New Manual Helps Churches Promote Planned Giving – Encouraging Word – November 2015
New Manual Helps Churches Promote Planned Giving
The Lord is the planned Giver. From eternity he planned the creation of this world, the gift of our lives, and—most importantly—the gift of his Son, Jesus the Christ. How loving, intentional, and beneficial God’s planned giving has been!
We thankfully respond to God’s grace by planning our offerings to him. Our weekly offering at worship is not the only opportunity we have for giving. We honor the Lord when planning for the transition of our accumulated wealth at life’s end. And there are a variety of other opportunities to support the Lord’s work now (while at the same time receiving tax benefits). The Bible encourages planned giving to care for family and to return a portion of our possessions to God.
There is much room for growth in the area of planned giving. Only 3 out of 10 Americans (Lutherans, too) have developed an orderly plan for the transfer of their estates. Of these, only one out of the three has remembered a charity/ministry in their plans. People of faith, for whom giving is an act of grateful stewardship, need to know the options available to them.
That is why WELS has developed a new congregational planned giving manual. The purpose of the manual is to help congregations jump-start a program of promoting planned giving opportunities to members. The manual also shares how to set up a planned giving committee for encouraging this work, and how to establish and administer an endowment fund.
Interested congregations can get started as soon as today using the “Quick Start” guide in Part I. Local WELS Christian giving counselors are available for assistance.