A Look at STEWARDSHIP Programs

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A Look at STEWARDSHIP Programs
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No Need to Start From ScratchPublished Resources

• Plus some theological, practical, and cultural
  musings

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Stewardship Begins With Theology

• Any campaign should begin with and be conducted
  with a biblical basis and a spiritual focus.
  The focus is first on stewardship, then on the
  money.
• Stewardship ought to be integrated holistically
  into the entire ministry and mission of a
  congregation. The actual campaign to fund the
  budget is only one part of the education,
  worship, and mission arising out of stewardship
  over the year.

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In a Nutshell Quotes

• Stewardship is not only a matter of money.
  But it is never LESS than a matter of
  money.

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In a Nutshell Quotes

• Jesus summed up the spiritual connection between
  money and God this way Where your treasure is,
  there your heart will be also (Luke 1234).
  Financial stewardship is treasure management that
  helps us to escape the trap of selfishness by
  keeping ourselves spiritually focused on God.
  Each of us makes two choices in life. We either
  become emotionally attached to our money, or we
  become emotionally attached to the God who gives
  us our money.
• New Consecration Sunday

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In a Nutshell Quotes

• Stewardship means using the gifts God has given
  us to produce Gods shalom on earth.
• --Celebrate the Gift Stewardship Beyond
  Survival

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• As we think about the acts of God on our behalf,
  our hearts respond with gratitude
• Then, as we think about living grateful lives, we
  realize that we are not really developing a
  theology of stewardship. Instead, we are
  discovering a theology which draws us directly
  into a life of stewardship.

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• Given these understandings, and building on the
  biblical base, stewardship is the responsive
  practice of Christians making proper use of the
  gifts God has given them for the sake of God's
  work in the world and is marked by the following
  elements

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• Stewards recognize that "the earth is the Lord's
  and all that is in it." (Psalm 241-2)
• That recognition includes the realization
  that the steward is the Lord's as well.

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• 2. Stewards understand that, while they are
  given a great deal of freedom, they are not
  autonomous. The owner will review their work.
  Just as the potter molds the clay (Jeremiah
  181-13), so the Lord of Creation shapes the life
  of the steward. To realize this is to realize, as
  well, that stewardship is not a matter of finding
  rules but recognizing that the whole of life is
  under the Rule of the Redeemer. Therefore, a life
  of stewardship will be an "exhibition of the
  Kingdom of Heaven to the world." (Book of Order
  G-1.0200)

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• 3. Stewards are not just caretakers. They are to
  hand on their work with improvements. In
  creation, God instructed humankind to "be
  fruitful and multiply." Stewards will be creative
  and productive with the resources they have.

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• 4 Stewards are not beneficiaries - others are.
  Stewards do not give because they happen to have
  enough to give. Stewards have received what they
  have for the very purpose of giving it away. "No
  surer rule and no more valid exhortation to keep
  it could be devised than when we are taught that
  all the gifts we possess have been bestowed by
  God and entrusted to us on condition that they be
  distributed for our neighbor's benefit." (John
  Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion,
  3.6.5) He goes on to say that since there is no
  way we can increase God's possessions, the way we
  extend generosity toward God is by practicing it
  toward the saints on earth.

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Living Grateful LivesStewardship Theology in
Our Time

• 5. Stewards are to use and build on the gifts
  given in a way that reflects the character and
  purposes of the owner. Therefore, our stewardship
  should bear witness to the love, mercy and grace
  of the triune God creates, redeems and sustains
  the world.

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Year Round Stewardship Approach

• A vital stewardship program goes all year around
  and is explored through these avenues
• Sermons
• Worship/Liturgy
• Bible Study
• Special events
• Missional focus
• Leadership Development
• Child/Youth Nurture
• Direct and Indirect references (i.e. Newsletters
  placemats, or financial reports church life
  ppts)

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A Callahan Detour

• Compassion
• Community Excellent Sprinter
• Hope
• Challenge
• Reasonability Marathon Runners
• Commitment Key leaders
• Well come back to Callahan but.

