2021 Stewardship resources
By Rev. David Nieda
No one has the pat answer on how to do stewardship in a time of pandemic. But one of the strengths of our church is our connection with each other. Leaning on that connection makes us stronger and wiser as leaders. Instead of listing the usual stewardship resources this year, we’d like to share some samples of what your colleagues have created as a resource for you in planning your church’s stewardship this year. We are thankful for our contributors: Rev. Cara Scriven at Puyallup, Rev. Jeremy Hajdu-Paulen at Tigard, Rev. Peter Perry at Olympia and Rev. Geoff Helton at Audubon Park. You’ll need to consider both your leadership strengths and your congregational culture to help shape your plans, but I hope these resources will be a helpful reference and inspiration. Perhaps an idea will spark that is relevant to your setting!
As you prepare your stewardship drives, I have just two thoughts for you:
First: communicate your story when making the appeal. The story is what is inspiring, and inspired people give! What transformational ministry can we celebrate from the past year? What transformational ministry do we anticipate for our upcoming year? Budgets are important and necessary for the organization to run, but they are not necessarily inspiring. Donors and potential donors want to hear about what your church accomplished missionally in the past year, despite COVID, and what the ministry plans are for the coming year.
Second: give yourself the grace to keep it simple. In a year of pandemic, we don’t need to add complexity to our processes. We’ll have time enough for fancy stewardship programs and dinners in future years. Share your story simply in whatever way is most relevant for your congregation, and make the appeal.
Finally, my prayers are with you. It has been a long haul and many of us have expended nearly all we can emotionally, psychologically, and even spiritually. Thank you for leading your congregations with generosity and faithfulness. May you and your ministries be reminded of the rivers of living water that continue to flow from God in you and through you.
from Rev. Geoff Helton at Audubon Park UMC:
from Rev. Peter Perry at Olympia First UMC:
from Rev. Cara Scriven at Puyallup UMC:
from Rev. Jeremy Hajdu-Paulen at Tigard UMC:
Do you have stewardship materials that you’d be willing to share with colleagues? Email david@faith.foundation to get them included in a future resource collection!