Summer has arrived. Typically this means vacation time for many. In our communities of faith, committees often skip their July meetings, certain programming is suspended until the fall, and many alter their Sunday morning routines by combining services or having fewer Sunday School offerings.
But this has certainly not been a typical year, and won’t be a typical summer. So we encourage you to consider some atypical behavior this season, specifically in the area of stewardship. Why wait until the fall? All aspects of stewardship need attention right now and year round! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
- Think about the 3 G’s: grace, gratitude, and generosity. Everything good in our lives comes from God, from the well of His grace. Each of us can respond with thanksgiving and generous living. How do you say “thank you” and foster stewardship in your church? Identify opportunities to express gratitude starting today.
- Put on a mindset of abundance, not scarcity. Ask yourself, “What assets do I have in abundance, and how might I use them to bless and serve others?” Consider your church’s physical, individual, economic, relational, and institutional assets. Are there new ways to combine these assets for ministry in today’s unique environment?
- Get involved! Volunteer to help serve your congregation in new ways. Consider how you can use your time, talents, treasure, and testimony to actively support God’s work through the ministries of your faith community in these unprecedented times.
- Take a holistic view of stewardship. Form your own personal “stewardship belief statement” that encompasses time, talent, treasure, and testimony. Select a scripture to make your theme; we’ve got a list of suggestions available on our website.
Finally, let MMFA help! In addition to our online stewardship resources, we can work with you and your church leaders to look at your stewardship ministry with fresh eyes. Whether it’s through a conversation via Zoom, a stewardship health assessment, or an in person meeting or workshop when the time is right, we have tools that can help your congregation grow in and celebrate stewardship, every season of the year.
(To learn more, please contact Laura Watson, Director of Stewardship Services, at lwatson@nullmmfa.info or 336-725-2589.)
JUN
2020
About the Author:
Laura joined the Foundation in April of 2012. A native of Winston-Salem and member of Home Moravian Church, she has worked in the Florida school system, at Salem College, and as Assistant Director of Laurel Ridge, the Southern Province’s camp and conference center. When she’s not busy with stewardship for the Foundation, Laura enjoys running and fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), as well as traveling with her husband, Mark. She has served on the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees, the Salem Academy Alumnae Board, and the Triad JDRF Board of Directors.