“Christian stewardship is love and commitment, not just performance or obligation”

Life Style Stewardship is that point at which believers reach the understanding that stewardship is an integral part of the “Christian Lifestyle” and a matter of a personal faith journey and a measure of one’s relationship with God on a personal level. Stewardship of Time, Talent and Treasurer are as important in the maturity of a Christian believer as church attendance, Bible study and daily devotions. It also recognizes that stewardship while it supports the budget of the church is not a part of the budget process.

THE MODEL

In a program of Life Style Stewardship the church moves to an on going program of communication and teaching to the congregation. There are a wide variety of types of communication and a range of topics for information.

Stewardship is year round – Emphasis is placed on the concept of Stewardship being a matter of one’s lifestyle not simply something to be thought about during the budget campaign.

Part of Spiritual Growth – Emphasis is placed on a person’s financial stewardship being an integral part of their spiritual life just as much as regular church attendance and participation in Sunday School.

Feeling the Good and the Joy – The old quotation of “Giving till it Hurts” is not true. True fulfillment of stewardship finds the giver “Feeling Good” about themselves, their life and their relationship with God.  

Extended Giving – One of the significant aspects is the emphasis on extended giving. People are lead to understand that all financial decisions and commitments in their life are truly Stewardship decisions. Financial giving for God’s work is a life style. As such we find that we extend our stewardship whenever we find that God has blessed us in our lives. Special events of blessings such as the birth of a new grandchild or the marriage of one of our children become occasions to acknowledge God’s blessing of our lives.

Faith, Finances and Retirement – Quite a few years ago, the Lutheran Church put together an excellent program and workbook on this title. It was a tool for assisting members who were facing retirement or interested in planning for retirement. Part of Life Style Stewardship is to develop a program to assist members in this area. We often note that those who plan well for retirement have less of a tendency to reduce giving because they understand their finances better.

We are not after money – Our goal is to meet the member’s needs for giving and provide the vehicle for believers to manage God’s gifts that they receive in a manner of fulfillment of His call upon out lives. We do not believe in simply going out and calling on members and asking them to give, however we believe in the faithful giving to God’s work though the church. Whenever a member wants to make a gift we must be ready assist them to know the best way to give it.