Mission Yearbook: Financial Health Assessment tool helps churches discern future paths

The second edition of the Presbyterian Foundation's Financial Health Assessment
tool helps church leaders learn more about their church's finances and how those
figures compare to similarly sized congregations in the region. (Contributed photo)

The Presbyterian Foundation has launched the second iteration of its Financial Health Assessment tool for churches.

The tool helps church treasurers, stewardship teams and pastors learn more about their congregation’s church finances and how they compare to other congregations of similar size in their region. Each assessment provides a report with comparative data along with suggestions for stewardship resources and other financial assistance.

The tool’s origins began in 2012 with “three or four people sitting in the Charlotte airport saying, church treasurers don't have the ability to compare their data with others,” says Paul Grier, the Foundation’s vice president for Project Regeneration.’’

“We saw that clergy people have these networks, and they talk to each other, but church treasurers don’t usually have that,” he continued. “We said, what if we built some kind of tool, not so much to tell people you’re doing great or you’re doing poorly, but just to say, here's how you’re doing compared to everybody else.”

The omission of giving data from information collected by the PC(USA) statistical services group from 2020–2022 temporarily disrupted the real-time use of the assessment tool. In 2022, Foundation representatives asked the General Assembly to re-add these data points into the annual report from congregations, to which it agreed, and subsequent years’ reports have been built on this financial information.

The pause in use of the Financial Health Assessment tool allowed the Presbyterian Foundation to rethink its approach to what information it needed to be most effective and the reports it produced. Making the information easier to use and allowing mobile access were top priorities for “version 2” of the instrument, says Karl Mattison, the Foundation’s vice president of Planned Giving Resources. This new version of the Financial Health Assessment was built by Via Studio, a Louisville-based marketing agency.

People using the assessment tool are required to have basic information about the church’s giving such as how many “giving units” — individuals, couples, or families — regularly contribute, total annual contributions, percentage of budget that comes from contributions, bequest information and capital campaign history. While Grier cautions the tool is not “sophisticated” in the way it does financial analysis, it is a useful comparative tool for congregations to find solutions to common problems.

“The relevance of the data sometimes isn't so much in the data itself, but it starts the conversation in that finance committee or in that session meeting,” he says. “Folks have something to respond to and to talk about and to say, ‘Gosh, we thought we were doing terrible. Turns out we're doing pretty well in this category, but we are trailing behind in another category.’”

The assessment’s report is broken down into three sections, highlighting criteria congregations are “Doing Well In,” “Needs Attention,” or “For Immediate Review.” Categories analyzed are Endowments & Major Givers, Leadership, Planning, Participation & Online Giving, Capital Campaigns, Building an Endowment, Bequests & Planned Giving, Preaching & Communication, and Deficits & Debt.

“There are two directions that it sends you,” Mattison says. “One is it gives you this self-help immediately: it produces a report and says, Hey, this is an area that really needs attention for you, and here's the different resources that we provide for you.”

One of the most common online resources the report points congregations toward is Stewardship Navigator, a tool for Presbyterian congregations that offers practical help with everything from a narrative budget builder and stewardship campaign ideas to examples of thank you notes, a brochure maker and multimedia educational tools.

Dozens of other resources include helps for legacy giving, charitable trusts, the church financial leadership academy and coaching, the annual Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference, endowment resources, and the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program are included as links to relevant areas in the assessment report.

Mattison says the second direction the tool recommends is to seek the help of a Presbyterian Foundation Ministry Relations Officer (MRO).

Since the tool is available to all congregations, and churches of different sizes have different financial needs, he says offering additional resources along with the report allows the assessment tool to scale to serve the entire denomination.

Gregg Brekke for the Presbyterian Foundation (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Susan Jackson-Dowd, Executive Director, Presbyterian Women 
• Linda Jacobsen, Executive Vice President, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions 

Let us pray:

O God, when the world’s needs seem to overwhelm our ability to help, let us remember that you ask us to give what we have, not what we do not have. By your Spirit, we can do more than we ever dreamed. Give us faith to trust your Word and obey your commands through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Scripture says to ‘make a joyful noise,’ not a perfect noise

Hunter Steinitz

When Hunter Steinitz, M.Div., co-moderator of Presbyterians for Disability Concerns (PDC), once said that if the dedicated team of PDC volunteers had a motto, it might be, “We are small but mighty,” she could just as well have been describing the workshop she co-led recently.

