Getting Started

Annually, in Britain, around 7 million people make use of 6,000 gyms and waste approximately £200 million each year on unused gym membership. An initial fitness rush fails to be sustained, or the best intentions are never translated in to action.

A stewardship initiative such as Giving in Grace can be the intensive spiritual workout that kick starts a new regime of financial health in the local church. The challenge is to continue to build spiritually motivated financial fitness and sustain it through a more healthy stewardship lifestyle. No church or individual can become financially fit by running major stewardship programmes every three years, when the finances begin to look shaky. An annual review, with a distinct profile in the worshipping life of the church, is a core element of a sustainable focus.

• Planning Groups need to be aware that while an annual review always includes thanking members for their giving, it does not necessarily replace any existing annual thank you letter sent by the church.
• The Annual Review briefing paper provides an overview of the options for use with planning and leadership groups.
• The Annual Review discussion paper is tabled for the first meeting of the Planning Group.
• Review the excellent survey of the options at Ideas for an Annual Stewardship Renewal Programme from the Diocese of Chichester.
• A specially convened Planning Group is required. Their work is supported by Agendas for three planning meetings and one post programme meeting.
• The work of the Planning Group focuses on the completion of the foundational Annual Review Document. This will be familiar as a simplified version of the Case Statement. The four main sections of the Annual Review document are accessed from the navigation bar on the left side of the page.
• The Annual Review document also contains a fifth section, a framework for the design of the Annual Review Programme around the familiar core principles of Prayer, Interaction, Preaching, Communication and Leadership. Again the core elements of the design are accessed from the navigation bar on the left of each page.
• If not done previously, it may be appropriate to consider introducing the concepts of proportional giving (tithing) within the annual review.