Who Should be on Your Generosity Team?
When your husband says, “I’d pay big money to see that in a theater,” you know the movie must be good. And it is! Two thumbs up for “The Penguin Lessons,” playing now on Netflix. And yes, the star of the movie is, in fact, a penguin. Taking place in Argentina during the 1976 coup, it’s about a curmudgeonly teacher’s transformation when he unexpectedly adopts (yes, really) a penguin. Based on a true story, it’s funny, touching, and sometimes a little too prescient for our time. Watch it and enjoy.
Friends, for many of you, you’re starting to think about or dive head-long into Stewardship Season. While that may cause shivers down your spine or a need to clutch your stomach…it really should be a time of joy and, dare I say, fun.
How can you combine joy and fun into your Stewardship Season?
Pull together a Generosity Team.
This is the group who can take a load off your shoulders and find new ways to encourage giving that makes a difference not only for your church but for the giver as well.
Who should be on your generosity team?
Positive people. The last person you want on your team is Debbie Downer (and I’m sorry to all the Debbies out there). People with good attitudes will make the work lighter.
Generous people. This does not necessarily mean that they are the biggest givers by amount of money donated to your congregation. It does mean that out of their resources, they are giving generously.
Organized people. Once you turn something over to the team, the last thing you want is to look over their shoulders. There should be a point person who you can call to make sure everything is going as planned. Organized people get stuff done.
Spiritually grounded people. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your team is carrying Bibles everywhere (well maybe on their phones) nor are they singing praise songs at the drop of a hat (wouldn’t that be downright amazing?). However, they do understand that giving through the church is a profound spiritual act. These folk should have a sense that God is in the mix through tithing and are willing to say so.
Your Generosity Team can be a short-term or long-term commitment. Maybe you pull them together for as long as your Stewardship campaign runs. Or, even better, they meet occasionally all year to help promote generosity in the church and plan fun (there’s that word again) events to acknowledge and thank people who give to your congregation.
You do not need to – nor should you – do generosity work in a vacuum. The joy of generosity should be a shared experience.
And if it’s real fun you’re looking for…consider getting a penguin to walk by your side. It might be a wee bit smelly but just think of the smiles on your parishioners’ faces.
Photo credit: ua_Bob_Dmyt_ua @ Pixabay.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 over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations.
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgeneorsity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered. Click on the link below. She wants you to see this baby taking her first steps at a very unusual venue. Baby steps are important, folks!
Schedule a meeting now.
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