Should my church have a stewardship campaign?
That question should be met with another. Should my church have a time to emphasize mission? Or prayer? Or children? Or Bible study? The answer to all of these is, “of course.” Stewardship is part of discipleship, too. As we think about the things that are important in the Christian life, how we connect our resources with our faith is as important as anything else.
So, the answer is YES. You should set aside a time each year, perhaps as much as 3-4 weeks, and worship, preach, and teach around the subject of stewardship—the faithful management of our time, abilities, and money. While we often equate stewardship with money, it is entirely possible to offer people the chance to pledge their volunteering and service, their prayer time, their attendance goals, their participation in Bible study, as well as their financial participation in their church’s ministry. In this sense it is not really a “finance” drive, it is a STEWARDSHIP campaign.
However, there is no neglecting the important matter of money—of resourcing our mission and ministry. Churches need to ask for financial gifts from their members. Hopefully stewardship is being taught all through the year so that the annual finance drive is just one more part of a comprehensive understanding of discipleship.
The time to begin thinking about a fall 2022 stewardship campaign is NOW. Fortunately, the United Methodist church is offering a webinar entitled “Making the Annual Campaign Your Own,” on July 12, 7:30 eastern time. Ken Sloane, the Director of Stewardship and Generosity for the denomination, will be leading the event. Many of us know Ken from his involvement in our Foundation’s recent stewardship retreat in the spring of this year. If you would like to participate in the webinar you can register here.
Again, NOW is the time to begin planning your stewardship campaign. Resourcing your ministry with the gifts and talents of your members is a blessing not only to your church, but to the people who are giving. If you have questions or need suggestions for a successful campaign, give us a call here at your Foundation.
If you want more ideas for stewardship and the care of money, contact us at your Foundation here or by calling us toll free at 877-391-8811.
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Glenn Howell
Director of Development
United Methodist Foundation of Indiana
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