Leadership Through Stewardship and Resource Development

A Introductory Workshop For Ministry Leaders

4660 N Breton Ct. SE, Suite 103, Kentwood MI 49508 USA Phone: [011] 616.734.0950 Fax: [011] 616.734.0954 Email: info@internationalsteward.org Website: www.internationalsteward.org

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Biblical Facts
Fact #1 -- God Owns Everything
God Demonstrates His Ownership through creation
Learn the following verses Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1; Psalm 89:11

Additional Verses: Genesis 14:19; 1 Chronicles 29:16; Psalm 95:4-5; Psalm 104:24; Jeremiah 27:5; John 1:1-5; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-4; Hebrews 1:10-12; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11

God Demonstrates His Ownership by His Position of Authority

Learn the following verses Psalm 47:7; Ephesians 1:21-23; Revelation 1:8

Additional Verses: I Chronicles 29:11; Deuteronomy 10:14; Job 41:11; Psalm 50:10-11; Daniel 4:25; Haggai 2:8; Colossians 1:18-19; Hebrews 1:1-4;

God Demonstrates His Ownership Through His Control Over

Everything Learn the following verses Matthew 6:25-33; Romans 11:36

Additional Verses: Leviticus 25:23; 1 Chronicles 29:12; Nehemiah 9:21; Psalm 145:15; Jeremiah 27:5; Acts 17:24-28;; 1 Corinthians 8:6

God Demonstrates His Ownership through His Power Over Everything

Learn the following story about Jairus daughter Mark 5:35-41

Additional Verses: Exodus 9:29; 1 Chronicles 29:12; Psalm 89:8-13; Jeremiah 27:5;; Hebrews 1:10-12

God Demonstrates His Ownership Through His Sovereignty

Learn the following story of God questioning Job Job 38-39

Additional Verses: Exodus 19:5-6; Ecclesiastes 7:14;, Psalms 135:6; Proverbs 16:33; Jonah 4:9-11; Jeremiah 27:5; Acts 17:26
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Dialogue about God Owning Everything

What does it mean to be trusted with something? God did not create a shortage of resources. So why does it feel like there is a shortage? If God owns everything that includes each of us, our possessions, and our churches and ministries. So why do Christians, churches, and miinistries compete with each other for Gods resources? Do we ever limit God by thinking that maybe there are some resources that are outside of His ownership?

Fact #2 -- People Manage Gods Resources

Learn Genesis 1:26-28
What was mankind created to do with Gods resources?

Tell the parable of the Ten Minas, Luke 19:12-26 Learn John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 8:7

What are the characteristics of an effective steward? If God owns everything, how do we give the way God gave?

Effective Stewardship is
When I want Gods Kingdom most of all. A Lifestyle A Continuous Process Discipleship

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Fact #3 -- Effective Stewardship is Learned

Tell the story of Paul mentoring Timothy, then memorize I Timothy 6:17-19.
What are the personal behaviors that everyone should practice? What are the results?

Memorize Matthew 6:21

What do you really treasure? Have you ever given your treasure to God to use for His purposes? If not, why not? If so, did that change you and how?

Memorize Acts 20:35

We all like and value receiving things. Why do you think Jesus said it is more important to give than to receive?

Memorize Ephesians 4:28

What does it mean to go from being a taker to being a giver?

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THE PROBLEM OF EXTERNAL DEPENDENCY

Western Funding is Killing My Church!

Community Church was formed by Western missionaries who had worked in my district since 1897. Actually, I am a son of one of the first Christians who received the first missionary. I was baptized in the church in 1968. In 1959, due to several complex and unfortunate circumstances, the indigenous Christians broke from the founding mission group and began its own independent church. It wasnt long before Community Church became a self-propagating, self-supporting, and self-governing church. It soon became the strongest church in the district. Community Church planted several churches, built hospitals and started schools. Soon a new denomination was founded consisting of nearly 12000 members. The church enabled numerous families to become financially self-supporting through small business enterprisesall funded with local funds. Biblical stewardship abounded. In some cases, people gave their own farms and plots of land to build churches, schools and hospitals. Others gave their own vehicles and still others gave cows, pigs and chickens. One mature believer fully paid the cost of sending 40 students to seminary and university through the masters degree. He also sponsored two students two study abroad. Christians, though they were from different tribes and clans, were united in love and ministry. Church growth was tremendous! Scores of men and women and boys and girls accepted Christ. Community Church trained (in their own seminary) missionaries and sent them throughout the country. Again, this was all with local funds. Community Church was vibrantly committed to the Lord and the Great Commission. It was truly a wonderful church to be a part of. By 1978, word about Community Church was spreading around the world. Some Christians from the West (North America and Europe) visited to see first hand the exciting things the Lord was doing through these deeply committed and visionary Christians. These eager brothers offered to help. They signed a partnership agreement with us, carefully stipulating, that they were not coming to carry the burden but to help Community Church carry the burden. They agreed to work hand in hand with us.

