Stewardship Resources

By
Synod Minister

Books/Resource kits
Web sites
Synod resources

"Giving Thanks - To Good Stewards" River Crossings article (pdf format)

Books/Resource kits

• Ask, Thank, Tell, Augsburg Fortress, ISBN 0-8066-5263-2. ($11.99) This is a 2006 book that lays out a structure and understanding of stewardship based on a person’s relationship with God and life of discipleship rather than a church’s efforts to pay the bills.

• Giving to God, Eerdman’s Publishing (available at Augsburg Fortress) ISBN 0-8028-2926-0 ($13) This is a 2006 book that speaks of stewardship as an act of worship and discipline for spiritual growth.

• Prodigal Sons & Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child’s ATM, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-25069-4. (Not available at Augsburg Fortress) (price varies) This is a great book for parents, youth and youth educators on materialism and stewardship. 

• Stewardship in the Small Membership Rural Congregation and Stewardship in the Small Membership Urban Congregation Ecumenical Stewardship Center, (317-926-3525) ISBN 6-0001-6542-0 and 6-0001-6543-9, respectively. These are 32-page manuals with a 3-week stewardship financial response method (Faithful, Hopeful, Loving) for rural and small urban congregations and include a 6-part Biblical stewardship study. ($2)

• How to Improve Financial Stewardship, Augsburg Fortress ISBN 6-0000-2841-5. This is a 32-page booklet outlining the 6 most popular financial response methods. ($4.95)

• Step by Step: Fostering Financial Stewardship in your Congregation, Augsburg Fortress ISBN 6-0001-6370-3 ($6.50) This book is authored by Rev. Michael Meiers, ELCA Stewardship, and it covers some basic practical steps in stewardship, including some scriptural basis. (Also, the ideas of a “program budget” on pages 20-21 are very helpful.)

• The Great Permission: An Asset-based Field Guide for Congregations, Augsburg Fortress ISBN 6-0001-6960-4 (1-5 copies $6 each; 6 or more $5 each). This is a 140-page field guide directed toward exploring the assets of a congregation and how best to utilize these assets.

• Our Stewardship: Managing our Assets, Augsburg Fortress ISBN 0-8066-4406-0 ($14.99) This is a book useful for congregational leaders and pastors for strategic planning, management, finance, stewardship or property teams to explore the gifts of a  congregation and how to use them.

• Generous People: How to Encourage Vital Stewardship, Abingdon Press ISBN 0-687-14045-5 ($15.00 at Augsburg Fortress) This is an excellent book to give an overall background in the biblical foundations for stewardship and the practical side of what to consider to encourage honest and sincere congregational stewardship.

• New Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program Book, Abingdon Press ISBN 0-687-06315-9 ($8.75 – Augsburg Fortress) There is also a Leader’s Guide ($10.75) This has been one of the most widely used programs in the synod. We have a list of trained presenters on our synod web site.

• Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church, Kennon Callahan, Jossey-Bass Publishers ISBN 0-7879-3867 ($17.95) This is a wonderful book for congregational stewardship committees and entire councils to read as well. It is a comprehensive and practical overview about stewardship and the mission of a congregation.

• Opening Your Spiritual Gifts, a self-scoring inventory. This is an alternative to the “Time and Talent” sheets used in congregations. Augsburg Fortress 6-0000-2932-2; 12 for $12

Web sites

• ELCA website for stewardship:  www.elca.org/stewardship

• Making Christ Known: www.elca.org/dcm/stewardship/makingchristknown.html - annual publication of the ELCA explaining who we are as the ELCA, what we do in ministry together, and how we fund it.

• The "Simply Giving" program allows automatic checking deductions from member checking accounts with the costs of the program covered by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - see www.thrivent.com for information.

• www.stewardshipresources.org

• Luther Seminary's web site - www.luthersem.edu/stewardship/.

• www.churchgrowthcenter.com.

• ELCA stewardship-oriented sermon starters: www.elca.org/dcm/stewardship/sermon.asp.

• www.stewardshipoflife.org - a web site, maintained by Gettysburg Seminary in Pennsylvania, dedicated to stewardship education; they also have a free e-newsletter available

• www.stewardshipresources.com - a web site of the company who purchased the stewardship resources of the Pony Express stewardship method from the original developer, and updated them. 

• www.sharesavespend.com - a web site authored by Nathan Dongan, author of Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to Be Your Child's ATM.

• www.10-10-80.com - a web site dedicated to empowering steward leaders, geared toward youth.

Synod Resources

• Larry Iverson, Synod Minister, is also available to help. him or reach him at 507-280-9457 or 800-426-6376 (MN only), extension 106.

• Leaders are available in our synod for Consecration Sunday training. Click here for a list of them.

• Download the synod budget pie chart (pdf format - you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read this document. Get it free at www.adobe.com).

• Leaders in the synod are available to lead sessions on Kids, Money, and Stuff - a six-hour workshop for 3rd-8th graders and their parents. Call the synod office at 507-280-9457 or 800-426-6376 (MN only) for more information.