“Because This Place Exists, Lives Are Changed”

“Stewardship is about celebrating the idea that because this place exists, lives are changed and hope is given. Because of you, your spirituality, and your generosity, someone found something they needed to make their lives better.” This is the message Rev. Dr. Rob Apgar-Taylor shares with his congregation, Wesley-Knox United in London, ON. As part of his leadership in stewardship, he sees his role as crafting a product or vision worth contributing to—getting people to see that what is being offered at Wesley-Knox matters because what they’re offering is “the presence of a living and loving God.”

Rev. Frances Kitson of Whitehorse United Church sees stewardship as a pastoral care issue. “Money is such a personal and vulnerable topic,” she says. “The church should be a safe place to talk about money without fear. That’s a huge gift that ministers can offer. We can show leadership and courage and model talking about money with kindness, honesty, and appropriate vulnerability.”

In our Called to be the Church: The Journey stewardship education, we find the role of the minister in stewardship to be a polarizing topic. Some ministry personnel absolutely love making this a focus of their ministry, while others…not so much.

It’s understandable. What I hear most often is a discomfort around talking about money; a fear of offending people; the idea that money is the “business” side of the organization; or the classic, “They’ll think I’m just preaching for my salary.”

Yet, every expert and author I’ve ever read says that the minister of a community of faith must play an active role in leading stewardship. Why? Because, as Rob says, “Stewardship is a spiritual discipline, not a financial discipline,” and the minister’s role is to help people cultivate and deepen this discipline just as you would help with a spiritual practice of prayer, worship, service, or Bible study.

For Rob and Frances, their role in stewardship has taken different forms. Rob sits on the stewardship team but doesn’t lead it. In Frances’ case, in the absence of a stewardship committee, she spearheaded a stewardship campaign herself. Both, however, intentionally preach regularly on stewardship, and are committed to telling the stories of how the community’s offerings make a difference.

But Rob wasn’t always so involved with stewardship. He says that, earlier in his ministry, “I never would have seen stewardship as anything except a really unfortunate part of the job that makes me super uncomfortable.” It took serving a congregation with a huge deficit to make him realize that, “If I want this place to be around, I can’t not talk about stewardship.” Now, stewardship is integrated into his ministry as naturally as pastoral care or worship leadership.

Last year, during the congregation’s giving program, Rob took the bold step of disclosing how much he and his spouse gave to the church in a letter of invitation that went out to the congregation. It was important for Rob to say to them, essentially, “I’m not asking you to do anything I’m not doing myself. I’m also a part of this community and invested in its flourishing.”

Frances, a newly ordained minister, reflects on how growing up in a community of faith committed to stewardship shaped her perspectives and beliefs. “The stewardship language at my home church was invitational. It was framed as, ‘Come be a part of what we’re doing.’” The approach was about abundance rather than scarcity.

And that’s perhaps the starting place for any ministers looking to deepen and strengthen their relationship with stewardship. How is your community of faith changing lives? What about your shared life together is worth investing in? How are you offering the presence of a living and loving God? Start with some baby steps: highlight the impact of the weekly offerings or share how generosity has shaped and changed your own life. If you need help with where to start on a stewardship service or sermon, there are lots of resources available on our Stewardship Worship page.

It’s worth noting that, while the primary role of the minister in stewardship is to witness to the goodness and abundance of God’s love and invite people into a deeper relationship with God through generosity, there are also practical financial implications to this work. Using our Called to be the Church: The Journey resources, both Wesley-Knox and Whitehorse United Churches saw an increase in both the number of donors and the amount given to their local ministry. More importantly, I’ve heard from both Rob and Frances, and others like them, that through their stewardship programs, there was a deepening of relationships and hope for the church’s future.

So, courageous ministry personnel, what do you need to start your stewardship journey? The first step would be to reach out to the Stewardship Support Staff deployed to your region for resources, support, and cheerleading. And pat yourself on the back for taking that important step.

And faithful lay leaders, there’s a role for you too. Support your minister when they talk about generosity and stewardship. Show up for stewardship Sunday and thank them for their message.

Last, remember we’re all learning as we go. Frances noted that most of the pledge cards in the last stewardship campaign weren’t returned (a very common challenge!). She’s on a quest to learn more about why that is, and how she can encourage more participation, because ultimately, stewardship makes her curious. She says, “Stewardship has given me gifts, challenges, and more questions—all reasons I love ministry.”

May your stewardship ministry be a blessing to both your community of faith and you. 

—Rev. Brenna Baker is the Community of Faith Stewardship Support Staff for Horseshoe Falls, Antler River Watershed, and Western Ontario Waterways Regions. Find out how to contact your local stewardship support staff.

The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.