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Stewardship Motivation

• Stewardship Programs usually focus motivational
  prongs from the top half or the bottom half (or
  both) of the motivational grid. One thing which
  seems clear is that if you dont focus on the top
  half, only the committed will be motivated by the
  bottom half.
• COMPASSION/COMMUNITY/HOPEStewardship is our
  grateful response to Gods generosity.
• CHALLENGE/REASONABILITY/COMMITMENT Stewardship
  is the spiritual discipline of Obedience to the
  Lord.

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Talking About Money

• Formal campaigns are not normative in Western
  PA culture.
• This is surprising to clergy who come from other
  regions or demographics
• Many First Call Pastors have not been trained
  about Stewardship as a congregational lifestyle
  or campaigns since the congregations they are
  called to here may never have dealt with it,
  everyone has a learning curve
• We have an urgent need to develop healthy and
  natural ways to talk about money.

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Why the Resistance?

• Some Reflections
• Small Churches based on relationships, not
  gimmicks (Tex Sample)
• Many of the churches who have chosen not to talk
  about money directly are concerned about not
  embarrassing members, particularly those who
  might be facing financial challenges.
• This is combined with the conviction that
  everyone is doing as much as they can (which
  works with high commitment generations)

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Why the Resistance?

• Fear that running a high pressure campaign
  might offend some people, or that some people
  might leave through anger or embarrassment
• Many of our churches began as outposts for
  receiving missionthey were the place for support
  for people whose liveswere very hard. They never
  have seen themselves asbeing missional in
  outreach
• Your ideas?

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Practical Considerations

• Any campaign is going to take longer than you
  expect.
• Now is the time to plan for a Fall launch, even
  if the big focus will be November
• Whoever is in charge needs to know the materials
  before explaining them to anyone else
• Expect that Murphys Law
  will defeat
  any quick shipments you need and order
  ahead

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Things We REALLY Dont Talk About

• When you start to talk about money, its primal
  ground. You can expect the squirrels to jump
  out of the trees and need to not be surprised by
  conflict. Its normal.
• For many clergy, low entry level salaries (when
  combined with average seminary debt load) creates
  a financial pressure cooker which some ministers
  might feel they need to hide, but which makes it
  difficult to talk about substantive stewardship
  because of the pressure to be lead givers.

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Things We REALLY Dont Talk About

• For those clergy and church leaders who are lead
  givers, its not uncommon to be coming to a
  hidden slow boil over the low level of giving
  among members who could afford to give more.
• Oftentimes, scheduling a Healthy Church or
  Conflict Workshop might be part of what a church
  could do in coming to grips with stewardship.
• Unfortunately only 4 out of 10 Protestant
  congregations conduct any sort of annual
  stewardship campaign. This keeps many churches in
  the poverty-syndrome category. (Barnas
  research)

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30 SECOND STRETCH THEN

• On to the Programs
• Consecration Sunday
• Pony Express
• Celebrate the Gift
• Confident Stewards
• Callahan Compassion Campaign

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New Consecration Sunday

• Program by Herb Miller developed in the 90s
  extensively revised in 2002
• Rather than requesting financial contributions
  to pay the bills or support the budget, New
  Consecration Sunday asks people to grow
  spiritually by giving a percentage of their
  income to the Lords work through their
  congregations. Annual campaigns are essential
  because people do not drift into good giving
  habits. They decide into them.

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Big Picture Overview

• Assumes laypeople dont want to visit other
  people in their homes to fill out a pledge card.
• Teaches stewardship on the need of the giver to
  give for their own spiritual benefit, rather than
  on the basis of the need of the church to receive
  to balance the budget.
• Estimate of Giving cards during worship models
  stewardship as part of our worship of God, rather
  than fundraising procedure.
• Campaign before building the annual budget.
• Assumes people can enjoy rather than feel
  negative about stewardship programs.

