Scientists and church folk alike know that living a life of gratitude reaps benefits spiritually, mentally and physically. “Thankfulness releases us from anger and from materialism,” says Doris Whitaker, University of Mississippi Medical Center chaplain. “It helps us acknowledge that there’s something greater than us.” Here, with links to lots of other resources, are some ways to cultivate generosity.
Even if you’ve heard some of these tips before, this list of 16 great ideas from Diocese of Ottawa, Anglican Church of Canada, is worth printing out and giving to every member of your finance and stewardship team! Which can you implement immediately? (Photo: Jared Jarvis, Creative Commons)
Overwhelmed by all the choices out there in congregational online giving? Who isn’t? ChurchBuzz’s updated online giving guide provides simple how-to advice and tips for congregations that want to jump into the area. (Photo: Ged Carroll, Creative Commons)
Author and stewardship coach Ben Stroup suggests 10 reasons people may not be giving to your church. A changing climate of church giving compels leaders to trade in the view from the pulpit for the one from the pew. He provides hopeful exercise for realigning your vision and communicating with congregants about giving and generosity. (Brayden McLean, Creative Commons)
Churches need money for ministry, but the needs of congregations today outpace the will of people to give, especially given the generational differences between “the great generation” and baby boomers, and then between baby boomers and millennials. As traditional funding sources are maxed out, There is one asset that nearly all churches possess—land. Why not look into a land-use policy that can help finance ministry? (Photo: Alejandro Rdguez, Creative Commons)
Author Tim Shapiro suggests six measures for whether your congregation is celebrating and cultivating generosity as a way of life. How is your congregation stewarding the call to help people develop lives of deep faith and generosity? (Photo: taxcredits.net, Creative Commons)
Today, church leaders must appeal to the congregation from a variety of vantage points. There are no magical programs, processes or words that fund a church budget automatically, but some broad understandings of what people are looking for can help. Here are three essential aspects of stewardship, all beginning with the letter ‘i’.
Electronic giving is the preferred method of giving for a majority of church members, according to a recent study. In other settings, people have developed habits of giving that rely on e-giving methods. Many of our congregations, however, haven’t yet responded to these changes, says Luther Seminary’s Adam J. Copeland.
If generosity is how we honor and express human value, than any act of kindness counts in the bigger picture. We can all be kind. We can all be generous. This is one of the key teachings of all the world’s religions. So we decided to look into our databases of quotes collected from our reading and see what teachers of our times and earlier ones have said about the spiritual practice of generosity. Read this assortment of quotes and observations, share them, and make them a part of your own development. (Photo: Bert Haymans, Creative Commons)
Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, Roberts, Wis., looked at digitial giving options and decided to go with an iPad giving station. Now 8 percent of its offerings are received that way. Read about their experience. From the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary. (Photo: Creativity 103, Creative Commons)
