Month: January 2020

Effective generosity in faith communities is a mix of knowledge and best practice. Ecumenical Stewardship Center events allow you to explore both. Generosity NEXT features cutting-edge topics related to faithful stewardship and generosity in the North American cultural landscape. Our new generosity365 Academies explore best practices through keynote speakers and workshops. generosity365 Academies are 1+day, fast-paced events that inspire, engage, and inform steward leaders from congregations, judicatories, and denominations as they practice faithful generosity. In less than a year, your congregation and its leaders can benefit from 12 workshops with practical ideas and applications for all church leaders: Leadership, Money, and the Church Engaging New Stewards The Offering as Worship New Channels for Giving Engaging Younger Stewards Financial Transparency & Accountability Creating a Narrative Budget Stewardship Teams Year-Round Stewardship Annual…

The thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is most often associated with weddings, not with stewardship. But could there be a generosity message here also? While a traditional definition of stewardship is time, talent, and treasure, some thought leaders are encouraging adding temperament to this list. Generosity is indeed a matter of the heart and attitude. A good steward has a faithful, hopeful, and loving heart. Faithfulness—not size, status, wealth, or heritage—is God’s measurement for Christians and congregations. All of Christ’s disciples and all of Christ’s congregations are called to be faithful to God’s mission and purpose. Generosity is a faithful act of discipleship, wrapped in trust in God and God’s purposes, whether we see them clearly or in a mirror dimly. Hopefulness is a basic Christian characteristic. Despair and hopelessness…

This Tuesday, January 21, Rev. Chick Lane will be presenting an Author Chat on his new book, Reflections on Faith and Finances, which is a guide to accompany Chick’s popular stewardship book Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation, Reflections on Faith and Finances which provides individuals and congregations with conversation and study tools to discover how the biblical message of stewardship intersects with life today. You can register for the Author Chat with Rev. Chick Lane to be held at 2:30 pm Eastern time (1:30 pm Central time, 12:30 pm Mountain time, 11:30 am Pacific time).