“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work powerful deeds? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to talking about stewardship in any congregation is the fact that none of us comes to the table of hope with the same blessings as another person. Each of us is blessed differently, so when we begin to talk about stewardship, we have to find ways to connect with those who are blessed with incredible financial resources and also those who are dealing with deep insecurity when it comes to fiscal resources. At the same time, we know that if all this congregation received from its membership was finances and no other engagement, this place also wouldn’t be doing what it needs to be doing.
Stewardship is never just about financial giving. It’s about the resources of the whole self, which includes time, talents, and treasures. Obviously, the financial resources needed to keep an organization running in our current reality is a major focus, but it cannot be the sole focus. It’s for this reason that the Stewardship Committee is hoping to distribute a new “time and talents” form in the new year. We believe that a person who is connected to our community is best served (and best serves) by having multiple outlets – both through financial and personal engagement – to be able to use their whole self in service to God.
As we engage in the financial side of stewardship, however, we recognize that the needs of Esperanza to best fulfill her mission require more resources every year. The cost of everything increases a little more every year. While the leadership of Esperanza does good work in keeping expenses in check, the reality is it costs more to do more. And there’s always more to be done for the sake of the gospel. Last year, we committed extra resources to fund our music program with a talented and passionate leader for our music ministries. The quality of our worship has increased as a result. The willingness of this congregation to answer the call to financially support this endeavor has made this happen.
This year, the needs of Esperanza are more practical than aspirational. Beyond just standard increases in expenses that occur every year, we’re also working to bring our financial structures up to current standards to ensure organizational health and stability in the years ahead. Better financial processes (established and strengthened by our Finance Committee) leads to stronger fiscal responsibility and increased trust in the effective stewardship of resources happening here. To continue to strengthen this aspect of Esperanza as an organization, the Finance Committee is recommending hiring outside part-time accounting support to manage our financial records more efficiently. While this isn’t as exciting for most of us as hiring a new music director, such steps may be just as important for the vitality of Esperanza – just in a different aspect of being the church in the 21st century. Much like the music director position, however, to add an outside resource role to our staff will take additional financial resources.
Stewardship is ultimately about using what we have in the best way possible. And some of these things are not going to be glitz and glamor but are still very important. When we give to the general mission plan of Esperanza, we’re giving to a mission that will do incredible things. These things can’t happen without our stewardship of what we have been blessed by God to first receive – our time, our talents, and our possessions. May we see the continued potential of God’s work happening through Esperanza and may we all consider deeply how we can be a part of this work together, entrusting to God the abundance we have been given, so that Esperanza’s ministry may continue to grow and be strengthened in the years ahead.
Pastor Chris