These are very familiar words, yet they have the distinct ring of deep truth. It is very hard to separate stewardship from discipleship, and we shouldn’t! Stewardship is the practice of discipleship, and vice versa. Because the word stewardship can have a negative connotation for many people, we search for a better term. Discipleship is one of the terms that comes up in that search.

“Stewardship is how we live out our calling as followers of Christ. Stewardship is what we do after we say that we believe.”2

If we confine stewardship to the raising of funds to support the activities of the church, we will miss the richness that the practice of stewardship has for all of our life. Using the definition of stewardship as “fund-raising,” we often confine stewardship activities to one portion to the year—the fall budget planning and stewardship campaign. If we are involved in stewardship planning, it may be too late to change our customary practices this year; but we can enhance our plans for this fall’s campaign and look to the beginning of the new year when we can begin to practice stewardship as a way of life—a disciple’s life.

It is not too late to plan this year for Bible studies or other programs that emphasize the broader aspects of stewardship. One suggestion is to plan a Bible study around the Walter Brueggemann article “The Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity (Consumerism and Religious Life), in this year’s Stewardship theme magazine, Ready to Share. Another idea is to choose the educational program Covenants of Stewardship for an adult study group such as a church school class or as an educational program for the entire congregation.

Don’t forget the children and youth. The youth program, CHOICES, and the Stu Bear resources for children are available from Presbyterian Distribution Service.

As you plan for future stewardship activities, look for Confident Steward, which will help you develop a year-round stewardship program. With this program congregations will be guided to integrate the activities of education, interpretation, and financial campaigns to help members understand stewardship as the life of a disciple. This resource will use the latest technology and enable each congregation to design a program that fits its particular needs, using themes and financial campaign styles of its choice.

1. A Stewardship Manual: A Guide for Year-Round Financial Stewardship Planning, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 1994.
2. Ibid.

For more information on this new resource, contact David Johnson, Office of Stewardship, (888) 728-7228, ext. 5140, or send him an e-mail.