Stewardship With Susan Ranous: 2023

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

UNDERSTAND WHY AND HOW PEOPLE GIVE

In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the sixth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Understand Why and How People Give

We often group everyone together with we talk about giving. We approach everyone the same way. And we make assumptions that if get new people in the pews, that giving will increase. I don’t believe any of these ideas or these assumptions are appropriate.

There are giving trends that we need to be aware of: (a) some people give lump sums; (b) some budget their giving and give accordingly; and (c) some only give when they’re at church. So where do your givers fall? More in attendees, more in regular consistent giving or? Online giving can help flatten some of this out.

New people usually give less than current people. How you approach new people who don’t have the habit of giving generously should be far different from how you approach people who are generous and regular givers. A campaign can have different approaches for different givers, such as different letters. Tailor your wording to your givers.

If some people are already regular givers, asking them to give a larger amount makes sense. They’re already invested in your church and are more likely to react positively to this ask.

If there are others who have previously pledged but aren’t pledging currently, you might want to approach them to invite them back in. They may only give sporadically; encouraging them to pledge will help increase that group’s level of giving.

For those who haven’t given before, a different approach may make more sense. Encouraging giving by having a matching gift, up to a certain amount could motivate them. Telling them what giving can accomplish may also be new to them.

Look at how giving is currently structured and plan accordingly.

If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org. I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

Monday, December 18, 2023

MAKE STEWARDSHIP PRAGMATIC

In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the fifth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship Pragmatic

I know I often talk about the Biblical and theological reasoning behind stewardship, but we still have to be realistic. There are a few steps that are a good umbrella for your stewardship work, but could also be good for other aspects of your ministry.

Have a clear vision of your objectives (or of the program), setting goals of what you hope to accomplish.

Lay out the steps to get to your goal.

Establish a timeline and set mini-goals so it’s not all being worked on at the very end, and no goal is too large,

For each step or each notch on the timeline, identify what that means, who’s responsible for the step, and how they will be accountable for its completion and follow-up.

If funds/money are part of what you’re doing, what is the source of those funds? Operating budget? Capital campaign? Fundraiser?

You need to have the right people involved: (a) a person who will facilitate the leadership team (not do the work/facilitate the work) (b) a leadership team – this should include volunteers, but also look at who is around you; who has the gifts for what you want to accomplish; who has a background that will be helpful?

When we talk about goals and wants and needs, look at the entire congregation, not just a vocal minority. What is needed? What is your church called to do? What can you accomplish?

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

MAKE STEWARDSHIP ONGOING

In continuing my reading of the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the fourth of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship Ongoing

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been present in a meeting or two (and even thought to myself) – if we had someone like Bill Gates in our congregation, money wouldn’t be an issue! To be fair, large contributions can go a long way towards achieving goals, but if we focus just on large contributions, we’re missing out on the point! Being reliant on one or two large givers is, at best, going to help you for several years, but will cease being helpful. We need a congregation full of multiple givers, not just a couple, “givers that aren’t reliant on personal wealth and not susceptible to economic fluctuations.”[1] When all our members are givers that give what they can throughout multiple years, stewardship is successful.

Here are a couple of points that the article makes, and that I want to make as well, that, too often, is the focus of our churches:

Current Focus: We address finances only when we need money

Should be: Finances should be addressed regularly, not just when we’re in need, because the folks we’re talking to are going to equate that with an organization that is always in need.

Current Focus: We address stewardship only once a year, OR when giving as dropped.

Should be: Stewardship should be a regular, ongoing, year-round thing. I’m not saying we spend all our time, every sermon, every conversation, asking for money. I’m talking about discussing stewardship, just like we talk about discipleship, as part of being followers of Christ, of being Christian, of worshipping God. Stewardship HAS to be tied to the vision and mission of the church, not the line-item budget!

Something to consider in your finance and leadership teams is shifting from seasonal fundraising campaigns to a continual conversation about stewardship. Change the money perspective from “it’s that time of year when we need to talk about money” to being part of the goals and work and discipleship of the church.

These kinds of discussions can then lead to a better discussion of how all of that is the point, not the money. And then the conversation about how money enables the cause to happen will help.

[1] The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, (Vanco), Page 6

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

MAKE STEWARDSHIP ABOUT THE CAUSE

In continuing my reading the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the third of eight rules for effective church leadership: Make Stewardship About the Cause!

The Scripture sited was the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20):

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Doesn’t it seem like when we talk about stewardship, it evolves into talking about money, and then that evolves into talking about budgets, and the building and how much it costs to keep it clean, the amount of salaries paid to staff and all the stuff about keeping the doors open?