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The North Americans helped in the area of evangelism. The Europeans helped with training and various other development projects. This partnership worked so well! There were several wonderful achievements. The Western brothers were generous with their time, talents and money.....lots of it! The progress was so great in all areas of church life and ministry that Community Church began to relax.relying on the resources of its generous Western partners. Tithing and giving declined drasticallyto an average of $1 US per member. Less than 20% of the annual budget came from the members. No longer were people contributing their time and talents. Instead, they asked to be paid for everything they did for the church. Church attendance declined. There was little to no evangelism. Rarely did anyone accept Christ. The church looked to the Western partners for everything. In one case, they even asked the Western partners to dig a new latrine for the church! Pastors became more interested in money and power than ministry. Some pastors were caught in mismanagement and corruption. Many lost the trust and respect of their members. All this is killing Community Church. Today their first love is gone! Hatred and disunity has taken its place. Church brotherhood has vanished. People pretend and are not real. Our partners have improved our facilities, but something precious is gone. We need to recapture our first love. My brothermy sisterI plead with you. What shall I do? Please help me!

Small Group Dialogue

Community Church is well aware of the crippling consequences of financial dependence on outside sources of funding. Therefore, you have been invited to advise and counsel the leadership of this church regarding this crisis. Community Church must recapture its first love. As a small group, consider the following questions: What Biblical truths about stewardship has this church forgotten? How could this be corrected? It is obvious that Community Church has been crippled by dependence on outside sources of funding. How would you prevent this from happening in your church or ministry?

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Governing Principles Regarding the Economics of Ministry Development

Local ministries are best funded locally

God has adequately distributed resources around the world to fund

His kingdom locally.

The problem is rarely a shortage of money it is usually a shortage of

mature stewards.

Fund dependency cripples ministry leadership of its . . .

-- energy -- motivation -- potential -- dignity
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Five Reasons for Local Ministry Funding

Biblical

Paul never promoted an ongoing dependent relation between churches. Scripture speaks directly to where generosity should be directed.
Historical

Some of the greatest expansion of the church have taken place without
external funding. (China 1949 Korea and Myanmar today)

Motivational

Dependency tends toward a loss of responsibility. Dependency creates preoccupation with external source. Dependency perpetuates the mindset of poverty.
Economic

Foreign funding creates a vulnerability to the foreign economy. Foreign funding often means dependence on a single source.
Individual

Foreign funding removes from local people the potential for them to
grow as stewards.

God intends that people grow as stewards, I Timothy 6:17-19 Lack of responsibility takes away the dignity of local individuals.

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FUND DEVELOPMENT BASICS

A Wise Man Builds His House Upon a Rock

The foundation determines the integrity of the building. Thats not only true in physical construction, its true for leadership in fund development. Crisis or emergency fund raising is the desperate response to the tyranny of immediate need. Comprehensive fund development is built on the solid foundation of stewardship. It takes a little longer and a bit more energy to build a good foundation, but the result is a structure thats solid, predictable and long lasting. The liberating foundation for fund development that allows a ministry to experience explosive growth is a set of principles and relationships. When the principles are honored and the relationships are in harmony, funding security is realized. Conversely, when the principles are abused and the relationships struggle, fund raising replaces fund development and what should be a vibrant dimension of ministry becomes a dreaded task. Build it right and it will be strong. A wise leader always builds for strength.

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Three Types of People

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Three Sources of Funds

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Three Categories of Gifts

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MOTIVATIONS FOR GIVING

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PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

When There Is a Difference, Its You!

