From Sunday School, we learned that “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven … and the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

Today, we can take that approach to stewardship, because blessings follow those who give to help their church.

The Beatitudes were spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew, and also in the Sermon on the Plain, in Luke. They describe the character and attitudes valued in the Kingdom of Heaven and serve as a guide for living a Christian life. Key Beatitudes include blessings for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and the peacemakers – and they are among the best-known Bible verses.

In a reversal, the Beatitudes pronounce blessings on those who are typically considered unfortunate by worldly standards, such as the poor in spirit and those who mourn. They emphasize virtues such as mercy, purity of heart, and a thirst for righteousness as qualities that lead to God’s blessing.

Taking those lessons to a stewardship campaign is more basic than you might think, leaders at Oakland, Ca.’s First Presbyterian Church said.

“I try to reflect on the energy I bring to interactions and if I am showing up in a way that supports and blesses, or just ‘gets it done,’” said Maggie Harmon, elder for finance at First Presbyterian Church in Oakland, Ca.

For example: In their stewardship letter to church members, Harmon and First Presbyterian Rev. Matt Prinz referenced the Beatitudes and then transition into their church’s local achievements reflective of those teachings.

In 2025 this included for their church community:

• Preparing, serving and delivering nearly 16,000 meals annually to support community members in crisis;
• Walking with and hosting Ceasefire programs to end gun violence;
• Supporting local immigrant and refugee neighbors;
• Welcoming a choir back to their worship and diversifying the musical expression;
• And providing community space for hundreds of performances and celebrations.

Those are real, identifiable actions that relate to helping the poor, the poor in spirit and those in need.

Your church certainly has similar programs and projects to tout, from hosting cold-weather shelters to how many students benefitted from after-school tutoring at the church, from sponsoring Scouts and other youth groups to helping pack weekend food packs for hungry children through Backpack Buddies or a similar program.

In a 2019 column for the Presbyterian Foundation, Rev. Dr. David A. Davis shared his thoughts that stewardship and the Beatitudes fit like a glove on a hand. He is senior pastor of Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ.

“To be faithful in stewardship is … to crave a world where the hungry are fed and the thirsty receive drink, where strangers are welcomed and the naked are clothed, and the sick are cared for and the prisoners are visited,” he wrote.

It is “where the injured man in the ditch is helped along by the most surprising of neighbors, and the poor are invited to a feast of seismic proportions,” Davis said.

Where the Romans and most others of the time valued wealth and power, Jesus said the poor, the meek, the merciful, and the peacemakers were truly blessed. Matthew’s version speaks directly to this blessedness as something already within the community of Jesus’ followers, not a future possibility.

For charting a path from local church stewardship to Christian living, the Beatitudes provide a clear map.