Today is the Day! Time for the Stewardship Calendar

Today is the Day!  Time for the Stewardship Calendar

At church we have been known to sing some crazy Jesus music – you know the kind that has drums, guitar, and even a hip beat.  One of my favorite songs is “Today is the Day” by Lincoln Brewster.  The chorus goes like this:

Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
Today is the day You have made
I will rejoice and be glad in it

And I won’t worry about tomorrow
I’m trusting in what You say
Today is the day

I am good with the lyrics (I’m singing them right now in my little head) but, I will quibble about the line “And I won’t worry about tomorrow…”  Not that you should necessarily worry, but today is the day that you should take one or two hours and plan your stewardship calendar for the year. 

Here are some things that your calendar should include:

• Special offerings (both national and conference)
• Dates to send Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas “ask” letters
• Stewardship campaign dates
• When periodic giving statements will be sent (so you can include a special thank you letter or story from someone in the church)
• Sermons that focus on generous stewardship
• At minimum, a once-a-month testimony (yes, during a worship service) from someone in your congregation about how the church has impacted his or her faith.

Some additional ideas:

• Plan a “Financial Peace” course (or something similar) for you and your congregation
• Develop a planned giving brochure and program
• Invite a financial planner to make a presentation
• Host a Sunday School class on the connection between money and justice.

It’s a new year and it's a great time to try new strategies and ideas.  Be bold.  Today is the day!