Church Stewardship: A Pastor’s Handbook
When you hear the term ‘Church Stewardship’ what comes to mind? My mind (perhaps like yours) immediately goes to:
- Capital campaigns
- Fundraising initiatives
- Passing the offering plate after worship
Maybe you think about balancing budgets or using good church accounting software tools. The truth is, all these things are related to church stewardship... but this fundamentally important principle runs much deeper than that.
What Is Church Stewardship?
Simply put, Christian stewardship is the responsible management of the resources God has provided. We are called to use our time, talents, and treasure in a way that honors God and furthers His kingdom.
Church stewardship is not a new term. There were stewards in the bible. We can look back to Genesis to see an example of stewardship. Joseph was the steward for Potiphar. We see this in Genesis 39:4. Joseph was a servant and an overseer, put in charge of all that Potiphar owned.
Church stewardship is not a "nice to have" for churches... Scripture addresses church stewardship many times. The very first command Adam and Eve received in the garden was about stewardship.
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”’ (Genesis 1:26-28)
Note that God didn’t just give all of creation to mankind and say, “Here, it’s yours now, I don’t want it.” All of creation still belongs to God, everything is His. God simply gave us authority to care for it.
He entrusted it to us to look after it. He wants us to be faithful stewards of everything on the earth and take care of it until He returns (Luke 19:12-13).
Want Some Practical Suggestions To Get Started Right Away?
#1: Start with the Heart - Teach Identity
#2: Model Stewardship Throughout the Leadership Team
#3: Stewardship Is Not About the Money
#4: Maintain Best Practices for Financial Management
#5: Offer Convenient Online Giving Tools
#6: Provide Volunteer Opportunities
#7: Create a Church Resource Library
#8: Encourage Resource Sharing and Collaboration Among Teams
#9: Encourage Fundraising for Missions and Outreach
#10: Education and Training on Debt Reduction and Financial Planning
Fundamental Truths Of Church Stewardship
We see that stewardship is biblical, starting in Genesis and all the way through to the New Testament. Jesus doesn’t shy away from talking about money and neither should we. But before we get down to business there are a few foundational truths to understand.
Truth #1: God Owns Everything
I’m sure I don’t even have to say it, but, the whole earth belongs to God (Deuteronomy 10:14). Everything that we have has been given by God. All our resources—time, talents, money, and material possessions—belong to God, and we are merely stewards entrusted with their care.
Rather than asking — what does God want me to give to Him? You can ask — is there anything I am withholding from God? Here in North America, we are very blessed and we take advantage of so much. Who has ever been frustrated about poor internet access on your phone? Or not enough room in your refrigerator? You’ve probably heard the statistic that if you have money in your wallet then you are among the 8% of the most wealthy in the world.
The point here is not to guilt or shame you or your congregation into giving more, but rather to shift your perspective on what you already have.
Giving and stewardship are about more than just money. When we understand that everything we have is a gift from our loving Father (James 1:17), it changes how we care for and steward those gifts. We can give more freely and love more deeply without feeling like we need to keep a death grip on what we’ve got (Job 1:21).
Truth #2: Stewardship is Worship
As a pastor, you know that worship is more than singing on a Sunday morning. Worship is an act of giving your whole self to God.
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
In everything that we do, including stewardship — through giving, serving, or managing our resources wisely, we honor God and demonstrate our trust in Him. Again, the emphasis here is not on the result or the monetary gain for the church, but on fostering a heart of worship and gratitude toward our Father (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Truth #3: Stewardship Takes Faith
How we handle what God has entrusted to us is a measure of our faithfulness. Encourage your church to give what they believe God is asking them to give. This will mean they need to go and pray and talk to Jesus about their giving. This is an act of faith for them to seek Him and then to give out of obedience to what they believe God is saying to them.
In addition to this, in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus teaches that those who are faithful with little will be entrusted with more. Our stewardship is an expression of our faithfulness to God and trust in His provision. It is acknowledging that everything we have belongs to Him and that we have been entrusted with it for a season. We now have the opportunity to offer it back to God and allow Him to use it for His purposes.
Our faithfulness to Him with our resources allows us to partner with God in His work. What a joy it is to be able to see God at work in and through our efforts.
