Beyond Stewardship ─ A Church Guide to Generous Giving Campaign

Authors John Zehring and Kate Jagger have run a lot of fundraising campaigns and they bring that experience to bear in this practical resource for churches. Beyond Stewardship applies the best principles of fundraising to the annual giving campaign in local congregations. By emphasizing the individual givers and the act of giving as integral to the givers' spiritual life, this book goes beyond typical stewardship models to celebrate the generosity already demonstrated by church members and to invite further giving based on that generous past. Using a collaborative paradigm that engages leadership across the church, this volume offers four interlocking strategies for a successful annual giving campaign: personal visits, concentric circles of commitment, public witness, and direct mail. Features practical appendix of tools and resources.

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations for twenty years as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education for more than two decades, primarily in development and institutional advancement, as a dean and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is author of books and eBooks and has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology, and Church Administration. He was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He holds degrees from Eastern University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. John is married to his high school sweetheart Donna and they have two children and five grandchildren. He lives in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.Co-author Kate Jagger chaired the Annual Giving Committee at South Church in Andover which brought the Annual Giving effort to new heights and field-tested this approach over a multi-year period. Kate served as chair of fundraising at every church to which she has belonged as well as a number of schools and community organizations. Prior to her coming to Andover, Kate's profession was in publishing with Penguin Putnam Publishing in New York. She holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire.