Congregational Stewardship

by Barb Fullerton

Sometimes people phone or e-mail my office to inquire about stewardship resources. I often tell them that the Bible is our best stewardship book because it tells stories about Jesus, our finest stewardship teacher. Christians are a people formed around the story of Jesus, a story that guides the way we live in relationship with God and others in community. Jesus also told many stories of his own. More often than not, they were about two particular topics, both related to stewardship. He talked about the "kingdom of God," a vision of what the world could be like if we lived as though God's realm was already established on earth. And Jesus also told stories about our attitude toward and decisions about money and possessions, particularly how they affect our relationship with God and the rest of creation. These two topics are related: Balance in our material decision-making helps us live in ways more aligned with carrying out God's vision.

The stories about Jesus indicate he lived what he taught--he walked the talk. The only miracle story told in all four gospels, the feeding of the 5,000 men (plus women and children) demonstrates this. It is a great stewardship story. The gospel writer Mark sets the stage for that drama with these words: "For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat" (6:31). Jesus intends to take some retreat time--his own stewardship of self--to grieve the murder of his cousin, John the Baptist. But when he sees the crowds following him, he is filled with deep compassion for them. He abandons his decision to take some time for himself and instead begins to teach the people.

As time goes on, the disciples worry that it is getting late and the people are hungry. They bring five loaves of bread and two fish to Jesus. According to John (6:9), the offer of the food comes from a young boy. He has paid attention to what Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God and makes a stewardship decision to share his lunch! Jesus invites the crowd to sit down, blesses the food, breaks it in pieces, and asks the disciples to distribute it. No matter what you believe about what the miracle was that day, the ancient writers agree 12 baskets full of bread and fish were left over after the crowd had finished eating. Jesus, who had a vision of a world where all would have enough to eat, would not send people away hungry.

There are more stewardship nuggets to mine from this story! When the disciples suggest that Jesus tell the people to leave to buy themselves something to eat, he answers, "Give them something to eat." They are shocked. "Are we to buy bread ourselves?" they ask. To feed such a crowd would take a year's wages!

Jesus' Asset-Based Question

At this point in Mark's version of the story, Jesus asks a very important stewardship question. "How many loaves have you? Go and see" (6:38). He does not ask what is needed to get the job done--he determines the available resources and works with them. When Matthew and Mark tell a similar story about the feeding of 4,000 men (not counting women and children), Jesus again asks the same question: "How many loaves do you have?" (Mark 8:5). That asset-based question pops up three times in the gospel accounts of Jesus feeding crowds of people. This is an important clue to apply when we approach congregational stewardship.

Jesus shows us that stewardship begins with what we have been given as gifts from God. In those gifts are clues to what God is calling us to do with them. Jesus' instruction to go and see what is available is an invitation to discernment. In recognizing the gifts we have, we discover the mission for which God intends us to use them. This is the basis for a mission-driven, asset-based stewardship strategy.

Unfortunately, so much of our planning strategy language focuses on needs. Rather than discovering what God is calling us to do and then finding ways to do it, we sometimes get hung up on what we don't have. Church stewardship is then perceived to be a program--what we do to raise money to meet our needs. Yet, to focus on needs is to whine about what we don't have, a kind of scarcity mentality. It's like getting a gift at Christmas and, instead of saying thanks, complaining that it was not something else. We hear it in statements like "we need" or "we don't have enough." Stewardship becomes onerous because we believe we don't have enough people or space or money or something else! The limiting factors become the defining factors, the shaping issues.

Where is the treasurer's report on meeting agendas? Does the state of the bank account tend to define the nature of congregational mission? When the financial reporting takes priority, raising money becomes associated with the core identity of the church rather than a means of enabling mission to happen.

The goal of Christian stewardship is conversion of lives and transformation of faith communities. It is about growing disciples whose life decisions, including those about money, are faith-based. It is about developing faithful communities with a vision that emerges from gratitude for God's gifts and discerning in those gifts God's call to mission. This becomes the basis of an asset-based approach to congregational development and stewardship.

