1.New Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program with Guest Leader Guide & CD-ROM:Revised Edition

Paperback by Herb Miller (Author)

New Consecration Sunday approaches financing the ministries of your congregation by teaching stewardship from a spiritual perspective rather than a fundraising perspective. It focuses on the question, "What is God calling me to do?" rather than, "What does the church need in order to pay its bills?"

TheNew Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program is a proven winner; it has helped thousands of congregations increase financial giving by 15% to 30%

The revised edition features a CD-ROM that includes the audio overview of the program as well as a PowerPoint presentation and editable letters and communication tools.
How-to instructions are based on the author's conversations with thousands of clergy, stewardship team leaders, and guest leaders.

What do I need to get started?
Order the program book (ISBN 978-0-687-64437-7) and gather ateam. Purchase copies of the Team Member Manual (ISBN 978-0-687-64447-6), one for each member of your team. These resources provide complete instructionsfor implementing the program successfully.
Order additional Estimate of Giving Cards (ISBN 978-0-687-06406-9) Pkg. of 100
Does it work?
Thousands of congregations have experienced 15% to 30% increases in financial giving with the New Consecration Sunday Stewardship Program the first year plus additional significant increases in subsequent years of its use.

One congregation obtained these impressive multi-year results: First year, a 14.4% increase in giving; second year, 10.3% increase; third year, 13.4% increase; fourth year, 13.6%; and fifth year, 19.6% increase.
A congregation's financial secretary said, "More than two-thirds of our households made some degree of annual increase each year we used Consecration Sunday. And each year we used the program, four to six additional households decided to tithe (some of those donors grew from giving 4 percent of their income to giving 10 percent of their income)."
The independent research firm, Perdue Research Group, interviewed people in one hundred and fifty congregations that used Consecration Sunday during the past several years. All churches reported an increase in giving and 45% of the churches reported increases of 20 to 25%.

Herb Miller is an internationally recognized authority in congregational health and effectiveness. More than two million clergy and lay leaders in twenty-five denominations read The Parish Paper, which he co-edits with Lyle E. Schaller. His sixteen books include Fishing on the Asphalt, Church Personality Matters!,The Vital Congregation, Connecting with God, and Full Disclosure: Everything the Bible Says about Financial Giving.

$24.88 amazon.com

Many of the programs mentioned below were available from Morehouse for years. They now are available for digital download, but may be duplicated. Although a little dated, the overall framework remains successful. They are available from the Episcopal Network for Stewardship:

2.A Manual for Stewardship Development Programs in the Congregation

The core of the Joyful Giving Program, now in its third printing, includes a Preface by the Rev. Canon J. Hugh Magers, a Foreword by Tom Gossen, and Diagnostic Tools from the Rev. William A. Yon. Congregational leaders will appreciate this resource of timeless teachings on Christian stewardship along with many practical applications of these teachings.

Through clear, hands-on instruction, this resource will help you to

teach your congregation the fundamentals of Christian stewardship
recruit good leaders
train and inspire your volunteers
delegate responsibility effectively
customize a commitment program that fits your needs
focus on the many ways to give to God – including gifts of money, time, and talent.

Content includes a discussion of Year-Round Stewardship programs and an outline of five popular annual commitment programs which each include a focused Education Training Event designed to nurture church members toward a joyful and faithful response in their financial commitment. Workbooks for each of the five pledge programs are sold separately. Price: $22.95

3.TheFaithful Member Home Visitation Commitment

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TheFaithful Member Home Visitation Commitment Programis centered on recruiting and training members of the faith community to make a limited number of personal visits (either individually or in pairs) to the homes of the other members. The purpose of the in-home visit is for the visitor to share a brief message on some aspect of his/her stewardship journey (and, optionally, the goals and dreams of the congregation,) together with an invitation for response in thanksgiving with a financial pledge (and, optionally, commitments of time) for the support of God’s work in the world through the congregation.

This program should include leadership from an ongoing stewardship ministry team - not just a single purpose task team. And, for maximum effectiveness, the program must include recruiting and training those who are asked to serve in the ministry of visitation. The Education Training Event should follow or be similar to one of those outlined in this workbook or inA Manual For Stewardship Development Programs In The Congregationand should be facilitated by a trained consultant.