Titled “Inclusion is Worship,” the workshop at the Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE) 2025 Annual Event attracted a “small” group from across the PC(USA), all “mightily” advocating for disability inclusion in church and society.

And calling for action now.

“The problem isn’t with the disability,” Steinitz said, “but with the barriers that get in the way.”

And yet despite the many barriers to full inclusion, attendees offered signs of hope.

“Our church is pretty much all accessible except for one upstairs room,” one participant shared with the group, “so that a girl with disabilities couldn’t go to the youth group room. Then, because they made a policy that no church activities can happen in a non-accessible space, the youth group room moved. I thought that was so amazing because often their reaction is to not do the right thing. I was thrilled with how that worked out.”

At the workshop, Steinitz — a ruling elder at Riverview United Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh and the oldest woman in the U.S. with a rare genetic skin condition called Harlequin ichthyosis — was joined on Zoom by PDC clerk Marijo Hockley, M.Div., and in Memphis by the Rev. Dr. Deborah Huggins, PDC co-moderator, who shared in facilitating the conversation.

The Rev. Dr. Deborah Huggins

Huggins, associate pastor of youth and children at Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, New Jersey, is also president of the Presbyterian Health, Education, and Welfare Association (PHEWA). Hockley serves as the community life coordinator for New Life Presbyterian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

As participants considered together — and in small groups — how and whether people with disabilities are embraced and included in their respective worship spaces, Huggins appealed to Steinitz and Hockley as disability liberation theologians for their guidance on interpreting relevant passages from Scripture.

“It can be very difficult for people with disabilities to lean back and find the hope that we have [in Jesus],” Hockley began. “Jesus heals them not because there is something wrong with them, but because there’s something wrong with society. … Because society is ill, Jesus heals the person with disabilities.”

In the broader context of biblical exegesis, Steinitz further explained the workshop’s title, “Inclusion is Worship.”

“Inclusion is worship because the body of Christ is made up of all these diverse members, all of them with a role to play,” said Steinitz, referencing 1 Corinthians 12:12. “That is very much true of people of faith with disabilities. Because they have gifts that they want to share, it’s all about giving them the opportunity.”

Both Steinitz and Hockley emphasized that while churchgoers have the expectation that everything be perfect, that’s not what scripture teaches.

“As many of you know, it’s hard for people to sit still and be perfect all the time,” said Steinitz. “But what does Scripture say? ‘Make a joyful noise’ — not a perfect noise, not a well-rehearsed noise, but a joyful noise.”

Added Hockley, “Worship is not a Broadway show. We should be a faith family when we’re sitting in church. Things are not going to be perfect, but they are perfect in the eyes of God.”

Using a handout designed by PDC, participants began to build customized action plans for their own worship settings. They received — and were able to suggest additions to — a “Worship is Inclusion” resource list.

Attendees also received a copy of “Speaking Words that Welcome,” a QuickSheet produced by the PC(USA) Interim Unified Agency’s Office of Christian Formation.

If the workshop had a single takeaway, it was perhaps the charge to be creative.

“You don’t just have to preach from the pulpit or be liturgist from the chancel,” Huggins said. “Church isn’t perfect. Church will always be messy.”

For more information about Presbyterians for Disability Concerns or to contact a Disability Consultant, click here.

