Teaching Stewardship from a Spiritual Perspective–Consecration Sunday Team Guide, Revised and Updated Edition. Consecration Sunday approaches financing the ministries of your congregation by teaching stewardship from a spiritual perspective rather than a fundraising perspective. It focuses on the question, "What is God calling me to do?" rather than, "What does the church need in order to pay its bills?" This revised edition offers updated language, references, and statistics while keeping everything that has resonated with the program for more than 25 years intact. Digital materials available with the Program Guide are now available via Internet download, are updated and include social media posts in additional to letters and other proven communications tools. The Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program is a proven winner; it has helped thousands of congregations increase financial giving by 15% to 30%. What do I need to get started? Order the Stewardship Program Guide (9781791024024) and gather a team. Purchase copies of the Team Member Guide (9781791024048), one for each member of your team. These resources provide complete instructions for implementing the program successfully. Also Available: Consecration Sunday Estimate of Giving Cards Pkg. of 100 (9780687064069) Living Gratitude Devotional (9781791024062) Does it work? Thousands of congregations have experienced 15% to 30% increases in financial giving with the Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program the first year plus additional significant increases in subsequent years of its use. One congregation obtained these impressive multi-year results: First year, a 14.4% increase in giving; second year, 10.3% increase; third year, 13.4% increase; fourth year, 13.6%; and fifth year, 19.6% increase. A congregation's financial secretary said, "More than two-thirds of our households made some degree of annual increase each year we used Consecration Sunday. And each year we used the program, four to six additional households decided to tithe (some of those donors grew from giving 4 percent of their income to giving 10 percent of their income)."

Teaching Stewardship from a Spiritual Perspective–Consecration Sunday Program Guide, Revised and Updated Edition. Consecration Sunday approaches financing the ministries of your congregation by teaching stewardship from a spiritual perspective rather than a fundraising perspective. It focuses on the question, "What is God calling me to do?" rather than, "What does the church need in order to pay its bills?" This revised edition offers updated language, references, and statistics while keeping everything that has resonated with the program for more than 25 years intact. Digital materials available with the Program Guide are now available via Internet download, are updated and include social media posts in additional to letters and other proven communications tools. The Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program is a proven winner; it has helped thousands of congregations increase financial giving by 15% to 30%. What do I need to get started? Order the Stewardship Program Guide (9781791024024) and gather a team. Purchase copies of the Team Member Guide (9781791024048), one for each member of your team. These resources provide complete instructions for implementing the program successfully. Also Available: Consecration Sunday Estimate of Giving Cards Pkg. of 100 (9780687064069) Living Gratitude Devotional (9781791024062) Does it work? Thousands of congregations have experienced 15% to 30% increases in financial giving with the Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program the first year plus additional significant increases in subsequent years of its use. One congregation obtained these impressive multi-year results: First year, a 14.4% increase in giving; second year, 10.3% increase; third year, 13.4% increase; fourth year, 13.6%; and fifth year, 19.6% increase. A congregation's financial secretary said, "More than two-thirds of our households made some degree of annual increase each year we used Consecration Sunday. And each year we used the program, four to six additional households decided to tithe (some of those donors grew from giving 4 percent of their income to giving 10 percent of their income)."

At once a “travel guide” and a vision for the future, this series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. It analyzes the present plight of the church and sketches a positive way forward, sprouting from the seeds of change—those transformative practices already at work renewing the church. What church models can help point us toward transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey? Each volume of the series will: Explain why a changed vision is essential Give robust theological and biblical foundations Offer a guide to best practices and positive trends in churches large and small Describe the necessary tools for change Imagine how transformation will look For most Episcopalians, stewardship is synonymous with pledge drives, budgets, and capital campaigns, but the Bible is clear that God wants more than our tithes and offerings. Looking to its scriptural roots in 1 Chronicles, Luke-Acts, and the letters of Paul, as well as St. Francis’ “third way,” Robertson offers a vision of holistic stewardship for the whole church, holistic because it can’t be separated from evangelism, outreach, scripture study, and ministry to the newcomer. It does not involve strong-arm tactics, only a willingness to risk changing existing structures and ideas in order to enrich the faith community and strengthen connections to the neighboring world. Transforming Stewardship delivers both good and bad news about Episcopalians and stewardship. Robertson provides essential models and spiritual practices in order to transform the church’s outmoded attitudes toward stewardship and wealth into a broader context of faith.

