Stewardship & Planned Giving

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How do we respond to God’s call?

How do we respond to God's call to serve and love our neighbors? We faithfully steward the gifts God has so abundantly given to us. Stewardship is using all that God has entrusted to our care—our time, our skills, our money—to love God and our neighbors, both inside and outside our church walls.

All We Have

O Lord, Giver of Life and Source of Freedom, we know that all we have is received from your hand. Gracious and loving God, you call us to be stewards of your Abundance, the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us. Amen.
—Episcopal Diocese of Washington

Congregational Resources

Online Giving

Recommended Readings

Stewardship Partners

Planned Giving

Creating a Narrative Budget

Narrative budgets connect the story of your congregations with the spending plan helping people understand the ways God is moving through financial gifts. Learn more using these resources:

Online Giving

72% of electronic giving is done via a mobile app.
20% of electronic giving is done online; 7% via text.
72% of electronic giving is done on days other than Sundays.
50% of electronic giving is by recurring gifts from 15% of households.

This information highlights both opportunities and challenges for congregations.


A Comparison of Online Giving Options shared from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod.

Vanco's Complete Guide to Church Stewardship 

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Tithe.ly

Tithe.ly has been an ELCA-preferred vendor for e-giving since 2018. With online, mobile, and text giving options, they also provide church management software. Enable members to give online and manage membership data.

Learn more.

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Vanco

Vanco's Faith Team wants to help you build a thriving congregation. ELCA congregations like yours were Vanco's first clients 20 years ago. They offer innovative approaches like storytelling, engagement, and e-giving.

Learn more.

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Venmo

Venmo is an option for congregational giving.

Learn more.

Recommended Reading

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Giving & Stewardship in an Effective Church

Author, Kennon Callahan

Giving & Stewardship in an Effective Church: A Guide for Every Member

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Abundance: Creating a Culture of Generosity

Author, Mike Ward

Ward uses beekeeping as a metaphor for Christian life, making this a practical read for stewardship committees and church councils to foster a shared vision of stewardship.

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Embracing Stewardship: How to Put Stewardship at the Heart of Your Congregation

Authors, Charles "Chick" Lane & Grace Duddy Pomroy

A valuable resource for stewardship, this book provides an overview and practical implementation tips, making it ideal for stewardship committees or finance teams to read together.

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A Spirituality of Fundraising

Author, Henri J. Nouwen

Henri Nouwen's A Spirituality of Fundraising offers a theological framework for stewardship, emphasizing fundraising's role in spiritual health. It's a quick read for both leaders and committees, fostering honest discussions.

Download the discussion guide created by Pastor Tim Brown.

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Giving to God: The Bible's Good News about Living a Generous Life

Author, Mark Allan Powell

An enjoyable book on stewardship by one of the most prolific Lutheran writers today. Powell interjects humor, quality Bible study, and some challenging ideas into his work.
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Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving

Author, Diana Butler Bass

When reading a book like Grateful, talking with other people about its ideas can be helpful. Such conversations can help you better understand gratitude and consider how this new understanding can make a difference in your life. See small group resources.

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Preaching & Stewardship: Proclaiming God's invitation to Grow

Author, Craig Satterlee

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Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity

Author, Adam Hamilton

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Imagine a New Economy: Biblical Reflections on Money and Possessions

Author, John D. Herman

Designed as a 13-week study, this book offers daily Scripture, commentary, and reflection questions for personal or group use. Engaging and valuable for discipleship.

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Church Finances for Missional Leaders: Best Practices for Faithful Stewardship

Author, Bonnie Ives Marden

This book offers biblically sound strategies, tools, and worksheets for church finance, covering budgeting, stewardship, income planning, financial sustainability, appeals, risk management, and more. Includes reproducible worksheets, sample policies, and essential vocabulary for pastors and finance leaders.
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Money and Possessions

Author, Walter Brueggemann

Brueggemann, the preeminent scholar of Hebrew Scriptures today, takes a deep dive into the many Old and New Testament stewardship texts and offers his usual thought-provoking insights. A challenging but excellent read!

Congregational Resources

The Generosity Project

The Generosity Project (ELCA) is an intergenerational, household-focused approach to stewardship, aiming to connect generations, foster generosity as a faith practice, and grow in God’s grace.

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Stewardship of Life Institute

Based at United Lutheran Seminary, the Stewardship of Life Institute offers grants, a resource-rich website, and a weekly e-newsletter with reflections and a stewardship toolbox for congregations.

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Recorded Stewardship Webinars

Our ministry partner, PRC—Practical Resources for Churches—invites you to check out their compilation of stewardship and finance resources which includes recorded stewardship webinars

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More Than Money

Learn how to ask about and require accountability in your congregation’s financial stewardship ministry.

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Kids, Money, & Stuff

Kids, Money & Stuff is a retreat or small group format on personal stewardship development for parents and children grades 3-8. The leader guide is available here.

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How Much Is Enough?

An excellent 60-page booklet on personal stewardship in an age of abundance.

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Generosity Matters

This approach to stewardship offers step-by-step guides for developing a theme-based emphasis. Scroll down to access resources on Legacy giving, Narrative Spending Plans, and Council Devotions.

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ELCA Stewards of God’s Love

A comprehensive manual for congregations that want to develop year-round stewardship. This can be downloaded or ordered online.

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ELCA Resources for Congregations

Explore the various tabs—Generosity, Creation, Financial Response, Leadership, Lifestyle, Stories, God’s Great Mercy—to find valuable stewardship resources available for download or, in some cases, ordered from ELCA Resources.

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ELCA Financial Best Practicies

The ELCA Office of the Treasurer has resources to help congregations develop best practices in their financial dealings.

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Cross Generational Stewardship Recorded Workshop

Stewardship often makes people uncomfortable. This webinar introduces a cross-generational model to spark conversations about why ministry and giving matter, with new stewardship approaches. Led by Heather Roth Johnson and Karen Walhof of Good Shepherd, Minneapolis.  Originally broadcast on April 26, 2018.

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Congregational Stewardship Booklet

Shared by the Southwest Pennsylvania Synod.

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Congregation Council Devotion on Mission Support

This devotion for a Congregation Council meeting offers a reflection on Mission Support. From the Montana Synod.

View Document

Because of God’s Great Mercy

This Chick Lane stewardship program for congregations gives people a simple way to increase their giving by ½-1% per year. Download the pieces at no cost.

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6 Weeks on Money

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and 6 Weeks on Money partner to promote a healthy relationship with money. The course is $80.

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Stewardship Partners

ELCA Regional Gift Planner, Stephanie Burke

In this video, Stephanie offers details about her work and how she can help you give generously to ministries in this synod and across Region 9 (the southeast).

Watch here to enable the YouTube transcript.

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GSB Fundraising

At GSB Fundraising, we have a passion for philanthropy—the art of giving and asking for gifts. We’ve seen individual lives changed for the better, institutions and congregations strengthened, communities healed, and society made better. Our passion is also to help people like you—leaders and workers—develop this same passion for raising funds for the worthy causes of the world. We approach our work as a guide on your journey with a passion that’s contagious.
  • Building a Culture of Generosity: This six-session program teaches you to run an outstanding annual stewardship campaign, complete with print and video resources, offered through our partners at GSB. Cost $700; $250 of this may come from a Thrivent Action Team Grant. Scholarships available.
  • Stewardship for All Seasons: This two-year program will transform your congregation’s culture of generosity. It includes resources on communication, storytelling, and planned giving. Many congregations see growth. Cost: $3000 per year; with synod scholarship, cost is $2500 per year.