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RESOLUTION 1 Text by Steve Oelschlager
he start of a new year is a wonderful opportunity to pause, think about the year ahead and resolve to make some changes. If you’re focusing on your
faith community, here are some questions to consider: • What could you do differently or more intentionally this year to bring more lives to Christ?
• What are some appropriate resolutions to make if your congregation is seeking greater financial well-being?
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one time during the year when your congregation asks people to officially acknowledge their desire to commit their time, talents and treasures to God. Significantly better than that is a stewardship plan that invites mem- bers to do a variety of things over the course of the year. Here are some examples of year-round activities to
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inspire generosity: • Mention a different congregational ministry as part of the offertory prayer every Sunday.
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• Include stewardship articles in your congregation’s monthly newsletter.
• Tank members through giving statements, hand- written thank-you notes and a year-end video.
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Without ignoring that your congregation’s financial well-being is symptomatic of a bigger picture of health and vitality, here are four reso- lutions to grow giving in your congregation.
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Have a year-round stewardship plan
giving stems from the intersection of gratitude, worship, mission, vision and transformation. At a minimum, your stewardship plan will set aside
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As the saying goes: “Failing to plan is a plan to fail.” Make sure your congregation has a stewardship plan to peri- odically remind people that
RESOLUTION Graphics by Kathryn Brewer
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resolutions for financial well-being in your congregation
What is stewardship? “God created it; we steward it. Stewardship
is a lived theology founded on the claim that all resources begin with and belong to God. Practic- ing stewardship reshapes how Christians man- age all lives including ‘our’ money, materials and relationships.”
—Adam Copeland, professor and director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.
As you build your plan, two resources to consider
are “Stewards of God’s Love” (available for free at
www.ELCA.org/growingstewards) and ELCA pastor Chick Lane’s “Embracing Stewardship” program (www.
embracingstewardship.com). Clayton Smith, executive pastor of stewardship and
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worship at United Methodist Church of the Resurrec- tion in Leawood, Kan., suggests congregations hire a person to be in charge of making this plan happen. Most nonprofit organizations have paid staff to focus on their funding.
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How might your congregation make sure at least one person has these critical stewardship tasks on their to-do list?
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coaching and money management classes
Teologian Marcus Borg iden- tified “bondage to pharaoh” as one of three biblical macro- themes. In Financial Peace University, Dave Ramsey
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quotes a statistic that financial distress is the No. 1 cause of divorce and that 70 percent of Americans live pay- check to paycheck. For many people, this is what pharaoh looks like today, meaning indebted disciples probably
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