Change is both inevitable and challenging. Without change there is no growth, only stagnation. Its the natural dilemma of everything that lives to protect the present but at the same time experience a strong drive to grow. Ones current comfort zone is acceptable, but inadequate for the future. Therein lies the challenge. Change doesnt come easily even if its desirable. People who are not now exercising the grace of giving will continue on that path unless they change. But, change doesnt come easily even if its desirable. Change comes when someone sees a preferred future. Yesterday and today may have been O.K., but tomorrow could be better because a decision can be made. Most always a change decision is the result of a significant someone: stimulating the action that will lead to that preferred tomorrow. The role of the leader is the role of a change agent the person who stimulates a difference. As an agent of change, you have the wonderful opportunity of being the architect of exciting growth. It is a skilled individual that can guide that growth decision. It is the effective leader who makes change come alive.

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Principles of Effective Communication

Nothing happens until ideas are transferred from one person to another. All successful ministry is the result of effective interpersonal
communication.

There is no growth without change.

The Communication Cycle

Sender

Receiver

The Sender Bears the Primary Responsibility

Screens that block messages Language Nonverbal Environment Personality Preconceived Ideas

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The Dynamics of Change

The Beauty of Discomfort

The Influence Continuum

SAME DIFFERENT

The Effectiveness Continuum

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Outline Guide for Conversation

The following list of questions all need to be answered by you, your staff and your leadership team. These questions reside in the mind of each person you will talk to about giving to the ministry. No matter where people live in the world - these questions remain the same. And people wont give as long as one or more of these questions remain unanswered. Well give you the questions but its up to your team to develop the answers. This will take time - but it is worth the work. 1. Who are we? 2. What is our mission and vision? 3. Why are we necessary? 4. What is our credibility?

History / Track record Endorsements

5. What current need(s)/opportunities confront us within our society or community? 6. What is our answer to this need? 7. What are our current plans to meet the need within the next 12 months? 8. What will those plans cost? 9. Will you help financially? 10. How much? 11. Who else?

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Mission Statement
A Mission Statement - describes what it is you do. It uses a lot of verbs and embraces the action of what you do. Words like empower, equip, educate, invigorate, transform, etc help to explain to and excite people about what you do. As an example, the Mission Statement of International Steward is . . . Stewardship Training and Education for the Worldwide Advancement in Resource Development A tool that helps us remember the mission statement for International Steward is that this phrase creates an acrostic of the word STEWARD when written out in English.

Mission Statement: (30 words or less)

________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

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Vision Statement
A Vision Statement - paints a picture of the future. This is difcult for a lot of people to do but heres your challenge. Pretend that you have just stepped into a time machine and you are going to travel into the year 2025. As you step out of the time machine look around your community. How has this community been affected by your ministry? Describe the people, the society, the values, whatever you decide is important. Now, write that vision down as if it has already taken place. In other words, speak in the past tense. Once you have determined what is important you can work on making it shorter. As an example, the Vision Statement for International Steward is . . . Every Christian a maturing steward . . . Every ministry locally funded! Obviously, that hasnt happened yet - and it might not happen in our lifetime but it paints a picture in the mind of the people we talk with about why we continue to do what we do. Notice, it does not say anything about what we do, only what we have seen changed because we do what we do.

Vision Statement: (30 words or less)

________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

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Why is this Ministry Necessary?

This question will very rarely be asked out loud. But it is probably the #1 question in the minds of those you are going to talk with so you better know the answer. A different way of asking this question is, With all of the churches, ministries, and NGOs in this area, why do we need the ministry that youre involved in? Answer that, and youll know why this ministry is necessary.

Justification Statement: (list some bullet points that state why this
ministry is necessary)

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What is Our Credibility?

This question is a little more complex. What is really going on in the mind of the perspective donor is the question; What makes you think youre the best person and/or organization to be doing this? Answers for this question will come from both organizational and personal history. It should include success stories from your ministry. Stories of people whose lives have been transformed because you have faithfully been fullling your mission. We all have wonderful stories of effectiveness within our ministries. Stories of people coming to know Jesus, people overcoming obstacles and problems in their lives. Take a few minutes and write down three or four of the success stories from your ministry.

