From My Desk to Yours

Who thinks about the offering on Easter? We do! Welcome to another edition of the Stewardship Journal. In this Journal, we give you an early heads-up for utilizing one of your most attended and viewed days as a tool to increase generosity. Here is a preview of that discussion.

Mark Brooks, The Stewardship Coach, begins the discussion in his post entitled Saying Yes to the Easter Offering. Mark lays out key pointers on why church leaders should consider a strategy for the Easter offering. He asks the question you might be asking, “Many are thinking, wouldn’t talking about money drive off a lot of those people attending or watching online?” You will find his answer compelling.

In his Bonus Section, entitled The Why Vision Worksheet, Mark shares how to use the connecting power of vision to tell your church’s story of life change. This is a great page to show your staff or team to help you craft the best message for your Resurrection Offering. It’s time to get ready for the Easter offering 5 Sundays away!

What can a monkey teach us about stewardship? Dr. Bruce McCoy of SWBTS writes a compelling post on the value of generosity with a post entitled Monkey Hunting. Dr. McCoy asks, “Can we experience financial blessings in this age?” He gives a positive answer: Yes! You will find this a delightful read and a good reminder that preaching on giving helps not only your church but your church members.

We are providing you with free help on how to plan out an amazing Easter offering! As part of the Stewardship Journal platform, church leaders in our state have access to Mark Brooks’ playbooks such as his newly released Easter offering playbook entitled Say Yes to Easter Giving. Here is how to access this material:

• First, go to the Stewardship Journal site at https://stewardshipjournal.com/
• Look in the upper right corner of the site for the link that says ‘Resources’ and click on it.
• Fill out the ‘Create an Account’ information. Your Username can be your email or any other name you assign. Create your own password and be sure to write it down for the future.
• Where it asks for an invite code, use this code: SBCSJ2024!
• In the final box, select our state convention.

We have five weeks to get ready for the best Easter offering in the history of your church. Let’s get started now!

In Jesus’ name!

Dr. Shawn Parker