ELCA NEWS SERVICE February 11, 2004 Lutheran Stewardship Specialists Examine New Way of Working 04-020-MR CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Stewardship leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) examined a new way to organize their work and reflected on where stewardship ministry is headed in the church, when they met here for the Stewardship Leadership Conference Feb. 5-8. Under the theme, "We Say Yes!" about 100 mission interpreters and stewardship field staff gathered for worship, workshops, discussions and networking. Workshop topics ranged from conflict and stewardship management to increasing mission funding. Mission interpreters and stewardship leaders shared ideas, best practices and stories about ELCA ministries, said Nancy L. Snell, director for stewardship and mission giving, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM). "Mission interpretation is key" for the 10,721 congregations of the church "to share a portion of their income with the 65 synods of the ELCA for synodical and churchwide ministries." In an effort to connect stewardship leaders to the work of other church leaders and provide a new context in which to organize their work, participants learned about Natural Church Development (NCD) -- a method of understanding church health and growth. A "purpose for us to learn and do [NCD] is to work in collaboration with the ELCA Division for Outreach," said Snell in an interview. The goal of the Division for Outreach, which is currently implementing principles of NCD, "is to plant new churches from healthy situations. Our interest in NCD and the work of the division is to help build healthy congregations, so that effective stewardship is implemented and resources are used appropriately." Snell and Jonathan Reitz, salt specialist, DCM, led a presentation on the "basics and experiences" of NDC. Salt ministry is a professional stewardship service offered by the ELCA. NCD views the church as "a living organism that grows and needs nurturing," Reitz said. Its focus is improving the health of the church with the understanding that when a church is sufficiently healthy, numerical growth will follow, he said. Congregations are offered a survey to measure their health in eight "quality characteristics," said Reitz. They are "empowering leadership, gift-oriented ministry, passionate spirituality, functional structures, inspiring worship, holistic small groups, contextual evangelism and loving relationships." Survey results come as eight scores, one for each quality characteristic. A score of 50 is a "median score," meaning that half of the churches in a given country scored higher on a given characteristic. Developed and initiated by the Institute of Natural Church Development in Germany, more than 12,000 churches around the world were profiled initially, said Reitz. "NCD is a process that involves preparation, assessment, planning and implementation," Snell told participants. "It is not another thing to do, but a different way of doing your work." "We plan for this group to be trained as NCD coaches. Training will begin in April with synods that have expressed a readiness for it," Snell said in the interview. The Rev. M. Wyvetta Bullock, executive director, DCM, provided an overview of "Faithful Yet Changing: The Plan for Mission in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Faithful Yet Changing includes a process to restructure the ELCA churchwide organization based on a mission statement and strategic directions affirmed by the 2003 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. In November the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, is expected to recommend a proposal for the organization's structure, budget and staff to the Church Council for final approval. The council serves as the ELCA's board of directors and legislative authority of the church between biennial assemblies. Hanson made an initial proposal to restructure the churchwide office in September 2003 and withdrew it a month later. Under that initial proposal, DCM "was probably the most impacted," Bullock told participants. "Our unit was completely dismantled." Work since that time has been to "re-engage, center and focus on why we believe in what we do," she said. Bullock said staff of the churchwide office and "other expressions of the church" are working on "phase one" of Faithful Yet Changing from January to April. Phase one involves examining the strategic directions and their implementation. Responses will serve as input to the redesign of the churchwide organization. Bullock encouraged stewardship leaders to provide their input, giving specific attention to "the value of stewardship education and mission funding." "My report about where we're going in stewardship ministry is very short. I have no idea," Snell told participants. "I say this in jest," noting that "this is a great time for opportunity. I say this with all sincerity. It's a time for new opportunities, to seize them and move ahead in ways we've not been able to do," she said. "We have the Office of the Presiding Bishop's attention on our work like never before," Snell said. Staff in the office is "very concerned about mission support and stewardship in this church," she said. "We accept the responsibility for funding the church, but we cannot do it alone. Funding is not separate from any specific ministries. Responsibility is being shared in a way that is has never been shared before," Snell said. "There are many ways to work together," particularly in "sharing stories about churchwide ministries and their impact," she said. "Telling stories isn't an option; it is a necessity." "Our work will continue for the next nine months. The question before us is how effective can we be during this time," said Snell, adding that conference planning was "geared toward providing tools" for stewardship leaders to continue their work and to identify a "new way" of organizing it. To date, "we are $1.5 million behind last year at this time" in mission support funding, said the Rev. Michael L. Meier, director for leadership development and mission support, DCM. Meier noted some increases and declines in giving from synods to the churchwide organization last year. "There are dips in giving, but it is very important that synods maintain their [set] percentage in giving," he said. "You are the primary foot soldiers, experts, people with skills, people with passion, but the primary responsibility for mission support is with the people in your synod," he said. "If we believe in the ministries of the church, then we have to speak on behalf of those ministries and its funding." "We Say Yes!" is the 2004 stewardship program theme for ELCA congregations. Produced by DCM and Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis, program resources are available on CD-ROM, which includes a theme overview, planning guide, newsletter articles, adult and children Bible studies and more. The stewardship ministry team of the ELCA works to train people and develop education materials for stewardship ministries in congregations and synods; provides seminars and staff services to increase member giving and mission support; helps to interpret the ELCA budget; helps generate unrestricted income for churchwide ministries with the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop through the Vision for Mission appeal; seeks contributions for the church's World Hunger Appeal and selected designated- giving projects; and provides resources and staff support for mission interpreter networks in synods. The Vision for Mission Annual Churchwide Offering is suggested for May 16. Vision for Mission was established by the 1993 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to support global and domestic mission through "celebrative giving." It allows for direct support from individual members of the ELCA through funds used for current operations or as an endowment. -- -- -- Information about the ELCA's stewardship ministry and resources is maintained at http://www.elca.org/dcm/stewardship/ on the Internet. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news