The Generous Discipleship Committee grew out of the idea that generosity within this congregation is something to be lived year round as a mark of our discipleship.  While it encompasses the stewardship effort as we have thought of it in the past, it attempts to move us beyond the concept of stewardship as something we do in the fall to meet our annual budget to an attitude of generosity that is practiced year round, day in and day out.  The committee sees its mandate as being both to educate and to ask, to remind us of what the Bible teaches about giving and to encourage us as a congregation to do likewise.

In the spirit of Methodist Bishop Robert Schnase’s book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, the committee is dedicated to promoting “extravagant generosity” among the members of our congregation.  Schnase describes the practice of extravagant generosity as the Christian’s unselfish willingness to give in order to make a positive difference for the purposes of Christ.  Extravagantly generous congregations teach and practice giving that focuses on the abundance of God’s grace and emphasize the Christian’s need to give rather than the church’s need for money.  In the spirit and manner of Christ, such congregations explicitly talk about the place of money in the Chrisitian’s walk of faith, with the result that they view giving as a gift from God and are driven to be generous by a sense of mission and a desire to please God by making a positive difference in the world.

To this end, committee members work with the New Members Class to bring them the message of extravagant generosity; partner with the Christian Education Committee to offer courses based on Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University; conduct an annual stewardship campaign, themed “Expect Great Things With God” for 2010; and creatively look for opportunities to undergird the worship and work of the congregation to promote extravagant generosity among all of our members.