Massachusetts Conference Edition
Return
to main page
Read
National Edition
Read the UC News Spotlight E-Newsletter
Return
to main page
Read
National Edition
Read the UC News Spotlight E-Newsletter
by Andy Gustafson, Associate Conference Minister for Stewardship & Financial Development
January/February 2005
God spoke through Isaiah “Behold, I am doing a new thing”. The New Year is upon us – a time to embrace the opportunities before us. Here are five New Year’s resolutions for any church which wants to experience excellence in stewardship:
We resolve to:
1. Help adults, youth and children grow in their faith:
•by developing a faithful understanding of stewardship as our response to God’s grace in our lives;
•by discerning the reality of abundance and the myth of scarcity;
•by growing in generosity, as they proceed along the giving path;
•by learning and practicing proportional giving and tithing.
2. Help adults, youth and children understand and make appropriate life choices in relation to issues of:
•our natural resources;
•economic lifestyle;
•money management;
•career guidance; and
•visions of ministry and mission.
3. Provide opportunities for faithful stewardship through:
•sustained, regular giving by pledging annually to support the mission and ministries of the church;
•bequests and planned gifts;
•contributing from accumulated assets and income to capital campaigns;
4. Connect participants with the wider mission of the church by:
•engaging in mission beyond its own doors;
•supporting all five of Our Church’s Wider Mission offerings;
•communicating effectively the mission and ministries being accomplished by their giving;
5. Be a faithful steward of the resources provided by the members by:
•adopting and implementing
appropriate endowment and investment policies;
•accurate financial reporting and sound financial practices.
My New Year’s prayer for all our churches is that we have fun, grow in our faith, and never be afraid to use the words “Jesus” and “money” in the same sentence.