Stewardship Ministry offers free workshops

The LCMS Office of National Mission’s Director of Discipleship Ministry, the Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe (center), met with (from left) the Revs. Jesse Schlie, Joseph Schlie, Matthew Moss and Sean Kilgo for stewardship presenter training at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis on Sept. 16, 2025. (LCMS/Megan Welch)

By Mary Henrichs

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) Stewardship Ministry, through the LCMS Office of National Mission (ONM), offers free workshops to help pastors and laity collaborate on stewardship, defined by Stewardship Ministry as “the free and joyous activity of God’s family, the church, in managing life’s resources for His purposes.”

“Many Christians associate stewardship with money,” said Director of Discipleship Ministry Rev. Dr. Heath Trampe, “and that’s certainly part of the discussion. However, the Bible gives a much broader and more vibrant picture of our lives as stewards of God’s varied grace.”

Intended for congregations and pastors who may have struggled with stewardship in the past or who have been reluctant to take up an intentional stewardship focus, the stewardship workshop is designed to open the Scriptures to attendees about the true nature of stewardship and its biblical importance and, at the same time, to offer practical suggestions the congregation can immediately put into practice.

The presenters of these workshops, ordained pastors of the LCMS, have direct experience in parishes both large and small, urban and rural — experience that well equips them to speak into a variety of situations.

To maximize attendance and foster both pastoral and lay leadership, workshops are most often held on a weekday evening. Many congregations choose to include a dinner. Lay leaders, including but not limited to a congregation’s treasurer, church council and board of stewardship, are encouraged to attend with their church’s pastor(s). The stewardship presentation, which lasts about two hours, can be held by a single congregation, or congregations may collaborate to host a presenter for a circuit, regional or district-wide gathering.

LCMS Stewardship Ministry offers many free online tools — including Bible studies, sermons, pastoral aids, short essays and how-to guides — which can be found at resources.lcms.org/stewardship. Those are all helpful, said Trampe, and he encourages congregations to look at and make use of them. But he also emphasized the importance of learning about Christian stewardship in person, with laity and pastor studying alongside and encouraging one another.

There is no cost for a workshop, but the host congregation, circuit or district may be asked to offset travel and lodging costs where possible. Presenters are provided based on availability. To schedule a workshop or find out more, email stewardship@lcms.org.

Mary Henrichs ( mary.henrichs@lcms.org ) is a staff writer for LCMS Communications.

Posted March 30, 2026