Fostering Growth in Faithfulness
A previous article in Dynamis Steward (October–December 2022) higlighted the remarkable progress in tithe and offerings at the Baan Seventh-day Adventist Church, part of Northeastern Mindanao Mission of South Philippine Union Conference. As a result of their continuous and intentional efforts, there was a significant and steady growth throughout 2023. Baan SDA Church is recognized within the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD) for its members practicing regular and systematic giving through the combined offerings plan. Interestingly, the substantial increase in tithe and offerings at Baan SDA Church has had a ripple effect. Today, other churches within the South Philippines region, as well as missions and conferences in the SSD territories, have been positively influenced by this example of faithfulness and partnership.
The significant increase in offerings reflects a deeper understanding among church members about the essence of giving. When offerings are given willingly and cheerfully, they play a crucial role in supporting the church’s mission, outreach, and community services. We would like to share the strategies and best practices that most likely contributed to this positive outcome across the SSD territory:
- Inspiring Vision:
- Leadership Vision: The church leadership has played a crucial role by casting a compelling vision of the value of giving. We emphasize how members’ offerings directly impact local church ministries, global mission work, humanitarian aid, and community outreach. This approach shifts members’ perspectives to consider the global impact on mission while giving offerings locally. This clarity motivates congregations to give willingly and cheerfully.
- Modeling by Church Elders and Pastors: Pastors, elders, and all church board members lead by example in giving by faithfully returning tithe and giving offerings. When church leaders model faithful stewardship, it inspires others. Their commitment sets a standard for the congregation and encourages others to follow suit.
- Discipleship Programs: Each local church is encouraged to strengthen the church’s Care Group initiative as a discipleship program for children, young people, and adult members. Care Groups highlight holistic Christian living, including financial stewardship, and likely contributed to members’ understanding of the importance of giving.
- Stewardship Spiritual Empowerment:
- Stewardship Spiritual Empowerment: The church in the SSD has recognized the need to nurture the spirituality of all church members, with an emphasis on stewardship. Church members are called to be good stewards of everything entrusted to them, including time, talents, and resources, to achieve God’s purposes. Giving is presented as an act of worship, reflecting our trust in God’s provision. When members experience personal revival, they become more intentional about their stewardship.
- Dissemination of Stewardship Spiritual Empowerment: The SSD has intentionally shared the stewardship spiritual empowerment messages to local church members through early morning devotional readings via the Zoom platform. These messages, drawn from the book Counsels on Stewardship, encourage personal reflection and understanding of stewardship principles.
- Regular and Systematic Giving Corporately as a Church: This approach involves educating and promoting giving offerings as a proportion to one’s income, in addition to tithe, to constantly present offerings as a response to God’s generosity. In 2024, we have transitioned from encouraging individual members to practice regular and systematic giving to a more corporate approach targeting entire churches.
- Stewardship Caravan Program: In 2022 and 2023, through the initiative of the Stewardship Caravan, we visited missions and conferences in several geographical regions, reaching church members from diverse backgrounds. We emphasized a holistic approach to stewardship, introducing it as a way of life that honors God and integrates spiritual growth, environmental consciousness, and social responsibility.
- Testimonies and Experiences: Another strategy used involves sharing testimonies of giving practices during worship services and during stewardship programs to inspire generosity. These testimonies include stories of transformed lives and how tithe and offerings directly support mission. When members hear about the tangible impact of their giving, they feel connected to mission and are motivated to grow in their participation. Hearing experiences of multiple blessings received, beyond imagination, encourage others to remain or become faithful to God and to put Him first in every aspect of life.
- Transparency:
- Financial Reports: Baan SDA Church and other churches ensure transparency by regularly sharing details of the financial situation with their members. These reports outline how contributions are utilized, including allocations to various church ministries and projects.
- Funding of Stewardship Directors: The SSD has demonstrated support for the Stewardship Ministries by providing fifty percent of the total salary of full-time union stewardship directors. Unions are doing the same for full-time stewardship directors in local missions and conferences within the SSD territory.
- Importance of a Church Budget: We have emphasized the crucial importance of local churches having a budget. In the past, some local church leaders perceived budgeting as unnecessary. Here are some benefits resulting from this emphasis:
- Guiding Blueprint: Church budgets now serve as guiding blueprints for leaders to follow and implement. They outline how funds are generated and allocated.
- Transparency and Accountability: It facilitates the presentation of quarterly church financial reports. Transparency in financial reporting builds trust. When members see how their contributions are used, they are more likely to give generously. Regularly sharing financial updates and mission reports to church members at large fosters accountability within the congregation.
- Mission Fulfilment: Budgets enable churches to fulfil their mission of expanding their boundaries, by sharing God’s message in their local vicinity and beyond.
- Refocus: Stewardship in Mission
- Stewardship Department Focus: The SSD Stewardship Department echoes to all churches the Stewardship Department’s mission statement: “To invite members to trust God as the owner and provider and to partner in His final mission through regular and systematic giving.” Church members are encouraged and inspired to participate not only in the local church mission, but also in the global mission of the church through their resources.
- The local church stewardship leader is chosen among the church elders. This practice facilitates the collaboration between the stewardship department and the treasurer on stewardship-related matters.
- Targeted Education: Rather than organizing division-wide programs, the SSD Stewardship Department has decided to focus on the mission/conference-wide meetings involving pastors, church leaders, and church members. The SSD Stewardship Department leads a team of stewardship leaders from missions and conferences within the division territory to organize stewardship campaigns. We usually meet with church elders and board members to discuss strategies for closing the gap between tithe and offerings, educating members about the biblical principles of stewardship and how tithe and offerings can make a significant impact on mission.
During the mission- and conference-wide stewardship programs, churches that are already practicing regular and systematic giving are recognized for their collective efforts to grow faithfulness as a church. Each local church is encouraged to reevaluate their tithe and offerings and encourage church members to remain faithful to God in returning tithe and offerings. In the SSD territory we now have thousands of church members and hundreds of local churches that are now practicing regular and systematic giving of offering beyond their tithe percentage.
Elder Jacinto M. Adap, co-author of article.
