I often hear comments like, “We haven’t done a stewardship campaign in decades. We don’t need to—we always pay the bills.” Or, “We don’t really talk about stewardship in our church; it makes people uncomfortable.” My personal favorite is, “We don’t want to be the church that’s always talking about money.”

These responses reveal a deeper issue: a lack of stewardship leadership within the church—on the part of both pastors and lay leaders.

Unfortunately, many people still equate stewardship campaigns with little more than an effort to raise more money. But that’s like saying we don’t need to do evangelism if our attendance numbers satisfy the District Superintendent, or that we don’t need to do mission work because no one’s knocking on the door asking for help.

Yes, a well-executed stewardship campaign can help meet the budget—but its true potential goes far beyond that. Here’s what a strong stewardship focus can do:

- Teach people to give. Many younger families in your congregation weren’t raised in the church. Do they know how to give? Do they understand what a tithe is, or why giving is a spiritual practice? A campaign creates space to teach these foundational principles.

- Encourage spiritual and financial growth. Ask your Financial Secretary how many members have been giving the same amount for five, ten, even twenty years. If the message they hear is, “What you’re giving is enough,” why would they consider giving more? When giving stays flat, people often redirect their resources elsewhere—often to places like Best Buy.

- Fuel the church’s vision. Maybe you don’t need a campaign to pay the bills—but are you funding the dream? Churches with flat giving often end up with flat programming. When was the last time your church launched something bold to reach your community or deepen discipleship? If every new idea is met with, “We can’t afford it,” creativity and mission both suffer.

- Connect money to ministry. Churches that seem to “talk about money too much” are often doing so from a reactive place, not a missional one. A thoughtful stewardship campaign doesn’t just ask for money—it casts a vision. It shows how generosity fuels ministry, enables outreach, and empowers the church to live out its mission in meaningful ways.