February 6, 2017 in Congregations, Stewardship
Stewardship Tip: Maximize Your Mission
Lent is just around the corner and it is a perfect time to maximize your mission with a specific mission project. When people know that their generosity has made a difference they not only feel good, but are inclined to continue to support your other ministries. Here are some ideas:
- Use mid-week, Holy Week and Easter special offering envelopes to meet a specialized mission outreach project in your community or nationally/globally
- These projects can range in cost to meet your specific goal – mosquito nets for the Malaria emphasis, a well for clean water, a specific need for a local homeless shelter – the ideas are endless.
- Your Sunday school classes could have children use special Lenten coin boxes and have the Sunday School as a whole, or individual classes pick their own project from the ELCA good gifts catalogue
- Advertise your project and the goal – have some posters around and put it on your website and social media. (Always provide a “donate now” button on these electronic announcements so those who are not members but may want to support it can make a contribution)
- Keep the congregation informed of the progress on the goal.
- Celebrate when you reach the goal.
- Have Sunday School classes bring their coin boxes to the altar during a worship service to make their offerings and announce their chosen project.
- Share thank you notes and communications from the recipient of your offerings in newsletters, website, social media, worship announcements.
Using these special offerings for an outreach project conveys important messages to your members:
- God will provide enough for our own needs through regular giving, so we can share these special offerings for the needs of others.
- We will be blessed in every way for our generosity
- We give thanks to God that we can share with others in need.
By modeling these tenets of generosity, it encourages members to have the same attitude with their giving and moves you a step closer to having a culture of generosity.
