So you’ve read that the pastor should tell his giving story and you read Bishop Tracy S. Malone’s giving story.  Let’s talk stories for one more week, because there are other stories to tell (see page 569 in the hymnal if you’re so inclined). When it comes to having people testify in worship or witness […]

Last week I encouraged pastors to tell their giving stories as they kick off stewardship season.  We are grateful to Bishop Tracy S. Malone for sharing her own giving story.  Joining her in the  photo above are her husband, Derrick, and daughters, Ashley and Alexis.   I grew up in a Christian home where I was […]

A few weeks ago I was in an investment seminar and the speaker suggested starting every meeting with account holders by asking each person in the meeting to write down an answer to a simple question: “What is the purpose of this pool of money?” At home that’s an easy question, many of us have […]

There are about 750 churches in the East Ohio Annual Conference and if all 750 did a stewardship campaign, all 750 would be different.  And I think that’s how it should be.  Churches have different cultures, serve different demographics, are in different places in their discipling.  But in my opinion each and every campaign should […]

As you continue to plan your campaign, it is important to know where you want the campaign to get you.  And to know that you need to know where you are. There are some figures you need to have a handle on to figure that out. Group 1:  Congregation numbers These are the basics and […]

Based on the calls and emails from last week’s post there was a part of it that many of you were uncomfortable with. As I’m sure you will recall I suggested that you send different stewardship messages to different folks, with tithers, your middle donors and your nongiving or barely giving folks. But ministers aren’t […]

This fall as you begin to draft your letter for the stewardship campaign I’m willing to bet that most you will write something like: While we have been able to do so much this past year thanks to your incredible generosity please consider giving more, as our budget has increased for next year. But what […]

In the church tithing is a word kind of like “cancer”, it’s best whispered only in appropriate company.  At least that’s the opinion of many folks I talk stewardship with but  I think this is wholly inaccurate.  I hear the word used lots of times, usually in a sentence like “would the ushers come forward […]

Timing is, they say, everything.  Here is the report I gave at Annual Conference in 2015.  Looking back, it seems I was a year ahead of my time.   I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but in the last couple of months things are different in downtown Cleveland.  The Cavaliers are good.  Really […]

I often begin my sermon for stewardship Sunday by saying that it’s my favorite day of the church year, the day that the congregation decides what kind of church it chooses to be next year:  a church of scarcity or a church of abundance.  It’s not about the money, it’s about the ministry that will […]