How can I as a stewardship leader, engage other church leaders in stewardship? Part I in this series identified four key leadership traits especially useful for stewardship:
- Trust
- Transparency
- Compassion
- Hope
Part II shows how ALL congregation leaders can and should be stewardship leaders. And how moving toward that goal will transform your congregation.
UUs recognize that effective financial stewardship is essential for carrying out our basic programs and fulfilling our mission. Many of us also recognize that solid, sustainable financial stewardship requires a culture change in our UU congregations. How can we create a culture of abundance, generosity, and openness about money?
Engaging congregation leaders in new and expanded ways is key to effecting this culture change At its core, stewardship leadership comes down to two ideas: (1) every leader in the church has a vital role to play in financial stewardship; and (2) stewardship must be seen as a strategic program – a core ministry – of the church and planned and managed accordingly.
A Role for Everyone
What does it mean for every lay leader to be a stewardship leader? First, it means that we’re talking about every leader, starting with the obvious: officers, board members, and committee and council chairs. But it also includes worship and pastoral associates, small group ministry leaders, music and choir leaders, social justice team leaders, usher and hospitality coordinators. All of your church programs depend on successful stewardship, and this should be acknowledged publicly.
What roles can these leaders play in practical terms? Here are four:
- Pledge generously in line with your church’s giving guide to the best of your ability
- Volunteer to be a visiting steward, talk to other members about your giving and why they too should give generously
- Engage people in your group, helping recruit stewardship volunteers that represent all church programs and activities, including yours!
- Become comfortable talking about money in church — the more we can all do this, the more success we will have raising the funds we need
Most importantly, it means seeing yourself as a stewardship liaison to the church organizations or ministries in which you are involved. This is where the transformative part comes in – engaging with one another throughout the congregation about stewardship, about money, about our call to be faithful and committed UUs.
Officers and Board Members
Officers and board members are uniquely positioned to make a huge difference in the success of stewardship efforts and in the move toward a positive culture of stewardship in your congregation.
First, recognize that you cannot leave the responsibility for stewardship solely to one or more committees or task forces. It’s simply too important. While you should of course recruit dedicated teams to plan and execute specific campaigns and initiatives, the board must play a visible ongoing leadership role.
Second, work on culture. Assess the stewardship culture in your congregation and whether it is serving you well. If not, create a small task force to develop and carry out a multi-year strategy with annual and long-range goals.
Third, adopt a giving guide that reflects our UU values and promotes equitable giving like the UUA guide, and take it seriously. This means making personal commitments to give according to the guide, and announcing this publicly. After all, can you ask members to do something you as leaders are unwilling to do?
Fourth, help recruit the best teams possible for annual and capital campaigns. Recognize that there is no more important role in the church than being a campaign leader and help recruit accordingly. And go beyond recruiting co-chairs – help identify the best people for all key roles, and focus on using this as a way to cultivate and develop new leaders.
Fifth, participate actively in campaigns. Serve as visiting stewards – even if you are not 100% comfortable at first. Board members are highly effective just by virtue of their prominence. And leading by example is so valuable.
Sixth, inquire about the way your congregation invites new members to pledge and how effective your efforts are.
Finally, consider finances and stewardship in the longer term. Develop a five-year strategic plan and a financial plan to accompany it. Promote your endowment and planned giving programs. If you don’t have these, get them going. If you do, set a goal for the growth of the endowment both in dollars and planned gifts, and make sure the purpose of the endowment is clear and inspiring.
Religious Professionals
I invite all religious professionals to consider the unique superpowers that you can bring to stewardship leadership in your congregation. Recognize that you have special relationships with congregants that can lift stewardship campaigns to another level. Ask yourself how deepened stewardship can promote your ministry, and in turn how you can help make that happen. Here are some key roles for you:
- Cheerleader
- Recruiter
- Communicator
- Inspirer
- Goal-setter and strategizer
- Donor cultivator
How to get started?
The above ideas may seem daunting – they cover a lot of ground and call for some work by just about everyone. A way to get started is to create a small team of creative people and charge them with sketching out a plan for stewardship leadership. Describe briefly where you are now, where you’d like to go, and the initial steps to get you on the right path. Talk with each other. Think about stewardship as promise and opportunity, not an onerous chore. Imagine what would that look like!
We at Stewardship for Us can help get you going or get moving again if you get stuck. You can reach us at team@stewardshipforus.com.
Stewardship Consultant Barry Finkelstein has been a Unitarian Universalist congregational stewardship consultant since the Fall of 2007 and has worked with over 50 congregations on annual budget drives, capital campaigns, and strategic planning. Reach Barry at Team@stewardshipforus.com