hero default image
People deal with money every day. It’s a ministry to help your people connect their money and their life of faith.
If they can do this, they can find more peace and freedom in financial matters. In most churches, we give congregants little help in making this connection. We might make an occasional comment in a sermon. And we may offer stewardship seasonally.
We can do better. Here are four ways to work on it:
1. Do it yourself.
You can’t teach what you don’t know. If you live in fear, spend thoughtlessly, or give less than you want to, you will find it hard to help others move toward a new perspective on their money.
Many clergy face the same challenges their people do. Some came out of seminary with big educational debt. They now earn a salary that doesn’t stretch far enough. Some also have heavy consumer debt. Clergy living in church-owned or rented housing wonder whether they will ever be able to afford to buy a home.
You may not be able to change your financial situation, at least not immediately. However, you can begin to change how you relate to it.
Some practices to consider:
2. Talk about money more often.
Once a year is not enough. Give a sermon about money at least quarterly. At times, preach about faith and money without asking people to give. Teach people about spiritual freedom in relation to making, spending, and managing money.
If you are just beginning on this path, be honest about that. You can suggest practices like the ones above to your people. Invite them on the journey with you.
If someone complains that you are talking about money too much, good! Those who complain the most probably give the least (and need to hear it the most). It means you are rocking the boat. Congratulations!
3. Take a pastoral view of your people and their money issues.
Whether members of your congregation have a lot or a little, they experience considerable stress about money. You don’t have to overfunction by taking responsibility for those who aren’t responsible. But you can open your heart without judgment to those who are struggling.
It’s easy to judge those who manage their money poorly. And to judge those who spend extravagantly, especially when you can’t afford to. Cultivate compassion for people at all financial levels in your congregation. Remember Jesus’ compassion for those who were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Consider offering a program, perhaps at Lent, to help people work on their money from a spiritual perspective. (Here’s one option for individual or group study.)
4. Make stewardship a spiritual experience.
Stewardship includes helping people make their giving a response to God’s generosity to them. Most good stewardship programs include an element of this.
Be sure to take more than one Sunday to do this. Schedule a series of stewardship sermons that go deeper into God’s ownership of all. Challenge people to think more deeply about their giving in response to God. Share your own story and tell them why you give. Invite key leaders to share their story of how God has moved them to give. Stewardship is an opportunity to help people become more mature disciples.
This process of growth extends far beyond short-term budget needs. Take the long view. People will make this shift over the years. Be patient and persistent. Year by year, invite people to reflect for themselves on God’s provision and how God calls us to respond faithfully and generously.
Rev. Margaret Marcuson helps ministers get lighter and less burdened by their ministry so they can have more influence with less stress. She is the author of Sustainable Ministry: How to Lead (and When to Nap) [forthcoming].
