Four-sided Stewardship
Stewardship is often addressed as a financial obligation of church members to support their church. Sermons and Bible lessons on tithing are a common way for pastors and churches to deal with stewardship.
But stewardship is more than a message for those in the pew. Churches are responsible for financial stewardship, too. There are at least four kinds of stewardship that churches can apply.
First, churches can teach about individual and family finances. The financial crisis in the U.S. has created an opportunity for churches to teach principles of saving, avoiding credit, paying off debt, etc. Some pastors teach these topics through preaching. Some churches will use small group resources. Crown Financial Ministry has a heavy-duty, Bible-centered approach. Dave Ramsey takes phone calls on the radio about financial affairs and offers a recorded seminar on DVD.
Second, churches act as good stewards when they plan budgets with ministry in mind and can tell the people what they hope to accomplish with the dollars they give. Church budgets can be more than a line item and a number. A church’s annual budget can provide information about how the church succeeded or failed in the past year and propose goals for the coming year.
Third, churches should demonstrate stewardship in how they manage the funds that are entrusted to them. What should your church do to protect the financial assets that God has given it? How do you count your offerings? Does your church separate the actions of check-writing, check signing, and balancing the checking account? If you wonder why, then search the internet for the words “church financial theft.”
Fourth, churches can plan long-term financial stability by showing their people how to leave gifts for the Lord’s work through a will, a living trust, a Charitable Gift Annuity, or other means. Churches with large financial balances demonstrate stewardship by investing for long-term returns, creating endowment funds, and looking forward to more than the next year’s finances.
In future columns in the Word & Way, these four subjects will be explored in greater detail. For now, ask yourself the question, what does stewardship mean for your church?
