“Today’s discussion has completely changed my attitude on Stewardship”
“I couldn’t imagine sitting through a five-hour webinar on stewardship on a Friday” shared Christy Schwan who attended the January 29, 2021 LTSS Stewardship Symposium. Schwan finished this thought by sharing: “ As the new chairperson of Advent’s stewardship committee, today was practical, inspirational and motivating. This webinar removed all hesitancy I had regarding my new role. I’m excited about our future possibilities. All in the name of Christ.”
Schwan joined over 200 other congregational leaders from across the Southeast and well beyond. Since this year was totally virtual, many from the mid-west and as far away as Nevada attended.
Michael Ward, author of Abundance: Creating a Culture of Generosity, Fortress Press top seller in 2020, led the Symposium under the title of Living into a Culture of Abundance. Attendees latched on to concepts of connecting stewardship to the story of what God is up to in people’s lives and inspiring stewardship beyond a financial transaction. Jennifer Roberts proclaimed “As a seminary intern anticipating first call later this year I feel more empowered to talk about stewardship!”
Ward was joined in two different panel discussions by a total of four pastors. The practical concepts and real-life stories that culture change around the idea of abundance is possible resonated with many. Chris Peterson shared, “Today I gained even more insights, and had the opportunity to hear from others who are putting into practice the concepts that Abundance introduces. I thought I wouldn’t learn more, but I did, and I am even more enthusiastic about helping to lead our congregation on its generosity journey!”
Participants were invited to share the impact of this conference and are a few of our favorites:
- This has been very inspirational and gives me hope in helping our congregation become one of abundance rather than scarcity. Thank you for all of the ideas that were shared. Donna Hoglund
- The conference has reinvigorated me to help move our congregational leadership to get to work on telling out ministry story in terms of outcomes and get to work on a strategic plan. Ramona Bouzard
- Seeing the joy in other clergy encourages me to stay faithful in this endeavor. Mary Finklea
- I’ve heard Mike talk about some of these concepts a number of times, but it’s so helpful to hear them over and over again. The lure of scarcity is so strong, but being reminded of God’s abundance and encouraged to be leaders who lean into and seek that abundance is something we should dwell in over and over again. Jesse Canniff Kuhn.
Conference recordings may be found by clicking here. For information on next year’s symposium, click here. To reach out directly to our presenter, you can find him at www.gsbfr.com and click on “Consultants”.
