Workshops

In-Person attendees will pick 1 workshop from each block to attend in-person.

A-11, A-12, A-17, B-11, B-12, C-11, C-12, D-11, and D-12 will be live-streamed for online participants and the recordings will be available to all in-person and virtual participants.

Workshop Block A: Monday 4:00 PM

A-11 Practical AI for Stewardship Catering to beginner and intermediate skill levels, the session will highlight how to effectively leverage generative AI tools like ChatGPT, while also managing their risks. Participants will walk away with practical examples of AI techniques tailored specifically to stewardship and philanthropy. Adam Kehoe - Left Right Technology

A-12 Money Shame? In this workshop we explore the limiting beliefs that affect our relationship to money. These beliefs have an impact on our personal budgets which affect our ability to give. In this session you may learn some new things about yourself that will cause you to leave this workshop dancing. Katherine Lankford - Liberty Community Church, Minneapolis

A-13 Treasurer's Training Some fun and unique items that every church treasurer needs to know, including ways to make the job easier, organizational tips, understanding clergy compensation, and some special do's and don'ts. Edd Breeden - Presbytery of San Jose

A-14 Centering Your Capital Campaign on Mission In 2023, FPC Hastings completed a successful capital campaign for $2 million for remodeling/updating. The success of the campaign was due, in part, to a focus on mission; half of all funds raised went to mission. This workshop will share the lessons we learned. Greg Allen-Pickett - First Presbyterian Church of Hastings, Hastings NE

A-15 New Strategies for Funding Judicatories and Mid Councils This workshop will look at current funding models used to support denominational judicatories and mid councils and explore new ideas for providing financial support for missional and administrative tasks. Jacqueline Taylor - Baltimore Presbytery

A-16 Policies and Procedures: Learning from Real-life Examples Case studies will provide the launching point for this wide ranging discussion on policies and procedures for congregations in the area of finance and legacy gifts and planning for legacy gifts. One size does not fit all when it comes to policies so we will look at alternatives as well. Jake Wilson and Rick Young - Texas Presbyterian Foundation

A-17 Yes, You Can Preach about Tithing with Great Effect, Like Jesus Did - NOT LIVE - RECORDING WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS Congregational giving can improve by leaps & bounds when preached by a pastor who understands The Six Stages of Stewardship Maturesence. You can help every member to grow in generosity -- regardless of which stage they've reached. Take home outlines of potent sermons on such generosity. Jack Haberer - Retired from First Presbyterian Church, Kerrville, TX

A-18 Data-driven Practices to Cultivate Generosity within Your Congregation Based on research, we will analyze and engage your congregation’s current and potential givers using the following questions: Who are they? Why do they (or would they) choose to make gifts? and, How can your congregation best connect with them? We will explore best practices to engage new donors. Carlos Perkins - Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Indianapolis

A-19 Reverse Tithing: Churches Building Communities What if churches invested in the people of their communities directly? Endowing People combines a Guaranteed Basic Income with an intense 12 month Financial Literacy Training course to help families (mostly single parents) develop generational wealth. For more info, visit endowingpeople.org. David Baker - Endowing People, Danville, VA

A-20 Transforming Church Property for Missional and Financial Impact Physical property is usually the biggest expense area for congregations, and existing models for funding and using church property are faltering rapidly. This workshop will explore theological, practical, and financial resources to transform church property for exponential impact and sustainability. Lindsey Altvater Clifton - First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem, PA

Workshop Block B: Tuesday 10:45 AM

B-11 Building Blocks of a Legacy Giving Program How do I start or energize a legacy program for my church/organization? During this workshop you will hear detailed suggestions for beginning or revitalizing a legacy program. Stefanie Marsden and Kristi Posewitz - Texas Presbyterian Foundation

B-12 Believing and Belonging: Reading Luke-Acts How can Scripture best shape our efforts to form communities characterized by generosity and grace? Let's explore together key texts from the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles that intertwine belief and belonging, salvation and repair of communities, God's grace and welcoming tables. Eric Barreto - Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ

B-13 The Future of Church Funding is Here The future of church funding is here, and it looks, feels and functions differently. Americans report that 69% of their charitable giving is religiously motivated, but the local church only receives 27%. The solution is not one thing. It’s everything working together in an Integrated Funding Strategy Joe Park - Horizons Stewardship

