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Other Resources

                         
Many websites, pamphlets, brochures, and other resources are available that can aid in enhancing your whole-life stewardship emphasis. This page strives to share many of these resources with you...*

*The resources and links listed are suggested as sources for further exploration. They do not necessarily imply endorsement.

Click on the titles below to quickly search items found in this page.

Stewardship Websites:

• Covenant Trust Company: http://www.covenanttrust.com

• Good Sense Ministry: http://www.goodsenseministry.org

• The Ecumenical Stewardship Center: http://www.stewardshipresources.org

• Three Simple Rules: http://www.threerules.org

• Crown Ministries: http://www.crown.org

• Generous Giving: www.generousgiving.org

• Leadership Network: www.leadnet.org

• Building Church Leaders: www.buildingchurchleaders.com

• Maximum Generosity: www.kluth.org

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Pamphlets, Brochures & Magazines:

Click on the thumbnails below to order these items through the Covenant Online Bookstore or to view them in downloadable pdf format.

Also, feel free to contact the Resource Center at (800) 338- IDEA (4332) for more information about what is available regarding stewardship.*

*Various resources are also available in Spanish. Please contact the Resource Center for more information.

	Growing Deeper in Christ...to Go Further in Mission. That's our hope. These new tools offer a variety of spiritual practices from which to choose. We call this our "growing deeper" series. These tools are available to Covenant Churches at no cost. Check out the one titled Choosing to Give (number 12 in the series) - to do so, click on the brochure to the left, and order copies or view in downloadable pdf format.
	The recently updated and edited Loving and Giving pamphlet is a holistic biblical perspective on stewardship. The pamphlet talks about why, how, what, and where we give, with an emphasis placed on the head, heart, and hands. This new version of the previous pamphlet is uniform with other stewardship resources, as well as a great compliment to the many items available throughout the Stewardship webpage. Click on the pamphlet to your left to order copies or to view in downloadable pdf format. Over the years, many churches have ordered the Loving and Giving brochure for Stewardship Sunday (This year's Stewardship Sunday is November 9, 2008). Place your orders early to ensure timely delivery.
	The Stewardship Pledge Commitment Card helps us to recognize that we are called to serve with all of our gifts; it can be used in the churches to help members make a commitment to giving and can easily be inserted in a church bulletin or left in a pew rack. Click on the card to the left to place an order with the online bookstore or to view in downloadable pdf format. This is another item that many churches have ordered for Stewardship Sunday (November 9, 2008). Make sure to place your orders early to ensure timely delivery.
	This brochure presents a service of your regional conference and the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism of the Evangelical Covenant Church to help local churches support or sponsor new church plants. This endeavor seeks to give every church the opportunity to partner with and be directly involved in church planting. You can find out more at www.churchesplantingchurches.org. This brochure is also included in the Stewardship Starter Kit.
	The Giving Magazine is intended to be a tool for use in the local church to build stewards through preaching, teaching, and by leading through example. Some topics covered in this issue include: “The difference between philanthropy and discipleship,” “8 essential quality characteristics of a healthy church,” and a model for annual stewardship emphasis, among many others. Click on the magazine to your left to place an order with the bookstore (available at no cost to Covenant churches).
	The Biblical view of stewardship applies to every Christian and every area of life. Stewardship Bible Studies, written by Robert A. Linscheid, is an 8-session Bible study that will attempt to broaden and deepen our understanding of this important topic. The 8-session study and leader's guide are available in downloadable pdf format by clicking on the title above.

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Articles and Surveys:

• Generosity: Tough Sell in Troubled Economy?
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. Using secular standards, some suggest the notion of generosity is an increasingly tough sell in today’s economy. "Viewed from a spiritual perspective, however, the Commission on Stewardship of the Evangelical Covenant Church believes generosity to be a critical component in a Christian’s spiritual growth and development." Click on the title above to read more.

• Teens, Children Feel the Stress in Financial Crisis, Too
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. Adults are not the only people feeling the emotional strain of the current financial crisis. So are teens and younger children. Click on the title above to learn more.

• Covenant Investment Leaders Reflect on Market Crisis
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. Leaders of the Evangelical Covenant Church say their approach to financial and investment management is helping ministries related to the denomination weather the volatility of the current world financial crisis. Click on the title above to read more.

• North Park Offers Online Church Administration Course
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. The School of Business and Nonprofit Management (SBNM) at North Park University has introduced a new graduate certificate in church administration that may be completed entirely online. Click on the title above to learn more.