Developing Your Own Asset-Based Strategy

Churches can develop an asset-based planning strategy by following Jesus' actions in the story of the feeding of the 5,000, as shown in the chart below.

In his book Our Stewardship: Managing Our Assets (see Resources), John Golv suggests that the key stewardship question for every congregation is actually a mission question: "Why do we have what we have?" I would suggest that there is a question to be asked before that: "What do we have?" That is essentially the question Jesus asked the disciples when he asked how much bread they had. That is the asset-based question.

An asset-based stewardship approach is not a program. It is a way of thinking, relating, and being. It does not start with needs, so it does not get bogged down with problems, nor does it become preoccupied with what is lacking or what is not possible. An easy place to begin to move toward this way of thinking is to look at the language we use in church. How does your church talk to itself and about itself? Use the following Asset-Based Vocabulary Exercise with your stewardship committee, church board, or council.

Asset-Based Vocabulary Exercise

One way for your stewardship committee to identify whether your congregation's vocabulary is needs-based or asset-based is to do the following exercise. Ahead of time, gather written material such as bulletins, annual reports, newsletters, and financial stewardship programs. Look for words and phrases that are repeated from year to year. These may reflect assumptions that are presumed to be true. Set them aside. Make copies of the chart below and distribute them to the committee, asking each person to put a check mark beside words or phrases your church often uses.

After a short time, ask participants: "What pattern do you see emerging as you place check marks in the boxes?" Now invite participants to look at the resources you have gathered. Have them cross out any phrases that are similar to those in the left-hand column of the table. Then have them write in a replacement phrase from the right-hand column. Take turns reading the "new" announcements aloud. List or talk together about how you feel upon hearing the new phrasing. Discuss what you will do with what you have discovered. Share the following examples of ways you might change your stewardship language in the future:

• God will be generous with us again this year. We will see reasons for gratitude again this year.
• Your generosity makes it possible for our ministries to lift up God's generosity.
• Our church's ministry includes stewardship of financial resources.
• This year, X of our members increased their giving as a way to live joyfully with what we have and a faithful way to participate in God's mission. You are welcome to do the same!
• We have everything we need to do what God wants us to do.
• Let's look at where we see God's abundance in our congregation.
• Thanks for saying thanks to God through your giving.
• We are unusually blessed!
• We have the privilege to receive, use, and offer our gifts in response to God's generosity.
• Members of our church offer so much to the community around us. We are part of something much bigger than just us!

For more stewardship ideas, be sure to look at the list of resources below.

Resources for Stewardship

The following resources may help you and your congregation strengthen your own approach to stewardship. These seven areas for developing stewardship are part of The Giving Project.

Those resources stocked by United Church Resource Distribution (1-800-288-7365; locally 416-253-5456) are indicated. Many are also stocked by participating presbytery resource centres. For other resources and their availability, check with UCRD for ordering information or check UCRDstore.

Preaching/Teaching about Money

• The Giving Project, Barbara Fullerton, Exchange (Fall 2002), pp. 1-3
• Giving Magazine
  An annual publication of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center. Available from UCRD: Product # 200 000 188, $8.00.
• "Go and See"
  Series of four bulletin inserts. Available from UCRD: Product #s 300 001 005, -006, -007, -008. No charge
• Living with Money kit.
  Includes two videos (total 80 minutes), a leader's guide, and a participant's journal. Available to borrow from AVEL or to purchase from UCRD: Product # 200 000 182, $175.00
• "Stewardship Links" in every issue of Gathering: Resources for Worship Planners.
• Stewardship Sermon Starters

Dedicating Offerings

• Taking Stock of Stewardship, Barbara Fullerton, Exchange (Spring 2003), pp. 24-28
• "Stewardship Links" in every issue of Gathering: Resources for Worship Planners

