Stewardship Hierarchy
Ruben Swint, Senior Strategist, Generis Partners, Atlanta, GA
Jesus’ Vision of the Kingdom of God is the beginning principle of Christian stewardship. Jesus was the faithful steward who aligned his life and ministry with the Kingdom of God, a reality to be experienced now and eternally.
Congregational Mission is the concept around which communities of faith state their intention to live the Jesus way. Congregations interpret Jesus’ Vision in a way that is consistent with their spiritual experiences and cultural realities.
Stewardship is all we do with all we have to accomplish our God-given mission, individually and corporately in faith communities. The mission of a congregation consists of identity, a strengths-based direction, and community values.
Resources for accomplishing mission include time, talent, treasure and touch. (from The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and Truett Cathy).
Strategies for resource development and deployment include time allocation, gift discovery, fundraising, and relationship building.
Fundraising is not Christian stewardship, even though much that is written, spoken and done in the name of stewardship is simply fundraising. Fundraising is the strategy for developing the treasure resource in order to fund and accomplish mission. Fundraising seeks annual gifts to fund the congregation’s ministry plan, campaign gifts to pay for capital and missional projects, and deferred gifts to secure the future ministry potential of congregations.
Ruben Swint is a Senior Strategist with
Generis Partners, LLC of Atlanta, Georgia. Over the past 19 years, Ruben has directed 120 capital campaigns, helping churches expand and enhance their mission. For six of those 19 years, Ruben also served as President of the CBF Foundation. Other consulting has included annual stewardship program leadership, stewardship committee training and endowment and planned giving guidance. A professional speaker and published author, Ruben often leads stewardship conferences and is an active member of the National Association of Church Business Administration. You may contact Ruben Swint by
email or calling 1-800-849-2896, ext. 236.