Stewardship

NortheasterN Iowa syNod, evaNgelIcal lutheraN church IN amerIca

SPRING 2016Making a

Difference

A financial plan helped the Johnson family pay their debts and increase their giving make a plan, set priorities, and give back to god. those simple steps have helped Kristin and scott Johnson pay off years of built-up debt and increase their giving to the church.

“It wasn’t until four years ago when we both had full-time, steady incomes that we could start paying down the credit card debt that we started accruing in 2008,” says Kristin, an associate in ministry who serves as youth and family director for st. Petri and Bergen lutheran churches in roland.

Entrusted with God’s Gifts

W ith commodities prices going down

and health care costs going up, families and congrega-tions can find themselves struggling. In this issue of “Making a Difference,” we highlight one family’s transi-tion from financial crisis to faithful stewardship, and one congregation’s transi-tion from trying to pay the bills to being a bold witness. The Northeastern Iowa Synod has resources for congregations to teach stewardship, to raise funds and to help families use budgeting to get out of debt. Gifts to the annual fund help support these kinds of synodical ministries.

2 Making a Difference

Kristin and scott, who serves as pastor for st. Petri, say that some poor financial decisions, medical bills and unsteady employment hours in the early years of their marriage caused them to rely on credit cards to keep up with expenses.

“we didn’t have a handle on our checking accounts and automatic with-drawals, and knowing where our money was going,” Kristin says.

a two-day financial planning class helped them learn how to view money and understand their comfort level for spending versus saving. together they developed a financial plan to pay off their $18,000 credit card debt and increase their charitable giving. they paid off smaller credit card debts first, then applied those payments toward the next higher debt, and so on.

“Paying off the smaller amounts first, so we could see progress being made, was huge for our moral,” Kristin says.

the Johnsons are on track to pay off all their credit card bills next year. they pay hundreds of dollars in interest per month, so they make a point to give more than that amount each month to the church through automatic withdrawals, rather than through the offering plate. last year their gifts totaled $8,000.

“For the first time in our marriage we had an income where we could finally give and keep our head above water, and it felt great,” scott says. “we made giving a priority, and that won’t change.”

the Johnsons also have student loans to pay, which does not leave them with much in liquid savings, but scott says that every time an unexpected expense has come up, they have always found a way to cover it.

“our goal is to get to 10 percent in giving; so, if needed, we would cut back on our debt payments, rather than cut back on our giving,” scott says.

while most people shy away from talking about their finances, scott and Kristin are eager to share their story to inspire stewardship planning for their congregation members.

“People need to identify their financial priorities and decide what is most important to them,” scott says.

scott and Kristin decided that paying $1,200 a year for satellite tv was not as important as reducing their debt and giving more to the church.

“I am okay with not being able to watch all the sporting games I want to watch,” scott says. “I’m not going to tell people what their priorities are, but I will suggest that they think about their priorities and make sure that their priori-ties are in line with god and family, and what they want for this life they have been given.”

“We made giving a priority, and that won’t change.” — Pastor Scott Johnson

3spring 2016

Consecration Sunday is a proven way to grow stewardshipgiving for the right reasons can make a big difference in the financial stability and mission of a church. the congrega-tion of Zion lutheran, castalia, learned that firsthand when the church council and stewardship team launched a con-secration sunday stewardship Program last fall.

Zion’s stewardship campaign kicked off with a leadership meeting at the local bar and grill, and culminated six weeks later with a consecration sunday celebration that involved nearly the entire castalia community. the congregation responded with record giving — 55 families pledged gifts, which was an increase of 31 percent over the previous year. the overall amount pledged increased by $20,116, up 27 percent.

Zion Pastor al wicks credits the cam-paign’s success to an emphasis on stew-ardship, rather than budget, as outlined in the book “New consecration sunday stewardship Program” by herb miller.

“the program emphasized that we give because of what god has done for us, not because something is needed,” wicks says.

Pastor mark anderson, assistant to the Bishop, suggested the book to wicks and the Zion stewardship team when

they asked for ideas on how to increase giving. anderson says the consecra-tion sunday Program works because it is a step-by-step stewardship plan that a small committee can implement in a short period of time. an included cd-rom provides templates and ready-to-use promotional materials.

several congregations of the North-eastern Iowa synod have successfully used the consecration sunday Program, including st. Paul lutheran of Postville. Jack gannett, st. Paul’s interim pastor, advised the Zion stewardship team to follow the program exactly.

“he told us to do what it says and trust that it will do what you want, and that’s what we did,” wicks says.

signs around the church announced that “It’s coming” and helped build buzz about the program. some of the stew-ardship team members shared temple talks about their own giving experi-ences on three sundays leading up to the dec. 6 consecration sunday.

“The program emphasized that we give because of what God has done for us, not because

something is needed.” — Pastor Al Wicks

the Northeastern Iowa synod offers stewardship resources and consul-tation services for congregations wanting to grow their stewardship programs. For a consultation, contact: rev. mark anderson P.O. Box 804, Waverly, IA 50677-0804 Phone: 319-352-1414 Email: andersonm@neiasynod.org g

Find stewardship resources at www.neiasynod.org/ministries/ stewardship.

contribute to synod ministries Send checks to: Northeastern Iowa synod, elca P.O. Box 804, Waverly, IA 50677-0804 Or donate to the Annual Fund online at www. neiasynod.org/ministries/stewardship/#Donate.

4 MakING a DIffeReNce

Making a Difference is a development publication of the northeastern iowa Synod, 201 20th Street SW, PO Box 804, Waverly, ia 50677-0804

www.neiasynod.org • Phone: 319-352-1414 • FAX: 319-352-1416

www.neiasynod.org

Stewardship Resources for Congregations

anderson preached on consecration sunday as the guest leader, recom-mended as a final step of the program. he shared with the congregation the difference between a fundraiser and stewardship giving.

“a fundraiser is an auction or dinner organized to raise funds,” anderson explains. “what we were talking about was a program that teaches people about stewardship — that giving financial resources is a part of our faith. a successful stewardship program helps people give as a response to what they already receive in christ. like prayers, devotions and worship, stewardship is just another part of being a christian.”

wicks says that one unexpected benefit from Zion’s stewardship campaign was how it connected the church with the town’s two other institutions — sandy’s

Bar and grill and the castalia volunteer Fire department. the initial leader-ship team meeting at sandy’s put the program in the public eye when some firefighters, who were not members of Zion, overheard about plans for a congregation dinner. the fire depart-ment offered to support the project by preparing and serving a pancake and sausage dinner for the congregation at the fire station. they served 100 meals on consecration sunday in a town with only 172 residents.

“the fact that our leaders went to the bar and grill to meet and the whole con-gregation was served at the firehouse by people who are not members of the church made everyone aware that we’re all in this together and we all support each other,” wicks says. “that was a good thing and good relationship building for the future.”