A detailed set of guidelines is included to help you realize a successful Faithful Member Home Visitation Commitment Program. And, suggested job descriptions are included for all critical leadership positions. However, we recognize that each situation is unique, so we invite you to use what you find useful, fill in the blanks where we haven’t provided enough information and experiment to suit your particular situation. Price: $19.95

4.The Cottage Meeting Commitment Program

The Cottage Meeting Commitment Program (2009 Edition) workbook is a supplement to A Manual for Stewardship Development Programs in the Congregation. It is designed to give you the structure and guidance you need to organize a joyful commitment program in your congregation.

The Cottage Meeting Commitment Program is centered on gathering as many of the faith community together as possible in small groups of eight to twelve. They will meet in the homes of members of the congregation to reflect on their spiritual life and ministry together, hear the stewardship journey of one of their members, foster a sense of thankfulness for all of God’s blessings, and respond in thanksgiving with financial pledges (and, optionally, commitments of time) for the support of God’s work in the world through their congregation.

The workbook includes:

An Overview describing the cottage meeting concept and assistance estimating the costs to be incurred.
An Action Plan outline.
A Training Event Outline to provide guidance on preparing your volunteers.
Job descriptions for the leadership and host positions to help you delegate responsibility effectively.
A master planning calendar enables you to set target completion dates for each step of the program.
A description of program phases summarizes critical action steps and suggests who does them.

This product is available only as a downloadable PDF file.Price: $19.95Top of FormBottom of Form

5.The Festive Meal Commitment Program

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In aFestive Meal Commitment Program, as many as possible of the faith community gather

to enjoy a festive celebration of their spiritual life and ministry together,
to hear an inspirational speaker witness to his/her stewardship journey,
to foster a sense of thankfulness for God’s blessings, and
to respond in thanksgiving with financial pledges for the support of God’s work in the world through the congregation.

As outlined, the format includes leadership from an ongoing Stewardship Ministry Team - not just a single purpose task team. And, for maximum effectiveness, the program must include the Education Training Event for those who are recruited to serve as Table Hosts and/or Discussion Leaders. The Education Training Event should follow, or be similar to, one of those found in this workbook or inA Manual For Stewardship Development Programs in the Congregationand should be facilitated by a trained facilitator/presenter.

The workbook includes:

An Overview describing the Festive Meal concept and assistance estimating the costs to be incurred.
An Action Plan outline.
A Training Event Outline to provide guidance on preparing your volunteers.
Job descriptions for the leadership and other volunteer positions to help you delegate responsibility effectively.
A master planning calendar enables you to set target completion dates for each step of the program.
A description of program phases summarizes critical action steps and suggests who does them.

This product is only available as a downloadable PDF file:Price: $19.95

6.The Personal Note Commitment Program

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The Personal Note Commitment Programwill help you to manage a successful stewardship letter-writing commitment program in your congregation.

Through the program, a series of personal, hand-written letters and notes are sent to each household in the congregation. These notes are written by a group of parishioners that you select and train. Complete training suggestions are provided in this program, along with useful forms, flowcharts, and timelines to keep your efforts on track.

This program includes an outline for two different program models – depending on the size of your congregation. For maximum effectiveness, the program must include the recruiting of, and an Education Training Event for, those who are asked to serve as personal note writers. The Education Training Event should follow, or be similar to, one of those outlined in this workbook or inA Manual For Stewardship Development Programs In The Congregationand should be facilitated by a trained consultant.

A detailed set of guidelines is included to help you realize a successful commitment program. And, suggested job descriptions are included for all critical leadership positions. However, we recognize that each situation is unique, so we invite you to use what you find useful, fill in the blanks where we haven’t provided enough information and experiment to suit your particular situation. And when you complete your program evaluation, please let us hear from you so that we might learn how we can improve this workbook to assist others in the future.

This product is only available as a downloadable PDF file.Price: $19.95

7.The Home to Home Commitment Program

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The Home to Home Commitment Programis centered on organizing, recruiting, and training members of the faith community to route a Neighborhood Pledge Packet to a defined series of homes of other members in their neighborhood. The Neighborhood Pledge Packet contains a brief message on some aspect of stewardship theology, a personal witness, and the goals and dreams of the congregation, together with an invitation for a response in the form of a financial pledge. Optionally, commitments of time can be solicited also.

This program, as outlined, includes leadership from an ongoing stewardship ministry team - not just a single purpose task team. And, for maximum effectiveness, the program must include the recruiting of, and an Education Training Event for, those who are asked to serve in the ministry of neighborhood route coordinators. The Education Training Event should follow, or be similar to, one of those outlined in this workbook or inA Manual For Stewardship Development Programs In The Congregationand should be facilitated by a trained consultant.

This product is only available as a downloadable PDF file. Price: $19.95