand those issues in the context of their faith.

Create opportunities for clergy, leaders, and others to share their stories about stewardship—how it undergirds our faith and attitudes toward giving.

Provide clear, straightforward financial information and invite the congregation’s ideas and questions on budget planning. Show how giving supports your congregation’s internal and external ministries.

Plan events and projects through the year where people can give time, talent, or financial support. Celebrate their efforts.

Thank people often for their gifts of time and talent and money. Gratitude is the heart of stewardship.

Vestry stewardship statement

The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS), www.tens.org, recommends congregations establish the practice of drafting an annual vestry stewardship statement. Trinity Episcopal Church in Swanton, Vermont, presents theirs in the form of a collect:

[We believe that] God, who is the giver of every good gift, you are ever present in our lives and in the world. You act through us, your people, to care for and provide for everyone.

[We invite] We pray for the courage to break outof our insecurity and fear around money as we deepen our understanding of our relationship to you and how we use our financial resources to do your work in the world.

[We commit] We pray these things that we might know you better, that you will increase our desire and ability to give and help others through ministry and friendship and to gratefully commit ourselves to the work you have given us to do. Amen.

Being generous with thank you

Thanking the congregation for their gifts is a critical (and frequently missing) element in stewardship planning. A thank you letter is not enough. Sunday announcements, sermons, personal expressions of gratitude, newsletter articles, and special celebratory events are among the many meaningful ways to thank the members of your faith community for their expressions of stewardship. You might include a photo of a well-loved ministry or a beautifully designed card tucked into the quarterly pledge statement with a note of thanks, add a listing at the end of annual report with the names of everyone who has given time to each of your church’s ministries, or host a party for volunteers—these are simple ways to thank people (personally and privately) for the ways they support your church’s mission and vision.

Do it your way

Stewardship formation needs to be shaped to fit your faith community. In large churches, program planning for stewardship formation is often a clergy/staff function. In other congregations, the vestry might create a stewardship formation committee to coordinate programming throughout the year. Or your leadership team might make a start with a special committee, charged to find ways to recognize and celebrate stewards through the year. Encourage the committee to be creative. There are many ways to cultivate a culture that teaches, demonstrates, and celebrates faithful stewardship. Make a start and see what happens.

Try This

Saying thank you in a variety of ways throughout the year is a great way to show appreciation for volunteers’ time and also educate donors about how their funds are being used. The United Way’s rule of thumb is thanking folks seven times throughout the year.

What might happen in your congregation if you were to adopt a discipline of gratitude? To get you thinking, here’s some of what happened when St. John’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan adopted a discipline of gratitude:

Members of the vestry meet with each of the ministry committees, bringing them pastries/cookies and a heartfelt word of thanks for their gifts to the parish.

One member, who manages the local deli, was taken by this approach and now includes a “Round Robin Thank you” in his weekly meeting with deli staff. Each week a staff member is invited to share a story of gratitude about their work.

Another member is a social worker; she was surprised to receive a heartfelt thank you from her boss for her work. This was her first note of thanks in four years of service to her community.

How are you thanking your volunteers and donors throughout the year? What else might you try?

This article is an excerpt from the 2015 edition of the Vestry Resource Guide, an Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) publication by Nancy Davidge, ECF associate program director and editor, ECF Vital Practices and church communications writer and consultant Susan Elliott. The Vestry Resource Guide helps vestry members and clergy work together to become an effective, even transformational leadership team. With information and recommendations for congregations of all shapes and sizes, this is an essential tool to help vestries focus on what God is calling them to do in the world. Available in English or Spanish, and in both print and eBook formats

Resources