Emily Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Daniel Johnson, Engineer, Building Services, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 
• Christopher Jackson, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Board of Pensions 

Let us pray:

Lord, strengthen, guide, and bless us as we labor together to bring your love to those who need it most. We thank you for those who serve. May their obedient efforts continue to bear fruit in the lives of many. In your name we pray. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Daring to say — and play — the ‘G’ word

APCE Annual Event workshop participants play “Reverse Pyramid Build.”
From left are the Rev. Dr. Susan Sharp Campbell, associate for Educational
Ministry, Presbytery of West Virginia; Brittany Porch, director of Mission
and Education, Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio; the Rev.
Cassie Waits, associate pastor of Discipleship, First Presbyterian Church,
Marietta, Georgia; and the Rev. Julie Erkel Hagee, pastor, First Presbyterian
Church, Cedar Falls, Iowa. (Photo by Emily Enders Odom)

As attendees at the Association of Partners in Christian Education (APCE) 2025 Annual Event entered the meeting room and observed with mounting curiosity the unusual props that surrounded them — decks of cards, mini drinking cups, LEGO® bricks, and even a nickel or two — many wondered what on earth they had signed up for.

Joel Winchip, executive director of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA)/Campfire Collective, quickly explained.

Winship’s workshop, titled “There is No ‘I’ in Team,” was centered on activities designed to help adult groups develop effective communication and problem-solving skills.

“We’re going to talk and play games,” he said, "but when introducing team building-activities to adults, don’t ever call them 'games.'”

“Don’t use the ‘G’ word,” he cautioned. “You might as well just yell, ‘Fire,’ or say, ‘We’re playing name games,’ and everyone will be gone. Just launch into the instructions for what you want to do with your adult group.”

Joel Winchip (standing at right) teaches a group how to play Up Jenkins during
a workshop at the APCE Annual Event. (photo by Emily Enders Odom)

Winchip, who also serves on the adjunct faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, where he teaches camp/conference ministry and recreation courses, said that in his experience, games using tangible things help adults wrap their heads around what they are doing.

“I’m a big fan of props,” he said.

And, if the workshop participants were ever under the impression that they’d be staying seated and taking notes, out came the props.

Winchip then called everyone to their feet as a succession of games with such names as Up Jenkins, Octopus Draw, Flip Flop Tower, and LEGO® Re-Creation — and hearty laughter ensued.

An hour or so later, Winchip led the exhilarated participants through a debriefing on what they had experienced.

“Through games, you can find out the true dynamics of your group,” he said. “For example, some people like to touch everything and show off what they know. You can tell things like who the introverts are versus the extroverts. Normally, people in recreation cannot hide who they are.”

Because leadership teams, committee members, and ministry staff are all groups that need to work together, game play can help group members broaden their abilities and work together.

“I like incorporating games in adult education,” said the Rev. Cassie Waits, associate pastor of Discipleship at the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Georgia. “And since I’ve never played any of these games before, the workshop was even better than I expected!”

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Todd Ingves, Vice President, Health & Well Being, Board of Pensions 
• Jose Irizarry, Vice President, Education, Church Engagement, Board of Pensions  

Let us pray:

Our loving Lord, we humbly return a portion of the bounty you have so generously given, so that, through your Holy Spirit, these gifts may be multiplied and creatively used among our neighbors as you see fit. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: What WWF action figures can teach us about forming an authentic faith

The Rev. Dr. Lillian H. Lammers (contributed photo)

The Annual Event of the Association of Partners in Christian Education concluded with stellar preaching by the Rev. Dr. Lillian H. Lammers, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Memphis.

“Thank you for bringing your conference to downtown Memphis,” Lammers told those in attendance at the Peabody Hotel. “I hope you’ve gotten a taste of what I love about this city. It has the thickest overlay of love.”

Raised in Chicagoland, Lammers told the story of her parents’ decision to move five blocks away when Lammers was 6, which for her meant attending a new elementary school. “I was desperate to make friends” that summer, she said, and she did: a fellow 6-year-old named Matthew lived just across the alley.

That year, 1986, Lammers found out that Matthew was into a toy that many other boys were playing with that summer: WWF Wrestling figures. “They were made of the thickest, densest rubber you have ever seen,” Lammers said. “Mostly you just bammed them against each other or flung them against the ropes.”

The day she was invited over, “I pretended to know who Junkyard Dog and Andre the Giant were,” she said. “Matthew decided I should be ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage” because “none of his friends wanted to play with that doll. His outfit looked like a Speedo with stars on it.”

