Funding Forward Resource Library: Finding Funding

Embracing Stewardship : How to Put Stewardship at the Heart of Your Congregation's Life by Charles Lane; Grace Pomroy A book to help strengthen a congregation's stewardship ministry. Mindful of generational perspectives and attuned to the world in which congregations live, this book provides eight pathways your congregation can follow to deepen your members' understanding of themselves as stewards of the bounty of God.

Ask, Thank, Tell: Improving Stewardship Ministry in Your Congregation by Charles R. Lane The goal of this book, says author Charles Lane, is to perform a dramatic rescue of stewardship, freeing it from any connection whatsoever to "paying the bills." When the Bible talks about stewardship it almost always talks about the intimate connection between how a person handles financial matters and that person's relationship with God. Stewardship is an intensely spiritual matter that lies close to a disciple's relationship with Jesus. The book is designed especially for use in congregational planning and study. Congregational stewardship leaders will come back to three foundational verbs - ask, thank, tell - over and over as they help individuals experience the joy of giving generously. The author makes the convincing case that there is little in life today that can help a disciple grow in relationship with Jesus more than a solid intentional biblical stewardship.

Funding Forward: A Pathway to More Sustainable Models for Ministry by Grace Pomroy

Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future by Dwight Zscheile; Michael Binder; Tessa Pinkstaff What might God be up to amid the seismic changes the church and our culture are undergoing? What opportunities will congregations encounter if they rediscover and follow God's leading? Leading Faithful Innovation offers a practical, hands-on approach to addressing this challenge, a process that culminates in the hope that comes from following the Spirit. Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, and Tessa Pinkstaff build on Scripture, theology, and the latest leadership and change theories to guide church leaders on a journey toward grassroots, participatory spiritual growth. This faithful innovation begins with a three-step process: listening to God and to each other, acting so we can learn, and sharing our stories in community. Real-life stories and supportive spiritual practices make each step toward effective change accessible and actionable. The book then examines how these steps change the culture of a church, establishing a new, biblically grounded way of being church. The authors present leadership practices that invite readers to redefine their leadership identity, accept the loss of their role as the primary driver of their congregation, and discover new hope and possibility. These topics are again fleshed out with real-life stories and undergirded by suggested practices. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate that faithful innovation is not another program or an add-on to what readers are already doing. It is a path to a new normal. It is an ongoing way of following God that allows the Spirit of God to drive the energy among the people of the church.