Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

Recovering Christian Stewardship from Secular Fundraising 27
Statistics verify what the Church has always held (if not taught)
about the triune nature of stewardship: those who give their time
and talents are most likely to give their treasure, and moreover, are
most willing to do so meaningfully in just that order. Hence, the
need to reach out to younger and newer parishioners, especially the
un-churched, converts to the Christian faith, or even those of
differing confessional backgrounds, is immediate. Because
stewardship is a vocational, and therefore lifelong journey, it is
often years before inward reflection upon good stewardship bears
fruit in such outward signs as the generous offering of time, talent
and treasure.
Asking people to give of their time (to volunteer) from the
very beginning of their life in the Church is not a matter of enticing
people into a “comfort zone” whereby they are more likely to give
money too, but is rather the appropriate development and outward
expression of the inward change that occurs when the individual
engages more deeply in the mystery of faith and the life of the
community. Time is also the only real forum in which talents can be
given and, as such, the generous offering of time is most often
synonymous with the gift of talent.
Of those who contribute to charity in the United States,
households with at least one family member who is actively
engaged in some sort of volunteerism give, on average, twice the
amount of households where no one volunteers. In 1999,
volunteering households gave, on average, 2.5% of their household
income to charity, while non-volunteering households donated only
1.2%. 6 In short, it is significant to note the following:
• Households which engaged in volunteerism gave
substantially more than households that did not. Amongst
6 Independent Sector, “The Relationship Between Giving and Volunteering,”
Giving and Volunteering in the United States, Findings from a National Survey
(Washington D.C.: Independent Sector, 1999).