Missional Stewardship: A Definition
Ruben Swint, Senior Strategist, Generis Partners, Atlanta, GA
Stewardship can be defined in many ways, and has been! Steward and stewardship are Biblical words with deep and rich meanings for Christian theologies and lifestyles.
A steward is a responsible person who acts with the authority of someone else. An owner, a trustee, or a CEO grants authority and resources for the faithful accomplishment of an organization’s purpose and goals. A Christian steward is gifted, called and empowered to act as God’s agent in the world for Kingdom purposes and goals.
A Christian steward is one who lives and works toward the goals set by God . The Bible expresses God’s desire for a life of meaning and purpose for each person along with compassion and justice toward each person. A Christian, by definition, is empowered by the Holy Spirit to work towards these goals.
Stewardship employs attitude and action that results in responsibly accomplishing the goals ultimately set by someone else. Stewardship requires loyalty, faithfulness, and diligence to meet another’s goals using another’s authority and resources. Stewardship is all we do with all we have to accomplish our God-given mission, as individuals and as congregations.
For many Christians and congregations, stewardship needs a larger frame of reference than “how much of ‘my’ money I will give to the church.” Stewardship is essentially more than fundraising, giving and tithing. A steward lives, works, gives and serves with attention paid to what God desires.
Stewardship is engaged when Christians act on God’s intention of a full life for all people. Therefore, Christian stewards:
- live and share the Good News found in Jesus,
- work for justice and peace,
- acknowledge and utilize our God-given abilities and opportunities,
- share material resources and personal energy in caring for others,
- conserve our planet’s capacity to sustain physical life, and
- participate in communities of faith for worship, nurture and ministry.
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.