WELCOME

A word from Pastor Steve Tangen:

Our stewardship theme for 2008 is "We Say Yes to Share, Save and Spend."

Perhaps you've heard me say, "What we do with our money is the single most important spiritual issue in our lives." We use money every day, and how we use money ought to be driven by our faith. Instead, the use of money often drives our faith. Our spending habits and our lack of sharing and saving remind us of how often we ignore our faith when it comes to money.

"We Say Yes to Share, Save and Spend" offers us opportunities throughout the year to evaluate the ways in which we share, save and spend the gifts God has given us.

Pastor Steve Tangen

A Definition of Christian Stewardship

Stewardship is a faith-building experience in which We Say Yes to Living in Service to Christ by Growing, Giving, Serving and Inviting.

• Growing is the stewardship of worship, prayer and learning
• Giving is the stewardship of sharing with others
• Serving is the stewardship of our love for others
• Inviting is the stewardship of hospitality toward others

The bottom line of all Christian Stewardship is Jesus Christ.

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Definition of a Pledge

A pledge is a faith discipline by which a Christian steward designates an amount of money to be shared with the congregation to carry out God’s work through St. John Lutheran Church in the coming year.

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Why Pledge and Give to God’s Work Through the Church?

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How Much Should Stewards Pledge and Give?

Christian writer C.S. Lewis says, “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare . . . If our contributions do not challenge us, they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our giving excludes them . . . ” (Mere Christianity)

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How Do Stewards Make Decisions about Growing in Their Pledging and Giving Habits?

Lord, we want to make better money decisions. Your son Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done,” but when it comes to making decisions with our money, we find ourselves bending to the will of almost everyone but you.

Open our minds and hearts to new ways of stewardship so that instead of being slaves to our money, our money serves us as we strive to serve you.

Bless us with listening ears, open minds and fearless spirits so that we can learn and keep money habits that are a truer expression of the life we live because we know your goodness and love. Amen.

From Financial Sanity Leader's Guide by Nathan Dungan

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Campaign Vision

We seek spiritual maturity in living with and using our money, our time and our gifts. To accomplish that, We Say Yes to Share Save and Spend while we are moving toward our congregation’s visions: 1) Forming Faith in Families, 2) Becoming Stewards Beyond the Collection Plate, and 3) Growing Deeper.

CONSIDER What we do with our money (sharing, saving and spending) is the single most important spiritual issue in our lives. We use money every day, and how we use money ought to be driven by our faith. Instead, it is money that often drives our faith, and our spending habits and our lack of sharing and saving point out how we ignore our faith in daily living.

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Congregational Goals for 2008