Daily Bible Study is a great companion to the quarterly Adult Bible Studies or as a stand-alone study. It is presented in quarterly segments. Bible-based, and Christ-focused, it coordinates with the lesson themes of Adult Bible Studies. Each daily reading includes a one-page Bible study for each day of the quarter, along with introductory reflection questions and commentary on the daily Scripture passage, life application, and a concluding prayer. Daily Bible Study Spring 2022 Theme: Follow The lessons this quarter are confined to two units so that we can observe the season of Lent. Authentic discipleship involves imitating Jesus, and we must begin with an understanding of Jesus as Messiah and the kingdom to which he invites us to belong. We soon discover as we follow Jesus that his kingdom turns our expectations totally upside down. As we walk with Jesus, we must admit that we sometimes totally miss the mark. Yet Christ forgives us, restores us, and equips us to live into our identities as Christ-followers. As his followers, we have responsibilities and opportunities to help grow the kingdom. One way is through stewardship, a concept that is much broader than we may think. Our role involves using not only our physical resources but indeed our very lives as grace-filled cohabitants in God’s marvelous creation. Unit 1: The Mark You Make Discipleship in Mark’s Gospel is often described as the way of the cross because of the repeated emphasis upon following Jesus on the way to Jerusalem and the command to take up one’s cross and follow Jesus (Mark 8:34). In this season when we commemorate Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, we give our attention to various aspects of discipleship we find in Mark’s Gospel. Scriptures: Mark 8:27-38; Mark 9:38-50; Mark 10:35-45; Mark 11:12-14, 20-25; Mark 13:5-8, 28-37; Mark 14: 27-42; Mark 16:1-8 Spiritual Practice: Reflection and self-examination Unit 2: The Steps You Take Creation care has become a prominent topic of discussion in Christian congregations and seminaries during the last couple of decades. While disagreement exists about human responsibility for climate change and to what extent we should limit human activity for the purpose of preservation of endangered species and habitats, Scripture makes clear that God takes pleasure in creation and that our role as stewards requires that we appreciate creation and take our responsibility as stewards seriously. Scriptures: Psalm 104; Leviticus 25:1-13; Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Job 38:4-11; Joel 2:18-26; Romans 8:19-22; 2 Corinthians 9 Spiritual Practice: Nurture and care of all creation

Church leaders are struggling to help their congregations respond to the violent ebb and flow of the economy. While their members are simply trying to stay afloat financially, the budget of their church is suffering as well. In the midst of all of this, though, there is God and a divine calling for each of us. With Enough Stewardship Program Guide, Adam Hamilton offers a simple campaign that will transform how the church and individuals view the role of money in connection with their life’s purpose and the positive impact that transformation will have on the world. This program, based on Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity, is designed for church-wide and small-group studies and includes a DVD. Leaders will be equipped with: A campaign timeline Sample communication pieces Sermon series notes Artwork for PowerPoint and signage "Enough comes like an antidote in the middle of a pandemic. I hope that classes, groups, couples, and individuals will use this book—and the economic crisis it addresses—as a challenge to get healthy again by deepening our discipleship in the vital area of money and possessions." —Brian McLaren, Author of The Secret Message of Jesus Click here to watch the introduction from Adam Click here to view a clip from the Stewardship Program DVD Click here to view a clip from the Enough DVD Click here to view a webinar on how to use the Stewardship Program with your church! Adam Hamilton is senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. Hamilton is the author of Confronting the Controversies, Making Love Last a Lifetime, Unleashing the Word, Leading Beyond the Walls, Selling Swimsuits in the Arctic, Christianity and World Religions, and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, all published by Abingdon Press.

This approach to financing the operational ministries of a congregation teaches stewardship from a spiritual perspective, rather than a fund-raising perspective. Especially helpful in churches that do not believe in pledging or have never had a campaign, it works equally well in small-town, small and medium congregations, large congregations, and urban areas.

An ever-increasing number of resources compete for the attention of congregational leaders. With a seemingly endless number of choices, finding the best resource on a particular topic for a specific congregation is an often daunting challenge. www.congregationalresources.org, is an invaluable companion to the groundbreaking online version of Alban Institute’s and Indianapolis Center for Congregation’s jointly researched and produced Congregational Resource Guide, launched in 2001 and accessed by thousands of seekers each week. The book conveniently and cogently puts the rich array of important resources into context by examining in depth, the key books, organizations, Web sites, and people that will help leaders gain an understanding of important issues facing their congregations. The book features ten overviews of important topics by widely recognized experts in their fields, including Amy Sherman on Community Ministry, Tom Fischer on Congregational Health, Lee Ramsey on Preaching, Paul Chaffee on Leadership, John Janka on Evaluation, and Jean Trumbauer on Lay Ministry. Each essay is accompanied by an annotated list of selected resources for researching further information. Helpful guides for using these valuable resources to promote and encourage congregational understanding and transformation are also included.