“I started to get into the whole thing,” she said. She got her mother to buy her a deck of trading cards so she could memorize facts on the wrestlers. One day, Matthew played a “greatest hits” video featuring Andre the Giant, who was finishing off an opponent by administering a bear hug. “Matthew’s dad came in, shook his head, and said, ‘It’s all so fake,’” Lammers said.

“What?” she thought. “I had studied WWF for weeks to solidify my friendship. I asked Matthew and my parents, and it turns out they all knew it was fake and choreographed.”

Fast-forward nearly four decades later. “Here we are in 2025 at a conference talking about wrestling with God and the church,” Lammers said. “Knowing that vital lesson I learned all those years ago, how do we know when our wrestling is fake, choreographed theatrics?”

“I have learned this in 15 years of ministry: There’s some fake wrestling going on in Christian communities,” Lammers said. “Some of us wear our faith on the outside without letting it in on the inside.” But “Scripture tells us faith is a struggle, something to be wrestled with.”

Wrestling with faith includes at least two requirements, she said:

• A willingness “to be really uncomfortable.” Just seven blocks north of the Peabody Hotel, First Presbyterian Church is surrounded by “a heck of a lot” of bail bonds companies, she said. “What keeps us going [as a church] is a ministry to the unhoused” and others “who find themselves at the margins. It is a beautiful and holy flurry of activity.” The “kind of wrestling we are called to do [at First Presbyterian Church] looks the way it does, and our guests look the way they do.” Church members and friends “are called to do this wrestling in a state that has made it a criminal act to teach divisive topics in public schools.” We must “mine our faith for meaning, poke at our presuppositions, and shine daylight on the doubt and fear that lurk inside all of us,” Lammers said. “Some of the answers we think we have are flawed and incomplete.”
• We must engage our theological imaginations. “Back in 1986, those WWF products were fake. But in Matthew’s living room, what we were doing was very real. We were engaging our imaginations,” Lammers said. As we get older, “we lose that ability we had as children to engage our imaginations.”

“I suspect as educators you already know that if we dare to wrestle with our fake faith and use our imagination, God shows up. We may not recognize it right away, but God shows up in the middle of our wrestling,” Lammers said. “God helps us if we are willing to do that uncomfortable, sometimes scary work of wrestling with our faith.”

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Lacey Hunter, Manager, Finance & Administration, Director’s Office, Compassion, Peace & Justice, Interim Unified Agency
• Demetria Hurnton, Business Administrator, Benefits, Board of Pensions  

Let us pray:

O God, so many things stop us from following you. Thank you for those who carry us, nudge us, shake us, and point us in the right direction. Thank you for your son, Jesus, who reminds us repeatedly that we can be forgiven, that we can make our way to you. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Wrestling with imagination and creativity

The final plenary delivered by the Rev. Dr. Almeda M. Wright during APCE’s Annual Event was on wrestling with imagination. Wright added “creativity” to her assignment. “This allows me to add my own research,” said Wright, associate professor of Religious Education at the Yale Divinity School.

In her most recent book, “Teaching to Live: Black Religion, Activist-Educators, and Radical Social Change,” Wright offered up case studies on young Christian activists and more seasoned activists. In her final plenary, she lifted up some of their stories.

The Rev. Dr. nyle fort, an assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University, began preaching at age 16 but did not become interested in politics until becoming a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, according to Wright. “He was wrestling throughout seminary with theological and political convictions,” she said. “I resonated with nyle’s story. I wrestled in seminary, too.”

After Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, fort and other furious students got on a bus and headed to Ferguson. fort came up with a “Seven Last Words: Strange Fruit Speaks” church service when “he was brokenhearted because he felt he couldn’t go to church and express his rage,” Wright said. “He wanted to sit in a sanctuary and just cry, but he couldn’t think of a church that would allow him that space.”

In “Seven Last Words,” fort “created sacred space for lament and remembrance,” Wright said. The services have been replicated and many have been livestreamed. “He imagined something different was possible,” Wright said, “which sparked his creativity.” She called crafting the service “creation out of chaos.”

Educator Septima Clark is depicted on the cover of Wright’s book. In the cover photo, Clark is showing an adult learner how to hold a pencil.