History Statements: (list some short notes that will remind you about some
good stories to tell here)

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What Current Need or Opportunity Confronts You Within Your Society or Community?
People want to know that you are the experts in whatever eld this ministry is in. They want to know that there is no better place to invest in helping than by giving to this church or ministry. You help them by showing them that you have a rm grasp on the problems that exist in your community today. Do some research and have real statistics involving this ministry locally and nationally. Let people know that you know exactly what these problems are and do some internet research to determine how the problems of today affect the society of this nation tomorrow.

Opportunity Statements: (use bullet points to share statistics about

specific problems in your community)

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What is Your Answer to This Need or Opportunity?

How do small groups, one on one meetings, feeding programs, discipleship events, and evangelism outreaches relate to the needs you just articulated in your Opportunity Statement? In other words, now that youve told me what the problems are that face people in your community and how these problems are affecting the area, tell me what youre doing to meet the needs of people or how youre helping this community become a better place tomorrow.

General Answers: (use bullet points to share information about how this
ministry will answer the needs of your community)

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What Specifically are Your Plans for the Next 12 Months to Meet This Need?
Possible Questions to Consider: How many small groups will take place? How many people will be involved? What types of events will you be doing? What real life topics will you be addressing in small groups or meetings? What training will take place? How many people will be fed? Who will be stafng this ministry?

Specific Answers: (use bullet points to share information about what this
ministry will be doing this year in your community)

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How Much Will This Cost?

After adding up the cost of pastors, staff, ofce, materials, utilities, etc. how much do you need to provide this valuable service to the community where you live? Remember, cheaper doesnt mean better - it usually just means cheaper (and I dont mean less expensive). Divide that number by 12. This is how much the ministry needs monthly to keep moving forward in order to accomplish the vision God has given to you.

Cost Statements:

(list the people and items that will cost you money to operate this ministry. Include yourself in the cost)

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Ask the Stewardship Question!

After having a conversation with someone regarding the ministry you have been called to, dont forget to ask the Stewardship Question. Sharing information with people is not enough. If we truly believe that we are to challenge people like Paul told Timothy to do, then we have to get over our own fears and insecurities. We need to recognize that our provisions come from God, not from this person we are talking to. Our hope rests in God not in the nances that we are currently worried about. So go ahead and ask the question. It doesnt matter how you word it - just ask it. " " " Some examples of the stewardship question might be: " Would you be willing to partner with us nancially? " " " " " or " Would you be open to helping us out nancially? Remember, the wording is not important, it is simply important that you ask, and that you ask for money.

The Stewardship Question:

(write out a question or phrase that you would be comfortable asking)

________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

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Guide for Planning an Event

2. Determine your audience 3. Invitation Process 4. Logistics (Budget, Where, When, etc.)

5. Entry Behaviors 6. Program

1. Exit Behavior 7. Follow-up

Make a list of all the questions that people will ask before they arrive What is this organization? How long will this last? Whats going to happen? Will I know anyone else attending this event? Will they ask me for money? ___________________________? ___________________________? ___________________________?
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Basic Principles of Fund Development

I. Everyone Should Be Involved in Fund Development

A. Personal Stewardship B. Personal Leadership C. Vision and Mission Growth

II. People Give Generously Because

A. Credibility of the Asker

Integrity Position Age (maturity) Values History

B. The Donors Passion Harmonizes with the Askers Agenda. Both the Donor and Asker

Are committed to stewardship Are personally involved in ministry Have a sense of mission Have similar values
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C. The Quality of the Communication Style

Content
-- Concise -- Clear -- Understandable

Methods
-- The More Personal the Method -- The More Generous the Commitment

Quality
-- Humble, enthusiastic confidence breeds the desire to join

III. The successful asker will have

A. A Financial commitment to the ministry B. Interpersonal Attractiveness.

Enthusiasm * Communicate with energy * Handshake * Eyes * Word pictures * Voice inflection * Sincerity (Balance enthusiasm with reality) * Honesty
(Tactful, Gracious, Positive)

* Perspective

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C. Comfort in asking the stewardship question

Ask value questions * Have you ever . . . ? How do you feel about . . .? * What is your reaction to . . . ? Ask passion questions * What ministries or projects are exciting to you? * Have you ever been involved with? Ask a stewardship question * Are you open to being financially involved in this ministry?

D. Consistency in follow-through

YES * Does the donor understand their commitment and the value of multiyear commitments?

E. A spirit of appreciation

F. Skill in enlisting fund development participation

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