After getting what he calls “a fair amount of inquiry,” Rev. Larry Reinhardt developed and has now posted on the Web a set of guidelines for congregational fund-raising activities.
Reinhardt is director of outreach and stewardship ministry with LCMS District and Congregational Services.
“Not a month goes by,” he said, “that I don’t get a question from someone asking if there are guidelines for congregational fund raising.”
To develop what he calls “general guidelines for pastors and congregational leaders to consider when it comes to establishing policies regarding fund-raising activities within the congregation,” Reinhardt consulted with district stewardship executives, the LCMS Foundation, Lutheran Church Extension Fund, the Commission on Theology and Church Relations and others.
The four guidelines basically say that:
- congregations should fund their budgets from members’ freewill offerings;
- they should “be sensitive to the impact of a proliferation of … fund-raising activities”;
- decisions about how many and what kinds of fund-raising activities a congregation conducts “call for responsible Christian judgment”; and
- “congregations are wise” when they develop fund-raising policies.
For the full guidelines and an introduction with other tips for fund raising by congregations, go to www.lcms.org/stewardship and click on “Guidelines for Congregational Fund-raising Activities.”
Posted Aug. 26, 2004
