Changing your congregation’s culture from a focus on money and fundraising to a culture of stewardship and generosity takes time and intention. Here are some sample activities spread out over a four year cycle.

Year One: Generous Receiving

Focus on gathering the stewardship team to establish a group of thought leaders. Consider the following activities:

1. Offer worship services focused on generous receiving
2. Create job descriptions for each team member
3. Develop a covenant between the team and the congregation
4. Make a place for the team in the organizational structure
5. Recruit team members and leaders
6. Provide time for team members to understand all aspects of FORTH
7. Conduct generous receiving-related worship services
8. Lead generous receiving-oriented congregation-wide conversations
9. Facilitate the Art of Thriving conversations
10. Determine volunteer management best practices
11. Access/improve reporting of annual financial commitments
12. Focus on financial education for congregational leaders

Year Two: Gifts, Call, and Spiritual Vocation

Dedicate this year to spreading and connecting stewardship to the entire congregation. Consider the following activities:

1. Provide worship services focused on gifts, call, and spiritual vocation
2. Assess (and improve) organizational functions to grow stewardship
3. Review financial systems for transparency and engagement (especially budget building, approval, and reporting)
4. Develop congregation-wide stewardship-oriented communication vehicles
5. Offer gifts, call, and spiritual vocation-oriented adult education opportunities
6. Focus on improving the new member orientation process
7. Review web site and other electronic media for stewardship-related opportunity
8. Improve volunteer recruitment and integration
9. Assess/improve financial reporting: introduce program-based budgeting
10. Offer personal budgeting, money management, and charitable giving workshops
11. Form a new or reenergize an existing planned giving committee
12. Establish endowment if one does not currently exist

Year Three: Generous Giving

Devote this year to promoting a culture of generous giving. Consider the following activities:

1. Offer worship services that focus on generous giving
2. Renew the covenant between the stewardship team and the congregation
3. Assess and improve volunteer recruitment, placement, support, and recognition
4. Actively engage in leadership development and recognition
5. Review the annual budget drive process to best focus on generous giving
6. Connect all fundraisers to the concept of generous giving
7. Schedule conversations about the reality of abundance and the myth of scarcity
8. Use a stewardship lens to review and improve all communications
9. Refine the annual budget drive process to focus on generous giving
10. Launch a new planned giving program or strengthen the existing program
11. Focus on stewardship education for young adults
12. Ask young adults to lead a worship services on generous giving

Year Four: Stewardship Sustainability

Review previous activities and create a long-term stewardship development program. Consider the following activities:

1. Offer worship services that reflect upon the current stewardship culture
2. Revisit the stewardship team charge and its place in the organization
3. Make any needed adjustments to the stewardship culture
4. Engage the congregation in creating five-year plan stewardship development plan
5. Launch a Bequest Recognition Society to honor planned gift givers
6. Balance financial right relations by ‘walking the stewardship talk’
7. Conduct a financial planning workshop for interested congregants
8. Revise/improve upon volunteer recognition efforts
9. Offer support for parents to educate their kids about stewardship
10. Schedule lay led worship services that include youth/kids