Strengthening Outreach Ministries

• Mandate, Mission and Service Fund Special Edition, 2003/2004.
  Available from UCRD: Product # 300 001 001, no charge
• Minutes for Mission. Stocked by UCRD, no charge

Pastoral Care and Hospitality

• A Ministry of Reconnection, Richard Bott, Exchange (Fall 2003), pp. 42-45
• Marking Milestones, Jackie Harper, Exchange (Spring 2003), pp. 3-5
• Money Autobiography available from Stewardship Development office (E-mail Barbara Fullerton or phone 416-231-7680, x4161)
• Passion and Freedom: A Resource for Couples (Toronto: United Church Publishing House, 2003)
  A counselling resource for the beginnings, middles, and endings of relationships. Available from UCRD: Product # 800 001 398, $7.95

First Fruits Living

For information on planning your will or other special gifts, contact the United Church's Gift Planning office (416-231-7680, x2027). You can find contact information for financial development officers on this website.

• Personal Stewardship, Barbara Fullerton, Exchange (Fall 2003), pp. 23-26
• Celebrate Stewardship: A Five-Week Congregational Program, Judith and Warren Johnson (Toronto: The United Church of Canada, 2004).
  Available from UCRD: Product # 200 000 190, $11.95
• Exploring Faith Questions: Journeys of Spirituality and Discovery, Anne Martin (Toronto: The United Church of Canada).
  Available from UCRD: Product # 200 000 201, $15.95

Leadership of Youth and New Members

• Discerning Directions, David Giuliano, Exchange (Fall 2003), pp. 17-22
• Ewart, David, "A Spiritual Gifts Inventory and Questionnaire"*
• Share the Gift
  Resources for older youth. Available from UCRD: Product #s 300 000 939, no charge; 300 000 941, no charge; 200 000 102, $1.00
• Soul Tending: Life-Forming Practices for Older Youth and Young Adults (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002)

Congregational Financial Management

• 2004 Financial Handbook for Congregations
  Download the PDF from this website or order from UCRD: Product # 500 000 158, $12.00.
• Celebrate Stewardship: A Five-Week Congregational Program, Judith and Warren Johnson (Toronto: The United Church of Canada, 2004)
  Available from UCRD: Product # 200 000 190, $11.95.
• The Narrative Budget: Telling Your Congregation's Mission Story
  Available from UCRD: Product # 200 000 096, $1.00
• Stewardship Visitation: Opening Doors to Generosity
  Available from UCRD: Product # 200 000 185, $1.50

For other resources in this area, contact Barbara Fullerton or phone 416-231-7680, x4161.

Additional Resources

• Our Stewardship: Managing Our Assets, John L. Golv (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2002)
• A Christian View of Hospitality: Expecting Surprises, Michele Hershberger (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1999)
• Asset-Based Strategies for Faith Communities, Susan Rans and Hilary Altman (Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University,* 2002)
  Available from ACTA Publications, Chicago.
• The Great Permission: An Asset-Based Field Guide for Congregations, Bob Sitze (Chicago: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2002)
  Available from ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries, Stewardship and Mission Giving Team,* 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631 (800-638-3522). Also available from Augsburg Fortress in Minneapolis, MN.
• The Organization of Hope: A Workbook for Rural Asset-Based Community Development, Luther K. Snow (Evanston, IL: Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University,* 2001)
  Available from ACTA Publications, Chicago. For more information, see the Northwestern University website.
• The Power of Asset Mapping, Luther K. Snow (Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute)
• Community Transformation: Turning Threats into Opportunities, Luther K. Snow with Uchenna Ukaegbu (Evanston, IL: Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University*, 2001)
  Available from ACTA Publications, Chicago.
• Good $ense: Transformational Stewardship for Today's Church, Dick Towner (Barrington, IL: Willow Creek Association, 2002)

Barbara Fullerton is the United Church program staff person for Stewardship Development in the Support to Local Ministries Unit.