Stewardship does not have to be the hardest thing you do at church. Pastors and leaders often lament pledge drives or stewardship campaigns. Fundraising in the church is difficult.
There is an alternative to non-stop fundraising, convincing people to give more – or simply cutting the budget. It’s what you bring to stewardship that you already have and not about learning the latest technique.
Register for this FREE webinar for Monday, May 5th @ 3:30 PM EST and you will be able to:
- become more thoughtful about the financial challenges you and you church face
- see money – and the process of stewardship– from a different perspective
- bring more calm and creativity to recurring and unexpected problems in funding ministry
- concentrate on long-term ministry goals and strategic persistence to get financial support for those goals.
- focus on yourself and what you can impact directly rather than trying harder to convince others to give more
- enjoy the stewardship process rather than dreading it each year
Leading this webinar is Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches who want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want to have more impact on the people they serve best. She speaks and writes on leadership and works with church leaders nationally as a consultant and coach. Margaret is the author of 111 Tips to Survive Pastoral Ministry, Leaders who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry and Money and Your Ministry: Balance the Books While Keeping Your Balance (just released). Margaret is an American Baptist minister and was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts, for 13 years. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, Karl, and belongs to First Baptist Church of Portland.
Spots are limited for this webinar! Sign up today.
The decline of giving to churches was well documented during the Great Recession. Larger churches particularly struggled with giving. The graph here shows regional declines in giving. Many churches struggle with a vision on stewardship. Many churches guilt their people into giving or force the concept of tithe.
At the Super Bowl one year, a fan was surprised to see an empty seat at the stadium, a die-hard fan remarked about it to a woman sitting nearby. “It was my husband’s,” the woman explained, “But he died.” “I’m very sorry,” said the man. Then, the gentleman said, “Yet I’m really surprised that another relative, or friend, didn’t jump at the chance to take the seat reserved for him.” “Beats me…They all insisted on going to the funeral.” Remarked the woman.
Adam Smith is often credited with creating much of our free market principles as we know today as capitalism. Capitalism has created, at least in the West, a world where anyone can succeed if they work hard, save hard, and spend wisely. Much of our understanding of our resources is viewed through the lens of self interest. We are in control of our money and our gifts. However, we have seen how greed and corruption have affected our world through this Great Recession.
You must be logged in to post a comment.