The Clergy Ask Letter

  The letter is a personal ask for a personal response so it should look, feel and read like a confident letter from one person to another not an apologetic plea. In this letter the minister or leader most closely and personally identifies himself or herself with the stewardship ministry of the church. The letter must, therefore, arise out of the leader's support for the Giving in Grace programme, not least in the preaching. People will quickly see a mismatch between public lack of interest or distance and a personally signed   letter. It is worth noting that the letter is also the point at which the clergy or elders are most vulnerable in the programme. There is no easy answer to this. The support of the wider church leadership is vital. So too is the knowledge that they are extending an invitation to grace, not writing a begging letter (2 Cor. 8:1-5).