Church leaders often say they want their church to have an endowment.
And while that’s good, churches need to be prepared to dig a little deeper and answer some core questions as they establish an endowment, says Olanda Carr Jr., Senior Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation.
In just a little more than a decade, the Presbyterian Church of Okemos, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan, has gone from being a congregation that rarely talked about money to a church where even younger members understand the power of pledges, bequests and endowments to multiply mission and as a means to commit their life to being a part of a faith community.
The minister was giving a sermon on “total giving.” When it came time to take up the offering, the plate came to a pew where there was a very small boy. He looked up at the usher and said, “Could you lower the plate?” Thinking that he wanted to see into the plate, the usher held it down a bit. “No,” said the boy, “a little lower, please.” The usher lowered it a bit more. “More; could you just put it on the floor?” the boy asked. The usher was aghast but finally put it on the floor. The boy stepped into it, stood there, and said, “This is what I give to the Lord.” — A Stewardship Scrapbook