“She is one of my favorite educators,” Wright said. Clark lost her teaching job after 40 years in the classroom for refusing to resign from the NAACP as required by a 1956 South Carolina law.

She became director of education and training for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which established its Citizenship Education Program modeled on citizen workshops that Clark developed. “She taught and trained a generation of leaders,” Wright said. “Her work was to empower leaders, not to come in and take over.”

The Rev. Dr. Almeda M. Wright

Her pedagogy was “simple and effective,” Wright said, noting it was practical, improvisational and communal.

Practical — Clark used literacy tests, tax bills, sewing patterns and recipes “in order not to insult adult learners, but teach them the things they most needed to function on their own,” Wright said.

Improvisational — Rather than “a lack of training or preparation,” Clark said there’s “skill, care, wisdom and courage” in improvising well. “Improvisational pedagogy is flexible and willing to risk,” Wright said.

Communal — “Clark and her fellow teachers did better because they valued the dignity of people,” Wright said. “She selected teachers who didn’t consider themselves superior to their learners.” For the most part, Clark didn’t hire professional teachers, asking instead bus drivers, beauticians, mechanics, and others to staff the Citizenship Education Program. “They could talk to common folks, and they couldn’t have their jobs taken away,” Wright noted.

Clark “believed in people’s capacity to change, and she believed in people’s ability to respond when they are told the truth,” Wright said. “Her starting place was hope and trust.”

“My point is not to convince you to be like fort or Clark,” Wright said. “But we are called to new places of imagining and of risk-taking.” When she herself was a young student, “I was one of those who would stare into space during class. I would dream of riding on the wings of the butterfly” outside the classroom window, Wright recalled. “Today I want to give you permission not to zone in on what’s currently in front of you. I want to give you permission to daydream.”

Whenever she would allow her mind to wander, “new ideas for the task at hand would emerge.” Nowadays, Wright just lies down for a bit to let that happen. “Dreaming and resting are part of our resistance movement,” she said.

Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Emily Hord, Assistant General Counsel, Legal and Risk Management, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
• Sy Hughes, Ministry Engagement Advisor, Ministry Engagement & Support, Administrative Services Group, (A Corp)  

Let us pray:

Lord Christ, unite us in our awareness of you, our oneness in you, even across our differing cultures, languages, political affiliations, genders, and economic conditions. In that oneness may the vitality of your abundant life be celebrated. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: Baltimore church champions eco-friendly initiatives for a thriving community and planet

Faith Presbyterian Church in Baltimore is revamping its parking lot into green spaces designed to improve the environment. This transformation aims to provide cleaner, safer surroundings by replacing concrete with greenery, helping to create a more sustainable and welcoming space for the community.

With support from Blue Water Baltimore and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, the church removed a section of its parking lot in order to plant native trees and flowering groundcover. Watch the video to learn why they took this step and how it is benefiting the community’s health and life, not to mention the Earth.

Faith Presbyterian Church is an Earth Care Congregation. Learn how your faith community can become an Earth Care Congregation here.

Alex Simon, Multimedia Specialist, Digital and Marketing Communications, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS story)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Cathy Holland, Generalist, Human Resources, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
• Tyler Holm, Mission co-worker serving in Malawi, World Mission, Interim Unified Agency 

Let us pray:

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, thank you for the continuing faithful witness. We ask that you would continue to encourage and challenge us to accomplish your work while it is still day. In the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.

United Mission Matters (Spring 2025)

