Resources

When we rightly understand our relationship to material possessions, we will live healthier, happier, more virtuous lives. However, coming to such understanding is not easy and requires one to thoughtfully examine how one, as an individual and as a part of a church, understands and makes use of material possessions. Below are resources contributed by our expert authors to help you better understand this topic.

resources
Jump to:            The Generous Church            Stewardship            Generosity            Charity            Fundraising           Links

Category/Summary

The Generous Church

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The Generous Church

Resource/Abstract/Summary

Why Church Leaders Should Be
Concerned About Financial Stewardship [PDF]

Dick Towner

Financial stewardship is an often ignored yet important arena in which the battle between good and evil is being waged. Church leadership must awaken to the all-encompassing importance of stewardship in day-to-day, spiritual and global terms as it may be the last place where thoughtful conversation using non-marketplace terms can take place.

The Key Role of Stewardship Ministry in the Church [PDF]

Dick Towner

If the local church is to live out its redemptive potential, it must provide not only hope but practical help and biblical teaching that meet people at their points of need. One of the most critical needs today is helping people come to grips with their finances. This article outlines some of the key principles for implementing a stewardship ministry.

Secrets of Generous Churches [PDF]

Elizabeth Swanson

If it is truly better to give than to receive, then why are there not many more generous churches? This essay explores how your church can incorporate a deeply theological practice of generosity.

How to Resource Your Vision
Through a Stewardship Ministry [PPT]

Dick Edic

This PowerPoint presentation helps you examine stewardship in your church, offers solutions to problems that you may be having with stewardship and ideas on how your church can begin an effective stewardship ministry.

Year Round Stewardship Calendar [PDF]

Design for Ministry

This helpful chart gives some guidelines for establishing year-round stewardship and finance campaign in your church.

Getting Past Economic Illiteracy:
Encouragement for Pastoral Leaders [PDF]

Mark L. Vincent

If you are a pastor then it probably means that you did not choose a career in economics. Nonetheless, it is important spiritually and financially for pastors to overcome economic illiteracy and take a biblical approach to finances. This essay outlines some early questions and first steps that pastors can take to overcome economic illiteracy.

Stewardship

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Stewardship

Stewardship is God's Way of Raising People [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

The term stewardship is often used without a clear understanding of its historical and Biblical context. This article focuses on expanding our understanding beyond the dictionary definition of 'one who cares for another's property.'

Becoming a Faithful Steward [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

Often the difficultly is not knowing what we ought to do, but how to go about it. This article provides ten ways to become a faithful steward of what God entrusts to us.

What is Holistic Stewardship? [PDF]

Scott Rodin

Christians are called to be stewards of our relationship with God, ourselves, our neighbor, and creation. This essay examines how Christians, as image bearers of God, can be good stewards in relation to these things.

Focus on the “Great Silent Subject” [PDF]

Dick Towner

Church leadership must awaken to the all-encompassing importance of stewardship in day-to-day, spiritual and global terms. And the church may just be the last place where matters of stewardship can be discussed in non-marketplace terms.

Faith and Money for Young Adults: A Call for Mentors [PDF]

Mark L. Vincent

Resources on stewardship are plenty. They are accessible. They are well produced. They are effective. But why does something seem to be missing? In order to bring about effective change in an individual’s stewardship habits, we need the human element of mentorship.

Spiritual Formation and Stewardship [PDF]

Gary Hoag

Stewardship is an important part in a Christian’s spiritual formation. This article recommends five practical steps to help contribute to your spiritual formation in the area of stewardship.

Heart, Soul, and Money:
A Christian View of Possessions [PDF]

Craig Blomberg

The way we use our possessions is directly tied to our spiritual walk with the Lord. This essay examines the common uses of material possessions around the world and recommends how you can take steps to holiness in your use of your material possessions.

How Does a Steward Pray [PDF]

Scott Rodin

As God’s people we are called to be people of prayer. We are also called to live as godly stewards. And there is a powerful integration of these two callings. This essay highlights the integration between these two callings and offers principles to inspire a deeper prayer life and ignite a passion for godly stewardship.

The Christian and Material Possessions [PPT]

Craig Blomberg

This presentation explores the use of possessions throughout the Old and New Testament. This is a great resource for individuals teaching a class on Biblical stewardship.

More Than Just Money [PDF]

Dick Towner

For a Christian, all of life should be a kind of stewardship. This essay reveals how money informs not only our attitudes toward the poor, but also our attitudes about the value of human life.

What Would Jesus Do With All Your Stuff? [PDF]

Craig Blomberg

Christians are not to have too much, nor are we to have too little. This essay explores the Old and New Testament views of giving and argues why the graduated tithe better reflects biblical priorities in the area of giving.

