Sharing Stories of God at Work

Sometimes it is hard to find people to serve on the Stewardship Committee. Part of the reason is because we have it in our minds that a stewardship committee is charged with asking people for money, and who really wants to do that? I have a tagline I use whenever I ask someone, or maybe beg someone, to be on the Stewardship Committee. I promise them they will never have to ask anyone for money. Instead, I tell them their role will be to celebrate what God is doing in and through our congregation!

This changes everything. People love to share stories, especially inspiring stories of what God is doing. God is up to so much in and through your congregation and all congregations. Maybe those stories are about the hungry in your community being fed or about those without warm clothes receiving a much needed coat. Maybe those stories are about someone receiving an encouraging card or about being visited during a time of grief or illness. Maybe those stories are about children growing in their faith or youth who saw the world in a different way on a mission trip. The stories are endless because God is always working in and through our congregations!

These stories happen in part because of stewardship. Stewardship is not a bad word; stewardship is simply sharing what God has entrusted to us. As individuals and together as the church, God has entrusted to us the resources necessary to participate in God’s mission in the world. We are called by God to share abundantly and joyfully of those resources.

It is in the stories of God at work in and through our congregations that the love of God is shared, faith is passed along to the next generation, those in need of prayer are comforted, the sick and lonely are visited, the hungry have food, and the needs of the neighbor are seen and met. God is at work in your church and in mine. Through generosity, God is changing our lives, our church, and the lives of many others.

I encourage your congregation to find ways to tell the stories of God at work in and through the ministries and outreach of your congregation. When people see how God is using the resources they have shared, their hearts will be lifted and they will feel a joyful motivation to share even more out of love and gratitude. What are the stories in your congregation of God’s love in action that simply need to be shared with the world? Where can those stories be shared in your congregation?

Pastor Ryan Brodin

Abiding Savior, Mounds View