Stewardship Newsletter

Psalm 24:1 “The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

The constitution of St. John’s Lutheran Church has given the Board of Stewardship two specific areas of responsibility: 1) To help solicit money for the church programs, and 2) To educate members about the needs of the congregation.

With these responsibilities in mind, the Board of Stewardship has decided that it would be beneficial to begin publishing a monthly newsletter to inform the congregation of the church and school’s financial needs, and to take the opportunity once a month to look at what God’s Word teaches us about faithful stewardship.

What is a steward anyway?

A steward is a manger of another’s belongings; a caregiver, custodian, trustee; a chosen servant; an important person in a privileged, responsible position. “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (I Cor. 4:2). Since a steward is NOT the same as an owner, there is a unique sense of accountability that accompanies the title: steward. Stewards do not hold title to possessions, physical or intellectual, or even talents and skills. They are owned by the Owner. Even life itself is a gift, not fully one’s own (I Cor. 6:19), but rather it is a gift of God to be managed to fulfill God’s purposes.

What does it look like to be a steward today?

Here at St. John’s we have been called into the Body of Christ through His gracious work in our baptisms. There, He made each of us His chosen stewards and has given us the high responsibility of ensuring that His Gospel is proclaimed in this place, and that our children are educated in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. To be a steward today means to support the church and school with the resources that God has entrusted to each of us.

Did you know….?

In 2010 the combined operating expenses of the church and school totaled $572,000.

The church has roughly 250 families who attend regularly. If you divide the church and school’s expenses by the number of active families, the amount is $2,288 per family. (This is even less than the $3,500 it costs to educate one student!)

If a person gives up drinking one bottle of pop per week for one year, he would have an additional $78 that could be given to the Lord. (And he would be roughly five pounds lighter!)

If a person takes one less trip to town per week for one year, the average car owner would save $208 that could be given to the Lord.

Yearly giving trends for the years 2007-2010:
DOLLAR VALUE	NUMBER OF MEMBERS CONTRIBUTING	DOLLAR VALUE	NUMBER OF MEMBERS CONTRIBUTING
	07 08 09 10		07 08 09 10
$0	54 51 59 77	$1501 - $2000	10 13 16 11
$1 - $100	30 40 38 33	$2001 - $2500	7 6 4 7
$101 - $250	25 16 22 15	$2501 - $3500	19 14 15 16
$251 - $500	30 26 24 23	$3501 - $4500	9 14 14 14
$501 - $1000	31 29 24 33	$4501 - $6000	8 12 10 11
$1001 - $1500	18 23 20 17	$6001 - and ABOVE	7 8 12 11