For centuries, Christians have observed Lent as a season of drawing near to God, refocusing and rededicating their lives to the Holy One. This free daily devotional from Luther Seminary can help enrich your Lenten experience. (Photo: Public Domain)
A shift in focus
The traditional metrics for church growth and sustainability are the number of people in the pews and the dollars in the offering plate. Other ways of looking at church vitality are helpful. Luther Seminary’s Grace Duddy Pomroy explores. (Photo: Steve Jurvetson, Creative Commons)
‘Pennies for God’ stewardship lesson
This lesson uses pennies, the story of the Widow’s Mite or Offering and the classic story about “Stone Soup” to show how even a small gift when added to the gifts of others can provide abundantly for all. From Luther Seminary’s Center for Stewardship Leaders. (Photo: Creative Commons)
Fundraising as a vocation
Many church professionals avoid fundraising like bedbugs, but ensuring that there are financial resources for God’s ministry is an honorable and necessary task. In this essay, two fundraisers share their experience. From Luther Seminary’s Faith+Lead. (Photo: Creative Commons)
What the Bible says about stewardship and giving
You don’t have to look very far in Scripture to discern how giving and loving serve as undercurrents of God’s relationship with us. The Bible is the ultimate stewardship and giving resource. This Luther Seminary blog post explores.
Stewardship 101: Invitation and guide
It’s always a good time to get serious about stewardship, but spring is a best to start planning for fall. This free guide from Luther Seminary can help orient and equip your team to guide your congregation to better financial stewardship.
Other revenue sources beyond the offering plate
More and more congregations are seeing that relying on just the money received in weekly donations from members to live into the mission God has called them into is no longer enough. Grace Duddy Pomroy of Luther Seminary explores some alternatives.
Breathe new life into the offering’s dry bones
At too many churches, the offering part of the service is the same as it was when grandma was a confirmand. But rather than cease the offering entirely, reboot it freshness and creativity to meet the needs and habits of a new generation. Grace Duddy Pomroy of Luther Seminary explains. (Photo:Don Brown, Creative Commons)
The ‘traditional’ and ’emerging’ paradigms of stewardship
What’s happening in congregational stewardship? Drawing on close to 20 years of observation with thousands of congregations, the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving identifies these different sets of values and practices as as traditional and emerging paradigms. From Luther Seminary. (Photo: Robert Couse-Baker, Creative Commons)
Reset your stewardship ministry amid Covid-19
The pandemic has turned our churches upside down, and it’s impossible to predict the short- and long-term financial stewardship implications. But it is clear that stewardship and generosity ministry must adapt and change. Luther Seminary’s stewardship newsletter offers some ideas. (Photo: Ged Carroll, Creative Commons)
