Consistent stewardship education and communication can help your congregation develop a healthy money culture, and the monthly Toolbox can help. It has an original newsletter article, weekly RCL-based bulletin snippets and links to help you explore a theme. This month’s: “Steward your best year ever!” (Photo: Ken, Creative Commons)
It’s the season for joy and revelry for all of God’s people, but for the church accountants and treasurers it’s also the season to close out the church’s financial year. So much to do, but this handy checklist from freechurchaccounting.com can help make sure you get everything done, and done right. (Photo: Anssi Koskinen, Creative […]
Officials in the Florida Keys announced what many coastal governments nationwide have long feared, but few have been willing to admit: As seas rise and flooding gets worse, not everyone’s property can be saved. The costs of staying ahead of rising water is too high. The New York Times reports. (Photo: Katrina Montivagrant, Creative Commons)
In the middle of the bustle of the Advent season, it can be easy to forget the reason that we celebrate in the first place. This series of five Advent reflections from Stewardship Services is designed to help Christians recapture the wonder of Advent and discovers the generosity in unconventional places.
What does “first fruits giving” really mean? Exploring the feast of first fruits in Deuteronomy 26 gives us valuable insights, blogger Morgan Guyton writes in Patheos. “This feast of first fruits helps to illustrate the relationship between sacrificial worship and justice that has always been part of God’s teaching.” ((Photo: AlicePopkorn, Creative Commons License)
What does it take to move your congregation into God’s amazing abundance and generosity? In this two-part essay, ELCA Pastor and stewardship leader Larry Strenge suggests three mindsets that we can cultivate to help our congregations go. Great ideas from Luther Seminary’s Center for Stewardship Leaders. (Oregon DOT, Creative Commons)
With parties and special treats coming at you nonstop in the five-week span from Thanksgiving to New Years, it’s no wonder we stray from our healthy eating habits. You don’t have to abstain from your favorite goodies, but you have to be smart about eating. Here are nine tips on how. From Real Simple. (Photo: […]
As the year’s end approaches, many churches worry, “Will we end the year in the black?” Columnist Karl Vaters suggests doing this one simple thing that both expresses gratitude and lets congregants know what the church needs to avoid an unintentional short fall. It’s not too late to get thank you letters in the mail. […]
in 2018 more than 17 million climate migrants — those displaced by the effects of climate change (i.e. crop failure, water stress, sea level rise), left their homes permanently. As California’s wildfires led a writer and his family to escape their smoke-filled neighborhood, he reflects on what the Bible says about these refugees. From Sojourners. […]
Are you helping congregants fully maximize their desire to support your church’s ministries? Consider using the information in this Charity Navigator article to facilitate a conversation about the tax benefits of giving. If you don’t educate and don’t ask, congregants are not likely to invest as fully as possible in your faith community. (Photo: Creative […]
