Offering our Prayers, Presence, Gifts, and Service

To be a steward is to exercise good care over what you have been entrusted with.  The word can refer to caring for possessions or for people, as in the word stewardess.  In the church, Stewardship has many dimensions.  These dimensions include expressing your loving care by offering your prayers, presence, gifts, and service.

Stewardship includes regularly being in prayer for your church and for others around the world.  It includes setting aside time to reflect on the needs of your church family and to seek direction from God about how you should respond to these needs.   Take time to talk with church members about their prayer lives and share your prayer life with them.  When you lead a small group at church, set aside time to ask the members of the group to share their current joys and concerns.  It is through prayer that we seek to know God’s will for our lives and to respond faithfully.

Presence

We are vital members of a community of faith, the Suncreek UMC family, because of that we are called to be physically present at the church and at ministries that occur beyond the church walls.  This includes seeking to order our lives so that we regularly attend worship on Sundays and attend other activities like Sunday school, bible studies, covenant groups, and missions activities that enrich our faith.  It also means seeking to be mentally present.  We are encouraged to enter church with a spirit that is open to experiencing and sharing God’s love through Christ.  We need to keep attuned to what is going on the life of our church family.  Some great tools for staying attuned are the monthly church newsletter, the announcements page of the Sunday Bulletin, and the church’s website.

Service

Stewardship includes the gift of your time and talents to the church.  Every ministry of the church depends on volunteers.  To identify where your time and/or talent is needed most, talk to staff members and other church leaders.  Read the church newsletter, Sunday Bulletin, and church website.  If one of your talents is playing the guitar and you relate well to teenagers, speak with our Youth Minister about volunteering to lead singing for the youth on Sunday or Wednesday night.  If you are gifted in working with young children, speak with our Children’s Minister about teaching Sunday School.  If you have some special building maintenance skills or you enjoy a little physical labor contact the chairperson of the Trustees committee about helping to maintain and beatify the interior and exterior of our buildings.  Don’t hide your talents.  If you believe you are short on talent, offer yourself to an area of interest and then see what God can do.  Your availability and openness to learn something new is all that is required for most ministries.  Give the valuable gift of your time.   Through working together, we build community and fully experience what it means to be part of a church family.  Together, our ability to make a positive impact on our neighborhoods and the entire world is greatly enhanced.

If you have not completed the 2008 Volunteer Opportunities Checklist, please download the document, indicate your interests, and mail it to or bring it to the church office.   Click here for the Adult Volunteer Opportunities Checklist.  We ask that our older children and youth consider completing a volunteer checklist.  Click here for the Child and Youth Volunteer Opportunities Checklist.  

If you would like to serve on a leadership committee at the church, click here for the Leadership Opportunities List.

Gifts
Your pledge to the Annual Budget of the church sustains the basic ministries of the church.  If you have not pledged to the church we ask that you do.   If you are a new member please don’t wait until the next Stewardship drive to pledge.  Our church budget is very tight.  Every dollar matters!

Click here to download a 2008 pledge card.  

Why Should I Pledge?
Pledges are vital in aiding the leadership of the church to make budget decisions like what supplies we can buy for Vacation Bible School, how many new anthems we can purchase for the choirs, and whether we can hire an Associate Minister or not. 

For most persons the act of pledging means that they are willing to make sacrifices for their church, because the church is a priority.   Some persons who do not pledge still give sacrificially.  Some people who don’t pledge simply give the church some of the money that they have left over.   God calls us to give more than leftovers.  It can be tough to make regular disciplined gifts to the church.  Yet it is a glorious act.  If this is a struggle for you, ask persons in the church who have faced this struggle what it was like when they first made a gift to the church that required a significant sacrifice. 

Can I change my Pledge?

Yes!  Your pledge is a contract between you and God and is held in confidence at the church.  It is not a binding contract between you and the church.  If you need to change your pledge amount at any time, contact the church financial office.  The church leaders will then make modifications to the budget as needed.   If you have an unexpectedly good financial year, consider making a special year-end gift to the church.

If you are sitting in a Worship Service and you want to give a cash gift, consider placing the gift in an offering envelope and writing your name on the envelope.   This will permit us to credit the cash gift to your pledge and provide you with accurate tax records. 

We strongly encourage children and youth to participate in the annual stewardship drive.  They should give some thought to how they will share their prayers, presence, gifts and service with their church.  We ask that they make an individual financial pledge.  The amount of the pledge is less important than the act of making a pledge.  Many parents already give their young children coins or small bills to place in the offering plate to teach them that it is important to support the church with our financial gifts.  We encourage you to take the next step and teach your child the importance of making a pledge.  Show your child how to place their gift in an offering envelope and to write their name on the envelope.  Explain to your child that their pledge has influenced the setting of the church budget.

How much should I give?

What do I do if I’m uncertain about my income for the coming year or I do not expect to make equal payments on my pledge each month?

Is my pledge confidential?

Where does the money go?  Information about the Annual Church Budget.

Capital Campaign for the Next Building (May 2007- May 2010)

Special Gifts: Memorial and Honorarium Gifts

Special Gifts:  Estate Planning and Planned Giving

Special Gifts:  Special Offerings and Other Second-Mile Missions Giving