United Mission Matters   Spring 2025 ABOUT US UNITED MISSION TOOLKIT WAYS TO GIVE We hope you enjoy this edition of United Mission Matters - this publication aims to share the valuable insights of our Regional Executive Ministers, local churches, national leaders, and pastors on matters related to Discipleship. In this newsletter, you'll find a wealth of resources, inspiring stories, and insights into how churches throughout the United States are dedicated to instructing and engaging with their communities to align with Jesus’ mission in our neighborhoods.   Ways to Participate in United Mission: Giving with Purpose and Impact United Mission is the heartbeat of American Baptist ministry, providing the vital, undesignated support that fuels our shared mission. Through your generosity, we strengthen the foundation of our outreach, equipping churches, leaders, and ministries to serve faithfully. 1. Give Through United Mission Basics United Mission Basics represents the core giving of local churches, supporting the broad and essential ministries of American Baptists. These contributions sustain everything from pastoral leadership development to mission work, church planting, national and regional initiatives that keep our faith community thriving. 2. Share in the Legacy of United Mission Love Gifts For decades, American Baptist women have faithfully given over and above United Mission through Love Gift—a powerful expression of dedication to our shared mission. These gifts go beyond regular giving, offering an additional layer of support to ministries that transform lives. 3. Choose a Giving Plan That Works for You Your congregation or family can participate in United Mission in ways that align with your giving priorities: Regular Contributions: Incorporate United Mission into your church’s annual budget for ongoing impact. Special Offerings: Organize special giving moments, whether during worship services, mission celebrations, or special emphasis months. Personal Commitment: Individuals and families can make one-time or recurring gifts, ensuring personal participation in the greater mission of the American Baptist family. This can be through your local church or online at www.abc-usa.org/give. Creative Giving: Host a fundraising event, dedicate a portion of a community outreach project, or encourage online giving to rally support for United Mission. However you choose to give, your generosity is a testimony to our unity in Christ and our commitment to serving together as one American Baptist family. Thank you for being United in Christ, Together in Mission! Blessings, Rev. Dr. Robin Stoops Mission Resource Coordinator           Generosity - Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters Written by Rev. Dr. James M. Harrison I became a member of the Zion Union Baptist Church at 1015 Preston Avenue, Charlottesville, Virginia in the fall of 1980.  The church was led by the Reverend Raymond Allen Hailes, and had a very active relationship with American Baptist Churches of the South. I was very quickly introduced to the denomination through my work and participation with the Men’s Fellowship group that met on Saturday mornings, often doing service projects around the church. I eventually accepted a position with the church, Administrative Assistant to the Pastor. A part of my responsibilities was to encourage denominational support among the congregants. I would attend region meetings, area meetings, and local committee meetings and the message was always clear, United Mission Basics is the “Bread and Butter” of our denomination’s increase. I grew up in Southeastern Virginia around a peanut farm, country store, and logging operation; I knew what bread and butter meant to any operation. I knew what it meant on the table at supper time too! These were the very basics for any meal.  When encouraging support for the denomination, I was mindful not to overburden those who appeared to be struggling or facing economic challenges. Sometimes, even refusing to ask or accept their financial support. There was always another offering for this or that. I was challenged once by the late Reverend Henry Alred Townes, who said after my commiserating about this very subject, “Have you considered, people come to corporate worship to give, to demonstrate generosity.” He went on to say it is a part of their worship and you should not deny them the opportunity to accomplish what they have already prayerfully decided and set out to do. I accepted his loving advice and asked again. Generosity, in English is derived from the Latin word meaning, “of noble birth.” It is akin to the infinitive verb, to generate which can mean also to create. The author of Ecclesiastes, a part of the great wisdom tradition of the Old Testament says, “Cast your bread upon the waters.” This is a proverb spoken in ancient Israel for what looked like wasteful behaviors and expenditures. No one would take good bread and throw it in the river; he would be regarded as a wastrel for doing this but here we are encouraged to do this very thing. As we consider the subject of Generosity and especially in regard to support for American Baptist Mission giving, let us review Ecclesiastes 11:1-6:    1-2   Move beyond our capacity    3-4   Move beyond our observations    5-6   Move beyond our understanding We can always do more than we have imagined that we can do, especially when giving, sharing, and serving. The distraught father in Mark’s gospel, chapter 9, cries, “I believe, help my unbelief.. This is another way of simply saying, Lord, teach me to trust you. Giving is another way to trust this God that we depend on daily. We can learn now to interpret signs and wonders that God gives us as directions. Farmers are especially gifted to do this. Listen to the spirit to expand our knowledge and understanding. Cast that bread, God does more with it than we ever can do. Rev. Dr. James M. Harrison is the Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of the South.     