Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

James North

Second Advisor

Barry Gane

Third Advisor

Larry Lichtenwalter

Abstract

Task

The task of this project was to increase the participation among the membership of the Calhoun Seventh-day Adventist Church with the financial stewardship need of the congregation. The study was to determine the number of families involved and to implement factors to increase church family involvement.

Method

A family giving unit was defined as a family within the Calhoun Seventh-day Adventist Church. A family unit is made up of a household whether the member is single, married, or married with dependents. Family involvement was measured in three giving areas of tithe, church budget, and debt reduction to the Calhoun Church. The comparisons were made between year-to-date giving for 1999 with year-to-date giving through August 31,2000. A stewardship sermon series was given in January 2000 presenting a biblical foundation for stewardship. From January through August information concerning the church’s financial needs was presented, and personal testimonies of stewardship by church leadership were shared with the congregation.

Results

In 1999,235 family giving units at the Calhoun Seventh-day Adventist Church contributed money to tithe, 122 families gave at least 1 percent of their income to the Calhoun Chinch budget, and 83 families contributed at least 1 percent of their income to debt reduction. In year-to-date giving through August 31,2000,261 families contributed to tithe, an 11 percent increase; 134 to church budget, a 10 percent increase; and 89 to debt reduction, for a 7 percent increase. Not only has the number of families participating in the church’s financial needs increased, but the amount of money given also increased when comparing the same year- to-date periods of August 31, for both 1999 and 2000.

Conclusions

Stewardship is not an event, it is a process that is faith actualized, and it is what happens after we believe in the Lordship of God. We are managers not owners; we live our lives in the context of a relationship with God as His stewards all throughout life. Stewardship must be tied to the vision and mission of the church. It needs to be seen in its correct perspective of a faith experience. Stewardship is something that cannot be diminished or assumed. The pastor and leadership of the church must communicate it. This communication is most effective as a series of biblical sermons on stewardship and shared faith experiences by church leadership.

Subject Area

Seventh-day Adventists--Finance; Christian giving; Church finance; Christian stewardship

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https:dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/662

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