Of course, sometimes we do have to have those discussions, but if those are the only discussions that happen when the topic of stewardship is brought up, then we are missing the point.

The church isn’t the building, and if our entire focus is on keeping the doors open, then maybe we are landlords and not stewards.

If we change our focus to the idea of how the building serves in the name of God, that might make a difference.

Instead of fretting about the amount of money the church has to pay for salaries or how much the cleaning supplies cost, maybe focusing on being blessed by a clean facility, and how people are welcomed in a place that isn’t dank and musty, that might make a difference.

These kinds of discussions can then lead to a better discussion of how all of that is the point, not the money. And then the conversation about how money enables the cause to happen will help.

Tell the stories of how lives are changed, how the building serves the community, how the saints that came before us saw what God was doing and wanted to jump on with that.

What is your vision? When you read your mission statement or your vision statement, ask yourself (or better yet, have the leadership of the church ask themselves) so that what????

If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org. I’d be happy to help

Monday, November 27, 2023

PUT HEART INTO STEWARDSHIP

In continuing my reading the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the second of eight rules for effective church leadership: Put Heart Into Stewardship!

The Scripture sited was the story of the widow’s offering (Mark 12:41-44):

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

This reminded me of my favorite stewardship program that is offered by Cokesbury. It is Treasure by Jacob Armstrong. It cites Matthew 6:21: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The widow didn’t give because she had it to give, but because she felt called to, or wanted to. She gave not from her purse, but from her heart.

This is what we have to focus on when we talk about giving with our church. We want our church members to give from their hearts, focusing on God, not on the amount.

When we focus on money as the point of money, we miss the point of why Jesus spoke about money so often. It wasn’t because Jesus thought money was important, but he knew what the world would cause us to do.

We need to focus on what the bible says about money, about giving, about consumerism, greed, society, debt. This is a responsibility for ourselves and for our churches.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

MAKE STEWARDSHIP ABOUT DOING

I was preaching recently, and the scripture was based on Luke 17:11-29, and the story of the healing of the ten lepers. I was talking about being thankful, which is a pretty good topic for the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but just as the one leper that was healed stepped out to go the priests even before anything had changed (as had the other nine), he also returned to Jesus. He didn’t go to the priest, or his family, or his life, but instead returned to Jesus to thank him. It led to a discussion about what kind of action is Jesus looking for from us? Has God's Holy Spirit been urging us toward some action step? Has the Lord been tugging at us for some step of faith? Is there a family, a friend, or even a stranger in need of help this Thanksgiving season? Is there something you feel compelled to do?

This week, after giving this message, I was re-reading a booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship. That book gave eight rules for effective church leadership. And the first rule was: Make Stewardship About Doing!

I was thrown when I realized that a non-stewardship sermon given about giving thanks also led right into this “rule.” The author of the booklet talked about the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-28). The focus of the rule was “that stewardship should not be about giving only but doing.”[i]

How often do we talk about the needs of the church, the needs of people and then ask people to give. We need to articulate a vision of what giving will do: (1) for them; (2) for the church; and (3) for those impacted by the gift.

Lives have to be changed; otherwise what is the purpose in giving? If we can’t tell stories, different stories, regularly, about changed lives because of what we’re doing, then what are we doing? Are we really a church?

Remember, giving is part of worshipping God. Members are part of the mission of the church. People are not just funders of the mission. ALL giving has to be about how they are contributing to God’s work; impacting lives.

[i] The Complete Guide to Church Stewardship by Vanco Payments.com

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

I was preaching recently, and the scripture was based on Ephesians 3, which was indicated by one of the commentaries I was studying as Paul’s Why I Am Statement.

That reminded me of the video I have watched many times on Youtube (Michael Jr.’s Know Your Why). If you’ve seen it, you know that Michael Jr. is doing one of his stand up routines and talks to people in the audience. One of the persons he talked to was a man who said he was a music teacher. Michael Jr. asked him if he could sing and asked him to sing a verse of Amazing Grace. The man did a wonderful job, a truly beautiful rendition of that first verse. However, then Michael Jr. asked him to sing it as if he had just gotten out of jail and his uncle had been shot – do the “hood” version. That version was amazing. It brought people out of their seats on onto their feet. If you haven’t seen it, or it’s been awhile, I encourage you to go online and google Michael Jr. know your why and watch.

What is our why? I’ve spoken with churches in the area of budgeting and asked them questions: what would be missing if you no longer existed? What is God calling this church to be at this time? Not what are you doing, what are you called to be?

