Stewardship with Rev. Susan Ranous
December 13, 2023
MAKE STEWARDSHIP ONGOING
In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the fourth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship Ongoing
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been present in a meeting or two (and even thought to myself) – if we had someone like Bill Gates in our congregation, money wouldn’t be an issue! To be fair, large contributions can go a long way towards achieving goals, but if we focus just on large contributions, we’re missing out on the point! Being reliant on one or two large givers is, at best, going to help you for several years, but will cease being helpful. We need a congregation full of multiple givers, not just a couple, “givers that aren’t reliant on personal wealth and not susceptible to economic fluctuations.”[1] When all our members are givers that give what they can throughout multiple years, stewardship is successful.
Here are a couple of points that the article makes, and that I want to make as well, that, too often, is the focus of our churches:
Current Focus: We address finances only when we need money
Should be: Finances should be addressed regularly, not just when we’re in need, because the folks we’re talking to are going to equate that with an organization that is always in need.
Current Focus: We address stewardship only once a year, OR when giving as dropped.
Should be: Stewardship should be a regular, ongoing, year-round thing. I’m not saying we spend all our time, every sermon, every conversation, asking for money. I’m talking about discussing stewardship, just like we talk about discipleship, as part of being followers of Christ, of being Christian, of worshipping God. Stewardship HAS to be tied to the vision and mission of the church, not the line-item budget!
Something to consider in your finance and leadership teams is shifting from seasonal fundraising campaigns to a continual conversation about stewardship. Change the money perspective from “it’s that time of year when we need to talk about money” to being part of the goals and work and discipleship of the church.
These kinds of discussions can then lead to a better discussion of how all of that is the point, not the money. And then the conversation about how money enables the cause to happen will help.
If you wish more information on this or would like to discuss stewardship and its relationship with discipleship, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com. I’d be happy to help.
[1] The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, (Vanco), Page 6
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