Watch our new video, The Way of Discipleship | Studying Scripture, below   Can Generosity be Brought Back to Our Worship? Written by Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran COVID had a lot of victims…victims who lost their lives, victims whose health was severely impacted, and victims who lost their jobs. But these are just human victims. Culture was also a victim whose impact was both negative and positive. The impact on culture was not only the impact on our economy but also the embrace of new technology and an increased ability to work from home. The effect on culture was to embrace better sanitary practices and the bubbling up of racial and ethnic tensions. And like individuals and culture, the church, too, was impacted in various ways…learning to embrace online worship and Bible study, wearing masks in worship, and receiving offerings using online giving or by a box in the back! I speak primarily about the number of churches that continue to give only online or with a nondescript “basket” in the back. For these churches, active worship of God by presenting one's gifts in corporate worship has, by and large, been abandoned. Pastors and treasurers of these churches often tout the ease of giving online and of processing and recording these gifts. But are we overlooking something important in this? To simply look at the ease of giving or the effectiveness is to relegate giving to simply supporting the organization of the church and its sister elements… it is to “keep the doors open”… not to say to God, “I love and adore you and present just a bit of what you have provided for me to show you how much you mean to me.” It is to say, “We give out of necessity or obedience, not out of love.”  As I pastored churches and have visited and worshipped with pastors and churches in my regional role, it was and is always a joy to watch not only the different ways in which receiving this offering was done in churches but also the different expressions upon the faces of the givers. Perhaps this is why Jesus sat down to watch people giving their offerings in the temple (Mark 12:41-44), to see the faces of the givers! To see the sheer joy of a little one as they gave a gift to God, the reflective countenance of that senior saint who has grown to understand the true purpose of the offering, and even the brusk nature of those who have yet to understand the purpose of the offering. It seems this was important to Jesus and should be important to our church as we seek together to be His disciples. Because of the itinerant nature of my ministry, I have long practiced giving my tithe to the church via mail. But every Sunday, I seek to give a cash offering as a way of joining actively in worship with the congregation I am visiting as well as to actively participate in their extended ministry. Maybe that’s a practice you would want to adopt in your own walk with Christ. You see, how we receive our offering says something about the theology of giving that our church practices!   Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran is the Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains region.   Stitching Change: Empowering Refugee Women Through Community and Sustainability Rakmi Shaiza, executive director and founder of Stitching Change, a nonprofit based in Kansas City, Kansas, is bringing light to her community. She understands that the foundation of success in her mission is building and sustaining community—a crucial element in creating lasting change in people’s lives. Shaiza founded Stitching Change in 2014 to provide refugee women with training in sewing and business skills, equipping them with the tools to start small businesses. In 2015 and 2016, the nonprofit received a start-up grant from Prairie Baptist Church, allowing them to hold sewing classes at First Baptist Church of Kansas City for the next five years. As the program grew, Stitching Change moved to a larger location in 2022 to accommodate more students and expand its impact. Transforming Lives Through Sewing and Sustainability At Stitching Change, volunteers teach students how to create reusable tote bags, pouches, gift bags, phone cases, and woolen hats repurposed from pre-owned sweaters. These handcrafted items generate much-needed supplemental income for the women, all of whom come from low-income backgrounds. But beyond financial empowerment, the program fosters fellowship across ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious lines, creating a true sense of belonging. Committed to creation care, Stitching Change actively promotes fabric reuse and repair, preventing textiles from ending up in landfills. Upcycled tote bags are in high demand, with organizations such as Presbyterian Women’s 2024 Churchwide Gathering contracting Stitching Change to manufacture 800 conference bags—just one example of how sustainability and empowerment go hand in hand. Expanding Impact with One Great Hour of Sharing In recognition of its transformative work, Stitching Change was recently awarded a One Great Hour of Sharing development grant. This funding allows the nonprofit to expand its classes, reach more women, and create even greater impact. “Our empowerment is not short-term, nor is it only about making money,” said Shaiza. “This grant made me think that God is opening the door for us. The students’ lives will not be the same because they will become financially independent and develop the confidence to become leaders.” Join the Movement: Give Generously Today - abc-oghs.org When you give to One Great Hour of Sharing, you help transform lives by empowering women to build brighter futures. Join us in making a difference—give generously today!           