Start Planning for Stewardship Month
Goodness gracious. Did you read the title of this post?
I’m sorry to report that we are in the last week of July. That’s hard to believe.
That means August, then September…and then (well, I guess it’s how the calendar goes), October. And October is when many of you will focus on stewardship. Good for you!
Hopefully, October – and talking about stewardship during that month – will not come as a complete shock to your congregation. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll remember that siloing stewardship and generosity into a one month-long event is not good practice.
Stewardship (and generosity) is a year-round habit and should be talked about from January through December. And, it's OK to focus your attention on it for a month too.
First things first. Do you have a team that will work on your generosity month...and your year-round generosity? Leading this effort is not something that you should do solo. It’s always more fun to work with others in order to get their input and help. What kind of people should you be looking for? In short, those who are…
Positive
Generous
Organized
Spiritually grounded
For more detailed info, check out Who Should be on Your Generosity Team?
But back to focusing on stewardship for one month (and I’ll say it again, in addition to the rest of the year).
To prepare, answer these four questions with your team:
Why are you having a stewardship "month"?
Why should people give to your church?
What’s the vision that people are giving to?
How will you engage people during the month?
The first three questions need to be answered before embarking on that last question. There will be more enthusiasm, more sense of purpose if you know your why and your what before the how.
This is the starting point. Of course, there’s more to think about (especially as you get to question #4) – and that will be for next week’s post.
Until then, start identifying people for your team, go grab an ice cream cone, see a good movie, dip your toes in some water, and savor the summer. It goes by way too quickly. Don’t miss it.
Photo credit: Towfiqu Barbhiuya @ pexel.com
###Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship – helping with capital campaigns and encouraging more generosity. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise millions of dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations. Olaf has the right idea for summer fun.
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered!
Schedule a meeting now.
If someone has forwarded this to you and you would like to subscribe to "Inspiring Generosity," click here. Miss an issue? Click here.