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The Dynamic Steward is published quarterly by the Stewardship Ministries of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.®
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Associate Director: Aniel Barbe
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DYNAMIC STEWARD Editor: Aniel Barbe
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Leadership revolves around the idea of influence, or as Peter Northouse puts it: “Influence is the sine qua non of leadership.”1 The litmus test of our leadership is: Where are the followers? Effective leaders, across all spheres, are influencers, including in the church context.
Our focus in this issue of the Dynamic Steward is on leaders who have received an official call, without minimizing the influential power of individuals with no official assignment. Our interested category includes denominational workers and lay volunteers. Are they only called to occupy an honorific position? How meaningful is their relationship with church members? The Bible uses the word “shepherd” to capture the essence of the assignment of church leaders. Shepherds are responsible for leading their flock along a particular pathway to green and safe pastures with clear waters. Failing to seek the good for followers brings serious consequences: “Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves!” (Ezekiel 34:2).
It is common practice to explain members’ participation in giving by pointing to their personal income or the prevailing socioeconomic context, two crucial predisposing elements. Nonetheless, several studies have highlighted the influence of church leadership on members’ giving. After surveying religious giving, Dean R. Hoge and colleagues conclude: “In all the settings, the successful churches had participatory leadership, a sense of forward movement, a feeling of lay ownership, strong trust in leaders, and a full array of programs.”2 Returning tithe, bringing offerings, and making donations do not happen in a vacuum; leadership impacts giving!
However, the most substantial evidence for the connection between giving and leadership comes from the inspired writer, who comments on how to reverse the slow progress of the work in New York:
When the church see that the ministers are all aglow with the spirit of the work, that they feel deeply the force of the truth, and are seeking to bring others to the knowledge of it, it will put new life and vigor into them. Their hearts will be stirred to do what they can to aid in the work. There is not a class of people in the world who are more willing to sacrifice of their means to advance the cause than are Seventh-day Adventists. If the ministers do not utterly discourage them by their indolence and inefficiency, and by their lack of spirituality, they will generally respond to any appeal that may be made that commends itself to their judgment and consciences. But they want to see fruit. And it is right that the brethren in New York should demand fruit of their ministers. What have they done? What are they doing?3
This statement affirms the availability of church finances while challenging me as a church leader. Members have already received the means and are inclined to give abundantly and faithfully when rightly instructed. However, their actual participation is influenced by their leaders’ spirituality and dedicated and effective involvement in the mission. Leadership holds the key to unleash the financial resources needed for an expanded mission.
Aniel Barbe, Editor
In this issue, we invite you to enjoy an open and honest conversation with Pastor Chad Stuart as he tells his story of influencing members to give. Learn how a division’s leadership is improving the giving profile in their territory, one church at a time. Sharpen your ability to craft a road map for your ministry, and appreciate the power of making appeals. Since leaders are critical to growing faithful stewards, acquire the skills to develop leaders through a coaching mindset and procedures.
1Peter G. Northouse , Leadership: Theory and Practice , 8th ed. (Los Angeles: Sage, 2019), 6.
2Dean R. Hoge et al., Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), 127.
3Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church , vol. 3 (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1885), 49 (emphasis added).
PASTORAL LEADERSHIP AND GIVING
INTERVIEW OF PASTOR CHAD STUART, SPENCERVILLE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
Chad Stuart has been the Senior Pastor of Spencerville Adventist Church in Maryland, USA, since 2014. He is married to Christina, a CRNA, for 21 years, and they have three sons, ages 15, 13, and 11. He holds a Master of Divinity from Andrews University, and a Doctor of Ministry in Church Revitalization from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor Chad has run nine marathons and hopes to keep running marathons until Jesus comes.
consider it part of your responsibility? And if so, why is it?
give, it strengthens their character and adjusts their happiness. So as a shepherd, I have that responsibility."
who doesn’t recognize the significance of influence is not a leader. Unfortunately, in our church, we tell everybody that they’re leaders, yet we watch as the church dies. In many cases, it’s just a title, and nobody follows that person. If you can’t influence people, you’re not a leader.
DS: Can you share about the responsibility of church pastors to influence members to support the church financially? Do you
CS: It’s part of every pastor’s responsibility. Let me start with what’s most important: It’s our responsibility because it’s biblical. There are more texts on finances and giving than faith, love, heaven, or any other topic in Scripture. To teach the entirety of God’s Word, we must teach about giving. When you teach about giving correctly, you will influence people to give because God’s Word is true, it is powerful, it is convicting.
Second, you are responsible for teaching about giving as a shepherd of the people because giving is closely connected to the heart and spiritual growth. When people give in faith, it strengthens their dependence on God. So, as a shepherd, I have that responsibility.
And then I have an integrity responsibility. I get paid by tithe, by the faithfulness of others. God forbid that I would ever take a dime from the church if I’m not willing to try to influence my people to also contribute
CHAD STUART (CS)
prophecies. For example, I never read Ellen White’s writings as a kid. All I heard was, “People who like Ellen White are legalists,” and other negative comments. As a result, I never once picked up a book. Others’ negativity about Ellen White influenced my interaction with her writings. Then one day, when I was speaking negatively of Ellen White, a friend asked me, “Well, have you ever read her?” Conviction came to my heart, and soon after that I read my first chapter from The Desire of Ages, “He Must Increase.” That chapter was so powerful that I said, “Wow, this is amazing!” I mean, I just got chills even thinking about it now. I had missed out on her because there was so much negative talk around her. If we keep telling young people (and even old people) all the things that are wrong with the church, of course they won’t give.
