Resources for Budget Season
There comes that season in the Church’s life when one turns to stewardship, givings, and fundraising… and budget season!
Imagine Together Tool Kit
Recommended by the Stewardship Department of the PCC, this looks like a helpful and “FREE” resource. The Stewardship Kit is only free with the discount code provided or your congregation’s Annual / Seasonal Campaign. Please note: the discount code only applies to PCC congregations (sorry, denominational membership does have its privileges!)
About the Tool Kit
Imagine Together is the theme of this year’s comprehensive stewardship kit (worth US$69) to help people see the impact congregations can make in our communities, country and the world when we generously share our gifts. It includes eight complete worship services, hymn suggestions, sermon starters from eight different authors; plus additional faith formation sessions for children, youth, and adults. You will receive everything you need to run a year-round or seasonal stewardship campaign, including logos, commitment cards, bulletin inserts, letters and ideas to how to adapt for small and large congregations.
To download the toolkit: uccresources.com/generosity
Note: Anyone downloading the resource who is not a PCC congregation will be sent a bill by The Presbyterian Church in Canada for the full cost of the resource.Worship and Study Tools for Legacy Sunday (PCC)
The Presbyterian Church in Canada provides a collection of customizable resources for congregations to celebrate Legacy Sunday, a day dedicated to honouring gifts and legacies that support the church’s mission for future generations. Legacy Sunday can be observed on the third Sunday of November or any chosen date, and materials are designed to be adaptable to each church’s context.
A few resources included here:
Complete Worship Services - Several worship service options are available with each including prayers, hymns, scriptures, sermons, and children’s stories. Themes include:
Not Mine, But Ours! by Bonnie Marden, emphasizing stewardship as a shared blessing.
Stepping Forward in Faith by Rev. Lara Scholey, reflecting on Philippians 3:4b–14.
Memory and Hope by Rev. Joan Masterton, focusing on honouring relationships with God and community.
Shine Your Light by Lori Guenther Reesor and Karen Plater, inspired by the Rev. Herb Gale, drawing on the metaphor of starlight to symbolize the enduring impact of faith.
Sermon Videos and Slides - Each service includes a video sermon and accompanying slides
Children’s Story Videos - Simon’s Apple Tree, an animated story, explores generosity and legacy through a child-friendly story. Two versions are available: one with a discussion on legacy and one for personal adaptation.
Bulletin Inserts - including "What Will Your Legacy Be?" and planned giving guides.
Legacy Gifts and Planned Giving (PCC)
Are your church members mortal? Yes! Is your church pretending that they're not? Probably! Would receiving a bequest benefit your church? Yes! Does your church need help broaching this topic? This webinar will provide practical tools for talking specifically about bequests in your congregation.
This Presbyterian Church in Canada page provides resources for planning legacy gifts and bequests to support the church’s future mission. It includes guides on setting up bequest funds and endowments, information on charitable gift annuities, and tools for Legacy Sunday services. Webinars and videos are also available to help congregations encourage and manage planned giving effectively.
A Note About Narrative Budgets
I (John) was always a big fan of Narrative Budgets. When I was in congregational ministry, I even designed the traditional Annual Budget meeting as a worship service experience based on a narrative budget for a season. Here are a couple of resources to help you create your own for your ministry context. It is a helpful tool to make financial reporting and budget creation more accessible and more clearly tied to your mission and vision. Here are some helpful tools to create one yourself.
A Simple Step-by-Step Process for Creating a Narrative Budget
from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership
A picture is worth a thousand words! A narrative budget presentation that converts your line item budget into an inspiring visual is useful during a pledge or commitment campaign, for ongoing stewardship education, or as part of a visitor information packet.
Transforming your line item budget into a mission-oriented story requires a moderately simple math exercise, most easily managed using a spreadsheet program, such as Excel. Work with a small team of leaders, including Finance and Stewardship Committee members, staff, a skilled writer, and a graphic artist, if available, to supplement your budget story or pie chart with pictures of people and ministries as well as testimonials. Most importantly, have fun and celebrate all God is doing through your mission.
Narrative Budgets – Telling the Story of Your Congregation’s Ministry
From the PCC
When a zoo wants to let you know where your gifts of support are going, they tell the story about the birth of a new baby giraffe. Churches, too, can share the stories of God’s mission which emerge from the gifts that people give.
Creating a narrative budget is a way to transform your congregation’s line-item budget into the story of your congregation’s ministry. It connects your budget to God’s mission and shares it in a way that gives a fresh perspective on the ministry your church is doing at home and in the world. By linking dollars to mission it inspires and informs donors about the importance and impact of their gifts.
Below, you’ll find a link to an example of a short and simple narrative budget in a bulletin-sized format. In this example, budget amounts are categorized into six missional categories. The categories are based on the story the congregation was telling in its annual report. The final page shares the many ways people can give to your church.
Narrative Budget: Practical Tools
The Rev. Mark Tremblay shares some practical tools that Knox, Calgary has used over the years to construct their narrative budget. He talks about what they have learned, what has worked, what has not worked, etc. This webinar builds on concepts introduced in a previous webinar, “Sharing your story in a way that inspires.”