Stewardship for the Entire Congregation
Guest Writer: Andrew Wheeler, Good Sense
One of the biggest challenges any stewardship ministry faces is the need to address the entire congregation regardless of financial standing. Some programs assume that all their participants struggle with debt; others assume that everyone has surplus to give. And likely, there are people in both of these camps in your congregation, as well as people between the extremes.
Like other areas of discipleship, stewardship is not a destination but a journey.
And it's a journey your entire congregation should be on. Why? Because our hearts follow our treasures (Matthew 6:21), and people in all financial conditions exercise varying degrees of stewardship.
There are likely those in your congregation who are well-off and have a heart of stewardship and a spirit of generosity, like Zacchaeus. On encountering the Savior, Zacchaeus evidenced his salvation with a tangible stewardship response, giving generously to the poor and making restitution for past unfair tax collection (Luke 19:1-9).
And probably there are those who are well off and see themselves as owners of all they have made rather than as stewards of what God has provided. Their hearts are like the heart of the "rich fool" in Jesus' parable. Having more than he needed, he hoarded his excess rather than exercising generosity (Luke 12:16-21). His heart was where his treasure was - in his barns.
On the other end of the spectrum, it's possible to have fewer means and be either a good steward or a bad one. Consider the widow whom Jesus observed putting two small coins into the offering box at the temple. These two coins were all she had, yet, her heart overflowed with generosity so that she gave them willingly (Mark 12:41-44). Or take the Macedonian church, whom Paul commended for overflowing in generosity out of their poverty (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).
Then there's the third servant in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Entrusted with less than the other two servants, he was unwilling to lift a finger to increase his master's wealth. He chose instead to allow the money entrusted to him to lie dormant, simply returning it when the master came back.
Here's the thing: Wealth is deceitful, whether we're well-off or struggling financially. In fact, the deceitfulness of wealth is one of the main things that chokes out the Word in our lives and keeps us from being fruitful for God (Matthew 13:22). Jesus painted money as the chief rival god, warning that we cannot serve both money and God (Matthew 6:24) - and he said this to a crowd of people from all financial walks of life.
Money can lead us to deny God, whether we have much or not enough (Proverbs 30:8-9). Wealth can make us arrogant and can lead us to put our hope in money (1 Timothy 6:17), whereas a lack of resources can cause us to focus all our attention on our own needs to the exclusion of seeking God (Matthew 6:25-34).
As a result, stewardship training is critical for the entire congregation.
But it has to be relevant.
Those who are struggling under a heavy debt load need to be equipped to reach a place of financial stability. They need to learn how to monitor and manage their finances to create margin and get out of the crisis. They must be encouraged to recognize that generosity is not optional regardless of financial situation, but they need an approach that recognizes a transitional phase and encourages them rather than a legalistic demand for a level of giving that they can't currently sustain. And they may need the incentive to consider some short-term actions to get to stability - actions that don't have to be sustainable over the long run but that will get them over the hump.
Others who may not be in crisis but are living paycheck-to-paycheck need to be challenged to view their finances with clarity. They need to analyze their spending habits and determine what's causing them to spend all they have. They must recognize that the idea that a little more money will solve their problems is a myth. They should identify and make tradeoffs to get to a place of financial progress and, likely, to a place of prioritizing generosity.
And others who are doing well financially (which doesn't automatically mean 6- or 7-figure incomes!) need to be encouraged to envision their legacy. They may need to ask themselves whether their earnings are driven by relying on money for security. They should be encouraged to understand the tradeoffs they may be making in order to earn at their level. And they need to be challenged to consider the outcome of their earnings - is it making a kingdom impact?
These are three very different conversations. To effectively engage the entire congregation, a stewardship program must incorporate each of these conversations. And ideally, it should encourage these dialogs in a community of financial diversity - not segregating sections of the congregation by financial condition but encouraging people from all different financial situations to walk together in stewardship.
Start here.
Paul wrote to Timothy, "The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)
Discipleship begins with the church leaders - staff and key volunteers. This includes the pivotal area of biblical stewardship. Church leaders need encouragement and equipping in the area of stewardship, yet, many churches don't incorporate this in their leadership training. Most seminaries don't teach biblical stewardship, so this leaves church leaders trying to figure it out on their own.
Church leaders benefit in the same ways as the rest of the congregation from stewardship training. As they learn the Biblical background for stewardship, they begin to see it as an integral part of walking with God. Like everyone else, their hearts will follow their treasures, and as they grow in biblical stewardship, their hearts align more and more closely with God's.
The benefits of training church leaders in stewardship extend beyond the staff and key volunteers. Money is one of the primary stress factors in marriages and families. As leaders move toward stability, clarity, and kingdom impact with their finances, they're naturally released from the stress that money can cause and freed to serve their congregations more wholeheartedly. As their hearts tune more and more to God by following their treasures, they lead their congregations in the same direction.
Discipling is best done in community, so train your leaders in stewardship the same way you'd train your congregation - together.
Not only will you gain all the benefits of increased discipleship in your staff and heightened fruitfulness in ministry, but you'll also create the perfect opportunity to pilot your stewardship program. You'll see how the program equips and encourages your leaders, and you'll learn how to maximize the benefits to your congregation.
The Bottom Line:
Want to create an environment of increasing devotion to God? Empower your leaders and congregation to put their treasures in heaven through a stewardship training program. Here are some keys:
Start with the leaders
Address the entire congregation
Disciple in a community context
Emphasize grace and growth over judgment
Provide both a Biblical foundation and practical tools
Choose or create a stewardship training program that does these things, and you're on your way to a new level of discipleship for your church!
This article was written in partnership with our friends at Good Sense. To learn more, visit them at goodsensemovement.org.
For Further Reading:
12 Ways to Leverage Giving Data: A Ministry-First Approach To Generosity
The High Stakes of Stewardship
Living and Giving During Retirement
When, What, and How to Teach Your Kids About Money
The 3 “Must Have” Components of an Effective Stewardship Ministry
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