Another typical example connecting to our topic would be statements like this: “If the church does not engage in a certain course of action, then our kids are going to stop supporting the church; they’re going to leave the church.” We repeat this over and over and over again. Eventually, our kids will hear this. And guess what? Just as I didn’t read Ellen White because of the negativity, they’ll stop supporting and leave the church. We are creating the church we say we don’t want by focusing on the wrongs in the church.
DS: How would you address the issue of discouragement?
DS: Can you elaborate more on how the conviction that the church is God’s designated instrument impacts giving?
CS:I’ll be very transparent and very honest. When I started my ministry, people would come to me and say: “Hey, Pastor, I give 10%, but I give it all to the local church.” I replied by saying: “That’s OK. It’s OK as long as you’re giving 10%. I don’t care where you’re giving it.” This was early in my ministry, 15 years ago, 16 years ago. Sometimes I’d even say to the conference: “If you guys don’t help us with this, then I’m going to tell people; I’m going to let people know. And if I let people know, they’ll give to me locally rather than to you.” I never minimized my tithe personally. However, I would tell other people to go ahead and give just to the local church or to defer any money they could to a special project if that is what they wanted to do. I would never directly indicate deferring tithe, but if they said they did, I’d say, “It’s OK.”
Then, one day, I was invited by a movement that was parting with the official church to join them and plant a church outside of the official Adventist movement. I thought and prayed about it. Through some mentorship and reading Mrs. White, I was convinced that God raised this movement (the Seventh-day Adventist Church) for a particular purpose. I studied the book of Revelation, looking at the evidence of God’s true church, and studied the three angels’ messages. I became thoroughly convinced about God’s establishing the Seventh-day Adventist
Church, and I prayed, “Lord, forgive me for my wandering and my doubt. I will be faithful to Your mission in this church, wherever You call me to serve in this movement.” That conviction and subsequent prayer changed my ministry. It also impacted my passion and joy in calling people to give to this church. So, I will always preach on tithe first, and I preach on offerings too. But I always preach on tithe because I’ve found that when people start faithfully with tithe, the rest of it grows too.
DS: Are there any other obstacles to giving?
CS: People struggle with giving because Satan knows giving is a strong, transformative thing. Satan will do anything he can to prevent heart transformation. Jesus uses giving to transform our hearts. So, Satan tries to distract us. We blame lots of things when people don’t give, or we try to find methods to encourage people to give. But blame should begin with the enemy, and all methods must begin with reaching people’s hearts with the love of Jesus.
DS: In past years, the Spencerville SDA Church has registered significant growth in tithe and offerings. During a recent conversation, you attributed it to the stewardship model you are using. Can you highlight the key elements?
CS: Yes, the model is important, but let me first give credit to Jesus. He has used our model to grow our giving. And the stewardship model He has used is based on three principles: consistency, gratitude, and generosity.
DS: What do you mean by consistency?
CS: People forget. I help remind them because Satan distracts them if I don’t consistently mention giving as a pastor. Lack of consistency creates a vision leak, so I preach about giving at least three times a year. And I do that, at specific times, strategically. Recently, I preached a sermon on giving because we’re going into summer, and people’s giving lags during the summer season. Even when I’m not preaching on giving directly, I reference
giving. I always discuss giving, evangelism, and spending time in God’s Word. I always return to these three themes, even if they are not my main topic. I reference them in my sermons. Teaching about giving is going to be a recurring theme. By being consistent in my teaching, I’m helping people to be more systematic givers. Additionally, I have to be consistent in my giving. I can only call people to do what I do. I don’t mean that in the sense of an actual number or amount. Our church’s goal is 10% tithe, 3% local budget, and 2% capital budget. I can’t ask people to push toward that goal unless I am also doing so. I also encourage people to always extend their trust in Jesus by giving Him more of their resources. Christina, my wife, and I increase our giving either in percentage of income or in actual amount every year. I must be consistent in order to call others to be consistent.
DS: Would you also consider gratitude as a characteristic of the church and its leadership?
CS: I’m not talking about others having gratitude toward God, although I teach about that. But I’m talking about the church’s gratitude toward its people. I thank people for supporting this church on a reasonably regular basis. I commend them. I will tell the church: “I’m so proud of this church; it is such a generous church. I love to brag about you guys. I love it when I go to the conference and hear and see the financial reports of your faithfulness.” Another way we show gratitude is if someone is a first-time giver, I send that person a letter to thank them for their first gift. I express appreciation and explain how that money is used and our whole process of financial distribution. And, of course, I cast vision in that letter as well, but my focus is to say thank you. At the end of the year, every single person, whether they give one dollar or one million dollars, gets a thank-you gift and a letter from this church. I never take for granted that our people will give or keep giving. Be thankful always that they’re giving, and say thank you.
DS: And generosity?
CS: I’m not referring to members being generous, although they are generous. Again, just like with thankfulness, the church is generous toward them. For
instance, when I got here (Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church) years ago, our assistance to those in need was like $5,000 a year; now, we help those in need in our church from $25,000 to sometimes $40,000 a year. We had about $40,000 or $50,000 budgeted annually for tuition assistance for kids in our church. Now, we’re at $117,000 this year, 2024. When you get baptized in this church, you get an engraved Andrews Study Bible. It costs a lot of money, but we want to demonstrate generosity toward our membership.
DS: Besides consistency, gratitude, and generosity, is there another leadership practice that you consider as having a positive impact on giving?
an envelope with a message that says nothing. This practice also triggers accountability in members. After receiving an envelope indicating that they have given nothing, they'll reflect: “Oh, man, I’m a member here . . . and I haven’t given a dime to the church.” After receiving such a message, one person came to me and complained that the information was incorrect. He was convinced that his spouse was giving on their behalf. After confirming the information, the person apologized: “I’m sorry. I thought we were giving, but we weren’t. As a couple, we’re going to have a conversation.” Accountability is not a bad word!
