At first glace, you may look at a stewardship
campaign and think a number of things: 1) “It must be that time of year again.”
2) “The church must need money.” or 3) “What’s stewardship?” I’ll answer those
questions transparently.
First, we do not have a “stewardship season.” Though
all members vote on our budget once a year, we continually evaluate how we can
be better stewards of the many
blessings God has given us. It is always
time to be part of the divine cycle of giving and receiving! Remember the words
of Luke (6:38) “Give, and it will be given to you. A good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your
lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." We give
continually, not purchasing an experience or a feeling, but rather in trust
that God’s cycle of blessing requires joyful giving.
Secondly, yes, the church does need money. In fact,
our weekly offering only covers about a third of our expenses (much less our
budget). The rest is taken out of investments to cover expenses, but that can’t
last forever. Our Board of Directors has done all it can to trim expenses down
to absolute basic needs. Our pastor is only paid part-time though he works
full-time. (Remember the words of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 9:14) “[Jesus] commanded that those who proclaim the Gospel should get
their living by the Gospel.” We can currently only afford to pay a
pianist to play twice per month. We also require more technology in order to
improve our worship experience. We have completely emptied our building fund. The
need is indeed great. But don’t panic! God has not given up on us, and we have
not finished our calling!
Thirdly, stewardship
is the prayerful process of assessing the mission of our individual congregation,
looking honestly at what it will cost to live it out, and dedicating together
to making the dream happen. Stewardship involves each member and friend of the
congregation taking ownership of the church’s purpose by making a covenant together. This covenant
involves a promise to give Time, Talent, and Treasure. There is no doubt that the majority of the congregation intends to give in these ways in some
form, but making a promise in a tangible way keeps us all accountable to
working toward our dream together and making it happen.
Today, you will receive a Pledge Card. One side
allows you to update your current basic information so that we can best keep in
touch with you (even if you think we already have it). The other side allows
you to write down how exactly you plan to fulfill your ministry areas of Time,
Talent, and Treasure. Do you dedicate to making it to Sunday services and other
church activities as often as possible and on time? What hidden talents do you
have that the church could benefit from? How much of your income can you pledge
to give in the coming year?
That number can be difficult to figure out. Some of
us have been part of churches that have a tradition of tithing. Tithing is a principal from the Hebrew Bible in which
God’s people were required to give back ten percent of their earnings in order
to ensure that the community was taken care of. For the farmers of the time,
that meant ten percent of their crops. Though we do not live in Ancient Israel,
the idea of looking at percentage rather than just dollar amount still rings
true for us.
Today’s economy has made living difficult for the
majority of the U.S. Though the recession started five years ago, we are still
feeling it. That factor is fully understood. But also keep in mind that other
than small fundraisers, weekly offerings are our only income. We do not receive
any other outside funds. We give 12% of our offering every month to our
denomination, Metropolitan Community Churches. In return, they provide
much-needed programming, training, and support for local churches and they do
work around the world spreading God’s message of Unconditional Love. Our
denomination requires a tithe from
local churches, and the local church strongly encourages percentage giving from
members as well.
So we come back to that same question: “What percentage works for me?” We
suggest a method for choosing:
1)
Look at your financial
records and
see how much you have been giving on average per month. If you didn’t write it down, do an
estimate.
2)
Take that number and divide it by your monthly take-home pay. You
should come up with a decimal. For example, $200 offering divided by $2,000
take-home pay equals “.10”. This means you are giving 10% of your income.
3)
If the number you came up with has a zero (or several zeros) after the
decimal point, you are giving less than one percent of your income.
4)
Choose a percentage to give:
Percentage
|
Take-Home Pay
|
Multiplied By
|
Equals Offering
|
1%
|
.01
|
||
2%
|
.02
|
||
3%
|
.03
|
||
4%
|
.04
|
||
5%
|
.05
|
||
6%
|
.06
|
||
7%
|
.07
|
||
8%
|
.08
|
||
9%
|
.09
|
||
10%
|
.10
|
Just
seeing the number won’t necessarily tell you what percentage to choose. You may
see a number and think, “Wow, I could do a lot with that money!” Yes, that is
true. But beyond your basic needs, does the work of sharing the All Inclusive
Gospel not deserve a strong portion of the fruits of the labor God has blessed
you with the ability to do? Pray about it. Talk to God about it. God will lead
you to generosity.
In
Luke’s book, The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4, verse 32, it says this: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and
soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything
they owned was held in common” (NRSV). We may not be a Christian commune, but
we do believe in taking good care of each other. Sometimes that means bringing
someone hot soup when they aren’t well or giving someone a ride to the
hospital. Just as importantly, it means giving our “best gift” each Sunday so
that there is a place for joyful and inspiring worship for us all to start off
the week.
We
must never forget that we are also building a future for those yet to come. Do
you remember the first time you heard that you are God’s Beloved: Deeply Loved,
Richly Gifted, Highly Favored, and Abundantly Blessed? That great cloud of
witnesses that came before you made it so that you can have a faith community
to call home. They paid it forward. It is now our time to do the same.
Our Financial Goals for 2013/2014
1)
Every member and friend of the church pledges on a percentage basis.
2)
We meet and surpass our budget each month.
3)
We supplement our giving with a monthly fundraiser.
4)
We raise the Pastor’s salary to full-time over 6 months.
5)
We provide the Pastor with health insurance.
6)
We hire a musician to play every Sunday.
7)
We eventually begin to reimburse our Building Fund.
If we truly mean what we say each Sunday, that we
are “Abundantly Blessed,” then we need to live it out. Instead of repeating
negative statements like, “We are struggling” or “I don’t know how we are going
to survive,” start saying, “We are on the way to thriving!” and “We are living
abundance!” and “God really has blessed us!”
Please join our Pastor and Board of Directors in
building the future of our beloved community together. If we all give 100% of
our lives to God, we will see miracles happen! And always remember: “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2
Corinthians 9:7, NRSV).
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