JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Baptist Convention in January is launching a weekly e-newsletter called The Stewardship Journal to equip ministry leaders to help their churches achieve higher levels of financial security.
The free journal is being sent to pastors and other church leaders as part of a year-long emphasis on biblical stewardship. Each edition features articles from MBC Executive Director John Yeats and other state missionaries. It also provides readers with weekly “offering talks” to help improve week-to-week giving.
Additionally, the newsletter contains columns from Mark Brooks, known as “The Stewardship Coach.” Brooks has more than 40 years of ministry experience in Southern Baptist churches. He has written more than 1,000 articles on stewardship, as well as many books and manuals on the topic. He recently served on the team that produced Ronnie Floyd’s new book, Ten Percent: A Call to Biblical Stewardship, available free of charge by visiting mobaptist.org/ten-percent.
Yeats noted a new survey from LifeWay Research, reporting that half of the pastors surveyed see a coming negative economic impact for the church. While giving has stabilized for many churches in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, difficult days are ahead. David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, stated that one in five churches could close their doors forever in the next 18 months due to lockdowns.
“The mission of Missouri Baptists to transform lives and communities with the gospel is too important to risk losing any of our churches over failure to disciple members with stewardship principles,” said Yeats. “As I read and reviewed the current stress on giving, I knew we had to take action and provide our churches with the tools and resources to help them stay financially secure. That’s the reason we’re launching The Stewardship Journal.”
Pastors and other key church leaders are to receive the e-newsletter each Monday beginning Jan. 4. Sign-up for the newsletter, along with access to an archive of newsletters, is available to everyone at mobaptist.org/stewardship-journal.