Truth #4: Stewardship is About the Heart
Tithes and offerings are part of what it means to be good stewards, but it’s so much more than that. Stewardship is about the heart of the giver. How a church views stewardship can often be seen in how offerings and tithes are talked about from the pulpit. Let me encourage you, Pastor, that the best kind of stewardship from your congregation will come from a heart that loves Jesus and is seeking after Him for leadership and direction on how best to steward the resources He has given them.
Leadership Tips For Effective Church Stewardship
Here are ten practical stewardship suggestions that a pastor or church leader could use to support good stewardship in their churches.
Practical Suggestion #1: Start with the Heart - Teach Identity
The starting point for effective church stewardship is to focus on the heart of the congregation. We never want to use guilt or shame to coerce people into giving their resources. The best motivation is always love. When people understand who they are in Christ, they will hopefully walk in a relationship with Jesus.
In today’s culture, it seems that you are what you do. We are driven to build our lives by having a successful career, to live in the right neighborhood, and to drive the right car. Translate that to our walk with Jesus, and it easily becomes a system of performance, not trust:
- I have to read the right books.
- I have to spend the right amount of time in prayer each day.
- I need to volunteer my time at church.
When it comes to giving, we can get caught up in the number. “Is tithing supposed to be before or after taxes? Does it count if I give to other charities and not my church? Should I tithe on gifts I receive?”
We need to be careful because this kind of thinking is starting to sound a lot like the Pharisees who would tithe on their spices, and we know how hard Jesus was on them.
Good stewardship within your church grows out of a place of love and obedience to Jesus Christ, and that needs to start with teaching identity. Author, speaker, and seasoned pastor Frank Friedmann has a lot to say about our identity in Christ, which you can dig into in his book “Stunned by Grace.”
Practical Suggestion #2: Model It Throughout the Leadership Team
Impacting the culture of your church starts with the core leaders. Start by modeling what is being preached from the front. Again, this starts with the leaders living out what it means to be part of a community of grace and acceptance. As that happens, it will also affect other aspects you hope to impact, such as church stewardship.
Just as Paul encouraged the Corinthians to follow his example, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Church leaders are called to be examples to those they lead, serving willingly and with integrity.
Practical Suggestion #3: It’s Not About the Money
Good stewardship isn’t all about increasing giving. It comes back to the heart of the people in the church. Are they walking with Jesus and trusting Him? Do they see that stewardship is an extension of their walk?
Today, a relatively small percentage of christians tithe. As pastors, we need to be careful and intentional with how we communicate with our members (in the sermons or short offering messages we give).
But money isn’t everything.
Understanding this requires looking at your resources differently. Everything we have belongs to God, He has simply entrusted us to take care of it. It’s a good practice to get into asking, “How is God asking me to give in this season?”
And He might say to not give financially, but rather to give of your time or other resource. Whatever the gift we have been given, we are called to use it to serve one another as good stewards.
“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1Peter 4:10)
Practical Suggestion #4: Maintain Best Practices for Financial Management
Every church should have a finance committee who are responsible for church financial management. This is likely going to be your board of directors or deacons. They are responsible for the following:
- Develop and approve the annual budget.
- Submit all necessary documents and correspondence relating to tax season.
- Reviewing insurance coverage.
- Maintain compliance with legal, financial, and HR policies.
The finance committee will need to be made up of people who are faithful, Spirit-led, and trustworthy (1 Corinthians 4:2) as they are the front lines in stewarding the resources of the church.
Practical Suggestion #5: Offer Convenient Online Giving Tools
The easier you can make it for your congregation to make donations, the better, and the best way to do that is through church giving software. You don’t need to pass the offering plate around during a Sunday service anymore. Your members can give online, through an app, or even by text message. A good church-giving software will streamline the process for your donors, but also behind the scenes for your bookkeeper and/or finance committee. This can increase giving and make recurring donations easier. Some of the main features include:
- Personalized online giving portal
- Easy setup of recurring donations
- Reporting and Analytics
- Event registration and giving
- Donor management — making communication and tax receipts an easy process
There are so many options to wade through, I’ve made it easy by giving you the 10 Best Church Giving Software Shortlist.
Practical Suggestion #6: Provide Volunteer Opportunities
You may have people in the church who aren’t able to give a lot financially but they still want to participate and give what they can.