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The Nitty Gritty

• Led by an invited guest leader chief
  skillability to follow directions and timelines
  exactly
• 3 meetings with guest leader and Consecration
  Study Team/Session
• Publicity (kit includes model letters/announcement
  s)
• Consecration Sunday Celebration Luncheon church
  leaders make calls to secure reservations from
  all members, not to ask for money

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The Nitty Gritty

• Guest Leader preaches on Consecration Sunday
  conducts seven-minute commitment session at end
  of service inviting people to fill out Estimate
  of Giving card
• Celebration luncheon (catered, not potluck or
  prepared by church group)
• Results announced at luncheon
• Followup the next day with those not present
• Between Labor Day Thanksgiving Day
• Budget created after campaign

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New Consecration Sunday Strengths

• On the average New Consecration Sunday increases
  a churchs financial contributions 15 to 30
  percent per year.
• Everything is spelled out systematically and in
  detail. All the materials needed (like Estimate
  of Giving cards) can be ordered.
• Many tips and points on biblical passages and
  talking about stewardship
• Very clear process with a manageable amount of
  material
• Several churches in KiskiPby have seen good
  results, in particular for the first 2 years

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Consecration Sunday Drawbacks

• Very rigid program says one of our pastors.
  Can be perceived as quite dogmatic
• If the results are not a spectacular increase, a
  church could easily feel like a failure at a
  guaranteed program.In Western PA, spending
  the money on a catered dinner is often a real
  sticking point. May feel wasteful and
  extravagant. May feel SO much this way that
  everything else gets stuck on this point.
  (Tips perhaps see if a neighboring church will
  prepare the meal for a modest amount. Or be clear
  that you have located a very modest caterer.
  Possibly modify Miller by permitting key leaders
  to help subsidize the cost, rather than taking it
  from the budget.)

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Pony Express

• The Pony Express, the leading complete
  stewardship program, has been fulfilling the
  needs of more than 22,000 congregations around
  the country for over 25 years. This famous relay
  system is unsurpassed for maximizing responses
  from your church members. Now with first, second,
  and third year versions, The Pony Express has
  proven so effective that many churches use it
  time and again.
• StewardshipResources.com (CSS)

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Pony Express

• Here's How The Popular Relay System Works
• Prior to the solicitation of financial
  commitments, members who are mobile are divided
  into ten-houshold "Pony Express Run" routes. A
  special saddlebag is prepared for each route. It
  contains financial stewardship reading material
  as well as unsealed enclosure envelopes
  containing "estimate of giving" cards. Attached
  to the saddlebag strap is a list showing the
  names, street addresses and phone numbers of the
  route families and the "trail boss" recruited and
  trained to supervise the bag relay from home to
  home.

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Pony Express

• Here's How The Popular Relay System Works
• After the noon hour on the Sunday you designate,
  the trail bosses and their families start the
  Pony Express Run by sitting down in their homes
  and carefully digesting the motivational
  stewardship reading booklet. Then, each
  prayerfully fills in their estimated giving
  during the coming year, stewardship booklet is
  returned to the pouch from which it was removed.
  Next, the saddlebag is hurried on to the second
  household on the route list.

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Pony Express

• This second household repeats the process and
  then, within 24 hours, delivers the saddlebag to
  the third one for it's use. Returning home, this
  delivering "route rider" household reports by
  phone to the trail boss that the bag has been
  handed to a responsible member of the receiving
  household. After the last one on the route has
  used the bag, it is relayed back to the trail
  boss-- who delivers to the church office the
  "church mail" it contains.

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Pony Express

• Route-assigned households who were "missed"
  during the Run are sent letters with estimate of
  giving cards and return envelopes enclosed. They
  agree urged to respond without delay, ahead of
  the Sunday on which the summary report of the
  results of the campaign is made.
• Prior to the Run, alert homebound members and
  members too scattered to have been placed on
  neighborhood routes will have received in the
  mail their estimate cards and return
  envelopes--with the invitation to let their
  postal carrier assist them in participating in
  their church's campaign. Or, as an option,
  special routes will have been created the these
  persons, with trail bosses recruited to relay the
  bags on for them.

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Pony Express

• What--No Pledge Cards?
• That's right! The Pony Express Plan does not ask
  members to sign pledge cards. Nor does it call
  for "officials from the church" to call on
  members seeking their financial commitments. Part
  of the magic of this different approach is that
  it "wires around" the objections many members
  have to "signing a pledge."

