What About Stewardship in These Times?

In days of increasing unemployment, downsizing of family/individual budgets and increasing demands for church budgets how do we deal with these realities and continue to move forward? This question, along with many others are at the forefront of the minds of many leaders and churches.

Stewardship is about giving – How can a church give back to members these days? How can members give to churches? How can churches give to communities – churched and unchurched? Maybe we need to rethink what we mean by giving. Consider….

    
How can a church give back to members these days? Consider…

1. Offering financial counsel and coaching to members to help them rethink their budget, reduce their credit etc. The Financial Peace University is a helpful tool www.daveramsey.com
2. Creating a safe place for all family members to dialogue and pray about financial adjustments they face as well as career challenges
3. Invite members to give time/skills/energy to the church instead of giving money. That is what skills can they offer that might compensate for their tithes/offerings while income is low. Maybe custodial services, equipment repair, lawn care etc.? 
4. Offer genuine encouragement, affirmations and celebrate the things in life and faith that can be celebrated….birthdays, anniversaries, health and faith recoveries, children’s first steps, new friends, new jobs, new skills etc…..
   

How can a church give to their communities – churched and unchurched people?  Consider….

1. Offer training/budget counseling, in partnership with members of the community or church, who have financial counseling or money management skills.
2. Offer safe places for prayer and discernment for all members of the family or even age group dialogues to help them reframe current realities and find the security of God’s presence in tough times.
3. Plan, in cooperation with the community, a job fair or a job bank designed to help network, create new resume’s or create mentoring relationships.
4. Waterfront Church in Chicago found a great way of giving back to their members – they design their ministries in such a way to minimize their weekly financial needs so they can give their tithes away to people who need it. Visit http://www.waterfrontcc.com/loving-god-and-people-well/ and their video at http://www.waterfrontcc.com/blog/  
5. Neel Road Baptist Church www.neelroad.org offers prayer and support groups for the unemployed and their families in Salisbury, NC. Periodically they invite in community leaders to help with resume’ updating, interviewing skills etc. 
6. First Baptist Church Huntersville, NC responds in practical and powerful ways through their community based ministries that feed, cloth, offer financial counseling and spiritual counseling to persons in their church and their community www.fbc-h.org.
7. Research indicates most pastors do not know of church members debt http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%3D168714%26M%3D201340%2C00.html
   

“Church members tend to look within their own congregation for guidance on promoting and teaching stewardship, according to the survey. A full 74 percent of pastors said the congregation looks to them for guidance and 31 percent said their church turns to members of their church. Only 2 percent said church members look to an independent stewardship consultant and 9 percent look to a preferred author, while less than 1 in 4 look to their associational or state convention leadership.”

Coaching Questions:

• What do you resonate with most in this newsletter?
• How can your church minister more effectively during these tough economic times? 
• Who can help you?
• What resources can you make available now?
  

Suggested resources:

• Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money, Oxford Press, 2008 www.daveramsey.com – financial resources
• Stewardship thoughts by Paul Stevens - http://www.urbana.org/complete-book-of-everyday-christianity/stewardship 
• Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty, by Beth L. Templeton, 2008 Practical and Biblical! Order through www.amazon.com
  

Copyright by Eddie Hammett , Senior Consultant North Carolina Baptist Convention, www.ncbaptist.org

As a church consultant that is privileged to engage with many pastors, staff and lay leaders from all across the country I’m hearing several common themes emerge during these months of economic challenge.  Some of the issues include:

• How can the church effectively disciple through tough times?
• What are the appropriate stewardship opportunities & challenges during these tough times?
• What are the most effective ways to minister to the unemployed or those encountering economic challenges?
• What is the role of deacons and pastoral care during these tough times?
• What are the appropriate adjustments for churches to make in light of economic challenges?
• What are the resources a church can offer to help during these challenging times?
  

    These and many other questions emerge rather frequently these days. I’m going to take one question in each of the next 6 church leadership newsletters and give some of my thoughts. I invite you to share your thoughts and responses to each question also and I’ll share them with our readers. Email me at EdwardHHammett@mchsi.com.

How Can the Church Effectively Disciple in these Tough Economic Times?

The essence of New Testament discipleship is following Jesus and being obedient to His leadership. Facing the tough times of life, learning to live through the grey times of life – where things are not as predictable or stable as we might have been accustomed is part of that followership.  Christ promises that ‘trials come to make us strong’ and that if ‘we come through the fire we shall come forth as pure gold.’
    Tough economic times are purifiers and clarifiers of what is most important and what is truly of value to us – as individuals, parents, churches, business persons etc.  Give prayers consideration to….

• What are you learning about yourself during these times?
• What are the values clearly emerging?
• What are the shifts these circumstances are calling you to make now?
• What might God be teaching you in this?
  

Another dimension of discipleship in these tough days has to do with aligning ourselves to new realities and inviting accountability into our families, lives, churches, staffs in order to grow into who we are being called to become. Such alignment and accountability is often ignored in the prosperous times, but when economy tightens many shifts are called for and often required.  Consider prayerfully….

• What are the shifts God is calling you to now?
• What are the lessons being learned now?
• What will help you make the shifts needed now?
• Who are the persons that can help you grow forward in faith now?
  

As the Body of Christ seeking to disciple followers during changing times we need to create a safe and sacred place for persons, families, business persons and fellow believers to explore the issues of faith, obedience, prayer and hope. Creating and being this safe, non-judgmental people is crucial for persons to be honest with their struggles, questions and hopes.  Creating opportunities for learning, discovery and authentic relationships and prayerful support are critical and crucial for persons to heal and grow through tough times.  Prayerfully consider…

• What makes a safe and non-judgmental place/people?
• What forums might be created to fuel hope and healing?
• Who are the persons who might share their powerful learnings with others as part of our ministry?
• How do we become church rather than just attend church?
  

    A final dimension of discipleship we can consider now is the value and function of the Body of Christ during tough times. As believers, we are part of the Body of Christ, the local church of believers.  More often than not most churches, families, and individuals are being faced at one or more levels with the realities of economic challenges. We will deal in more detail later with this corporate response and role in today’s world.  But in the meantime, prayerfully consider….

• How does the Body of Christ respond to the hurting?
• How are you gifted to serve during this time?
• What are the opportunities being created here now?
• What alignments does the church need to make to model excellent discipleship and stewardship now?
• What partnerships might emerge to create win/wins for the church and the community?
  

©Eddie Hammett, Author of Spiritual Leadership in a Secular Age and Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60 www.transformingsolutions.org ; http://deaconministry.ncbaptist.org