So What Is Stewardship Anyway?
One of the most important first steps working in stewardship ministry is to begin by asking what stewardship is about. There are many definitions, but one of the things that is consistent is that stewardship is much more then just raising money to meet a church budget. One place to begin is the below definition of stewardship, which is the definition of stewardship which guides the ELCIC’s stewardship strategy.

“Christian stewardship is grateful and responsible use of God’s universe in the light of God’s purpose as revealed in Jesus Christ. Christian stewards, empowered by the Holy Spirit, commit themselves to conscious, purposeful decisions. Stewardship is lived out in: living and telling the Good News; sharing with God in seeking justice, peace, and the integrity of creation in an interdependent universe; wisely employing God-given human resources, abilities, and relationships; sharing the material resources we hold and giving them in service, justice, and compassion; providing for future generations; sharing in the life, worship and responsible stewardship of the Church and of its mission. Both for the individual and for the community, stewardship is a joyful act for the sake of God’s world.” From the Ecumenical Center for Stewardship Studies

If you are new to stewardship it is also a good practice to talk with others on your committee and in your church about how they understand stewardship. It is a good way to not only learn what stewardship is about, but also what your congregation feels about stewardship.

If you want to learn more about what stewardship is about; an excellent book is The Steward: A Biblical Symbol Come of Age by John Douglas Hall or Giving to God by Mark Allan Powell.

What Are Some Basic Stewardship Resources?
One good thing about stewardship is there are many good basic resources to help you get going in stewardship. Below are some we recommend:

Lorraine Kalis, the Stewardship Consultant for the Alberta and the Territories synod has put together an excellent manual on stewardship. It is called Stewardship . . .Its a way of life. This manual not only provides an excellent how to guide for stewardship, it also contains bulletin inserts and other good resources. This stewardship manual can be ordered from the Alberta and the Territories synod office by phoning 780.439.2636 or e-mailing abtsynod@elcic.ca. The only cost is to cover the postage.

For on-line resources the ELCA has an excellent collection on their “Getting Started” page. This can be found at http://www.elca.org/stewardship/started.html

If you are more inclined to a book on stewardship Eugene Grimm’s Generous People: How to encourage Vital Stewardship is a classic.

What are some good stewardship programs?
One key element in effective stewardship ministry is to use an effective stewardship program. There are many out there. Below are some recommendations.

If your congregation is nervous about having a stewardship program a good way to start is to begin with an adult education class on stewardship. The ELW and the ELCIC national stewardship program collaborated on producing What’s Enough: Making Faithful Decisions in a Consumer Society To order What’s Enough contact the ELW office at 204.984.9160 or e-mail elwinc@elcic.ca.

If your congregation is ready for a formal stewardship program New Consecration Sunday has been the most successful stewardship program for its good theology, producing consistently good results, and its ease of use. To be successful this program usually needs to be followed precisely as it is laid out. New Consecration Sunday can be ordered from Augsburg Fortress (www.afcanada.com/).

And if I need some more help?
One of the most important things to remember is that there are many people in our church who are more then happy to help you with your stewardship ministry. As a part of our national stewardship strategy each synod has a stewardship consultant whose job it is to support congregations with their stewardship ministry. Each of these people are there to help you, so please contact them and ask for help or advice whenever you need it.

Synods
Alberta and the Territories Lorraine Kalis (780)490-0882 lorrainekalis@shaw.ca
British Columbia Greg Mohr (604)524-1318 gmohr@elcic.ca
Eastern Jeff Pym (905)634-4346 lpg@worldchat.com
MNO Larry Ulrich (204)889-3760 lulrich@elcic.ca
Saskatchewan Roger Haugen (306)445-5030 rhaugen@elcic.ca
National
National Stewardship Program Ryan Andersen 1-888-786-6707 randersen@elcic.ca
Planned Giving Jeff Pym 1-888-308-9461 lpg@worldchat.com

I hope this helps. Once again many thanks for being apart of our church’s stewardship ministry.