Transformational Stewardship at St. Luke Lutheran Church

St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church in Devon, Pennsylvania is a vibrant community of faith committed to growing as disciples of Christ in all dimensions, including financial stewardship. Our mission is: “To know, love, and serve Christ”.

Located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, the St. Luke congregation includes nearly one thousand baptized members, with average weekly worship attendance of about 325. Both total membership and worship attendance (up 12%) have grown steadily since 2006. In that year, St. Luke dedicated a new social hall (the prior facility having been destroyed in an earlier fire) and called The Rev. Susan Ericsson as its new senior pastor.

St. Luke has also been blessed with significant progress over the past few years in the area of financial stewardship. Regular annual giving to support the mission and ministry of the church has grown steadily from $595,000 in 2006 to $710,000 in 2009 – an increase of nearly 20%. In addition, members of the congregation have increasingly shown generous support for special appeals and other giving opportunities, with for example, over an additional $70,000 given in 2009 to such ministries as Lutheran Disaster Response; ELCA World Hunger; ELCA Youth Gathering (including a tithe to support other congregations); The Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia; several local social ministry organizations; and other important causes.

The key stewardship message for the past four years has been to encourage everyone to reflect on how they been blessed by God with so many gifts, and to share from that abundance with others. (God provides “every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough, we may share abundantly in every good work”: 2 Corinthians 9:8.) In that regard, the stewardship focus has moved from a mindset of “giving to help balance the budget” to a spirit of helping to support continued vitality and ongoing growth in the life-saving ministries of St. Luke. Our emphasis has relentlessly been on the mission and ministry, and how people’s gifts of time; talent, and treasure are making a difference in the lives of people within our own congregation and beyond. Sharing with others has been an important driver. Growth in our regular benevolence budget (money sent to our synod; the ELCA; and other outside ministries – over and above “special appeals”) has been a key element of our stewardship message. After dropping to a low of $45,000 in 2006, our total benevolence budget for 2010 will be $100,000.

Sign up for Simply Giving

The Simply Giving program is an automated giving program designed to help you conveniently, consistently, and safely contribute to St. Luke.  Since St. Luke began offering an automated giving program, over 25 members have chosen to participate.  You can choose to use Simply Giving or participate through electronic transfers through your own bank.

Several members have told us how much they like the program because of its convenience. They also mentioned that they appreciate that their financial gifts to St. Luke continue even if they are out of town and aren’t able to be at a worship service. Some other benefits:

No additional cost to you

You continue to receive quarterly statements from St. Luke

Avoid the inconvenience of writing checks

You can change your contributions at any time

You can enroll in Simply Giving^® or electronically at your own bank at any time. As an additional incentive, during the month of September, St. Luke will donate $25 to your favorite charity (REACT, Silver Springs or ELCA World Hunger Appeal) for each member who signs up. Instructions and forms will be available in the narthex every Sunday during September.