A Missional Credo for Tough Times

Paul Krentz, Mission Facilitator for the Texas District LCMS, posted "A Missional Credo for Tough Times" on his blog. A portion is printed below. For full text, click here.


Right now, banks are pulling back; mortgage firms are pulling back; individuals are pulling back from their 401-k plans and unloading their stock portfolios. Folks are trying to preserve what they've got and minimize their risks.

Churches might be tempted to pull back and minimize their risks as well, thinking that acting missionally is best left to better economic times. Habakkuk, the Old Testament prophet reminds us that we ought not put our trust only in what we can see with our eyes.

In Habakkuk 3:17-19 he says: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, {18} yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. {19} The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."

Blessed Thanksgiving

The music video below says it well. All good gifts come from God, but greatest of these is His love in Jesus Christ. We are blessed to be stewards of those gifts and partners with God in His great mission.

We wish you and your family a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Giving Patterns in Recession Times

Based on past recessions, church members will keep giving to their congregations, at least for now, said Sylvia Ronsvalle of Empty Tomb Inc.

Decreasing giving is not the first thing church people do in tough economic times, she says. In an extended downturn, congregations might begin to see a retraction in church-member giving the second year, she predicts.

Research shows church giving as a percentage of income was higher during the early years of the Great Depression (3.5%) than at any point since. Data from the last 6 recessions show reduced giving in 3 and increased giving in 3, but only in 1970 did it go down in the first year. Traditionally, people view the church second only to family in terms of accountability. General giving outside the church is spottier, although people tend to give to an immediate need.

For additional research and analysis of giving data, click here for the research section of “Empty Tomb, Inc.”
Also read an earlier post "Giving in a Time of Financial Crisis" (october 28) below or in the October archives.

Building Programs as Missional Opportunities

Building a building does not necessarily enhance a congregation’s ability to be in mission, but it can provide the opportunity to reexamine its missional philosophy, values, vision and strategy.

Stephen Shields in “Churches in Missional Renaissance: Facilitating the Transition to a Missional Mindset” (Click Here to download the full article) says “Considering that missional ministry generally takes place outside of the four walls of the church, it’s somewhat counterintuitive that some churches pinpoint a time during a building campaign as when they began moving toward a more missional focus.”

Shields gives examples of churches for whom a building program provided the opportunity to dedicate a percentage of the money raised towards missional goals or actually changed the nature of what was being built to focus more on the needs of the community.

A service like LCEF’s Strategic Ministry Planning (Click Here) can help a congregation do the necessary missional reexamination before moving ahead with a building. SMP’s process is based on a “House of Decisions” model. Most congregations start out with second floor concerns instead of foundational concerns (theology) and first floor concerns (missiology).


A building program can be a missional opportunity if it is based on a reexamination of your vision and values and if it results in a case statement that reflects those values.

Financial Red Flags

It's a difficult subject to address with congregations, but as one whose ministry was for many years at the District or judicatory level, I know from experience that many congregations do not take simple steps to protect themselves from the heartache and scandal of financial mismanagement.

Every congregation should have written procedures that govern the handling of money from the time it hits the offering plate until the time it is deposited in the bank and how it is reported to the congregation. Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company lists at least three "red flags" for financial mismanagement (Click HERE for full article):

Red Flag No. 1: A person who does it all. “If you have the same person counting the money, recording it and depositing it—you’ve got a problem.”

Good Controls:

• Provide Checks & Balances. The person who opens the mail should differ from the one who makes bank deposits. The person making payments from a fund shouldn’t balance that fund.
• Split Duties. Reduce the temptation for a single individual who handles all the funds.

Red Flag No. 2: An Opportunity for Temptation

What greater temptation is there than a pile of money passing in front of your face? Being left alone in a room to count it.

Good Controls:

• Follow the Rule of Twos. For church offerings, experts recommend that you follow the rule of twos: At least two people should always collect and count the offering.
• Select Counters Carefully. Enlist money counters who aren't related and don't work at the same place during the week. Also, avoid selecting someone experiencing a financial crisis.
• Secure Counting Area.

Red Flag No. 3: Inadequate Oversight

Tales of embezzlement often share common elements: a charismatic person in a position of trust who convinces the governing board that all is well; the board assumes the person speaks truthfully and performs his duties honestly; then regular checks are not performed. As consequence the crime goes unnoticed.

Good Controls:

• Reconcile Bank Statements.
• Hold Monthly Financial Meetings.
• Schedule Audits.

Using the CS Bible Studies in Three Weeks

Q. With the Guest Leader Bible Study on CS-1, how are we supposed to use all four Bible studies provided?
A. Here are some suggestions for using the Bible studies:
• Use all the Bible studies for all mid-week classes and use all bulletin inserts, but use only three on Sundays, substituting the Guest Leader Bible Study on CS-1.
• Start the Sunday Bible studies on CS-3 as suggested, but extend to CS+1 (week after Consecration Sunday) for the final study that was missed.
• Start the Sunday Bible studies on CS-4. If you do this, make sure you change the publicity materials to reflect the change.
• Skip one of the Bible studies.

