Delight in Giving

2012Best Practices

inBasic Stewardship

Opening Prayer

Where we are today…

• In the midst of a contentious election year

• In a still-uncertain economic climate

• At the end (we hope) of a long, hot summer

• It’s September, and November is coming!

This is a great time to get started on your

Fall stewardship campaign…

…or to build on your year-round

stewardship ministry.

Stewardship

the “big picture” of the life of the church…

and

Stewardship

an everyday spiritual practice for Christians

From now to November…

Ten Best Practices for your

Fall stewardship

campaign

1. Build the stewardship committeeIf you have a committee that’s meeting, great! • Re-connect with a fun autumn gathering• Add a few new members• Consider an ad hoc campaign committee

If you don’t have a committee, form one!• Invite the unexpected• Create a timeline www.ucc.org/stewardship

Enlist all of the leadership of the church

2. Set the tone

Adjust your perspective: • abundance, not scarcity • positive, not negative• joy, not anxiety

Shape your language: • “the budget” is really

the mission spending plan all mission: local and wider

“Abundance is not something we

acquire; it is something we tune

into.”Wayne Dyer

Abundance

3. Nurture Financial Wellness

• Don’t shy away from the topic of money

• Provide support and education

• Ask for the same gift from everyone: not the same amount, but meaningful

Challenge the comfortable, comfort the challenged

4. Approach giving as a year-round,

whole life spiritual practice.

A practice forms us as disciples:

We grow into more generous people as we give generously.

Practice Pledging

• The spiritual practices of first fruits giving and proportional giving

• Challenge ourselves to grow our giving by a regular percentage each year

Our time and talents

…are also shared with joy

5. Understand motivations

• Reasonability• Challenge• Commitment• Compassion• CommunityKennon Callahan

Stewardship and Giving in an Effective Church

(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992)

Compassion and Community:The Universal Motivations

We TRANSMIT on the Commitment and Challenge

frequencies,

but our RECEIVERS are set

on

Compassion and Community.

6. Ground your work in Scripture

• Delight in Giving: 2 Corinthians 9:7• Other Scriptures in the theme materials• Abundance Bible study www.ucc.org/stewardship • Share Scripture in all of your

communications to the congregation

7. Teach giving by modeling it

• First fruits: the first line on your budget• Ask preachers to share the story of their

own giving• Talk/write about the church’s giving

Our Church’s Wider Mission

8. Make giving moments life-giving

• The offering A time of delight in

giving?

• Consecration Sunday

A celebration you wouldn’t want to

miss?

9. Tell the story of your church’s vision

• Creativity: gather an ad hoc committee of story-tellers

• Create a narrative budget

• Use DVDs, photos, skits, etc.

Review of the Ten Best Practices:

1. Build the stewardship committee.

2. Set the tone.

3. Nurture financial wellness.

4. Approach stewardship as a year-round, whole-life

spiritual practice.

5. Understand motivations for giving.

6. Ground your work in Scripture.

7. Teach giving by modeling it.

8. Make giving moments life-giving.

9. Tell the story of your church – lay out the vision!

10. Use the UCC 2012 stewardship theme materials

Use the theme in your communications

Delight in Giving

“It is our conviction that we are created in the image of our giving God. In the next few

weeks we invite you to take notice of moments of delight in your life, give thanks for gifts received, and anticipate the delight

you will experience in making your pledge of support for the ministry of our church.”

Generating Delightthrough

Open-hearted Living

Delight God takes in the giver

Delight the giver takes in the giving

Delight that’s created through the giving

Looking Upward

The healing of

the bent-over woman

Luke 13:10-17

The Body of Christ

We are essential in carrying on the work of Jesus.

We have accepted the yoke of being Jesus in the world.

We keep the Body of Christ alive through our giving.

Deuteronomy 8:12-18

We remember the One who has provided for us

We trust there will be enough

We share with one another

We experience delight in giving

Question:When have

you experienced unexpected abundance?

When have you experienced surprising

delight in giving

that generated joy in others?

When has

giving

led to deeper

connections with others

in your life?

Discussion