Church Combines Stewardship Planning and Member Mission, A

The pastor of a church of 400 in the Southwest began program and stewardship planning in the Spring around member mission. In the Spring, every household was asked, “How can our church help you in your daily life at home, or at work, or in your neighborhood, or in the wider world, or in your leisure, or at church?” Further occasional discussions of “every member on mission” featured the daily mission fields as “our various habitats” – the church, our homes, our neighborhoods, and the wider world. In all of the discussions, Benedictine spirituality – which the pastor had been teaching – with its cornerstones of private prayer, scripture reading, and work were connected with member mission. Planning for the fall program and stewardship was based on the results of the survey and discussions.