The Commitment Card

In a full Giving in Grace programme there was a unambiguous 'ask' to review giving and to declare a specific amount of pledged increase on the response form. This is appropriate in a full stewardship programme held perhaps every three years. The use of commitment cards reflects the distinct ethos of an Annual Review. Planning Groups should explore afresh the importance of Response forms, then take a view as to whether they should form part of the Annual Review.

The commitment card is about the heart of giving and marks a personal decision and discipleship response. Commitment cards remind the giver of their decision to review their giving. The annual commitment card is a token of personal faith, discipleship and commitment to give to the needs of the church; it does not function primarily as a vehicle for communicating that decision to the church leadership.

• A commitment card is an optional element in the Review.
  Does the church have the time and resources to prepare, distribute and receive commitment cards?
• Some churches will want to invite members to return the commitment cards in the context of Sunday worship and mark their return in a liturgical manner. There are practicalities around this that will need attention.
• Some churches will invite members simply to retain their commitment cards personally as a reminder, perhaps keeping it in their Bibles. In these situations, the Planning Group may chose to only use the front side of the example cards and leave the back blank.
• Some churches will duplicate commitment cards. One to be offered in worship and the second retained for personal use.
• Some churches will not use commitment cards at all.
• Some churches will want people to declare their financial response and should use the appropriate differentiated response form from the communications section of this site.
• Alternatively a single sentence could be added to the wording of the commitment card indicating the promised level of increase, such as in this example.