Stewardship
The Stewardship Program at Saint Sophia is a simple, practical and above all, a Christian plan to finance and operate our Church. The Stewardship Program places responsibility for supporting our Church and its various ministries and in planning for the future on every parishioner. No one member is asked to give a specific amount; there are no dues. All that is asked of you is that you give a percentage of what you have received from our Lord, in order to sustain His beloved Church and its ministries. The ideal, which our Stewardship program strives to implement, is based on allowing each individual to give according to their means and conscience. Everyone 18 years of age or older, who is self-supporting and who wants to assume his/her responsibility to their Church, should make a commitment. Below are some of the commonly asked questions on Stewardship. Please make every effort to read and understand the questions and answers; as they will help each one in making their financial commitment to the Saint Sophia Community.
Our stewardship pledges cover about 35% of the current parish budget. Our challenge is for stewardship pledges to cover all the day-to-day operating & maintaining the Church and all its programs, or 48% of the total budget. Our long-term goal is to meet 100% of our budget through the stewardship pledges. We are realistic--100% reliance on stewardship will not happen in the next few years. It is a goal to achieve as our Church grows and as we learn to support her from our hearts, with love and trust that God will provide what we need to do His work.
BUDGETING FOR FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP
Each year as we consider our Stewardship Commitment, we ask: How Much Money Should I Give? Stewardship involves an individual and personal commitment--a commitment that you make to God, and for God. Therefore, the best measure of the proper level of giving is by God’s standards as presented in the Bible and by our current capabilities and resources. The chart below helps us to calculate a weekly giving amount for various levels of giving as a percentage of annual household income and compared to the Biblical measure of “tithing” (10%). Let your heart and your trust in God guide you!
