Rev. Lynn Benson – Director of Legacy Giving, UMF
What can I give back to the Lord for all the good things God has done for me? Psalm 116:12
In a recent newsletter from one of my favorite resources, The Lewis Center for Church Leadership, I reviewed an article published several years ago. What I found was that the ideas were still solid, helpful, and if even just a few are well implemented, these suggestions could really help improve giving and stewardship in a local church.
The article offers 50 ways to encourage faithful giving, for the full article, go HERE. As I read through the suggestions I kept thinking, “yep, that’s a good one, …yep, that would work, …yep, that would be helpful, etc.” But maybe implementing all 50 might be more than you want to do at this time, or even this year. 50 is a lot! To try to do all 50 at one time is not really the point of the article anyway. Instead, what if your leadership team agreed on five ideas to focus on in 2022? Could you agree on five? Could you implement five new ways to help your congregation better know the joy of giving? I bet you could.
Here are my top five:
13. Remember that people – especially younger generations – give to support mission, not institutions or budgets. Everything you communicate about giving should stress ministry, not maintenance.
17. Give your pastor access to member’s giving records as a matter of pastoral care, not power or privilege.
29. Teach members to think about their finances as an expression of faith. Use appropriate study resources to foster a theology of personal stewardship. Reinforce tithing and “first-fruits” giving as a faithful way of prioritizing one’s personal finances – not a way to pay church bills.
****By the way, Saving Grace is a new resource that I highly recommend. I am currently leading a cohort in this 6-week course and finding it to be very good material!****
35. Create an annual stewardship calendar, emphasizing different stewardship concerns at different times of the year – such as annual commitment in the fall*, second-mile giving at year-end, planned giving at All Saints Day. etc. Develop stewardship themes that fit with different church events and liturgical seasons.
*New Consecration Sunday is an excellent stewardship model that we support at your UMF. If we can be of assistance, please let us know.
49. Tell stories of how lives are changed because of their giving. People need to know their giving makes a difference.
That’s my top five – what about you? Which of these 50 ideas might be your top five to implement in 2022?
Encouraging faithful giving is a big part of what we do at your UMF. Let me know how we can be of help. It would be my joy to hear from you.
In Faith & Friendship,
Lynn