This is the place to find resources for this month's stewardship activities.  These are ideas for a stewardship activity or program for each month of the year.

 

August 2010 - Start Planning your Fall Financial Campaign.

 

“Every system is perfectly designed to achieve the results its gets.” – W. Edward Deming, management consultant

 

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

 

If you are completely satisfied with your church's financial situation, then there is no need to think about making a change in your Annual Financial Campaign. However, if your church income does not meet the needs of your church, or you lack the financial resources to carry out the ministry and mission of your church, you need to ask – how do we move from where we are to where we need to be?

 

Start planning now for your Fall Financial Campaign.  The first step is to identify the leaders of the campaign and start meeting to review your church's resources and ministry goals for next year.  To get started, click on the "Getting Started" box on the left.  Share the "Stages of Giving" with your committee.  How does this relate to your congregation?  Select a Campaign Method and a Stewardship Theme and order the materials needed.  Finally, look in Stewardship Resources for additional material to help you with your Fall Stewardship Campaign.

 

The 2010 Fall Stewardship theme is “More Than Enough” (2 Corinthians 9:8).  To order materials for this theme, Click Here.

 

 Also order "Giving Magazine" by calling Presbyterian Distribution Services at (800) 524-2612. (Shipping charges apply.) This year’s magazine contains helpful articles by Elaine Barnette, Kevin Park and Rodger Nishioka as well as planning resources for the 2010 Stewardship Theme “More Than Enough”.

 

July 2010 - Celebrate Small Churches

 

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a denomination of smaller membership churches.  On July 18, 2010 we are called to celebrate the ministry and mission of these congregations, many of whom are discerning God’s call and finding new and renewed ways to be in ministry for this time in their history.  Click Here to download a Small Church Ministry worship service.

 

For more info see some suggested activities for Small Churches.

 

June 2010 – Spiritual farming

Farmer Joel Salatin talks about his farming practices in Virginia that emphasize respect, healing and stewardship of the land.  His message is for anyone directly involved in farming or indirectly involved in the agricultural related businesses in Iowa.   Click Here to read Joel Salatin's comments.

 

May 2010 - Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference Report

 

The Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference was recently held in Indianapolis.  Click Here to view a report from the conference.

 

April 2010 - Wills & Estates and Pentecost Offering

 

May 2, 2010 is Wills Emphasis Sunday and the beginning of Older Adult Week.  Many members have given faithfully to the church but have not thought about giving beyond their lifetimes.  Without a Will, your church will not be included in your estate.

 

A recent study found that less than half of all Americans have a will.  This is a significant barrier to the solicitation of bequest gifts.  Even more alarming is that many older Americans do not plan to leave a charitable bequest.  Only 11% of those in their 70's and less than 9% of those in their 80's and older plan to leave charitable bequests in their Wills.

 

  Click Here for more information on Wills & Estates.

In April, all congregations will receive a mailing of Pentecost Offering materials.  The Pentecost Offering is received on May 23, 2010, the day of Pentecost. The Offering is used to meet the needs of children at risk, youth, and young adults. Congregations are encouraged to use 40% of the Offering to support ministry with children at risk in their communities.

Additional materials to promote the 2010 Pentecost Offering can be ordered by calling PDS at (800) 524-2612 or click here to order online.

March 2010 - Earth Day 2010

 

April 22 is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  This year's theme is: Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life

Our worship spaces belong to God, and in them we have the opportunity to honor God by taking seriously our roles as stewards of the earth.  There are many ways to be good stewards of the earth through our worship spaces, and Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life offers many ideas for congregations to improve facilities in the areas of:

• Energy efficiency and conservation
• Reducing toxic materials and products
• Water conservation
• Land and habitat conservation

Click Here to download this resource with plenty of time to begin implementing ideas before Earth Day, so your congregation can celebrate your successes on the Sunday before or after Earth Day.

Disaster Assistance to Chile

One Great Hour of Sharing is more important than ever with the earthquake in Chile.  Click Here to find out more about what your church is doing in response.

 

February 2010 - One Great Hour of Sharing & Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to Haiti

 

Start planning now for the One Great Hour of Sharing offering that is collected on Palm Sunday (March 28th) or Easter (April 4th).  This offering shares God’s love with people experiencing need.  Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance & resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities.   For more information and resources, Click Here.

 

Approximately one-third of the One Great Hour of Sharing offering goes to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), which offers short and long-term disaster recovery assistance in the United States and worldwide.  PDA provided assistance in our Presbytery after the tornado and flooding in 2008.  Right now there is an urgent need in Haiti following the earthquake.  Don't wait until the One Great Hour of Sharing offering to contribute.  If your congregation has not already done so, plan a special offering in February to support the PDA's work in Haiti.

 

Click Here for more information on what you can do to help.  For a special report on the work being done in Haiti, Click Here.

 

January 2010 - Souper Bowl of Caring & Stewardship One-Liners

 

Plan on participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, 2010.  The Souper Bowl of Caring is fundamentally a faith initiative, as the idea was born of a prayer.  We seek to love God by loving our neighbors, and through this, young people will see that by God's grace, they can make a difference in the lives of others.  The Souper Bowl of Caring is an ideal way to engage communities in the fight against hunger and poverty.  It's simple enough to be done with limited resources and can be adapted to meet the needs of your congregation.  Click Here for more information.

 

Download the "One Line Blurbs for Stewardship for 2010" in Microsoft Word format.  There are one-liners for each Sunday plus a few extra.  Give a copy to whoever prepares the worship bulletins so they can insert a "Stewardship One-Liner" every week. 

 

December 2009 - Stewardship Planning for 2010

 

The harvest is in and it's time to start stewardship planning for next year. Most churches have committees for worship, Christian education, mission, personnel, facilities and finance. Frequently stewardship is considered a part of finance. Unfortunately, stewardship and finance are not the same thing and the stewardship activities are overlooked. This is a major oversight!  One of the essential roles of the church is promoting personal stewardship through teaching, preaching and by example. Click Here for help in putting together an annual stewardship plan for your church.

 

November 2009 - Christmas Joy Offering - "What Child is This?"

 

A Presbyterian tradition for almost 70 years, the Christmas Joy Offering supports Presbyterian-related racial ethnic education and assistance programs that provide support to retired and active church workers and their spouses and families.

 

The Christmas Joy Offering is usually received the Sunday before Christmas. Resources are mailed to each congregation in early September.  All of the resources are available by calling (800) 524-2612 or order online at Presbyterian Marketplace.

 

You are encouraged to support the Christmas Joy Offering with a congregational offering.  Click Here for more resources including a PowerPoint presentation and online video.

 

October 2009 - Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

 

There's a saying in real estate that the three most important things are "location, location and location".  In local church stewardship the three most important things are "communication, communication and communication".  One of the areas that churches have the worst communication is the church budget.  Now is the time to start working on better communication of your church budget, and the best way to start is with a narrative budget.  Click Here for more information on creating a narrative budget for your church this year.

 

September 2009 - Peacemaking Offering - Psalm 85:10, “Justice and peace shall kiss each other.”

 

The Peacemaking Offering supports our efforts to live out a deeper commitment to peacemaking as part of our faithfulness to God.  Most churches receive the Peacemaking Offering on World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October, which this year is October 4.   Churches may use whatever Sunday works best for them.

 

Each congregation is encouraged to retain 25% of the Offering it receives to use for ministries of peacemaking within the local church and its community.  The remainder is used by presbyteries, synods and Presbyterian Peacemaking Program of the PC(USA) General Assembly.

 

 

North Central Iowa Presbytery

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www.presbynciowa.org