So you're the new Stewardship Chair?! What now?
If excellence is your goal, where can you start? I suggest you begin by scheduling two meetings, one for review, the other for planning . . . Read More (PDF)
Thirteen Points in an excellent stewardship program . . . Read More (PDF)
1. The first place to look for money is in the heart, not the wallet. In my experience, about 75% of the annual income of the typical congregation comes from 12 to 15% of the members . . . Read More (PDF)
An effective commitment program intentionally relates to the decisive factors of success: Leadership, context, congregation. That is, the ability and commitment of the leaders, the socio-economic environment of the church and the kind and number of people who make up the membership are the main factors that determine the shape of all successful programs . . . Read More (PDF)
If you have heeded the plea preached by stewardship conference leaders to “develop a year round stewardship program,” the odds are that you are feeling a bit guilty that the year is marching on and you have done little so far. Where do you start? Here is one possibility . . . Read More (PDF)
The experienced consultant can be of invaluable assistance in helping to diagnose and analyze the congregation in order to identify the best stewardship development program for a particular time in the life of a congregation. An experienced consultant will know which parts of a particular program are crucial to success and which are optional. She or he knows how to combine the strengths of various programs to create one that is right for a particular congregation . . . Read More (PDF)
The number one goal is to provide a conversion opportunity. This will most likely involve a confrontation with or comparison of the messages of the culture versus the invitations from the Kingdom of God. . . Read More (PDF)
This every member canvas program is an adaptation of the Alabama Plan developed by The Rev. Bill C. Caradine in the mid-1970s. There are five building blocks used as a framework to devise this successful program. Follow the link to learn more, and know that diocesan consultants are waiting to help you devise your own successful stewardship plan.
This manual developed and published by The Episcopal Network of Stewardship (TENS), and the accompanying workbooks below, provide resources to congregational leaders in the timeless teachings of Christian Stewardship. Follow this link to learn more.
In order to know who you are, you need to examine where you are and where you have been. Looking at the social and demographic characteristics of the local community sheds light on the people to which we hope to minister. Looking at trends in membership, average worship attendance, and financial giving sheds light on congregations strength and whether current patterns indicate growth, decline or stability. Visit The Episcopal Church Congregational Development section of their website to print charts for your church, the diocese and zip codes . . . Click here to link to this resource.
Once the Stewardship Ministry Team is created and formed there can be work done on diagnosing the congregations for conditions which constitute obstacles to effective Stewardship Education . . . Read more (PDF)
Faith formation is a wonderful, mysterious process. The same inputs of information and experience can produce very different results. Some of the differences can be traced to six distinctive styles of spiritual grounding and processing - Angle-Catholic, Charismatic, Evangelical, Rationalist, Social Activist, and Traditionalist . . . Read more (PDF)
“What are we teaching our children about stewardship?” is becoming a critical question for our church. The fact is that we are teaching them very little. . . Read more (PDF)
Stewardship isn't the Episcopal word for fund-raising. The steward is one who is called on to manage something that belongs to someone else. That means two things: First, it isn't really ours, and second, ours is a position of trust and responsibility for that for which we are called to care. How we know that it really isn't ours is grounded in how we know God. The way we carry out the trust and responsibility for what we have been called to care for is grounded in how we feel about the church. . . Read more (PDF)
When leadership doesn't lead, the group depending on leadership doesn't make progress. In matters of generosity-and of Christian Stewardship in general-one effective way that leadership can be exercised in congregations is by agreement to produce a leadership stewardship statement. . . Read more (PDF)
When building a budget, many congregations look only at contracted expenses the must-pay items such as electricity, water, disposal, heating, and cooling fees. Frequently the list of must pay items stretches to include salaries and giving to the diocese.It is important to start the budget building process in another place. That place is mission. When we speak of mission of the Church, or when we say stewardship is about mission, what do we mean? What is mission? The answer is quite simple: mission is what God calls us to do. . . Read more (PDF)
A Vision for Ministry provides members of the congregation with a meaningful narrative that celebrates your parish's mission and ministry. In your Vision for Ministry you will celebrate your identity as the people of God who share enthusiasm for your ministries. Through your Vision for Ministry you will help people see why we invite their joyful, thankful offerings and how their offerings of time and money further God's kingdom here on earth. . . Read more (PDF)
Understanding the motivations behind why people give is the key to any good stewardship education program. . . Read more (PDF)
Expanding on the "Reasons for Giving" article, the Rev. J. Hugh Magers and Ms. Terry Parsons have interpreted his system in terms of Evangelism and Stewardship. . . Read more (PDF)
Generous Giving, a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization created in 2000 has as its mission to motivate followers of Jesus Christ toward greater Biblical generosity. . . Read more (PDF) about the organization. Find answers to question about tithing such as, "Does the Bible teach a tithe on income or on net worth? by exploring the website at http://www.generousgiving.org/.
Giving is a by-product of faith. It is an outward expression of priorities and heart. If you put God first in your life, your wallet will be open to Him. . . Read more (PDF)
The Bible teaches that we should return to God a portion of what he has given us. The table provides examples of annual giving as a percentage of annual income. . . See the chart (PDF)
For many years now, you have heard that stewardship is so much more than simply raising money to meet the Church's need for support! Stewardship is the way you see your life in relationship to a giving God, and how, in all aspects of your life, you respond to God's tremendous generosity. . . Read more (PDF)
How do we plan to teach key concepts such as all that we are and all that we have are gifts from God? How do we plan to hold up the key questions such as, "What is the role of money in my life, as a member of the body of Christ?" . . . Read more (PDF)
"...without the support of a broader year-round emphasis, even the very best financial stewardship programs, while maintaining their theological/biblical appearance, will over the years degenerate into simple fund raising.... In its broadest terms, what is the heart of our stewardship before God? Is it not to know and to accept that God is the ultimate source of all that we possess...?" Read more (PDF) of Bishop MacNaughton's year round stewardship.
View the Diocese of West Texas' Year Round Stewardship Plan.
Oops! Your browser must be updated in order to fully access dwtx.org. Select an icon below and open or download one of the following browsers to continue viewing dwtx.org. The website may feel broken by continuing to use this browser.
