For more information, or if you have questions, please reach out to Pastor Rebel Hurd, Director for Evangelical Mission.
1. Financial Empowerment Classes (next one starts February 15, 2023)
Working towards increasing stewardship practices and leadership principles (i.e., our biblically grounded recognition of God’s abundance), while also expanding perspectives and leadership skills. Results will include tangible outcomes as participants set monthly goals throughout the process, as well as a celebration of accomplishments upon completion. The process includes:
- Peer learning through collaborative webinars and personalized goals
- Individualized action plans based on ministry context and personal gifts
Content will include selected readings, videos, and worksheets addressing both personal and ministry financial stewardship topics. Content delivery methods include reading assignments, videos, webinars, ministry-setting exercises, and other experiential engagement processes.
Six weekly lessons to learn a simple and biblical approach to managing money. A theologically grounded small group video series to be used with councils and teams.
- Learn why budgets fail and discover the freedom of living within your means
- Practical wisdom to change your financial mindset
- Live with greater self-awareness by understanding the 8 areas of money emotions
- Set goals and make a simple plan for next week, next month, and next year
- Experience freedom and generosity without guilt or shame
- The exact, step-by-step plan to eliminate debt and save more
- Use the 7 Money Moves to create a system that results in a mindset of abundance
- Practical worksheets to make the lessons applicable today
3. Cultivating Generous Congregations
Change your church’s culture of generosity through Cultivating Generous Congregations, where leaders and their congregations learn to build a culture of generosity using both “in person via Zoom group learning” as well as “individual” learning to present the full content of CGC. Lessons Include:
- Generosity in Contacts
- Theology of Money
- Congregation’s Foundation and Best Practice
- The leadership of Equipping people
- Donors and Members
- Fundraising as Ministry
Over six weeks, "Cultivating Generous Congregations" will offer virtual cohort sessions where congregational leaders will discuss, dissect and collaborate on how generosity can work within their contexts. The sessions cost $550 per congregation, plus workbooks (2 free and $25.00 each after that. If interested, please contact Director for Evangelical Mission, Rev. Rebel Hurd at rebelhurd@cord.edu), and she’ll walk you through the registration process.
(next cohort begins April 25, 2023)
Develop your skills and confidence to grow your ministry.
Join peers in interactive sessions to develop your skills and confidence in asking donors for financial support. Through the five online sessions, you will learn techniques to help you deepen donor relationships to connect vision to mission while actively making progress on your own ministry goals – from a capital campaign to funding mission work.
Each session will develop a task list to accomplish between sessions. These tasks will be "real life" to the project you are working on that needs funds to succeed. As part of the webinar, you can expect to spend approximately one to three hours on homework assignments between sessions that will help you create a structure for and practice of building donor relationships. This series is most relevant for faith-based organizations and is great for pastors, church staff, development staff, volunteers and board of directors.
This series of five online interactive webinars is sequential with action items to apply between each session. You will practice skills with support and accountability while growing in self-awareness about your personal leadership style. Like a carpenter, practice equips us to hone our skills and discover the spiritual connection to one’s craft. This process transforms asking for money into a craft – and a vital part of ministry.
Session 1: Money Values
Explore our personal history and relationship with money, biblical foundations, motivations and meanings of money.
Session 2: Understanding the Donor’s Story and Values
Practice listening and interpersonal skills to discover other’s visions and interests. Explore how personality impacts listening and empathy style. Learn how greater self-awareness translates into a more effective “ask.”
Session 3: Values-Based Asking
Prioritize donor wishes from what you’ve learned through listening. Learn to suspend assumptions and personal anxiety and explore the donor’s visions, values, and motivations
Session 4: Practicing the Craft
Review disciplines, rituals and preparation for building professional relationships. Distinguish ‘cultivation’ from ‘asking’ and understand these as different, but complementary activities. Learn to prepare for and practice “asking.”
Session 5: Sustaining Relationships
Each donor has unique needs for ongoing cultivation, relationship building, and pastoral care. Continue to hone your skills and celebrate the spiritual connection to the craft of the “ask”.
5. Storytelling Ministry
Ask any leader in a vital, growing congregation (large or small) what moves people to support the ministry of the church, and stories will likely be on top of the list. People are less moved to give out of a sense of duty and obligation but are increasingly moved by stories of God at work. Stories of hope, faith development, and strengthening community and congregations.
This new and committed synod team will share stories that witness God at work throughout our synod, ways to practice being the faithful stewards of stories in your own congregation, and practical approaches to rethinking our own generosity as a spiritual practice.
6. Where Your Heart Is - ELCA Stewardship Newsletter
7. Other Resources
ELCA Stewardship/Lake Institute on Faith & Giving - from Feb 1st, 2023
Resource: Book: Abundance; Creating a Culture of Generosity, by Michael R Ward
Coming soon:
Consecration Sunday Resources
Other Great Resources [ELCA and Virginia Synod]
6 Weeks of Money
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Location