B-14 Planned Giving Tools that Complement Your Stewardship and Campaign Toolbox Planned giving can be the most impactful, but least discussed tool in your stewardship and campaign toolbox. Join Lisa to discuss new, effective, and sometimes forgotten tools that are easily implemented into your stewardship and capital campaigns. This workshop will start with a brief review of planned giving concepts that guide participants in their undersanding of why this work is important, and how impactuful this programming can be. We will then pivot into tools, strategy and action that can take their programming to its next level. Lisa Higginbotham - ELCA Foundation

B-15 Cyber Security and Stewardship: Enhancing Your Church's Cyber Strategy Cyber-attacks and data breaches are becoming more common, and churches are not immune. We will explore recent trends of cyber-attacks and data leak prevention tactics. We will discuss actions steps and provide handouts that churches can use to protect themselves and their cyber security program. Nick Kotoulas - PCUSA Board of Pensions

B-16 Responsible Investing - What Are We Actually Accomplishing? Our investments reflect our witness and have a social impact one way or another. As good stewards, by incorporating Presbyterian values into investments, it's critical to understand what we seek to deliver and accomplish as well as the positive impact we are having as a denomination. Brad Masters - New Covenant Trust Company

B-17 Effectively Communicating Financial Need for Maximum Fundraising The Case for Support is the best way to communicate your mission and funding needs with financial partners. It should be the foundation for all communications, events, and fundraising. This workshop will explain the ten elements of creating a great Case with examples and practical handouts. Askala Calhoun - The FOCUS Group

B-18 Relationships with Major Donors If you look for someone to lead a youth event, sing in worship, or fix the leaking sink in the kitchen you know who to invite. It’s no different if you seek a lead gift to a special appeal. This workshop will provide practical tools for developing impactful relationships with your lead donors. Peter Reuss - GSB Fundraising, Rochester MN

B-19 Stewardship of Our Community This workshop will provide an overview of how abandoning the traditional church model has led to unconventional stewardship of our community. The start: $5,000 in 2020. The current miracle: close to $700,000 and triple the community impact! Kevin Riley - Mount Baker Presbyterian Church, Concrete, WA

B-20 The National and the Local Issues of Welcoming Newcomers This is a joint workshop with Global Refuge and Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Global Refuge is one of ten national organizations that resettle refugees across the United States. Lutheran Community Services Northwest is the local partner that oversees the resettlement of refugees. Jon Buuck - Global Refuge (LIRS) and Peter Vogelaar - Lutheran Community Services Northwest

Workshop Block C: Tuesday 3:15 PM

C-11 Stewardship 101: What You (Probably) Didn't Learn in Seminary Church pastors receive excellent theological education and training from our seminaries, but there is often a gap when it comes to practical knowledge and skills needed to lead a congregation, especially in the area of stewardship and generosity. This workshop aims to fill that gap. Sandra Moon - Presbyterian Foundation

C-12 Funding Forward: Where Do We Start? Building on her plenary, join Grace Duddy Pomroy as she peels back the layers of creating more sustainable models for ministry. We'll explore where a congregation might start and what pitfalls to avoid. Bring your questions! Grace Pomroy - Luther Seminary

C-13 How to Conduct A Thimble-sized Campaign? What is a thimble-sized (mini) campaign? When is it appropriate to conduct a mini campaign? What are the components of a mini campaign? How often can a thimble-sized campaign be conducted? Are lead gifts needed? Can a mini campaign support a budget shortfall? Let's explore this together! John Clark - The James Company

C-14 Separating Stewardship from Finance How can we ensure we are being true to our call to teach stewardship as a spiritual practice? This workshop will outline the pitfalls of including stewardship within the finance committee's responsibilities. You will learn techniques for deeply engaging stewardhip of all God has entrusted to us. Also available in Spanish. Rene Myers and Lemuel Garcia - PCUSA

C-15 Planned Giving 101: The Basics What is planned giving? How does our church start a program? How do we ask and invite gifts? Join us as we answer these questions. In this workshop we will share a simple plan that any church can implement, and we will give you the tools and templates that you can use to build your own program! Karl Mattison - Presbyterian Foundation

C-16 Stewardship is Belonging in Action Stewardship is about response-ability. We will ground ourselves in scriptural discipleship and lay out the practical work of cultivating belonging to a catalytic congregational vision for mission and ministry. From this belonging flows our shared efforts of stewarding the flourishing of creation. Andrew Kukla - First Presbyterian Church - Boise

