
Subscribe to Giving Magazine volume 22
Think about this: every congregation in North America practices stewardship. The question is whether they do so well, or not so well. For various reasons, credible information that informs that question is challenging to find. But for the last several years, Indiana University’s Lake Institute on Faith and Giving has been conducting research about how congregations receive, manage, and spend their financial resources. I encourage you to read their findings at nscep.org. The three aspects of the Lake Institute’s research summarize well the best practices that should shape a congregation’s stewardship ministry, and they all should happen year-round. Receive Generosity grows through a better understanding of the gifts and the givers. Consider how to make the offering moment a time to dedicate yourselves and all you have to the service…