Small Steps to Stewardship Growth

Sometimes stewardship growth best takes place not through major programs, but through small steps that may be suggested by the Stewardship Committee for use by individuals and by the congregation as a whole. The following list is adapted from one provided by "Live It!" a Roman Catholic Stewardship resource. CLICK HERE for the full (unedited) list.

INDIVIDUAL/FAMILY

• Take your watch off when entering church for worship — symbolize this is God's time, the service a doorway to eternity.
• Create a Refrigerator magnet: "What can I do to help people who don't have a well-stocked refrigerator?"
• Purchase a less-expensive car than you can afford — share the difference with your parish.
• On the First Sunday of Advent, review spending for the year, particularly charitable sharing.
• Decide on year-end sharing (including, if necessary, making up for missed offerings).
• Put a piece of straw in your wallet before Christmas shopping, to remind yourself of the greatest gift, Jesus in the manger.
• Put a stewardship sticker on your credit card, to remind you that spending is not everything.
• Take an inventory of your clothes. Decide which items you don't need, and donate them to a charity that will put them to use.
• Think carefully about alternative uses of the money before purchasing luxury items or recreation equipment or fancy clothes.
• Encourage people to set goals not only for stewardship of treasure but also for time (especially as prayer) and talent.
• Build a habit of thanking people whose work usually goes unnoticed — those who clean our business office, those who serve the food in fast-food restaurants, cashiers at the supermarket.
• Send hand-written notes to senior members of the parish, thanking them for all they have done in their lives for the church community.
• Rake leaves, shovel snow, etc., for elderly neighbors/parishioners.
• Help an elderly person learn basic computer operation and e-mail, so he/she can keep in touch with relatives and the world in general.

CONGREGATIONAL

• Put a stewardship sticker on all envelopes and other parish materials (e.g., grocery bags for food drive).
• Use the language of stewardship instead of volunteering, giving, etc.
• Have available in the Church (1) slips of paper on which people can write (anonymously) how they have used their gifts for others during the past week, and (2) a basket in which to place them. Then bring the basket to the altar.
• If the office uses a postage machine, add a stewardship message to the printing. Most machines can print a message along with the postage. "Stewardship -- A Disciple's Way of Life" would look good on all the envelopes.
• On All Souls Day (or all through November), label a bulletin board the "Wall of Remembrance"; invite people to post pictures of their departed loved ones. Give thanks for these stewards of old who helped bring us the Gospel.
  
• At the end of the service, the pastor thanks all the assistants by name.
• Leave thank-you cards in the church; ask people to address them to people whose ministry might otherwise go unnoticed.
• Take a picture of the church. Then have it made into a picture puzzle, with enough pieces so that every family can have one. Mail the pieces to parishioners and ask them to bring the pieces on Commitment Sunday. (Alternatively: People have to bring in their pieces as a symbol they have completed some step, such as visiting a Parish Ministry Fair.) At the Ministry Fair, have a table where pieces can be placed. The message is, "The congregation isn't complete without you."
• Create a button: "I'm a Steward for Christ." Ask ministry leaders to wear them regularly, in order to build interest. Then distribute them to the congregation.
• Give each parishioner a report on his/her sharing three times a year, without any request for funds. Most people will make up any missing amounts.
• Publish stories of stewardship in the Bulletin, with emphasis on actions of members.
• Recognize a ministry each week, either at worship or in the Bulletin.
• Invite community organizations to participate in Time and Talent Sunday (Ministry Fair).
• Collect travel-sized shampoos, lotions, toothpaste, etc. (hotels often have them available; after one use, the bottles are thrown out). Give them to shelters.
• Print a stewardship prayer on a business card or similar vehicle. Give one to all Board members; ask them to say the prayer at the start of each of their meetings.
• Encourage kid's groups to do community service.
• Invite parishioners to form a group that will provide meals, housecleaning, etc., for terminally ill people and their families, and other people in crisis.
• Provide credit counseling for those in need.
• Visit new parishioners in their homes. Invite them to discern their gifts and then to use them in the parish and the community.
• Invite people with auto mechanic skills to band together to obtain old cars and bring them to running condition. Give the cars to people who need transportation but cannot afford to purchase a car.
• Ask the parish to recognize the gifts of the students in the parish.
• Adopt a student who cannot afford higher education; provide financial support for education.
• Ask the parish to be aware of special-needs students in their midst; encourage help for the students and the parents.
• During Religious Education and Youth Ministry, help children to learn about their gifts and how to use them