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Stewardship Program Options – Encouraging Word – July 2018

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Stewardship Program Options

WELS Congregational Services is producing a new stewardship program for 2019. Meanwhile, congregations can find stewardship resources and quality programs at wels.net/stewardship. If you haven’t already tried them, here are a couple of recent programs with good reviews.

Joyful Generosity guides followers of Christ through the Bible’s clear teachings on the management of our possessions. The program includes six weeks of worship and Bible study materials as well as 21 personal devotions. Dave Fleischmann, pastor at Trinity, Kaukauna, Wis., was happy with the gospel approach of the series, saying, “I pray that it affects the hearts of my members as much as it affected my heart.”

364 Days of Thanksgiving focuses on how we can be thankful every day for the blessings God gives us. The emphasis includes three weeks of worship and Bible study resources. Churches can bulk order a devotional journal at a discount for members to use to record their blessings. Ray Schumacher is a member at St. Peter’s, Helenville. His congregation decided to hand out the book to encourage members to count God’s blessings. Members liked the idea so much that each time an announcement was made about the program, a member would step forward to cover the cost of books. In the end many people could take a book for free. “The other thing that caught my attention,” Ray shared, “was that people were following through. They would talk about how the process helped them see how many blessings they had received.”

Positive Response to Stewardship Program – Encouraging Word – November 2017

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Positive Response to Stewardship Program

WELS Ministry of Christian Giving published the new stewardship program, Joyful Generosity, earlier this year for congregations to use in 2017 and 2018 (due to the expected heavy focus on the Reformation’s 500th anniversary this year). The program includes six weeks of worship and Bible study materials as well as 21 personal devotions.

Pastor Dave Fleischmann, who serves God’s people at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kaukauna, Wis., says he hesitated at first to undertake a six-week program. “That is a fairly long stewardship program. I was worried about ‘stewardship burnout’ by the end. However, that did not occur. In fact, the average attendance during the series was actually up a little bit from our normal attendance.”

Overall, he was very happy with how gospel-based the series was, saying the series is even visitor-friendly. “I pray that it affects the hearts of my members as much as it affected my heart.” He says, “Next year I certainly plan on doing another stewardship series, though probably not one as long as this one. I pray that many pastors will use this series to help lead their people to ‘Joyful Generosity.’”

Congregations can find Joyful Generosity, the three-week 364 Days of Thanksgiving program, and other stewardship programs and resources online at wels.net/stewardship.

New Stewardship Program – Encouraging Word – May 2017

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New Stewardship Program

WELS Ministry of Christian Giving has published a new stewardship program, Joyful Generosity, for congregations to use in 2017 and 2018 (due to the expected heavy focus on the Reformation’s 500th anniversary this year). The program includes six weeks of worship and Bible study materials as well as 21 personal devotions. “The goal of Joyful Generosity,” according to Rev. Kurt Lueneburg, “is to grow our appreciation of this truth: ‘From the fullness of [Christ’s] grace we have all received one blessing after another’ (John 1:16). Our Savior abundantly blesses us and enables us to use those blessings to his glory and the benefit of precious souls at home and abroad. As we grow in our understanding of God’s generosity, our daily lives—and the atmosphere in our churches and synod—will reflect our Lord’s generosity. To that end, we pray that the Spirit will bless the use of these materials.”