“More Than Giving” — a conference on stewardship co-sponsored by the Synod’s Office of National Mission and DOXOLOGY, the Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel — is planned for June 9-10 in Donaldson, Ind.
Led by LCMS Stewardship Coordinator Rev. Heath Curtis and Assistant Coordinator Rev. Nathan Meador, the conference is designed to equip pastors and lay leaders “to think biblically and ‘Lutheranly’ about financial stewardship in its broader context,” according to the conference website.
“The partnership with DOXOLOGY highlights the reality that stewardship is a pastoral-care issue,” Meador told Reporter. “Stewardship is not about budgets and bills. It is about the faithful response of baptized and redeemed stewards to what the Lord has created them to be.”
Moreover, adds, Curtis, “DOXOLOGY has years of experience creating workshops and retreats that feature relaxing settings and inspiring worship while keeping participants engaged, learning, working and planning. We are honored to work with them and benefit from all this expertise!”
The conference is intended to equip participants to go home with:
- a “fresh view of the undergirding theology of stewardship.”
- a candid overview of the financial challenges facing most churches — large and small.
- a preview of available resources.
- practical stewardship tools, “flowing from the presence of Christ through His means of grace.”
- a year-round “stewardship action plan” and strategies tailored to their congregation’s unique setting.
“Any congregation can glean things from this conference,” Meador stresses. “If the congregation has little in the way of stewardship, there will be practical things that can be brought home.”
Conversely, “a congregation with a more established stewardship culture will find ways to deepen what they are already doing.”
That sentiment is echoed by Curtis, who adds that “pastors and congregations of every stripe will be challenged and equipped at our conference to grow in God’s grace, take up their vocations and make a plan for the future under the Lord’s care.”
Each participating congregation is encouraged to send a team of people who can work together to develop its own action plan. Those teams might include pastors, elders, treasurers, stewardship-committee members and lay leaders.
Whatever the makeup of the congregational team, pastors are “essential,” notes Meador. “If the pastor isn’t willing to take a lead in stewardship, the congregation will find it difficult to cultivate a faithful stewardship culture.”
The conference begins at 1 p.m. on June 9 and ends before noon on June 10 at the Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center in Donaldson.
Registration is $125 for single occupancy and $110 for double occupancy and includes the program, materials, two meals, an evening reception and one night’s lodging. The commuter registration of $75 includes everything except lodging and breakfast.
Register for the conferenceSpecial savings are available for congregations that register more than two people. After the first two participants are registered online, additional congregation members may attend with a $25 per person discount. Contact Nancy Ewert at newert@doxology.us to receive the registration discount.
The deadline for all registrations is May 25.
Details about a similar conference — planned for Sept. 15-16 in Buffalo, Minn. — will be announced later.
Posted April 25, 2017
