Stewardship 2024
Dear Friends and Members of Hopewell United Methodist Church,
Grace and peace to you from the HUMC 2024 Stewardship Campaign Committee.
It has been a while since we held a formal Stewardship Campaign. To the extent that some of you may even be asking, “What is a Stewardship Campaign?” So, let me explain.
What is “Stewardship”? Well, the dictionary defines a steward as one who manage another’s property, finances, and other affairs. The Bible calls us stewards because nothing that we have is truly ours. Everything comes from God’s abundant love for us. We are merely stewards of those gifts of time, talent, and treasure. As stewards we are called to use those gifts responsibly in all that we do.
One aspect of that responsibility is how we use those gifts to support the work of God’s kingdom. One small part of that is how we support the work of our church. So, we are embracing a Stewardship Campaign this fall to gather our congregational commitments to allow us to plan our work of worship and mission for 2025. We pray you will embrace it with us, as together we discern how God can use us in the coming year.
During the month of October, as a part of our worship services we will be reflecting on the work of our congregation, and our extended family of the United Methodist Church. We will be hearing testimonies from members of our family reflecting on how the Hopewell United Methodist Church has worked in their lives. From our ministries of worship, music, and praise, to education (Women’s Bible Study, TGIW, Children’s Sunday School, …), to community outreach (The Community Closet, Diaper Drive, Souper Bowl Sunday, …), to national and international outreach (UMCOR, …), our church is at work. As you listen to these weekly messages, we ask that you prayerfully consider how God may be leading you to support these important ministries.
To help us plan our ministries and missions for 2025, we need your input on the direction of the church. What ministries and missions do you value? Where should we be putting our time, talents, and treasure? Please list these below.
We also need to have an idea of what resources will be available to reach these goals. To that end, we are asking you to fill out a Stewardship Commitment below. Let us know the time, talents, and treasure you are hoping to share in 2025. There are no right amounts of time, talent, or treasure to commit. The Bible speaks of tithing , but how much you choose to give is strictly between you and God, and starting small is better than not starting at all. And fear not, you are certainly free to adjust your giving as the year progresses and situations change. The church leadership just needs some guidance to know what our aspirations for 2025 can be.
What we all are able to accomplish in 2025 depends upon you.
Yours in Christ,
Malcolm Davis
Co-Chairperson 2024 Stewardship Committee
Hopewell UMC