"My
stewardship model is based on three principles: consistency, gratitude, and generosity."
CS: Accountability! We’re very transparent with money. Every quarter, each member gets a cumulated receipt from us for their giving, in addition to the one they receive at the end of the year. We don’t just do something at the end of the year for tax purposes. They can know right now where they’re at in their giving. If someone has given nothing during a quarter, they get
DS: What is your satisfaction regarding members’ giving?
CS: Before I arrived at this church, the highest percentage of our givers were giving between zero and $999. And there were very few families that were giving a significant amount. When I came here, I made it one of my goals for more people to give at a higher level. Now, the largest percentage of our givers are giving between $3,000 to $8,000 a year. We’ve also grown the donor base. When I came, we had around 500 giving units, and we now have 900 plus giving units.
GROWING OTHER LEADERS THROUGH COACHING
achieving our set objectives. Our success is heavily mediated through others, and this is particularly true for a church with a multilevel structure. The progress of our mission, leading all to put God first, relies not only on our own performance but on the performance of successive layers of church leaders and volunteers.
To mitigate the perceived lack of impact or negative influence of other leaders on the desired outcomes, some of us, as church leaders, are inclined to bypass our counterparts and other church leaders and reach members directly. However, this approach is resource-intensive and yields only short-term and limited results. Investing in the development of our counterparts and other church leaders proves more sustainable and effective for the Stewardship Ministries Department, as well as for other church departments.
as one of the relevant developmental strategies. It ends by exploring how coaching orientations and procedures can be applied within the Stewardship Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Furthermore, when we engage in the development of our counterparts and other church leaders, we are emulating a major component of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Michael Youssef describes the strategy of Jesus: “The transformation of the disciples into bold and authoritative leaders is all the more amazing because Jesus did not choose a dozen natural-born leaders. Instead, he chose a dozen ordinary blue-collar working stiffs, put them through an intense mentoring and leadership training program, and radically transformed them into a force that would impact the world.”1 This statement highlights Jesus’ intentional investment in empowering His immediate followers and the impact it subsequently had on the expansion of His mission.
Ellen G. White writes about the necessity of grooming workers in God’s church:
Help the inexperienced; discourage them not. Take them into your confidence; give them fatherly counsel, teaching them as you would teach students in a school. Watch not for their mistakes, but recognize their undeveloped talents, and train them to make a right
1Michael Yousef, The Leadership Style of Jesus: How to Make a Lasting Impact (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2013), 183.
use of these powers. Instruct them with all patience, encouraging them to go forward and to do an important work. Instead of keeping them engaged in doing things of minor importance, give them an opportunity to obtain an experience by which they may develop into trustworthy workers. Much will thus be gained to the cause of God.2
A primary responsibility of those in leadership consists of raising an army of well-equipped leaders. Additionally, as church leaders, we should not only collaborate with those who already possess well-polished skills; our responsibility is to identify individuals with talents and engage intimately in their refinement for service.
In the Stewardship Ministries Department, our common strategy to developing our counterparts and stewardship educators has consisted mainly of providing training and creating resources. It is a global (rather than
Characteristics of Coaching
Melvin L. Smith defines coaching as: “a facilitative or helping relationship to achieve some type of change, learning, and/or a new level of individual and organizational performance.”3 This definition captures the purpose of coaching as a “helping relationship,” clarifies the nature of the procedure as “facilitative,” and presents “performance” as the expected outcome. Coaching is understood as a relational, collaborative, and egalitarian approach, rather than authoritarian or a top-down approach. In this context, the coach’s role is to accompany the coachee in discovering their goals, exploring their reality, becoming aware of their available options, establishing their appropriate strategy to reach the desired goals, and developing adequate tools to assess their performance.
Coaching is commonly used in sports to help improve performance. There is evidence that the coaching strategy has longed been employed in other spheres of life. For example, the Swahili people of East and Central Africa have the expression "habari gani menta" to designate the individual who asked, “What is happening?” In the Christian context, Jesus, though rarely introduced as a coach, exhibited coaching qualities during His interactions with His disciples. He would first build relationships, intimacy, and trust with His disciples, and questioning was foundational to His discipleship strategy. He would use questions to create awareness, to challenge, and to teach (Matthew 8:26; Matthew 16:13; Mark 2:8; Mark 9:50; Luke 23:31; Luke 24:17;
2Ellen
3Melvin
individualized) and highly knowledge-centric approach. The encouraging outcome is that individuals can quickly acquire the basic knowledge and confidently preach sermons, give Bible studies, and facilitate workshops on stewardship topics. The educational approach has proven useful in equipping other leaders.
However, providing generalized training and sharing resources may not be sufficient for optimal performance. It seems that additional competencies, beyond basic knowledge of the ministry, are essential to succeed as stewardship leaders or educators. Key skills that are often lacking include the ability to clearly define one’s goals; transform general knowledge into contextspecific plans; cope with changes, failures, questions, and uncertainties; and assess achievements. These observed deficiencies point to a need for further development of fine skills beyond basic stewardship knowledge. Coaching can be considered as a complementary approach to address these needs.
John 5:44). Today, many high-performing organizations are using coaching to support their leaders and members.
The metaphor of a “coach” can be helpful to better understand what coaching entails. The coach is compared to a “coach,” a vehicle that facilitates a person’s movement from a current point to a desired destination. The traveler, or coachee, defines the destination, the goal, and chooses freely to embark on the vehicle. The coaching exercise facilitates the journey. The coach acts as a traveling partner rather than the one who dictates the destination and means to reach the destination.
