Voices on Stewardship, a digital content channel that offers inspirational and educational resources to assist churches in developing sustainable ministries, has added new contributors, conversations and materials as part of an enhanced site designed to help increase generosity and address the downward trend in church giving.
Even though charitable contributions reached an all-time high in the United States last year, giving to churches continues to decline as a percentage of overall donations, according to Giving USA. “Churches are foundational institutions in the communities they serve, and my fear is that we are going to lose too many of them,” said Kevin Lee, CEO of Vanco Payment Solutions and founder of Voices on Stewardship.
“We need to stop the slide of dollars away from the church so they have a sustainable financial underpinning. Our mission with Voices on Stewardship is to provide inspiration and guidance to churches so they can increase stewardship and their ministries can flourish.”
Voices on Stewardship (Voices) has been available since late May to a limited group of subscribers. “With the quality of non-denominational thought leaders who are contributing to the site and the resources we’re now able to offer, we believe it’s time to make a splash, and so we are promoting it more widely to the Christian community and on social media,” Lee said.
“Churches are foundational institutions in the communities they serve, and my fear is that we are going to lose too many of them. We need to stop the slide of dollars away from the church so they have a sustainable financial underpinning. Our mission with Voices on Stewardship is to provide inspiration and guidance to churches so they can increase stewardship and their ministries can flourish.”
— Kevin Lee, CEO, Vanco Payment Solutions & Founder, Voices on Stewardship
Contributors to Voices offer their experiences and advice on building ministries through stewardship, fundraising and giving. This week, the site features a special guest blog by Dr. David Anderson, founder of Bridgeway Community Church and the BridgeLeader Network (BLN), and an author, speaker and radio show host.
The site’s new resources section includes links to dozens of blogs, publications and websites focused on stewardship, and a podcast featuring interviews with Lee and contributors about Voices and its mission.
One of those regular contributors is Ben Stroup, senior vice president of fundraising for Pursuant.
“I’ve been writing on the subject of stewardship for over a decade now, so it’s certainly a passion of mine,” Stroup said. “I want churches to think strategically and intentionally about how they build a sustainable ministry in their church.
“It’s not enough to have a good idea; you really have to have systems and processes to create lasting and meaningful change,” Stroup continues. “I hope Voices helps them see stewardship in a much bigger and broader way.”
