Stewardship Plan for 2010

Faith practices wheel

Pray
Give Study

Serve

Worship

Encourage

Invite

Examples: Plan a prayer vigil for Lent or Advent Offer prayer workshops for youth, adults, and others. Provide a daily email devotion written by and for members of the congregation. Offer a retreat on spiritual direction. Find visual ways to remember and pray for your congregations global partners.

Examples: Begin using Life Together and other resources in all the Sunday School classes. Highlight Luthers Small Catechism as a devotional resource for ministry in daily life. Begin a renewed emphasis on education in your congregation. Offer a retreat on Baptism or faith practices.

Examples Make plans for a special rally day kickoff celebration of your call to discipleship. Investigate new courses of study. Consider welcoming younger baptized members to Holy Communion. Celebrate the anniversaries of baptisms in the congregation. Explore the meaning of the liturgy.

Examples Offer training and opportunities to strengthen the faith sharing skills of your members. Provide opportunities for people to get comfortable talking about their faith in the presence of others. Gather a leadership team to evaluate and strengthen your congregations evangelism ministries. Keep the website current. Expand the tutoring and after school programs. Host concerts, classes or a special event where members can invite others. Publicize events within the church to the community. Show what we have to offer.

Examples: Create a tree of faith and commitment for display during the fall. Encourage congregational groups to focus on discipleship and faith practices for one year. Schedule a series of articles written in the Spotlight sharing what it means to be a faithful disciple. Focus on different ways discipleship is expressed by members.

Examples: Choose a special service event for the congregation, such as Habitat, Camp Frederick, etc. Develop a companion congregation with our synods companion synod. Schedule a servant event trip for all ages. Look for service possibilities locally, nationally and internationally.

Examples: Teach giving as a faith practice. Promote a year round stewardship ministry that includes education, interpretation and an annual response effort. Look for stewardship opportunities locally, nationally, and internationally through the synod office, e.g. World Hunger giving goal. Plan a gift giving ministry fair in your congregation in the fall to make known gift giving opportunities such as Heiffer International (or the LWR equivalent), etc. Encourage people to begin their Christmas shopping in this way. Sponsor a missionary. Develop a relationship with a new congregation somewhere in the world. Help children understand giving as part of discipleship.

Stewardship is more than just asking for money in October. It should and can be viewed as an opportunity rather than a requirement.
We must begin to view stewardship in terms of what God intended it to be a part of our everyday lives and how each of us relates to God, to our families, and to the world.