However, it is important to acknowledge some limitations of coaching. When there is a deficit of basic knowledge, such as organizational mission and orientation, individuals primarily need training, not coaching. In situations where there are established standards and norms for acceptable performances, individuals need to learn the right procedures. Therefore, coaching should not be the exclusive approach to assist in developing our counterparts and other church leaders; in some instances, it may not even be the appropriate intervention. Before choosing the right supporting procedure, a prior assessment of needs and expectations is necessary. It is essential to remember that coaching does not replace other supporting procedures, but is often complementary.
in Research in Organizational
G. White, Christian Leadership (Washington, D.C.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1985), 55.
L. Smith, Ellen B. Van Oosten, and Richard E. Boyatzis, “Coaching for Sustained Desired Change,”
Change and Development, eds. Richard W. Woodman, William A. Pasmore, and Abraham B. Shani (Bingley, England: Emerald Group, 2009), 150.
Benefits of Coaching
The adoption of a coaching orientation and its procedures aligns well with today’s growing aspirations of being sensitive to local organizational specificities and to individual interests and needs. It complements traditional human resource development strategies where the one being empowered is typically a passive recipient of predefined knowledge or plans.
Interestingly, Ellen G. White strongly recommends the consultancy approach for the development of workers in God’s church: “God has not given to any one man all the wisdom, and wisdom will not die with him. Those placed in positions of trust should modestly regard the opinions of others as worthy of respect and likely to be as correct as their own. They should remember that God has made other men just as valuable as they are, and that God is willing to teach and guide these men.”4
energies across the church, leading to more relevant and effective stewardship initiatives.
Using coaching as a developmental strategy offers some psychophysiological benefits. Richard E. Boyatzis, Melvin L. Smith, and Alim J. Beveridge explain the positive physical and emotional effects, often described as the “feel good” factor.5 Do you remember how you felt the last time you could discuss your personal goals and needs to someone interested in you and who cares for your ideas? A coaching environment is usually conducive to learning and heightens performance.
The messenger of the Lord advocates for openness and support for diverse ideas and plans in the Lord’s work. Her statement stands, recognizing the value of allowing others to think, plan, and take responsibility. No one holds a monopoly of generating good ideas for God’s church. This approach fosters a unique form of cooperation and unity, valuing the contribution of everyone not only as implementers, but also as thinkers and planners. It balances the regular practice of cascading down initiatives across the church structure with the recommendation of apostle Paul to “encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:24, NASB). Thus, the consultancy orientation can unleash new ideas and
Practicing Coaching
One key objective of coaching as a developmental orientation or procedure consists of helping other leaders to “[draw] out” “the purpose in a man’s heart” (Proverbs 20:5). As a result, the beneficiaries grow in self-awareness, or more precisely, awareness about God’s unique design for their lives and ministries. Dorothy Siminovitch explains how this can be best achieved: “Heightening clients’ awareness requires an interactive, collaborative process, where the coach offers the client data-based observations, questions, and feedback that may provoke new awarenesses for the client.”7 Relationships, questioning, and active listening constitute the building blocks for the practice of coaching.
4White, Christian Leadership , 36.
Additionally, Sir John Whitmore, known as the father of modern coaching, explains the effectiveness of coaching by referring to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At a certain stage of the life journey, people aspire to become self-actualizing individuals, the peak level of human development. A selfactualizing individual demonstrates emotional intelligence, responsibility, self-motivation, and self-belief, which are most likely to produce high performance. This is best achieved through coaching rather than by using developmental procedures that impose plans and ideas without input, adaptations, and ownership from the recipients.6 Hence, the coaching approach would appeal much to individuals with extensive experience, a track record of success, and aspire great achievement.
Concerning questioning, one can choose to follow or adapt the simple GROW model from Sir John Whitmore. The letters of the word GROW are used as an acronym to introduce the sequence of questions:
G- Goals. What are your goals?
R- Reality. What is your reality?
O- Options. What are your options?
W- Will. What are you willing to do?8
5Richard E. Boyatzis, Melvin L. Smith, Alim J. Beveridge, “Coaching with Compassion: Inspiring Health, Well-Being, and Development in Organizations,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 49, no. 2 (2013): 153.
6John Whitmore, Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership , 5th ed (London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2017), 16, 17.
7Dorothy Siminovitch, “The Coach as Awareness Agent: A Process Approach,” in Professional Coaching: Principles and Practice , eds. Susan English, Janice M. Sabatine, and Philip Brownell (New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2018), 136.
8Whitmore, Coaching for Performance, 96.
One can choose to follow the same or a different sequence of questions in a conversation. In some circumstances, to help our interlocutor dig deeper into one aspect, we may focus on a single question.
1. Coaching Newly Elected Directors
New stewardship leaders are regularly appointed. After sharing the large vision of stewardship ministries and ensuring that they have the basic knowledge about stewardship, through coaching we can accompany them in these four areas: to identify and formulate their goals, to self-assess their reality and become aware of the facilitators and obstacles to the fulfillment of their goals, to explore the various options that they are available for them
2. Reorganizing Our Visits
Visiting the different entities under one’s supervision is a major responsibility for stewardship and other church leaders who work for the GC, divisions, unions, and conferences. During these visits, the main activities typically involve training and delivering inspirational messages. To maximize the often high cost of these trips, we tend to establish packed-full agendas of public meetings, leaving little room for one-on-one interactions. In contrast, Jesus, while He came to save the whole world, invested much time in intimate
3.
