Mission Workshop 7: Faithful Stewardship

50 Days of Mission IN HIS STEPS 2021

Workshop 7: Faithful Stewardship I. Stewardship vs. Ownership A. The Basis of Stewardship 1. God Owns Everything. (Psalm 89:11) The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; everything in the world is yours—you created it all.

2. We Manage. You gave [humans] charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority (Psalm 8:6) 3. We Are Accountable. (1 Corinthians 4:2) Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

B. Learning Stewardship 1. Stewardship Prepares Us for True Life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19) Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

2. Stewardship Empowers Us for Greater Responsibility •

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. (Luke 16:10)

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To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

(Matthew 25:29)

Discuss: Thinking back over your life experiences, share about a time you were entrusted to manage something for someone else. Whether you did well or poorly, what did you learn from the experience, and how did it prepare you for other responsibilities?

II. Stewardship of Money A. Principle of Faithful Tithing 1. Dedicating the first 10% of our income to God is a regular reminder that 100% belongs to Him 2. God promises blessing and protection on our resources when we tithe (Malachi 3:8-12)

B. Principle of Sound Management 1. God expects us to plan for the future wisely (Luke 14:28, Psalm 21:5) 2. Preparing a balanced budget allows us prioritize our resources (Proverbs 24:27)

C. Principle of Generous Giving 1. God has ordained a natural order that rewards generosity with blessing (Luke 6:38) 2. The act of giving is a source of joy (Acts 20:35) 3. The purpose of blessing is always so that we may become a greater blessing to others.

Prosperity can become a curse if we hoard wealth for ourselves. (James 4:3, Genesis 12:2)

D. Principle of Effective Fundraising 1. To accomplish God’s vision and mission for our lives, we may be called on to encourage others to give in addition to giving our own resources. We should not limit God’s purposes by being too prideful to seek funds. (Philippians 4:10-20) 2. Those who raise funds should be fully transparent and accountable, avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. (2 Corinthians 8:20-21) 3. Seek out those whose hearts are committed to God and share your vision. Don’t be ensnared by the trap of changing your mission to please the rich just to get funds. (James 2:1-4) Reflect: Which of these four principles do you need to work on most in your financial stewardship?

What action steps will you take? Who do you need to ask for help or counsel?

III. Stewardship of Time A. Time is a Valuable Resource 1. Biblical Examples • Jesus prioritized his time (John 9:4, 17:4) • Paul prioritized his time (Ephesians 5:15-16; 2 Timothy 4:6-7) 2. Time provides seeds to bring about a harvest. (Galatians 6:9-10) 3. Time is a treasure that attracts many thieves. We should be at least as diligent to guard our time as we are to guard our money.

Reflect: Grade yourself on each of these common time-robbers. Where do you need to better protect the value of your time in order to become a better steward?

Time Robber Procrastination Poor Scheduling Allowing Interruptions Poor Delegation Poor Use of Telephone Failure to Meet Deadlines Lack of Clear Priorities Too Much Social Media/TV Too Much or Too Little Sleep

My Grade

Improvement Plan

B. Aligning Time with Mission Reflect: Using the matrix below, determine where you can find more time for your most important goals by redirecting time. Especially focus on how you could move time from quadrants I & II into quadrant IV.

Scale of Urgency

I. Urgent but Not Important

II. Not Important, Not Urgent

Scale of Importance III. Important and Urgent

IV. Important but Not Urgent

IV. Stewarding Other Gifts Discuss: In what other areas of life besides time and money do you need to evaluate your stewardship? Examples could include natural talents and abilities, spiritual gifts, family legacy, life experiences, connections of influence, and leadership capacity. In short, what have you been given by God that should be used for God?

V. Stewardship Covenant I hereby transfer ownership of all my worldly possessions to God, recognizing that He is the true owner of all things. I consecrate 100% of my body, my money, and my time to Him, to be used for His Kingdom purposes. I trust Him to provide all things that I need for myself and my family. I surrender my life and yield all my rights to Christ alone. Not my will, but thine be done, Heavenly Father, in Jesus name.

Signed: ___________________________________ Date: ___________________ John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer “I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”