Pivot

#97: Innovative Church Fundraising Ideas: Transforming Spaces into Sustainable Income

Discover a groundbreaking approach to missional leadership with Dr. JR Woodward in this thought-provoking episode of the Pivot Podcast

Explore innovative church fundraising ideas in this inspiring episode of the Pivot Podcast. Hosts Dwight Zscheile and Terri Elton sit down with Grace Pomroy, director of the Stewardship Leaders Program at Luther Seminary and author of “Funding Forward,” and Pastor Christina Ennin from First Presbyterian Church in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Discover how churches can transform underutilized assets into sustainable income sources while deepening community connections.

Grace and Christina share practical insights on aligning church finances with mission, fostering community partnerships, and navigating the challenges of implementing new fundraising strategies. From business centers to ecumenical collaborations, learn how churches are pivoting towards financial sustainability that serves both their congregations and their broader communities. Whether you’re struggling with church finances or looking to diversify your income streams, this episode offers creative solutions and inspiring examples for churches of all sizes.

Show Notes

Shift Ministry Models
Faithful InnovationFinancial Stewardship

Featuring

Grace Pomeroy

Grace Pomroy

Grace Pomroy is the Director of the Stewardship Leaders Program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN and co-owner of Embracing Stewardship, LLC. She is a financial educator, speaker, and blogger, helping couples transform their relationship and deepen their intimacy through open and honest conversations about money. Grace is a Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) and lives with her husband in Allyn, WA.

Headshot of Pivot podcast guest, Rev. Christina Ennen

Christina Ennin

Rev. Christina Ennen serves as Minister of Word and Sacrament at First Presbyterian Church of Gulf Shores, Alabama. She is passionate about the important role the church plays in the flourishing of the local community and is grateful for the ways in which she gets to live that out on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Terri Elton

    Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

    Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

    Before her work in the synod, she served at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn. for 16 years. While at Prince of Peace she worked in various roles within children, youth and family ministries, as well as served as the director of Changing Church Forum, an outreach ministry of Prince of Peace. She also authored To Know, To Live, To Grow, a confirmation curriculum, and co-authored What Really Matters, a book for congregational leaders, with the Rev. Mike Foss.

    Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

    Elton’s research and teaching interests include: congregational leadership, leading in the midst of change and conflict, helping ministry leaders craft a missional ecclesiology with an eye toward the First Third of Life, awakening a vibrant theology of baptism and vocation and reimagining faith and mission practices for children, youth, young adults and their families.

    Elton is a member of the Academy of Religious Leadership, the Association of Youth Ministry Educators, the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and the American Society of Missiology and is on the board for Real Resources. Elton spends much of her time working with congregations and congregational leaders and seeks out opportunities for enhancing ministry with those in the First Third of Life within the ELCA.

  • Dr. Dwight Zscheile

    Dr. Dwight Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary. His latest book is Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press, 2023).