Account, Review, and Plan Meetings
The Account, Review, and Plan (ARP) meetings, as outlined in the GC Stewardship Strategic Orientation (2022–2025), represent another opportunity to use coaching for growing other leaders. These planned meetings, held at regular intervals, either in person or via an e-platform, involve stewardship leaders and their counterparts who are serving at the next level of the church organization. The aim is to provide a space where our counterparts can freely discuss the implementation of their plans and achievement of their goals—
Conclusion
The success of God’s mission globally depends on our dedication to grooming other leaders. While training, preaching, and advising are proven strategies, they must be balanced with more consultative, intimate, and relational approaches, such as coaching. This involves listening to and
Below are three situations that illustrate the application of the coaching orientation and procedure within the Stewardship Ministries Department:
to fulfill their goals, and to choose what they will put in place to achieve their desired goals. As a result, these newly appointed leaders will be in a better position to craft a personalized road map for their ministry, which usually generates high enthusiasm for implementation and facilitates the assessment of progress.
encounters in the desert, in houses, on mountains, and in the Garden. While we are providing quality trainings, the greatest need of those we are visiting may be a sounding board for their stories of success and failure, a chance to test their ideas and plans, and to engage in prayer with a prayer partner. Unless we reorganize our packed agendas and set aside some of our well-prepared lectures to allow our hosts to share, discuss, and ask questions, we may miss opportunities to contribute to their and our growth.
those they have adopted for themselves and their departments. During ARP meetings, leaders from the higher organizations act as coaches and facilitators rather than assessors. Recent experiences of ARP meetings involving the GC stewardship leadership and division stewardship directors have shown that this approach facilitates the thorough examination of performance and helps in drafting their way forward. ARP meetings can be replicated across the church structure.
respecting others’ aspirations, providing encouragement, and supporting others in accomplishing what they believe to be God’s plans for their lives and ministries.
FOSTERING GROWTH IN FAITHFULNESS
Pastor Jibil Simbah is currently serving as the Stewardship Ministries Department Director of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Apreviousarticle in Dynamic 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
1. 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
Elder Jacinto M. Adap is currently serving as the Treasurer of the Southern AsiaPacific Division of General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
within the 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:
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.
Jibil Simbah & Jacinto Adap
2. 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
3. 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 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
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.
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.
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.
5. Recognition:
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
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.
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.
4. Refocus: Stewardship in Mission
ROAD MAP TO SUCCESS
Gideon Mutero is the Vice President for Finance and CFO at Hope Channel International. He also serves as the corporation's Secretary. He has served the Seventh-day Adventist Church in various treasury roles at the conference, union, division, and the General Conference and as the Vice President for Finance at ADRA International. Gideon holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Administration and is currently completing his Doctor of Leadership degree at Andrews University. He is married to Sophia, and together they have two adult children, Rachel, and Peris.
Inresponse to the Great Commission outlined in Mathew 28:16–20, church leaders, through the process of strategic planning, develop a road map to facilitate the accomplishment of the desired mission objectives. What
Planning Is Crucial
Although the term “strategic planning” is not found in the Bible, there are multiple references of the virtue of planning. Proverbs 20:18 states that “plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance.” This biblical text conforms with the historical application of strategic planning to war situations, where the term strategos referred to a military leader. Indeed, accomplishing a mission often entails engaging in warfare with opposing forces. Thus, it is crucial for leaders to seek counsel and plan.
Be Strategic
By thoughtfully reflecting on how to accomplish a mission, leaders should be strategic. The Bible provides counsel on the importance of being strategic. Ephesians 5:16 talks about “making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” A need for both strategy and urgency is conveyed through this biblical text. Strategic planning for businesses focuses on what is happening
are the critical elements in the process of developing and implementing a strategic plan to ensure peak performance in your ministry?
As stewards of God’s given resources, stewardship and other church leaders should ensure optimization through careful planning that prioritizes core mission objectives. God has entrusted His mission in the hands of church leaders to plan the allocation of resources for effective accomplishment of His divine purposes. Resources, actions, and goals are brought into alignment through planning. This approach helps to build confidence among stakeholders, to assure them that resources are being utilized prudently.
in their markets to enable them to gain competitive advantage. Similarly, church organizations and ministries must focus on the prevailing contextual elements, inside and outside the church, at a given time. Hence, leaders can choose the most adequate direction to reach their goals.
Gideon Mutero
Implement Strategies
Subsequently, strategic plans are formulated and agreed upon by the governing bodies. This sets the stage for the implementation of strategies. What happens next is crucial for the accomplishment of a mission. Quite often, these well-prepared strategic plans end up on office shelves and do not get implemented. This phenomenon of a disparity between plans on paper and the actual activities of the entities is referred to as “implementation gap.” It creates a misalignment between strategies and actions. Lack of clarity of direction and vague strategies contribute to such gaps. Those who plan and those who execute need to be on the same page.
In the Bible we find an inspiring example of Nehemiah, who followed through in implementing the plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He formulated strategies, identified resources, and proceeded to act. Once he set forth to accomplish the strategic plan, he did not accept any distractions from
Engage Stakeholders
Leaders should constantly seek counsel as they implement the strategic plans for their ministries. It should be a collaborative effort that endeavors to create a bridge between the strategy and mission outcomes. Proverbs 15:22 offers particularly useful guidance in this regard: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (NIV). Every stakeholder should be enjoined in the formulation and implementation efforts to enable the entity to execute the actions that accomplish mission objectives.