C-17 Creating a Narrative Budget Sometimes the step-by-step of creating a narrative budget for a congregation or ministry entity is really daunting. This workshop will take participants step by step through the creation of a narrative budget, highlighting necessary practices for best results. Tim Brown - ELCA

C-18 Data Pulse: Church Generosity Trends Benchmark your church with Vanco's latest giving index. Access powerful insights into key giving benchmarks like average donation size, percent of recurring donations and overall donations. Discover proven strategies used by tens of thousands of Vanco churches to ignite a culture of generosity! Ben Keeney - Vanco

C-19 How Are We Going to Pay for This? Funding New Worshiping Communities We know church is changing and we know giving in churches is changing, so what is happening among the newest worshiping communities in the church? What are we/they learning about sustaining the costs of ministry? Where can we learn from their innovations? Nikki Collins - PCUSA

C-20 Discovering God's Abundance Together Learn how to invite your whole congregation into a time of Jubilee as they engage in small group study, discovering together God’s generous gifts. This process includes a process for creating pledge cards for money, time, leadership and more. Participants will learn key skills for deep listening. Joan Beck and Marcia Patton - The Kaleidoscope Institute

Workshop Block D: Wednesday 9:00 AM

D-11 How to Speak the Language of Investments and Finance This workshop explores the different types of investment options available to churches and church organizations as well as their proper financial statement presentation. The goal is to equip workshop attendees with the ability to speak the language of Investments and Finance. Bill Wiles - Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery, Tulsa

D-12 Incorporating Stewardship into Worship Worship is the heart of a church's life. How can our worship practices reflect our commitment to stewardship through sermon, liturgy and music? We will spend time exploring preaching themes, hymns and prayers, and sharing best practices among participants. John Wilkinson - PCUSA - Administrative Services Group

D-13 A Presbytery Journey Toward Financial Sustainability The workshop will focus on the journey of the Presbytery of Newton/Highlands toward developing a financial sustainability plan for the presbytery. Jeanne Radak - Presbytery of the Highlands of New Jersey, Northwest, NJ

D-14 Cybersecurity Best Practices CISA (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency) provides information on cybersecurity best practices to help individuals and organizations implement preventative measures and manage cyber risks. Developing and implementing tailored cybersecurity plans and processes is key to protecting and maintaining operations. Chad Cunningham - Insurance Board, Cleveland

D-15 Stewardship After the Gift Who should be involved in financial management? How to manage memorial, restricted, and endowed gift? What controls should be in place to prevent fraud? Come learn about financial record management options and resources and why they are important. Mark Stauffer - Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Encinitas CA

Joseph Moore - Presbyterian Foundation

D-16 Connecting in God's Generosity Generation to Generation Interested in developing centers of generosity that empower young ones to elders to live out daily generosity as a vital expression and practice of Christian faith? Join us to engage in God's stories and each others stories using The Generosity Project and other engagement tools. Karen Kretschmann - ELCA, Chicago

D-17 How to Ask for Money without (Usually) Asking One of the hardest things for clergy - and lay leaders - to do is to talk about money, much less ask for it! This workshop will share a variety of ways to talk about the work we're doing that inspires people to give generously. Rebecca Segers - Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY

D-18 Selling Stewardship: The Marketing Lens to Get the Congregation on Board You know how to plan a campaign, but how do you market it? Learn communication tips to increase accessibility, attract and retain donors, and maximize traditional and new methods and strategies. Uncover easy tools and common gaps that will help a church of any size tailor a campaign to its audience. Carson Brown - Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church, Ft. Myers

D-19 New Church Economics Can we continue to expect the expense of spiritual development to rest on the back of the seeker? Is there another way? Let's explore together how churches are shifting their economic model and developing creative solutions to financial challenges facing churches today. Katy Steinberg - First Presbyterian Church of Daytona Beach/Missing Peace

D-20 Stewardship Trauma Often times, our stewardship sermons, pledge drives, and resources are directed at the wealthy and comfortable because they sustain our ministries. What does stewardship look like for the poor and the financially abused, those on a fixed income or those that have trauma around church and money? Jeffrey Fiet - First Presbyterian Church, Scottsbluff, NE