An introduction of Stewardship to the congregation

July 2009

Have you ever been in a quandary about how much to give to your church? Of course you have. Each of us has had to struggle with how much we will or can give to our church.

Ted Knutson was a farmer dealing with just this problem. He and his wife gave their time and talent to God, but while considering giving resources to his church he was perplexed by the issues of a typical farmer … income comes at once after the harvest, but the church has monthly needs. Sometimes it is a struggle to come up with a plan we can live with.

Ted wondered what he could do about it personally. He and his wife took the situation to the Lord. As the two prayed and thought about it, they came to the conclusion that just as they paid regularly for the necessities of life: food, clothing, gasoline, and utilities, they too could give weekly to the church. They also concluded that if they had a bountiful harvest and their income swelled, they would be able to give a full tithe or more.

The full story is in this month’s issue of Stewardship, but with that plan, they were able to find inner peace regarding their stewardship. The trouble was that when only small amounts were given weekly to the church, the church sometimes had to borrow from the bank to meet current expenses. As others learned of the Knutson’s new approach to financial giving, perhaps they would follow suit.

What does the Knutson story say to us?  Surely it says that every Christian family must work out their own stewardship plan. And it says that praying seriously about it will enable each family to find guidance as to what they should do about their own stewardship.

Prayer: Almighty God, you open your hands and all of our needs are met. Guide us in the use of all your gifts to us that we may please you completely in our stewardship.  Amen.