• Excess Giving Returned to Members – and Multiplied!
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. A group of members from Prairie Hills Covenant Church recently pooled $370 and with creativity and hard work turned it into $10,000 to help pay the medical bills for a two-year-old girl suffering from leukemia who attends their church. Click on the title above to read more.

• Religious Giving Tops $100 Billion in 2007 is a report that originally appeared in the Church in the World segment of Covenant Companion in September 2008. This report talks about the recent increase in giving to religious charities and congregations. 2007 marks the first time that giving has passed $100 billion. Click on the title above to read more.

• Ease of Auto Withdrawal Tithing Hasn’t Swayed Most Covenanters
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. Several Evangelical Covenant churches have started giving congregants the option of giving through automatic withdrawal or bill pay from their bank accounts, but response has been less than enthusiastic so far, they say. Click on the title above to read more.

• Is Your Church Fiscally Fit? by James D. Berkley
  This survey has been made available by buildingchurchleaders.com and contains four factors to help you determine the vitality of your church finances. Click on the title above to read more.

• Study Finds Decline in Tithing is a report that originally appeared in the Church in the World segment of Covenant Companion in July 2008. This report speaks about the recent trends of declined church giving. Click the title above to read more.

• "The Bottom Line" by Heidi Griepp
  This article has been made available through the webwatch section of the website of the Evangelical Covenant Church.  This webwatch article provides suggestions for saving and spending your money wisely.  It looks at money matters - from debt to savings, from budgets to long-term goals. Click the title above to read more.

• "New Study Shows Trends in Tithing and Donating"
  This resource has been made available by The Barna Group and pertains to giving trends over the last decade with an emphasis placed on 2007 tithing.  This article also provides a Biblical background of thithes and offerings.  Click the title above to read more.

• The Genesis of Generosity by Pat Springle
  This resource has been made available by the Leadership Network and pertains to the "First Steps toward Creating Cultures of Generosity in Churches." Click on the pdf below to read this 14 page article on generosity.
  The-Genesis-of-Generosity.pdf

• Generosity Needs More Than a Sermon by Andy Williams
  This article has been made available by the Leadership Network and discusses the fact that "ongoing teaching is the key to a lifestyle shift." The subject matter talks about teaching your congregation to be "managers" of all God has given them, rather than owners.  Click the title above to read more.

• "Church Radically Changes Budgeting Process"
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. A change in the way Montecito Covenant Church developed its budget for this year has enabled the congregation to more closely align its expenses with ministry priorities, says pastor Don Johnson... Click the title above to read the article in its entirety.

• Surving a Church Financial Audit by Marian V. Liautaud
  This article has been made available by Christianity Today and provides field-tested tips from a CPA regarding Church audits. Click on the title above to learn more.

• Are we staying on budget? survey:
  This survey has been made available by buildingchurchleaders.com and provides individuals with the opportunity to assess their church's budget. "Financial safeguards can keep you out of the red."

• "Plant a Seed, Nurture It, Watch It Grow"
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. Plant a seed. Nurture it. And watch what God can do. Forty-one parishioners at Bethany Covenant Church had that opportunity as they participated in what has become popularly known as a "Kingdom Adventure," a faith-building initiative that is based on the book The Kingdom Assignment by authors Denny and Leesa Bellesi. Click the title above to read about the "Kingdom Adventure" project.

• "What Difference Can $100 Make?" by Craig Pinley
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. What do you get when you take $3,300 and give it to your parishioners $100 at a time? Click the title above to find out...

• "It's a Modern Day Parable of the Talents" by Craig Pinley
  This article has been made available through "top stories" on the Covenant webpage. A North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) professor once gave eight seminary students $10 each and told them to "steward it" over the course of a term... Click the title above to read more about this project and another that stemmed from it.

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Other Resources:

• Covenant Resource Center:
  This website lists a variety of resources available on the subject of stewardship.  There are bibliographies, seminars and events, additional resources, and links available through this page.

• The Soul of a Steward:
  This resource is distributed to local churches several times throughout the year and has been created with the hopes of engaging, encouraging, and challenging local churches in the area of stewardship. 

• The Covenant Reporter:
  The Covenant reporter is an annual review of important events in Covenant ministry. Years 2003-2008 are currently available through the Covenant Resource Center. Click on the title above and search for "Covenant Reporter," all online copies will appear in your search.

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