Browsing Congregational Finance
Beware Pitfalls of Church Credit Cards
Many churches find that it’s easier and quicker to use credit cards for business purchases than other pyament methods, but there are cautions and drawbacks. Wise administrators should be aware of these and establish policies accordingly, says this article from LifeWay.
Wills Program Toolbox
Do you know that 60 percent of Americans die without leaving a will? Creating and promoting a Wills Emphasis Program in the local congregation opens an important avenue for members and friends to leave a lasting legacy of their faith. Free 12-page guide from the Presbyterian Foundation.
Carpe Tithing: Invigorate Your Life of Faith
The tithe as a spiritual discipline is vastly underappreciated by modern Christians. I believe that if we boldly reintroduce the challenge to tithe, personally embrace the conviction of its worth, and then do it, we will provide abundant resources for God’s work in the world as well as invigorate our experience of life in Christ.
Monthly Stewardship Resources
Here’s a way to provide your congregation with a regular reminders about generosity and abundance: Stewardship Sentences that are perfect for Sunday worship bulletins or a website, or monthly newsletter articles ready to cut and paste. A great idea, great resources from the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. (Photo © trotzolga – Fotolia.com)
Essentials for a Successful Stewardship Strategy
Nearly every church faces two great challenges — developing more leaders and developing more resources to fund the ministries of the church. This video training series presents a plan for overcoming both of these challenges even as you increase your church’s effectiveness in carrying out the Great Commission. This training is divided into 13 short segments. Show all of the segments over a period of time or simply pick and choose those segments that best meet your church’s needs. (Photo: Rob Nguyen, Creative Commons)
Best Practices: Handling Church Offerings
Because not everybody is honest, even in church, congregations ought to have guidelines for handling the offering. Guidelines protect the church, the offering and the counters themselves. Here are some suggested guidelines from the West Ohio Conference, UMC. (Photo © James Steidl – Fotolia.com)
Embracing Stewardship
“Why is stewardship so stinking difficult?” That’s a question you hear many congregational leaders ask, and it’s also a chapter in the new resource offered by Charles R. Lane and Grace Duddy Pomroy. “Embracing Stewardship” addresses that age-old question by offering both a solid theoretical/theological grounding and practical, down-to-earth approaches for making stewardship an everyday part of a congregation’s life together. An accessible, affordable resource.
Free E-Book: Stewardship Under the Cross
What you’ll get in this book is the experience and advice of one pastor struggling to remain faithful to God’s Word while leading his parish through a rough financial patch. There are plenty of stewardship programs out there – some good, some bad, and some ugly. While I do lay out the program we used at my parish, this is not a book about a program: it is a book about how to think about and teach stewardship as a Lutheran; a book about Law & Gospel, vocation, and liturgy. (From the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Photo © Pei Lin – Fotolia.com)
51 Ideas for a Year-Round Stewardship Program
This is the kind of resource you need to keep handy for every brainstorming session of your stewardship or finance committee — a wide assortment of ideas that can keep your congregation on top of things 365 days a year. Some of them will be simple reminders of things you probably are already doing, but others will stretch your ideas and imaginations. Compact. Simple. Accessible. (Photo © TRITOOTH – Fotolia.com)
To Build or Not to Build
To build or not to build … that is the question many congregations ponder at some point in their lives. If you church is asking it now, it’s not alone. Here is a tip sheet with some key considerations to ponder. From the New Jersey Synod, ELCA. (Photo © Les Cunliffe – Fotolia.com)