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Pony Express 2nd Year

• The second year plan builds on the success and
  familiarity your congregation already has with
  the First year program. However, along with new
  artwork and letters there are several new
  additions.
• Second Year PX Stewardship Education
• Prior to the solicitation of estimates of giving,
  members are encouraged to engage in a study of
  Christian stewardship through their Sunday
  morning classes. The teachers' guides for the
  four week adult study and the three week youth
  study are both titled, Stewardship-Our Heritage.

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Pony Express 2nd Year

• Run Sunday Motivational Skit
• If our church has a celebration worship style,
  then the delightful "Happy Trails" skit offers
  you a perfect opportunity to re-excite your
  members about the saddlebag relay AND remind them
  how it works
• Second Year Phone Follow Up Solicitation
• Immediately following the saddlebag relay, you
  will have the opportunity to let a phone team
  contact relay"missed" families and others to
  invite them to make verbal giving estimates.
  Suggested conversation scripts, carefully written
  to fit the categories of persons you may with to
  phone for follow-up solicitation, are provided.
  Missed route families who are also missed by the
  phone team will receive a missed family letter
  that encloses their estimate cards and a return
  envelope.

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Pony Express 3rd Year

• Shortened Relay Time. Whereas the previous Pony
  Express programs called for the bag to be relayed
  at 24 hour intervals over a period of up to two
  weeks, the third year plan calls for the bag to
  be relayed at 30 to 45 minute intervals on Run
  Sunday and the following Monday and Tuesday. The
  big advantage of this abbreviated Run, obviously,
  is that it gets the campaign completed in an even
  shorter time that before! You will be pleased to
  learn that the overwhelming majority of third
  year user churches have experienced satisfaction
  AND success with the shortened relay timeline.
• Serious Stewardship Education. These excellent
  resources provide teaching materials to be used
  in three Sunday church school sessions prior to
  the solicitation of estimates.
• And, stewardship involvement materials for older
  and younger elementary age children are provided,
  too.

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Pony Express 3rd Year

• Church-wide Chuck Wagon Dinner. Chuck Wagon
  Dinner Sunday, which involves the entire
  congregation, is held in the dining
  room/fellowship hall or other spacious facility
  the week prior to Run Sunday. The primary purpose
  of this popular event is to present to the
  membership the planned program and budget for the
  coming year. An important secondary purpose is to
  re-enforce positive feelings toward the church by
  creating a warm Christian atmosphere in which
  members may experience enjoyable fellowship.

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Advantages

• Involves the whole congregation with playful
  images and storyline
• Motivation to complete route on time
• Every member solicitation without hovering
• Very detailed check-off sheets and timetable
  sheets

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Disadvantages

• First I spread all the materials out on one
  table. Then I needed another table.
• All the materials in envelopes seem difficult to
  wrap your mind around and its a bit difficult
  to jump between book and envelopes. Need to make
  backup copies before passing envelopes to trail
  bosses, etc.
• Not as many biblical and stewardship suggestions
  (in year one at least). Instructions like Preach
  your 3rd sermon on stewardship. There is one
  sermon model.

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Celebrate the Gift

• Stewardship Beyond Survival by Leo Waynick
• The theme, Celebrate the Gift invites us to
  rejoice both in the gifts with which we have been
  blessed and in Gods gifts of Christ and the Holy
  Spirit. The theme and logo are drawn from 1
  Corinthians 124-7, which describes our
  giftedness.

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Celebrate the Gift

• One of 5 10-week programs in the Stewardship
  Beyond Survival Series.
• It features
• a prayer connection
• "Celebrate the Gift" Commitment Sunday
• celebration cards.
• The "Celebrate the Gift" program interprets
  stewardship in terms of gifts. It invites your
  congregation to rejoice both in the gifts with
  which you have been blessed and in God's gifts of
  Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

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Celebrate the Gift

• On four Sundays prior to "Celebrate the Gift"
  Sunday, celebration cards are used to help
  members celebrate what they enjoy and appreciate
  about the Christian faith and your congregation.
  The cards are displayed in a prominent place in
  your church after they are completed each Sunday
  so that they may be read as people come to
  worship.

