By Douglas Inglish
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Conference, it is your right to know the financial situation of your Conference. Ellen White makes it clear that pastors who do not preach about tithes and offerings are neglecting their duty (see Ellen G. White, Counsels on Stewardship, p. 87). Conference leaders believe that our members should know that we encourage pastors to be faithful in the presentation of this message. Here is an excerpt from a recent email I sent to all pastors:
We started off the year with impressively strong tithe growth.
The last few months have had a distinct downward trend of one percent or so each month.
At this rate, we will end the year about seven percent up.
That sounds good, but it’s not good enough (talk to the RMC vice president for finance if there is any doubt).Our mission depends on the faithful stewardship of your members. The best thing you can do at this point is to make sure your members hear an uplifting, positive message about the joy of giving before the end of the year. If your last such message was more than a month ago, do not end the year without a stewardship sermon.
Whether your pastor recently presented such a message or soon will, I pray that the message was inspirational and encouraging, and that we will all be blessed by witnessing the faithfulness of our members.
–Douglas L. Inglish is RMC stewardship director.