An integrated, year-round approach to stewardship requires careful planning to make the most of your church’s resources and efforts.

Maggie Harmon, Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation, offered tips for building a stewardship calendar in “Tactical Stewardship: Creating an Annual Plan.” The presentation was part of the Foundation’s Day of Learning program Aug. 23.

Plans can be tailored to fit any congregation, Harmon said, noting there were a few hundred participants in the webinar. “Every one of you is in a church that’s a little bit different from every other church,” she said.

Some congregations in the Southwest region she serves, for example, are quite small.

“Wherever you are, whatever is right for your congregation, you can engage your members,” Harmon said.

Start with your goal

The goal of a stewardship calendar isn’t just a dollar amount for the year. It’s about the bigger picture of how we take care of our congregations and participate in our relationship with God, Harmon said.

She listed three primary goals of stewardship planning:

Information. A communications plan is especially valuable if talking about stewardship is new, or relatively new, for your church. “Rather than going right to an ask, you can start with information. You don’t want anything in return. You just want people to receive information,” Harmon said.

Engagement. Get people to participate in a way that may or may not be monetary. Harmon said she hears from church leaders whose members give generously, but don’t serve on session, mission committees or with the food bank. They can run a stewardship campaign focused on getting people to participate with time and talent, she said.

Giving. Though stewardship isn’t just about money, financial giving is one of the goals of a stewardship plan.

With any or all of these, “before you ask, understand what you want them to get and what it is you want them to give back,” she said. Then offer actionable ways to contribute and sign up for a project or event. For example, if you need people to serve on session, give them a way to express interest or find out more.

“You want to align your actions to your goal,” Harmon said.

Plan ahead

It takes one to three years to see results, Harmon said. Getting people to change their behavior around stewardship is like getting them to change their behavior around anything else.

It can be tempting to circumvent this. “Crisis” campaigns work occasionally, but if they become the norm for giving, that is a management failure, she said.

Also, it takes about seven interactions before people feel comfortable enough to engage with something. Studies show babies may repeatedly reject a new food, for example, then accept it around the seventh try, Harmon said.

Ask for what you want

“Make sure you are actually asking for what you want,” Harmon emphasized. “You will not necessarily get what you want by asking, but you increase the odds dramatically if you do so.”

She hears church leaders express fear that if they ask for something, people will leave the church.

“This may be controversial — but If simply asking is so offensive that someone is going to leave, that is good information to have about that individual,” she said.

You also don’t want that perspective to prevent you from asking for what you need.

Matthew 7:7-10 (“Ask, and it will be given to you”) is a reminder that God not only wants us to ask but to be clear with ourselves and one another in the asking, Harmon said.

So if you’re asking people to pledge, tell them that — and tell them why.

Getting started

Be realistic about what you can do, Harmon urged. Start where you are with what you have, and build a calendar that will work for you. Some suggestions for how to proceed:

Weekly. What do you want people to do during the offering? If you’re not passing plates anymore, have a minute for mission, a speaker or perhaps an invitation to reflect.

Monthly. Do some kind of “here’s how we’d like you to be involved” ask. It can be for participation rather than money, but it should be regular.

Quarterly. Update the congregation based on your goal.

Annually. Let the congregation know what you’re doing with the money they’re giving.

About that annual stewardship campaign

In addition to being clear about what you’ve done, consider and communicate what you want to do over the next three years. What resources — time, talent, treasure — do you need to do that?

Then ask members: How are you going to participate?

Harmon pointed the way to several resources, including Stewardship Navigator, a website with resources, and the Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference Sept. 25-27 in Minneapolis. Harmon also suggested two books: A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen and Beyond the Offering Plate by Adam Copeland.