| | | | Fall 2019
Dear pastor,
Ready for some fun? While entertainment may not be on your calendar today, please take time to enjoy – and be inspired – by this first story about unusual ushers at a church in Iowa.
Two new ushers accept the offerings
Before Pastor Susan Janzen became a Conference Minister of Central Plains Mennonite Conference in August, she enjoyed 15½ years of pastoring Cedar Falls Mennonite Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa. A small congregation of 45 to 50 people, the congregants ranged from preschoolers to grandparents. Read more.
Stewardship Sunday 2020: Joseph as steward for dictator and God
What would you do if you were walking in the sandals of Joseph, working in the court of Pharaoh? In Exodus 1, he was the right-hand man of a dictator. This role was fraught with moral dilemmas that arise when God's Kingdom and Pharaoh's empire collide. Learn more about how to tell this story from a stewardship perspective in this Stewardship Sunday 2020 overview, complete with worship resources.
A comprehensive report on churches' finances
In September, a partner of Everence, the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, issued a comprehensive report based on the first in-depth research on church finances in over a generation. The report covers how a representative sampling of 1,231 churches receive, manage and spend their financial resources, include those representing Evangelical, Mainline and Black Protestant, Catholic and other denominations.
The report indicates there is growth in the amount of funds received at a substantial number of churches, which aren't always the ones with growing attendance. Learn more about the variety of sources of giving to churches, the frequency of teaching about stewardship, communication practices around finances and how churches spend the dollars entrusted to them.
This is an important report to consider discussing with your congregation's stewardship leaders. Download the full report to take in the broad scope of its findings.
One church pursues a special building project
Is your church considering a building project? In this video, learn about the experience of an Indiana church that found a partner to help them share their building fund with another church with fewer resources.
| | Blessings to your ministry and your church in this fall harvest season,
Kevin Nofziger, CAP(R)
Stewardship Consultant
| | | | | | |