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Celebrate the Gift

• Coordination Team
• Begins with celebration cards
• Uses Lay speakers and info from the cards
• Estimate of Giving Card on Celebrate the Gift
  Sunday
• Focuses on developing a vision of stewardship
  beginning with a vision of ministry and mission
• Focus on prayer and communication

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Advantages

• Well-Organized
• Solidly biblical and theological
• Materials are not overwhelming
• Provides for flexibility and doesnt feel as my
  way or the highway as Consecration Sunday
• Rooted in relationships
• Part of 5 part series which provides for
  difference each year
• Not as Glitzy or canned

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Disadvantages

• Not as Glitzy or canned
• Some of the printed materials are graphically not
  as attractive (kind of look like they were done
  on a typewriter)
• Not as many supportive resources
• The Celebrate the Gift Sunday is not a
  high-powered dinner and may be less well-attended
  (although in our regional area might be just as
  well attended)

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Confident Steward

• Confident Steward 2.0 A Year-round Stewardship
  Program
• A year-round stewardship program consists of
  three major components only one of which is the
  financial campaign. The three components are
• Stewardship Education Mission Interpretation
  Financial Stewardship
• Stewardship education is that portion of the
  program that helps the members of congregations
  understand the meaning of stewardship both
  biblically and theologically. Members of all ages
  are taught the lessons of what it means to be the
  stewards of the gifts of God. This program will
  help you locate and plan for stewardship
  education for all ages year round.

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Confident Steward

• Mission is the way that disciples use the gifts
  of God to show Gods grace to each other and to
  the world. An active mission interpretation
  program helps people understand the opportunities
  and the results of their stewardship. This
  program will link you to the latest information
  about the denominational mission program in the
  presbytery, synod and General Assembly. It will
  also help you develop materials and presentations
  that will interpret your local mission.
• Financial Stewardship is the method by which we
  obtain commitment to the life of discipleship.
  This is done primarily through a financial
  campaign that provides the means for those
  commitments to be made. These campaigns often
  include the opportunity to make commitment of
  time and talent as well as money.

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Confident Steward

• This interactive CD and Web-based year-round
  stewardship program
• Guides you through suggested tasks each two
  months and provides information about each task
• Provides material to be used in the stewardship
  program
• Assists you in preparing your own materials
• Links you to interpretative information about the
  mission of the church
• Allows you to use professionally developed
  graphics on your own customized materials

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Confident Steward

• CDs Available (10.95 each)
• Small Group
• Direct Mail
• Consecration Day
• Every Member Visitation
• Congregational Dinner
• Telephone Method
• Sunday Worship
• Personal Delivery
• Each CD includes a Getting started page with
  samples and materials for that particular
  approach. The rest of the CD is the same for each
  theme. (Lets Look at a demo).

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Confident Steward

• ADVANTAGES
• Resource with Presbyterian P.O.V.dont have to
  adapt to fit our faith tradition
• Deep Resource many links, a LOT of material
• Helpful calendar
• Good theological and biblical helps
• When connected to Internet can access other
  useful material on the PCUSA website
• Nice themes and clipart for several years worth
  of campaigns

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Confident Steward

• DISADVANTAGES
• The disks we viewed are definitely in beta. Some
  of them had technical problems launching.
• Not all of the links have been fixed to
  reference the approach the CD is supposed to be
  about
• (We talked with the director, and the glitches
  are being worked out)
• But in terms of content, it is very rich/deep,
  but also confusing. Would be almost impossible to
  conduct an organized campaign without a great
  deal of work.
• Does not have as many models or supplemental
  materials as the other (more expensive) programs

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Callahan Compassion Campaigns

• The problem with Commitment Sundays/pledge drive
  first 50 households give second 50 dont give
  much, but the harvest is
• eruptive forms of anger
• subliminal resistance
• low grade hostility
• passive aggressive behavior
• Might think about a campaign which is organized
  on compassion, community, hope
• Have a Compassion Sunday rather than a Commitment
  Sunday
• Have a Hope Budget rather than a Commitment
  Budget

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Wording for Estimate of Giving Card

• We are grateful for the compassion and generosity
  of Gods gifts in our lives.
• We are thankful for the Hope with which God
  blesses us.
• We generously pledge(or estimate our gift) ______
  to advance Gods Mission in 2006
• Bulletin newsletter people-centered/family-center
  ed document, not institutional document