Relative to the implementation of plans, Ellen G. White advises as follows:
There is need of Nehemiahs in the church today,—not men who can pray and preach only, but men whose prayers and sermons are braced with firm and eager purpose. The course pursued by this Hebrew patriot in the accomplishment of his plans is one that should still be adopted by ministers and leading men. When they have laid their plans, they should present them
Monitor and Evaluate Implementation
During implementation, it is necessary to build monitoring mechanisms to ensure fidelity to the strategic plan. In addition, it helps to identify areas where strategies may need to be amended due to changed circumstances. Without such constant examination of the premise upon which the strategies were developed, the actions may be at variance with current realities and fall short of attaining the desired objectives. Thus, leaders should embed a culture of checking how the implementers are performing and build confidence that they are available to offer support.
Toward the end of the strategic plan cycle, an evaluation should be conducted to identify lessons learned that will inform the formulation
Conclusion
God has given the church a mission to fulfil and provided counsel on developing strategic plans that should be implemented diligently to accomplish the desired objectives. He is the owner of all resources, including
those who wanted to derail the God-given objective. Proverbs 16:3 assures us that God can help us implement our plans: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
The situation of famine in Egypt also provides a notable example of strategy implementation in the Bible. In Genesis 41, Joseph managed the famine situation by interpreting the pharoah’s dream correctly and putting in place measures to alleviate the famine. He created a strategic plan that was successfully executed. Joseph exercised great leadership in ensuring that the famine mitigation actions were implemented. There was precision of strategy and a clear action plan that was efficiently implemented. He earned the trust of the pharaoh, who instructed the people to obey his instructions. This is an example of great leadership that identifies objectives and puts in place action plans to accomplish them.
to the church in such a manner as to win their interest and cooperation. Let the people understand the plans and share in the work, and they will have a personal interest in its prosperity.1
Buy-in from all people involved in the implementation phase is essential to ensure engagement that is needed to attain missional outcomes. Consequently, patience should be exercised in the strategy implementation process. Success is not achieved overnight. The Bible warns against hasty planning and implementation in Proverbs 21:5: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Disciplined efforts are necessary to execute the planned actions. Leaders sometimes succumb to the phenomenon of seeking instant gratification and do not stay long enough with the execution of plans to attain the desired results. There may be a tendency to revert to previous actions rather than patiently work through the planned actions.
stage of the next cycle. Mission assessment tools should be developed to aid the evaluation process. In Galatians 6:3–5, apostle Paul invites everyone to evaluate themselves: “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load” (NIV). Evaluation may be an arduous process at times, especially when goals have not been met. However, it is a necessary measure to gain improvement. It also helps to affirm what works well.
people who are needed to achieve His divine goals. He has placed everything at the disposal of church leaders to plan, execute, and evaluate under His guidance.
1Ellen G. White, EGW SDA Bible Commentary , vol. 3 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1954), 1137.
WhichAN APPEAL FOR APPEALS
Pastor Louis R. Torres is an international evangelist, author, trainer, and recording artist. Before giving his life to the Lord, Pastor Torres was the bass guitarist for the world famous “Bill Haley and the Comets.” Dr. Torres previously served as Director of Training and Evangelism for NAD ASI, the Executive Secretary of the GNY Conference, and President of Guam-Micronesia Mission. He is currently the Assistant to the President for Evangelism of Adventist World Radio.
approach should we adopt to influence members to become faithful stewards? There are many possible answers. While there is likely a consensus on our responsibility to educate all churchgoers, our task remains incomplete without appealing for personal commitments. This
Human Instrumentalities
Have you ever found yourself or heard others engaging in reflections such as these: “Aren’t people mature enough to know what to do?” Or, “Isn’t that the role of the Holy Spirit?” The truth is, people need guidance. If people were able to make their own decisions without any external prompting, then Christ’s descent to earth would have been an unnecessary intrusion. Additionally, sending the apostles to “compel them to come in” (Luke 14:23) would have been an insult to human intelligence.
While the Holy Spirit makes impressions on the heart, God uses human instrumentalities. Following the prompting of John the Baptist, John and Andrew became the first disciples of Jesus, setting the foundation of the Christian church. Andrew found his brother Peter and called him to the Savior. Philip was then called, and he, in turn, went in search of Nathaniel. Later, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter, after an exposition of Scripture, crystallized the appropriate response to the promptings of the Holy Spirit by appealing for repentance. Apostle Paul, through spoken and written admonitions, appealed to King Agrippa, the jailors, the Greeks, and the Jews to yield their lives to
article elaborates on the idea that while it is important to inform the intellect, it is equally essential to appeal to the heart of members, encouraging them to embrace stewardship principles.
Christ. These examples underscore the importance of the human agent’s role in appealing to others in spiritual matters.
Ellen G. White helps us to understand the complementary role of humans in leading others to faithfulness:
In the judgment, when all secrets are laid bare, it will be known that the voice of God spoke through the human agent, and aroused the torpid conscience, and stirred the lifeless faculties, and moved sinners to repentance and contrition, and forsaking of sins. It will then be clearly seen that through the human agent faith in Jesus Christ was imparted to the soul, and spiritual life from heaven was breathed upon one who was dead in trespasses and sins, and he was quickened with spiritual life.” 1
Humans are not a substitute to God’s interventions; they are the vessels through which God reaches out to humanity.
Louis Torres
1Ellen G. White, EGW SDA Bible Commentary , vol. 4 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1955), 1165.
Correcting Misconceptions
Misconceptions have led stewardship leaders or educators to shy away from explicitly inviting their audience to decide or take a stand. Here are some common misconceptions:
1. People are smart enough to come to their own conclusion without being urged.
2. It is the Holy Spirit’s work alone, not ours.
3. It is not my calling! My calling is to preach and teach.
4. What if I make an appeal and no one responds. I will stand there looking silly.
These ideas about appeals do not stand the test of Scripture. There are multiple references of God’s spokespersons—Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Paul, and Peter—who were regularly appealing to God’s people to provide a clear response to the truths they received. The expression “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19), used by Jesus to describe the assignment given to His disciples, highlights the idea of appealing for a decision. Our ultimate responsibility is not to serve as fish feeders but as fishermen. The latter are not content when the fish have full stomachs, but when the fish have transitioned from the water to the boat. Fishermen use both the bait and the hook!