A great way to do this is to offer volunteer opportunities for them to get involved. Again, stewardship is not just about the bottom line, it’s about starting from a mindset that everything we have belongs to God, including our time and talents. Here are some great non-financial resources that we can offer to the church:
- Serving in nursery or kids ministry on a Sunday morning
- Offering your talents to teach others (eg. art or music)
- Professional skills such as refrigeration/HVAC or website design
- Start up a volunteer Saturday cleaning schedule
Make a point to honor and value these non-financial resources that are being offered for the benefit of the church and its members. It will go a long way to build a culture in the church that employs all of God’s gifts for His glory.
Practical Suggestion #7: Create a Church Resource Library
You need a church resource library. Being a good steward means that we share the resources that we have with others (Hebrews 13:16).
- Has your church purchased books or videos for a small group study? Maybe the church has been collecting books for years on various topics that may be of interest to the church.
- Is your bookshelf just bursting with resources?
- Why not make this available to the church by setting up a church library?
Often, these books are not readily available through public libraries. Setting up a resource library can take some time, but it will be worth it in the end when you can offer these to your church to encourage their spiritual growth. You will need someone who can go through and catalog all the resources. Here are some steps to get you started:
- Compile and make a list of all the resources you have.
- Enter them into a database or catalog for quick reference of your inventory.
- Find a central location to store the books and other materials for quick and easy access by your church members.
- Determine any guidelines for borrowing the resources.
- Communicate to the church that the resources are available for their use and how to access them.
Having a resource library is a great way to be a good steward of the materials God has provided.
Practical Suggestion #8: Encourage Resource Sharing and Collaboration Among Teams
Churches are usually run with multiple teams and volunteers who provide a variety of different services and programs. Just like the early church, you can encourage your teams to share what they have with one another (Acts 4:32). You’ve got:
- Hosting
- Kids ministry
- Youth ministry
- Events planning
- Worship team
The host team might have decorations that the events team might want to use for a special event. The youth ministry might have some games or sporting supplies that the events might want to use for a party they’re planning.
Rather than duplicate spending on those supplies, encourage your teams to be in communication with one another about their church needs and to try and share what they’ve got. This will encourage good stewardship of the equipment, but it will also encourage teamwork and collaboration within the church.
This has the added benefit of building relationships and community.
Practical Suggestion #9: Encourage Fundraising for Missions and Outreach
You may want to direct the finance committee to allocate a percentage of the annual church budget toward mission and outreach programs. Around Thanksgiving each year, our church likes to do a special stewardship campaign to raise money and awareness for a local food bank or shelter.
Encouraging your members to give towards these causes is a win-win scenario. Not only does it encourage benevolence and good stewardship with their money, but it is also fulfilling the Great Commission from Jesus to go out and spread the Good News, making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)
Practical Suggestion #10: Education and Training on Debt Reduction and Financial Planning
Money feels tight these days for a lot of us. According to Market Watch, 66.2% of Americans live paycheque to paycheque. That’s not a good feeling, and when things feel tight, life is stressful and it’s hard to even think about what to give at church.
In providing practical education, training, and discipleship on debt reduction you will be setting your congregation up for success, not only personally but also to be able to give more to the church and on a more consistent basis.
One thing that may hold us back as believers is that some believe it’s wrong to make a lot of money or that it’s hard to get into heaven if you’re rich.
In Matthew 19:24, Jesus says “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” That sounds pretty definitive until we keep reading to v. 26 where He says, “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jesus isn’t saying if you’re rich it’s hard to get to heaven but that you can’t serve God and money (Matthew 6:24). His message consistently throughout the Gospels is one of loving God and loving others. It’s hard to do that when you love money more than God.
Financial stewardship is a huge topic in today’s culture, more than I think we realize. There are thousands of verses in the bible about giving and money.
Jesus didn’t hesitate to talk about the hard stuff, including money. We don’t need to tiptoe around it either. It’s better to face it head-on. Finances are at the top of people’s minds and we can partner with them in education and training to love on them and disciple them to experience more financial freedom.
For more resources, check out the following:
Join For More Pastor Insights
Stay equipped and inspired! Join our newsletter for practical tips and insights to lead your congregation with confidence.