Church and Money: 5 Important Truths By Rev. Margaret Marcuson   It pays to face facts when you are dealing with money matters in ministry. It’s a challenging topic for many clergy for a variety of reasons: It seems a little “dirty,” not spiritual. We feel inadequate because we weren’t trained to deal with it. People’s giving pays our salary, so we feel defensive. Other people think they know more than we do (and sometimes they do). Giving patterns are changing, and we (and lay leaders) are not sure what to do about it. Here are five things to remember that will help you as you lead in this important area of ministry. 1. Money matters. Starting with the obvious: money itself matters. It takes resources to do ministry. This is not a bad thing. It is just a fact. You can confidently take on the leadership in this area because it is an essential part of ministry. Paul says in II Corinthians 8:7, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” He never hesitated to ask people to give to support ministry. Christian theology suggests that money itself cannot be dirty. Remember, it’s not money that’s the “root of all evil,” but “the love of money.” (I Timothy 6:10). Question: Do you know your own theology of money? 2. Anxiety matters. Money is a high-anxiety topic (stop me if you are surprised…). It’s an automatic focus for anxiety. As we’ve just talked about institutionally, we need money to survive. In addition, biologically, we need money to buy food to eat. So when money is scarce, our survival instincts kick into overdrive. It’s harder to think creatively, to imagine new ways of doing things. Question: Do you know your own anxious responses when money issues come up? Your congregation’s? 3. Leadership matters. Good leaders provide a calm presence when anxiety is high. You can’t calm others down, but you can manage yourself, and that makes a difference. Have you ever been at a meeting where you could feel the temperature going up in the room? A key person calmly says, “Here’s how I think we can handle this,” and you can almost hear everyone give a sigh of relief. Appropriate leadership in financial matters doesn’t mean balancing the checkbook or creating the financial reports. Not at all. It means offering spiritual leadership to the congregation and the relevant boards. It’s about the power of the presence of the leader in a vital area of ministry. Question: Are you taking the lead in some way in financial and stewardship matters in your ministry? 4. Relationships matter. Stay connected to the money people, as well as to other key lay leaders and staff. Money conversations will go more smoothly if you have ongoing relationships. Those relationships will help carry you through tough times. You don’t have to talk about money every time you talk, of course; in fact, it’s better if you don’t. Developing these relationships is like money in the bank (maybe literally at times) that will enhance your leadership. You’ll have more credibility with them and others. Question: What relationships do you need to develop to improve the ministry of money in your congregation? 5. History matters. Your church’s history deeply influences the present. You may be surprised, if you look into the past of your church, about how much of that past is still going on in the present. Here are a few ways a congregation’s history may repeat itself in financial challenges and strengths. Consider these options, and see what else you notice: An angel donor who rescues the budget every year Capable financial leaders Periodic conflicts about staff salaries A financial committee or board that always functions well — or never does Strong support for mission and outreach over generations Question: What do you know about the financial history of your church? Try this: Do some writing—even a few minutes—about each of these questions, perhaps one per day this week. Many pastors struggle with feeling like everyone wants a piece of them. Margaret Marcuson offers a way they can bring their best to their ministry without giving it all away, so they can have a greater impact and find more satisfaction. Find out more at http://margaretmarcuson.com. This article is reprinted from the helpful articles posted on our website as a part of the United Mission Toolkit. Visit www.abc-usa.org/united-mission-toolkit     Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of American Baptist Churches USA. Visit our United Mission Toolkit United Mission offers a straightforward yet purposeful way for American Baptists to actively contribute to a collective fund dedicated to mission and ministry. A significant portion of United Mission funds directly aids the mission initiatives and ministries of the 33 ABC regional entities, the Office of the General Secretary, and the Board of General Ministries. These entities operate under the guidance and input of our member congregations. United Mission funding serves to bolster endeavors at every level within our denomination, extending to our common mission fields. Moreover, specific portions of United Mission are allocated to support essential services provided by our national ABC partners.

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