Another misconception is that people in certain cultural settings do not like appeals or may even be offended by them. My personal experience as an international evangelist does not support this assertion. Once, I was holding a series of meetings in Germany, and on the first night I told my translator that I was going to make an appeal. “Don’t do that,” he said. “German people are private people and will not respond openly.”
“I must make an appeal,” I insisted.
“This is not America,” he retorted.
“I know where I am,” I kindly responded. “Just do what I say, and follow my lead. If it doesn’t work, you can blame me.”
“Alright,” he warningly responded.
At the end of my message, I made an altar call. It was wonderful to see German people getting out of their seats and approaching the altar with teary eyes. My translator also began to cry. After the audience left, he said, “This is not Germany!”
Application
appeals into their ministry. First, each time a stewardship message is preached or a training is provided, it should clearly contain action points that require specific decisions. The audience is then invited to take a stand for what they have learned or been reminded of. Another approach could be a special ceremony focused on inviting church members to make decisions
“It is Germany!” I exclaimed.
“German people have hearts, and when the Spirit of the Lord touches their hearts, they respond to appeals.”
As we struggle with self-raised and cultural barriers to making appeals, it is pertinent to pay attention to this statement from Ellen G. White: “The secret of our success and power as a people advocating advanced truth will be found in making direct, personal appeals to those who are interested, having unwavering reliance upon the Most High” (Review and Herald, August 30, 1892)2 These inspired words, though borrowed from the context of evangelism, can be applied to other aspects of Christian living, including stewardship. The absence of appeals for decisions because of sincere convictions or misguided understanding stand as obstacles for more significant results.
When it comes to spiritual matters, people are like sheep, as the Bible says. (See Isaiah 53:6; Luke 15:4–7.) Expressed differently, Ellen G. White writes:
There are souls in every congregation who are hesitating, almost persuaded to be wholly for God. The decision is being made for time and for eternity; but it is too often the case that the minister has not the spirit and power of the message of truth in his own heart, hence no direct appeals are made to those souls that are trembling in the balance. The result is that impressions are not deepened upon the hearts of the convicted ones; and they leave the meeting feeling less inclined to accept the service of Christ than when they came. They decide to wait for a more favorable opportunity; but it never comes.3
Therefore, our people must be led, influenced, compelled, or encouraged in spiritual matters, without coercion or manipulation. Our responsibility includes bidding them to follow.
Mrs. White shares how she integrated appeals in her ministry: “My husband would give a doctrinal discourse, then I would follow with an exhortation of considerable length, melting my way into the feelings of the congregation. Thus my husband sowed and I watered the seed of truth, and God did give the increase.”4 The appeal brings home the message to the hearer’s heart. She understood that while biblical truths need to be taught, appealing to the heart is essential.
or commitments related to stewardship practices. An example could be the commitment ceremony during the annual stewardship Sabbath. During this occasion, among other commitments, members are invited to renew their pledges to return tithe and give proportional percentage-based offerings for the following year. As we educate and train the church in stewardship, we
ENTREPRENEUR ON A MISSION
INTERVIEW OF DR. RICHARD RAJARATHINAM
Dr. Richard Rajarathinam is the founder and CEO of Office Care Inc., a top 10 commercial cleaning company in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Richard’s true passion is evangelism and supporting educational institutions. He is a married and the
RICHARD RAJARATHINAM (RR)
RR: My first love is evangelism, the preaching ministry, and I’m keeping this passion alive. I went into business out of necessity and desperation, which gradually turned into an enterprise over the years. I was a student who had just arrived in the U.S. and needed to survive; you have to do something to eat. Business was never my dream; I did not start with a business plan and the intention to create a company. But lo and behold, there was the hand of God, molding me in a subtle way, leading me to this path.
DS: What has led you to this clear life purpose?
“My fundamental principles are rooted in the Bible and remain the same no matter where I go.”
RR: You should never forget your own story, as it reveals how the Lord wants to use you. This isn’t just my life’s story, but my father’s and my grandfather’s stories. We come from the bottom of the pit, and I am here today. How can I forget the journey and the contributing factors that shape our lives? Adventist education has played a major role in this journey. How do we keep this ministry going? It’s essential to remember where you come from, on what you’re standing. This understanding gives you purpose.
DS: What can you share about your journey as an entrepreneur? How did you find yourself in the business world?
Being an entrepreneur is not for everybody; it’s not easy to start with nothing—no capital, no resources. You build one block at a time. And you have many days when you feel like quitting, but you keep going. These experiences have shaped my approach to life, and now I’m bringing this mindset to our institutions: There's a way to do it, you only have to figure it out.
DS: Based on your passion for evangelism, I would expect you to be a denominational worker. Why is that not so?
RR: Life circumstances and God led me in another direction, but the mission never dies. Based on what I have seen from my father and grandfather, who were church workers, denominational service comes with some constraints. I enjoy the freedom to respond directly and swiftly to God’s calling. If there
is a call to go to India, South Africa, Ghana, Russia, or elsewhere, and I have the resources, I’m able to go immediately. It’s just between God, the calling organization, and me.
DS: How do your Adventist values and beliefs influence your practices in business?
DS: Do you have a concrete example of how your business has become a witnessing platform?
“Life circumstances and God led me in another direction, but the mission never dies.”
