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Money and the Mission of the Church
Discover the intersections between faith and money within the life of today’s church.
About this Course
Money and the Mission of the Church covers the biblical and theological foundations of integrating stewardship into the daily life of the church. It is designed as a one-stop shop for clergy, ministry leaders and church volunteers to learn the basics of what they need to know about money and the church.
What You’ll Be Able to Do:
Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about money? Or why churches are constantly asking their members for financial support?
Money and the Mission of the Church explores having natural and theological conversations about money with your congregations. You’ll also discover proven best practices and boundaries for budgeting and fundraising. It is really a one-stop shop for pastors and church leaders to learn the basics of what they need to know about money and the church.
Led through intentional collaboration between instructors Grace Duddy Pomroy, Charles Lane, and Lexy Steinle, this course brings you one step closer to navigating your church's unique journey toward financial sustainability.
Modules
What is Stewardship?
In this module, you will:
- Contemplate what comes to mind when you hear the word stewardship.
- Explore what it means that everything belongs to God and we are stewards.
- Experience stewardship as an expression of love.
Your Money Story
In this module, you will:
- Unearth your money story and identify your money scripts.
- Consider what next steps you might take in your stewardship journey.
- Trust God will continue to walk with you as your future money story unfolds.
Your Congregation’s Money Story
In this module, you will:
- Reflect on the connection between your congregation’s budget and your congregation’s mission.
- Learn how to read your congregation’s budget and financial statements without getting lost.
- Explore the concept of a narrative budget.
Financial Boundaries at Your Congregation
In this module, you will:
- Learn best principles for safeguarding and tracking finances.
- Recognize how fraud shows up in ministry settings and steps you can take to stop it.
- Examine your ministry’s financial practices.
The Role of the Offering
In this module, you will:
- Reflect on your own experiences of the offering.
- Examine the role the offering has played throughout biblical and church history and the current data around it.
- Discern how you might respond to questions about the offering.
Stewardship Preaching and Teaching
In this module, you will:
- See both positive and negative examples of how sermons and biblical texts about money have been used to manipulate givers.
- Develop your skills in self-reflection.
- Consider the ways your congregation currently teaches about stewardship and what you’d like to try moving forward.
Fundraising
In this module, you will:
- Discover the fundamentals of church fundraising.
- Develop a mindset where fundraising might be a ministry.
- Craft your own fundraising pitch.
Annual Response Program
In this module, you will:
- Discover what an annual response program is and the steps to conduct one well.
- Decide on next steps to conduct an annual response program for your congregation.
- Remember the significance of saying thank you.
Stewardship Beyond Giving
In this module, you will:
- Notice and acknowledge the land you currently reside on.
- Expand your stewardship imagination beyond giving.
- Map out a year-round stewardship plan for your congregation and determine next steps.
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- Modules:
9 Modules
- Format:
Self-Paced, On-Demand
- Access:
Lifetime Access
Get to Know Your Instructors
Grace Duddy Pomroy
Grace Duddy Pomroy is the Director of the Stewardship Leaders Program at Luther Seminary. She’s a lay, millennial stewardship leader, speaker, and financial educator based in Allyn, WA. She is the co-author of the stewardship book, Embracing Stewardship: How to Put Stewardship at the Heart of Your Congregation’s Life, as well as author of the free 2013 ELCA stewardship resource, “Stewards of God’s Love.” Her latest book, Funding Forward: A Pathway to More Sustainable Models for Ministry, was just released September 2024.
Grace is also a consultant with Relèven, a charitable organization that lovingly preserves, restores, and repurposes under-utilized churches into community hubs and affordable housing. She graduated from Luther Seminary in 2012 with a Master of Arts degree in Congregational Mission and Leadership.
Charles Lane
Rev. Charles Lane is a retired pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He served three congregations, one in Pennsylvania and two in Minnesota. Throughout his career, he served as Assistant to the Bishop in the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, Director for Stewardship Key Leader in the ELCA Churchwide organization, and Director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Rev. Lane is the author of “Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation and Reflections on Faith and Finances.” He is the co-author of “Embracing Stewardship” and has authored two stewardship response programs and several articles on stewardship.
Following retirement from full-time ministry, Rev. Lane worked as a stewardship consultant with Kairos and Associates and served as part-time pastor for stewardship at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, Minnesota. He continues to provide stewardship consulting with congregations and speaks at in-person and online stewardship events.
Lexy Steinle
Rev. Lexy Steinle is the pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota. She has served at Bethlehem since 2008 in multiple roles in music and children’s and family ministry prior to stepping into her current pastoral role. She was ordained and installed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in October 2022.
Rev. Steinle graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota in 2012 with a background in music education. She spent seven years teaching elementary music in north Moorhead before transitioning fully into church ministry. She graduated from Luther Seminary with a Master of Divinity in the summer of 2022. She first encountered this course material during her seminary studies with Professor Grace, and subsequently served as teaching assistant for the course twice.
Rev. Steinle has published two articles on stewardship with Faith+Lead: “Where Is God in Stewardship?” and “God’s Work, Our Line Items.” She has a deep passion for stewardship ministry and relationship building in the church, with a particular focus on narrative budgets and connecting church finances to congregational mission.
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What to Expect with a Faith+Lead Academy Course
You’ll get a transformative learning experience that combines trustworthy theological teaching with spiritual practices, interactive elements, and a supportive online community.
Know
Expand your theological toolkit with fresh insights for today’s ministry landscape. Connect timeless wisdom with practical frameworks for navigating change.
Be
Do
Practice skills to lead confidently in your ministry context. Take actionable steps to invite your community into God’s unfolding story.
Every Academy course is designed to
Help your growth in one of these core areas:
Develop a Christ-centered identity, grounded in theology, scripture, and spiritual practice, that empowers community members to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in everyday life.
Tell the story of Jesus and invite neighbors into Jesus’ way of life and love through words and actions they can recognize.
Listen deeply, name God’s presence in the midst of everyday life, and form life-giving relationships across all dimensions of diversity—both within and beyond the church.
Through mutual relationships with the neighbors among whom you’re hosted, join in acts of compassion, justice, and reconciliation as a witness to the ministry of Jesus—especially in places of suffering and despair.
Harness skills of agile leadership, stewardship, fundraising, entrepreneurism, and management to be nimble enough to respond to a changing cultural landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I expect when I take an Academy course?
Academy courses consist of 6-10 lessons or modules, each walking you through the “know, be, do” learning framework. You’ll learn some new information with instructor videos and other resources (know). You’ll engage in a spiritual practice that will help you develop your faith around the topic (be). Then, you’ll be asked to apply what you’ve learned through activities completed online or in the “real world” (do).
How long will it take me to complete a course?
Each module is designed to take 15-45 minutes. Some learners complete the course in as little as one day. Some do a module a day or even a module a week. We suggest allowing some time between modules to process what you are learning, but not so much time that you lose momentum.
What resources are available if I’m a group leader?
Each course includes a flexible leader’s guide with multiple pathways for group facilitation. You’ll find thought-provoking discussion questions and practical activities that connect faith with daily life, designed to work with whatever preparation time you have available. These resources equip you to foster meaningful discipleship experiences that meet your community where they are.
What do I need to know about the free private online social group?
The private online group allows you to connect with others. Because our courses don’t have a required start or stop date, you will encounter others in different places in the course and even in different courses altogether. This is by design. Feel free to interact as much or as little as you like.
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