Join the discussion!  Follow and contribute @generoussynod , coordinated by the synod’s Stewardship & Mission Table, to discuss stewardship ideas and practices using Twitter.

The synod’s Stewardship & Mission Table recommends the following.

• Recommended Books on Stewardship (posted 4/27/12)
• Survey Results and a Best Practice (the “Mission Letter”) (posted 3/20/12) – Roughly 2/3 of the synod’s congregations responded to a recent Stewardship & Mission Survey. Read what these congregations had to say, and hear a suggestion from the Stewardship & Mission Table based upon their assessment of best practices. This information is also summarized in a blog post from the Rev. Dave Sonnenberg, “Stewardship Practices – Common and Best,” in the Forum blog (under Faith Resources tab) on this site.
• Getting in Position to Thrive 2.0 (posted 11/9/11)
  “A church that is ‘in position’ will change lives, reach out, welcome and assimilate new people, be a beacon of care, inspire and receive strong financial support, and be able to seize new opportunities for mission.” Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (GSLC) in Gaithersburg, Md., writes this for their Getting in Position to Thrive 2.0 campaign. The handout contains motivating ideas for other congregations as well.
  →  Check out additional stewardship resources on GSLC’s Web site: http://goserve.net/stewardship/.
• Crafting a Narrative Budget (posted 8/22/11, rtf format)
  Excerpt rom the Rev. Dave Sonneberg: “In 2004, my congregation began to prepare a narrative budget in addition to the line item budget.  The Narrative Budget ‘translated’ the line item budget into a portrait of mission.  A Narrative Budget is an ‘inspirational tool.’   It‘s purpose is simple.  It tells ‘what we, as a congregation, intend to do with your generous giving.’”
• Best Financial Stewardship Practices for Congregations (posted 9/8/11, ppt slides)
  Excerpt from the Rev. Phil Hirsch: “Don’t let the only time you talk about money in the church be when you are asking people to give.”
  Topics of these 25 slides (also available as a pdf file) include: Foundations / Direct Conversations About Money / Reasons Why People Give / Ask Thank Tell .