I think this is important work for us as individuals but also for our churches. How do you even start this? I’d start:

1. By looking at your mission and vision statements. What does it say about your church? Is it based in the past or is in the future? Read the mission statement aloud and finish the last line with so that what???? What is it that that mission is going to accomplish in the world?

2. Ask a lot of questions. Why are you even asking why right now? What are your (or the church’s) core values. As an individual, what fulfills you? As a church, what motivates people to encounter, follow and disciple?

3. Be patient and understanding as you try to figure out a mission or why statement that works for you. But be honest.

4. As an individual, what motivates you? What do you enjoy? Why?

5. As a church, what is the church known as? What is it called to be? Children? Older Adults? Mission? Other?

6. How does your personal mission statement help you be a better leader for your team, a more caring provider for your family, and a more engaged citizen in your community? Your why should be able to touch every corner of your life and, by extension, every person in it, too.

7. How does the church’s mission statement help it make disciples, grow disciples, change lives, transform the world?

8. As an individual, work on habits that remind you of your why.

9. As a church, work on policies and procedures that remind the church of their why. Maybe read and re-read the mission statement of the church at the beginning of every gathering, every meeting. But also discuss how that team, that committee is fulfilling that mission.

10. Review and revise.

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

YEAR END REMINDERS ABOUT CHARITABLE DONATIONS

I thought, as we got closer to the end of the year, that I’d give everyone a list of reminders. I know more and more people aren’t itemizing, so, for many, charitable donations aren’t tax deductions, but some may still itemize and some may still have the mindset of making contributions prior to year-end. So here is a list of information. I think it might be a good idea to include this in your church newsletters as a reminder to folks.

1. Only donations made during 2023 are deductible in 2023. A donation made in 2024 will be deductible in 2024.

2. What happens if my contribution that I mailed in December isn’t received by the church until 2024? It all depends on what the postmark is on the envelope. If the postmark is 2023, it is deductible in 2023, even if the envelope isn’t received by the church until 2024.

3. Is the amount I send to the church for a retreat or other event deductible? No. Receiving benefits (attendance at a retreat, a dinner, etc.) worth an amount equal to or greater than the amount you sent in means it is NOT deductible. Only the amount that exceeds what you received would be deductible.

4. I spend a lot of time volunteering at my church. If they had to pay someone to do what I do, it would cost a great deal of money. Can I deduct the value of what I do as a contribution? No. The value of personal services is never deductible. Only the amount of unreimbursed expenses that you spent while doing the services (i.e mileage at the charitable standard rate (14 cents per mile) plus any other out of pocket costs (paper, supplies, etc.)) As an example, a mission trip might have some unreimbursed travel expenses that could be deductible as a charitable contribution.

5. There are IRS limitations on what is a deductible contribution on a tax return. The amount that can be deducted in any given year usually cannot exceed 60% of the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer.

6. What records do I need to keep?

a. No cash contributions can be deducted unless you have a cancelled check, bank statement or credit card statement showing the name of the church, the amount and date, a receipt (or letter or other communication) from the church, or payroll deduction records.

b. For individual contributions (cash or property) of $250 or more, you will need to have a contemporaneous written acknowledgement from the church with the church’s identifying information, a designation of any non-cash contributions and a statement that “no good or services were received in exchange for this contribution other than intangible religious benefits.”

c. For contributions worth more $500 or more, other rules apply. Noncash items worth more than $5000 will require a special tax form on the taxpayer’s return (Form 8283). Exceptions may apply.

d. For donations of cars, boats or planes, there are special rules.

7. Other reminders for the treasurer/financial secretary:

a. Non-cash donations are not reported on the “normal” giving statements that contain cash donations. A separate letter by the church acknowledging the non-cash item received is what should be used instead, i.e. “500 shares of Apple stock were given on August 1, 2023.” No value specified, and nothing included on the giving statement.

b. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) are also not reported on the normal giving statement. A letter is sent to the donor (owner of the retirement account), acknowledging the receipt of the QCD, amount, date, and from whom it was received (i.e. JPMorgan). A second letter is sent to the company that sent the funds (i.e. JP Morgan). A contribution made via QCD is not deductible by the giver, because the retirement distribution is also not recognized as income by the giver. If you have other question on this, there is an earlier blog that might be helpful. (Qualified Charitable Distribution – February 8, 2023).

Of course, each person should consult with their tax professional to get specific questions answered. These are the general items that pertain to charitable contributions.

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