Renewed Vision: Lessons in Generosity and Growth

By The Rev. Dr. Rick Young, TPF’s President

I recently attended the Stewardship Kaleidoscope event in Portland, Oregon with three other members of the TPF team. This annual event includes plenary speakers, worship, fellowship, and educational workshops focused on generosity and stewardship. This year’s event was exceptional in several ways. The age and the culture of the attendees is trending younger and with an increasingly diversified composition. A key theme of the conference this year was the continued evolution of the church and what that looks like for us now. We all united around an aligned goal acknowledging and accepting its current state while fully recognizing who we are today. The TPF team left this event invigorated, renewed, and hopeful.

I often return from Stewardship Kaleidoscope full of inspiration and new ideas that I can’t wait to implement immediately. However, it usually doesn’t take long for reality to come crashing down. Inevitably, others on my team are not on the same page. So now what do I do?

As we all work together to enable and expand mission, I suggest we take some time to stop and do the following:

• Take a deep breath, slow down, and enlist all your patience.
• Remember you are not alone, build your team one member at a time.
• Reach out to the experts who led the informative workshops at Stewardship Kaleidoscope.
• Take another deep breath and focus on the rationale for a new way of offering the stewardship message.
• Celebrate the small victories and keep pushing forward.

I am thankful for each of you who give of your time, talent, and energy to furthering the work of the kingdom. You are the backbone of the church, and your gifts shine forth. If you would like additional content focused on growing generosity, CLICK HERE to visit our TPF Legacy Builder tool. Please know that the staff of TPF lifts you in prayer and stands ready to assist you and your congregation when called upon.