Our role as stewardship officers is to encourage people to release their God-given gifts into Kingdom opportunities. We do this by helping people see how blessed they are and by reminding them of the biblical principle of generosity, that of joyous giving.
We can be of further assistance if we help them find just the right place for their gifts. In this way, the donor has a better connection to the help they are providing. It also shows that we are listening to and caring about the donor as individuals, not just lumping them into the giving "pot".
Here is an example that might help spur some new thought.
Tall Oaks has a Science Fair this week and the science teacher needs many judges so that every project is evaluated by three sets of eyes and ears. I saw this as a wonderful stewardship opportunity for my friends that have science and/or engineering backgrounds to come and share their talent with us. In doing so, they have a chance to see the school up close. We will welcome them with refreshments and collateral material about the school that they can take home.
Most of these have never seen the school; this will be their first exposure. Afterwards, I will call each friend to see how they viewed the experience and to see if there is any other interest in being involved.
Do you have art or music programs that can use the gifts of friends? In general we love to be seen as experts in our field and we can carve out some time to help a friend and support the next generation.
The same concept works for the library, information technology, sports, drama. The list goes on and on.
The blessing to the donor is that they get to extend themselves, working on something larger than he or she. These can be wonderful connections to lead people into greater service.
This week, we had a volunteer make a substantial financial commitment to the school. The volunteer had served the school for several years in a special area and now the Holy Spirit moved this couple to have their monetary wealth follow their wealth of talent.
If we can see our work as larger than (only) the raising of funds we are operating in the theater of whole life stewardship.
God, give us grace to see the big picture.
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