A Call to Stewardship Arms [PDF]

Dick Towner

This essay is a battle call to us to pursue the vision of building up thriving stewardship ministries and helping believers experience the spiritual and relational joy and freedom that results from practicing biblically based stewardship.

A Couple’s Spending Priorities Checklist [PDF]

Craig Blomberg

It is important for couples on the path to marriage to be aware of their future spouse’s view of finances. The following checklist is intended to foster discussion and understanding about how you both would be stewards of your resources as a married couple.

Generosity

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Seas of Generosity

Evangelicals: Linking Fervency of Faith & Generosity of Giving [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

What is an evangelical, and what to we know about their giving habits? This extract seeks to answer these questions, as well as suggest factors that will influence future giving.

How Does God See Our Giving? [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

From God's perspective, our giving is not only about meeting the needs of others, but also about forming us spiritually. This article identifies six ways God views our use of possessions, and provides a broader perspective on why God includes generosity as a fruit of the spirit.

Giving and Growing Spiritually [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

As we mature, human beings pass through identifiable stages of maturity: infancy, adolescence, adulthood, old age, etc. Similarly, as a person grows in generosity, they pass through stages of growth. This article identifies and explains six stages on the path to being a faithful, generous giver.

Encouraging Generosity [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

Scripture is clear that how we use our possessions has an eternal impact. This article identifies key passages for encouraging generosity, as well as questions to use for self-evaluation.

Giving Out of Love [PDF]

Mark L. Vincent

Giving is good, but not every motivation for giving is good. Christians must recognize that giving out of love is the only right motivation for giving. Pastors and Christian leaders must help cultivate a sense of love in people if we are to give well.

Giving Out of Gratitude [PDF]

Daryl Heald

Giving really does inure to our benefit. It really is a form of worship. If you’re holding onto the stuff of this world, it is impossible to receive anything else.

Types of Giving [PDF]

Mark L. Vincent

This chart outlines the motivation, goals, and issues related to the four common types of giving.

Giving as a Way of Life [PDF]

Mark L. Vincent

Plain Truth Magazine interviewed Mark Vincent about the Generosity movement that is calling people to live more generous, stewardship conscious lives.

Treasure Transplant [PDF]

Daryl Heald

Consider the Macedonians. Despite being slaves, they longed for the opportunity to give. In this interview, Daryl Heald addresses why he sees giving as an opportunity and not merely a burdensome requirement of God’s law.

Giving and Asking in Transforming Culture [PPT]

Craig Blomberg

Are we transferring or transforming culture? When it comes to being good stewards globally, we must understand diverse cultural contexts so that we can be most clear and precise in our message. Only then can transformation begin.

Generous Giving:
Moving Christians from Tipping to Generosity [PDF]

Daryl Heald and John Pierce

Most church members do not understand that giving is a part of our worship. That is a missing doctrine that needs to be better articulated from the pulpit and better experienced so that it moves from our head to our heart.

Charity

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Charity

The Disappearance of Charity... Can It Make A Comeback? [PDF]

Daryl Heald

Charity is one of the key elements of a civil society. However, many Americans today have an incorrect mindset about charity. This essay corrects many misconceptions that people have about charity and explores charity’s many rewards.

Fundraising

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Charity

Rediscovering Fundraising in Light of the Generous Heart of God [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

In a two page overview, this article lays the foundation for a biblical view of fundraising: why we do it, where we tend to make mistakes, and how to go about getting back on God's road for raising money.

God, Money, Giving and Asking [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

Board members know that fundraising is one of their many responsibilities, but few look forward to the task. This brief article outlines why many common assumptions about raising money are flawed.

God, Generosity, and Asking [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

It is easy for us to mimic worldly approaches to raising money because they are so pervasive. These ten simply questions will help you evaluate your asking practices to see if they are in line with biblical principles.

Joining God in Resource Development [PDF]

Wesley K. Willmer

A quick 10 point summary of biblical resource development, this article provides a good starting point for discussions with board members about your philosophy of fundraising.

The Heart of Fundraising [PDF]

Daryl Heald

When it comes to effective fundraising for ministries, they key to success is a matter of transforming the heart of the givers. This essay outlines three principles and some practical steps that you can take to cultivate greater generosity in givers.

The Place of Development in the Christian Institution [PDF]

Scott Rodin

Far too few ministries would identify the development or fund-raising department as a primary locus of ministry. However, there may be no place in your entire organization where ministry is “happening” in a more dynamic, counter-cultural way than in your development office.

Six Things They Never Told Me About Christian Fundraising [PDF]

Scott Rodin

What’s so Christian about the way we do our fundraising? Is Christian fundraising nothing more than secular fundraising with some Bible verses strewn throughout our appeal letters? This essay gives five key insights that will help you understand how one fundraises Christianly.