Stewardship Ministry

Managing the gifts God gives us


The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Stewardship Ministry helps congregations grow in their understanding and implementation of a life of stewardship.

Christian stewardship is the free and joyous activity of God’s family — the church — in managing life’s resources for His purposes.

Learn more about LCMS Stewardship Ministry >>

Square One Resources

It can be a struggle to know where to begin when it comes to congregational stewardship. Here are four ways to get started.

  • Stewardship Under the CrossStewardship Under the Cross: Stewardship for the Confessional Lutheran Parish by the Rev. Heath Curtis includes a book and a planning guide. The book tells the story of a real LCMS congregation and how they went from financial chaos to faithful, Lutheran, biblical stewardship. The planning guide will help your congregation lay out the steps it takes to do the same in your congregation. Reading this book together is a great place for a pastor and board of elders to begin.
  • Stewardship from A to Z — The A to Z collection of resources includes a lot of content. If your congregation needs to start at square one, check out the Bible study section for ideas on how to introduce biblical stewardship. If your congregation already has a yearly stewardship focus, you’ll find resources to help bring new and fresh ideas to each year’s program.
  • Stewardship Basics — An in-depth, 8-week Bible study to introduce stewardship to a congregation.
  • Philippians Workshop — Resources like those above are great. But there’s never been a shortage of great resources, and it’s still hard for congregations to get off of square one. Here’s what we have found to work best: face-to-face workshops for pastors and lay leaders. We conduct several of these each year all around the Synod. If your congregation would consider hosting a workshop for your local circuit congregations, check out the “Philippians Workshop” flier and email us at stewardship@lcms.org.

Bulletin, Newsletter and Pew Resources

These resources all serve to keep faithful, biblical stewardship in front of the congregation on a weekly and monthly basis.

  • Bulletin, Newsletter Information — Stewardship bulletin blurbs and newsletter articles are available for congregations to feature in church publications. Content is based on the one-year and three-year lectionary.
  • Online Giving Pew Cards — The physical act of collecting the gifts and bringing them to the altar has been a part of Christian worship since the time of the apostles. Now, parishioners who give offerings electronically may participate in the Divine Service by placing a card in the offering plate in lieu of an envelope. LCMS congregations may print online giving pew cards for members.
  • Manage Time Wisely — The Lord gives each of us 1,440 minutes per day. How are we using that time? A half-sheet handout, which is suitable to include in worship bulletins, encourages congregational members to spend 1 percent of their time each day in Bible reading and prayer plus 1 percent of their waking hours each week in worship.

Stewardship Podcasts: Issues, Etc. Collection

Here is a collection of stewardship podcasts recorded in cooperation with our friends at Issues, Etc. Not all views expressed are necessarily those of the LCMS; please discuss any questions with your pastor.

Digging Deeper: Devotions, Studies, Financial Peace University

These resources will help your congregation delve more deeply into stewardship topics.

  • Devotion: Simple Gifts — “Simple Gifts” is a 22-part series of devotions on stewardship. Topics include “Stewards of the gift of peace“ and “Gifts for the generations to come.”
  • Financial Peace University® — “Preview and Review of Financial Peace® University,” written by Rev. Jonathan Conner, has helpful suggestions for Lutheran pastors and lay leaders who want to use FPU in their congregations.
  • The Chief StewardThe Chief Steward: A Manual on Pastoral Leadership was written by the Rev. J.E. Herrmann. The Rev. Nathan Meador, assistant coordinator of the LCMS Stewardship Ministry, says the resource
  • Form 6:21 — Financial transparency is beneficial for church operations. Form 6:21 was created to provide a simple and clear way for a congregation to communicate its mission, activities, and financial operations to its members.
  • Tell the Story of the People’s Giving — When people see and hear what their giving is doing in the Kingdom, it gives them encouragement and instills confidence in the church’s faithful administration. All of this helps cultivate cheerful givers.

Rev. Heath Curtis
Coordinator

Rev. Heath Curtis, coordinator for LCMS Stewardship Ministry

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Ministry Overview

LCMS Stewardship Ministry plans educational opportunities and provides ongoing support for pastors and lay leaders as they implement Christ-centered stewardship plans in their congregations.
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The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Inc., including Mission Central (in Mapleton, Iowa), is an IRS registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity.

A contribution designated (restricted) for a specific purpose, when accepted, will be used only to fund expenses related to that purpose. Occasionally, we may receive more in contributions for a particular purpose than can be wisely applied to it in the foreseeable future or the purpose may cease to be feasible. In these situations, the LCMS will make reasonable attempts to contact contributors to apply their contribution toward another aspect of ministry that aligns closely the contributor’s goals and values. If a contributor cannot be contacted, the LCMS will use the gift to meet a similar pressing need that most closely matches the contributor's original intent.

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