How do Christians think about money and giving? A new report created by the Institute For Financial Health reveals essential data about Christians’ perspectives on these topics. It provides cutting-edge insights into the areas of generosity, debt, savings, budgeting, retirement, church teachings, and professional guidance. In this second podcast, we’re again talking with the Institute’s founder, Art Rainer, the creator of The Christian Financial Health Report, to discuss its findings and how these can assist church leaders and those who minister in financial discipleship in helping people improve their financial health.

How do Christians think about money and giving? A new report created by the Institute For Financial Health reveals essential data about Christians’ perspectives on these topics. It provides cutting-edge insights into the areas of generosity, debt, savings, budgeting, retirement, church teachings, and professional guidance. In this podcast, we’re talking with the Institute’s founder, Art Rainer, the creator of The Christian Financial Health Report, to discuss its findings and how these can assist church leaders and those who minister in financial discipleship in helping people improve their financial health.

Managing money comes with challenges, and none of us feel like we’re doing it perfectly. That’s why so many parents feel like they’re not qualified or financially wise enough to teach their kids about money. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we’re continuing our conversation with financial teacher and author Matt Bell. Matt has spent years teaching others how to manage money well, and through his book Trusted: Preparing Your Kids for a Lifetime of God-Honoring Money Management, he continues this work by focusing on and teaching parents how they can impart Biblical and practical financial wisdom to their kids.

Managing money comes with challenges, and none of us feel like we’re doing it perfectly. That’s why so many parents feel like they’re not qualified or financially wise enough to teach their kids about money. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we’re talking with financial teacher and author Matt Bell. Matt has spent years teaching others how to manage money well, and through his book Trusted: Preparing Your Kids for a Lifetime of God-Honoring Money Management, he continues this work by focusing on and teaching parents how they can impart Biblical and practical financial wisdom to their kids. If you want to know how to impart Biblical and practical financial wisdom to your kids, this episode and the next are for you.

Financial discipleship is essential to helping people develop a Biblical view of money and possessions. Many programs, such as small group studies and video-taught classes, will provide the knowledge and wisdom necessary for people to mature as stewards of God’s resources. But, sometimes, the financial strain is more difficult and requires a one-on-one approach. This episode of Stewardship Leader is the first of three that will focus on financial coaching as a discipleship ministry. We are joined by Courtney Markley, a financial coach and advocate for building a trained network of financial coaches to serve God’s people in every church and beyond with a Biblical view of money.

Legacy is what we leave behind to our kids. It may include material possessions or a financial inheritance, but of greater worth are the values and lessons we pass on to them. When it comes to money, kids need guidance and wisdom, something every parent wants to provide but feels inadequate to teach their kids. In this episode, we’re talking with Matt Bell, the author of Trusted: Preparing Your Kids for a Lifetime of God-Honoring Money Management, to learn the why, what, and how of teaching our kids godly financial principles.

In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we have another leader in the stewardship spotlight. We’re talking with Jeff Ward, a seasoned stewardship leader and the COO of Simple Donation. Jeff is passionate about helping churches learn how to disciple their people in Biblical stewardship. Through his organization, Simple Donation, he encourages churches to use technology and tools to meet people’s needs and encourage their spiritual growth.

We’ve witnessed considerable changes in church attendance, demographics, and giving since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though these changes have been challenging, we also believe there are great opportunities ahead if the right steps are taken. CSN, in collaboration with Vision 2, has initiated a Stewardship Survey to understand what churches are dealing with and to develop recommendations and resources to help churches navigate this new normal. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we discuss our findings and provide recommendations in 8 specific areas for stewardship and generosity ministries.

In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we have another leader in the stewardship spotlight. We’re talking with Brenda Leisinger, the Director of the Generous Life Ministry at Cuyahoga Valley Community Church in Broadview Heights, Ohio. Brenda’s entry into stewardship and generosity ministry though unexpected, demonstrates that when we submit to God’s plan and faithfully do our part, He will always guide us to a greater purpose.

The Christian Stewardship Network has always been about supporting church leaders and stewardship champions whose calling is to teach and equip God’s people with his financial principles. For the past 20+ years, we’ve been coming together at the CSN Annual Forum. This has always been a special time together, but not nearly enough to grow and help one another build healthy stewardship ministries in our churches. With the launch of our CSN membership site, we’re aiming to change all that.

Stewardship Education, teaching people God's word on money and wealth, is an essential aspect of discipleship that every church should engage in. In this podcast, we talk with Chris Goulard and Dave Briggs about the Stewardship Impact Workshop and why they believe every church leader needs to attend this training. This workshop was explicitly created for church leaders to help them learn the theology of stewardship and generosity and learn how to incorporate a stewardship ministry in their church.

The Scriptures provide wisdom for every area of life, including investing. Yet, it is rare to hear a sermon or teaching on the topic in The Church, and it seems pastors perceive the subject of money and wealth as too unspiritual to include in their weekend messages. Meanwhile, the world continues to guide and influence God’s people daily on how they should make, spend, and invest their money, mostly void of the Biblical principles found in God’s word. In this episode, we talk about investing with Matt Bell from Sound Mind Investing to understand the Church’s responsibility, as well as an excellent opportunity to teach God’s people how to invest according to God’s design.

Being generous is more than giving money to worthy causes. Although it sometimes includes giving money, generosity is much more. In this episode, we are joined by Todd McMichen to discuss the personal benefits of being a generous person, and why we need to make it a priority in our lives.

Stewardship Ministry is continuing to evolve and change to the needs of The Church. Today, perhaps more than any other time in history, churches have or can obtain the information necessary to understand how effective their ministries are—knowing what works and what doesn’t is crucial. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we discuss the biggest and most important thing in Stewardship Ministry that will directly impact the financial and spiritual well-being of the Church.

As a church leader, being aware of the needs of your congregation is crucial to providing them ministry support and discipleship. Analytics, especially those concerning giving, can be a vital resource in knowing how to minister to your people. In this episode of Stewardship leader, we talk with Vinny Hu, the Director of FinHealth & Stewardship at Hoboken Grace Church, in Hoboken, NJ, and learn how they use analytics software developed by Mortarstone to gain the insight that helps them to celebrate, support, and minister more effectively.

It’s great when you can offer a financial stewardship program that everyone in your church will find relevant and engaging. Freed up, the new 6-week program developed by Good Sense Movement and Crossroads Church is designed to do just that! In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we talk with Kirsten Swartz, the stewardship director at Crossroads, about this new program and the innovative, fun, and engaging way it is impacting congregations.

To be a faithful steward requires knowledge, commitment, and action. The journey isn’t easy, especially in our materialistic culture. Although committed to doing things God’s way, we often take back control of the things God has entrusted to us. In this episode, we talk with author Marcus Hall and his devotional book that lays out a path to true and consistent stewardship.

Ministry and the way we’re doing it these days has changed. The challenges to financial discipleship during this “social distancing” season are many, but there are also great opportunities. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we talk with Blair Graham, stewardship pastor at The Summit Church, in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, to learn how they’ve adapted to these current challenges.

Based on a recent survey by the Lilly School of Philanthropy, church leaders believe stewardship would be the most significant challenge for recovery from the current effect of the COVID 19 pandemic. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, Rev. Dr. Clayton Smith joins us to discuss what church leader can do to help their church and their faith community navigate a way to recovery.

Your church members’ giving may be more than enough to meet budget, but does that mean you don’t have a need for teaching on stewardship and generosity? In this episode of Stewardship Insights, we discuss the value of having a stewardship ministry regardless of your giving.