Stewardship Questions and Answers
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What does stewardship mean? Who are stewards? |
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Stewardship is all that I do, with all that I have, after I say I believe. Christian stewardship is based on an understanding that God is the source of all life and that we are entrusted to be good stewards of God's creation. Stewardship rests on a belief that an abundant and generous God provides us with all that we truly need.
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What stewardship is not. |
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Stewardship is not fundraising, charity, or philanthropy--these assume that donors own the goods and services they donate. Stewardship recognizes that all of our gifts come from God and that Christians are simply giving back some of what God has bestowed upon them.
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What do you mean by time, talent, and treasure? |
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Christians traditionally talk about stewardship of time, talent, and treasure. We are asked to give back to God through all of those aspects of our life. For some, giving financially is easy, and their challenge is to give of their personal abilities and precious time. For most of us, making monetary gifts to support God's ministry in the world involves intentional sacrifice and priority. We strive to balance all three of these areas in God's service.
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What is a tithe? |
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The Biblical word "tithe" means one-tenth. Scripture holds up an expectation that we will give back one-tenth of our worldly goods to God's service. We seek to meet or surpass the tithe as our goal. If they are not already tithing, most people approach this goal by increasing their giving proportionately over time. A good step is to try to increase your giving by one or more percent each year.
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What is a pledge? |
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A pledge is a written commitment (completing an annual pledge card) to support the mission and ministry of St. Paul's Church. You may fulfill your pledge weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually -- whatever is most convenient. You can make a pledge at any time of year, and you can adjust that pledge at any time by notifying the Stewardship Director Maria Halloran at 703-549-3312 x21 or at
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