RR: My business, religious, and family practices are all informed by the same principles. First and foremost, I believe in a Creator God. Second, I consider everybody as a soul created in the image of God. Why would I treat them as brothers and sisters at church and not at work? It’s the same. Consistency is key; I avoid contradictions. My fundamental principles are rooted in the Bible and remain the same no matter where I go. Before you arrived, I met with some bankers to discuss loans involving huge sums; my principles did not change. I put on different hats or change clothes for different roles, but inside, I remain the same person.
DS: How have your professional activities created opportunities for you to witness your faith with your workers and also with your clients?
RR: By not compromising my principles. We tolerate people because everybody won’t be up to our standards, but we don’t compromise. What is right will always remain right. Can we compromise? No. Can we tolerate? Yes. We tolerate to help edify people, to give them time to get better. I’ve had people who wanted me to compromise my integrity; I walked away. We cannot force our beliefs on people, but they see our actions and values.
RR: We have about 150 employees. Recently, a man and a woman were working in our enterprise. They were in a relationship but were not married, and the woman was pregnant. I respectfully advised them that the best thing for the baby would be to get married and create a family. They agreed. We brought them to the PG County Courthouse and registered them as a couple. We funded a small celebration. When the baby was born, they honored me by calling the child Richard, after me. That’s the kind of influence you’re going to have when you do things to glorify God.
DS: How have you used the proceeds from your business to advance God’s mission locally, regionally, and internationally?
RR: We believe and practice tithe, but God loves a cheerful giver. A cheerful giver and a life of gratitude are not just things you do with words; you have to show it in actions. We give our offerings to the church, and we support special projects. I’ll mention a few examples.
I am originally from India, where we have built churches, helped schools, and sponsored students. Then came the call to go to Africa. For our first trip, we visited a poverty-stricken area near Bugema University in Uganda. We picked up a child from a dumpster who now carries our last name. We continue to pay her tuition. Today, hundreds of students have paid their tuition at Bugema University through our sponsorship. We also sponsored a seminary building, Dr. Richard Raj’s Family Theology Seminary Block. When we did that, there were about 100 theology students. Last year, I visited again, and now there are 980 theology students, with at least
400 school graduates yearly. One pastor, Robert, a graduate of Bugema Adventist Seminary, who was my translator during my evangelistic meetings, has baptized over 400 souls a year for the past four years; you could see the multiplying effect, the five loaves and two fish feeding the 5,000. You put a small structure, start a small school, support a flickering flame, it grows into 1,000 students, and graduates are going out and baptizing thousands. We expanded our assistance to Bugema University by helping the completion of the building for the Health Science Program. Similarly, we support a program in Arusha, Tanzania, by shipping medical equipment from India and purchasing a school bus. As of now, 40 students have already registered for the Health Science Program, which starts in September 2024. We have yet to determine the measure of the benefit of sending some financial assistance; it is far beyond what we can ever imagine.
Besides the financial means, as an entrepreneur, I have learned to run an organization, motivate people, and grow them. I pass these qualities on to the institutions that we are supporting. Foremost, I encourage the leadership of these institutions to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, to kneel and ask for the anointing power of the Holy Spirit for their institutions daily. I have learned about the power the Holy Spirit while struggling in business. It is the greatest gift we can tap into, and all other gifts follow.
DS: People struggle in many places where the church is growing because of the economic situation and unemployment. What would be your words of wisdom for young members contemplating entrepreneurship?
RR: Many of our young people come to the church seeking capital investment. And that’s one way to start a business and become an entrepreneur. But there is also hardcore entrepreneurship, where you start with nothing—an empty pocket. That’s what I did. I came to this country (U.S.) with $100, for a time slept on a gas station floor. What do you have in your
hand? What are your available resources? Utilize them. I often visit our institutions and notice how much land around the churches or schools is sitting barren. What would it take to dig and plant? Why can’t we use our resources to the maximum? The land that the Adventist Church owns is priceless everywhere. When are we going to utilize that? How does a small village farmer survive with a little sickle and a hoe in his hand? I challenge the young people to go with nothing, like the first disciples. Go, the Lord says, I’ll be with you, and you will see wonders. Have faith. How did we survive COVID? From millions in revenue, we went to zero. We had enough reasons to quit, but we kept planning for the future and moved on.
DS: What would you advise church leaders to do to encourage members to become self-employed?
RR: I believe that church leaders have a great role in preaching the gospel and preparing souls for the life to come. However, we also have a life to live here on earth. And we have to be good stewards of the time and resources that we have in our hands. And no one can claim we have no resources or gifts. As shepherds, you are responsible for caring for the flock spiritually mentally, and materially.
Pastors and other church leaders should learn not to depend on someone to come and give and not cultivate this dependency mindset in their members. You cannot keep saying: “I don’t have the means.” Means are not only a bank balance, but all of God’s given resources. In the Adventist Church, we teach spiritual principles and healthy living, but do we have a system to help our members achieve financial freedom and independence? I have learned a model of economic independence from the first Australian missionaries who came to Spicer Memorial College and from missionaries who went elsewhere. They established a bakery, manufactured soya milk and peanut butter, and ran a farm for dairy and poultry. This is how they built Spicer Memorial College, and students who were unable to pay for their studies could work off their tuition. Church leaders should help their congregations to recapture this vision of economic independence.
"In Africa, we call him the Adventist Philanthropist. Dr Richard Raj has a big heart for mission in Adventist educational institutions, having established a nursing college for the University of Arusha in Tanzania, funded a seminary building at Bugema University in Uganda, co-funded a Health Centre with Columbia Union Conference at Bugema University and of course sponsored many university and high school students through their education. He is a humble man of God doing great things for Adventist institutions in Africa"