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Six Ways People Give

• Six ways people give generously
• Spontaneous
• Major Sundays
• Planned
• Major project
• Annual
• Enduring gifts
• All six are available to congregations

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Spontaneous Giving

• Spontaneous 3-5 causessave 2 of these out of
  budget for special cause impulse giving
• If you do not make it available to your people,
  they will give to other organizations
• Children
• Youth to Camp
• Mission project
• Sudden disaster
• Special Cause

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Major Gift Campaign

• Major Project blueprint for mission
• Mission,
• Staffing
• Capital improvements
• New building
• Debt retirement

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Enduring Gifts Campaign

• Enduring Gifts
• Discover 5-8 projects
• set goal for each
• set date for each goal
• enduring gifts team
• Have a good fun gatheringassure people they have
  balance, integrity and enduring appeal

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Saying Thank You

• Positive reinforcement raises more generosity any
  day than negative reinforcement every day
• When congregation is doing well, say thank you
  well done
• Send confirmation thank you confirming pledge
• Thank for current, increased, first time, new
  recorded contributions, special giftspersonal
  notes for all of these. Recruit some whose
  spiritual gift is writing notes of encouragement.
• Make Statements Thank You Statements and
  include Encouragement Letters

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Wisdom from Here at Home

• About all canned programs
• Honestly Erin, the best advice I can give on my
  years of using all the ones that you will be
  describing. They will all work extremely well if
  you have a committed team of planners, enablers,
  and carry it outers. I have not seen any
  significant change in commitment, except if the
  message comes from the heart and soul of those
  getting the message out.
• In our experience the Consecration Sunday tended
  to spin the figures by inflating what those who
  werent there were likely to give. 3 out of our 4
  years we came in lower.

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Wisdom from Here at Home

• The worst campaign is letter form.
• We had some pretty good success with a
  Phone-a-thon type of program for three years in a
  row. We used one of our local church member's
  business establishments and tied up 4 phone
  lines. People were told they would be getting
  phone calls.
• The last two years the Session has designed a
  program around some themes that began to be
  presented through marketing in early September.
  This was followed by some intentional designs of
  graphics reflecting theme and materials mailed to
  people along with some Mission moments in church.
  The results compared with that of Consecration
  Sunday. It depends on who your workers are and
  how committed the are willing to be --Gary Lyon

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More Wisdom from at Home

• For the past few years, we dwelt on money at the
  congregational meeting which occurs the week
  prior to the stewardship dinner. An elder walks
  through the budget, quickly summarizing parts and
  taking questions.
• On the day of the stewardship dinner, copies of
  the budget are made available and another
  opportunity for questions is given. But a major
  focus of the Stewardship Dinner is recognition of
  the commissioned service of the Visitation Teams.
  
• Pledges are dedicated in worship on a Sunday
  around this time. Lately we're getting about 40
  of the cards returned.

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More Wisdom from at Home

• Prior to the congregational meeting, our campaign
  has consisted lately of a direct mailing
  including a copy of the line-item budget, a fact
  sheet highlighting parts of the budget, a copy of
  the current year's mission plan, a pledge card
  and a letter written by a different person (or
  people) from year to year.
• Last fall, 2 of our youth who attended the
  triennium wrote thanking the congregation for
  their support and acknowledging the nurture
  theyve received over the years.
• This past year we did leadership pledging. When
  the letter went out, it included the fact that
  25 of the budget was already pledged by the
  session and deacons.
• Hope this is helpful. We are ready to do
  something different -- probably a narrative
  budget to be mailed with the pledge card. We've
  done those before with some success.
• --Cowansville First Union Church, Mary Marks King

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• Let Your AttitudeBe Gratitude!

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Resources

• New Consecration Sundaywww.abingdonpress.com
• Pony Expresshttp//stewardshipresources.com/
• Celebrate the Gift (LeeWay Resources)
• http//www.leway.net/Index.htm
• Confident Stewardhttp//pcusa.org/stewardship/or
  dercd.htm
• Kennon CallahanGiving and Stewardship in an
  Effective Church Effective Church Finances
  Fundraising and Budgeting for Church Leaders
  (order from amazon.com)