DEV 10FN Church Leadership (Stewardship)/pl

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=Session 10: Church Leadership (Stewardship)=

''In this session, you will discover what the Bible has to say about our role in being a steward of what God owns. ''

Heart of a Leader (40 min)

 * Worship together in the big group
 * Have participants get into groups of 3-4 people and discuss the following:
 * What are you learning and how are you abiding in Christ through word, prayer, obedience, PCS, relationships and fellowship?
 * What areas of your life is obeying God a challenge?
 * What unresolved conflict do you have?
 * What happened as you trusted God with your goals from our last meeting?

Vision Casting for the Heart
'Jesus was full of the Spirit and obedient to the Father. On one occasion Jesus was in Jerusalem passing by sick people. Out of all of the sick people, Jesus only healed one (John 5:1-9). Jesus did not heal everyone. He only healed those the Father told Him to heal. He approached life with intentionality. Every person and every situation was seen with purpose. The constant demands and expectations of people make us feel like we need to keep everything going and meet everyone’s expectations. But Jesus’ life challenges us to think and act differently. To his accusers Jesus said “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; He can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does…By myself I can do nothing….for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” (John 5:19,20,30) We are challenged to live and minister to others intentionally, listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading and doing the work the Father is doing. Let’s keep asking God how to use the activities and conversations you are having to strategically develop you and the movement he has called you into. '

Celebration of Faithfulness (20 min)
[NOTE: Celebrate Faithfulness in the large group so that all can benefit and be encouraged.]


 * Give opportunity for participants to share what has happened since the last meeting. Ask them to relate it to goals from the last meeting.

Iron on Iron: Sharpening Myself and Others (45 min)
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.”   


 * Have everyone return to their Iron on Iron small groups, draw their network of missional communities and churches then share and evaluate with their group.
 * What is going well?
 * What is not going well? What obstacles are you facing?
 * What are possible solutions from other group members?
 * What do you need to do to add the missing characteristics into each group?
 * Where will you start a new group or church this month?
 * Have everyone set goals for improvement from their evaluation and share their goals with their small group. Then have them pray for one another.

New Lesson (45-60 min)
Relevant Topic: Why is it important and helpful for us to know about stewardship?


 * Have participants get into new groups of 4-5 people (or they can continue in their Iron on Iron groups)
 * In the following sections, each group assign verses to each participant. Each participant will then read the passages below and tell what they learned to the group.

Discovery Bible Study: Stewardship 

'Introduction: A steward is defined as “one who manages the property of another.”  God is the creator and therefore the owner of the earth and everything on it. By His authority and power God has given man the responsibility of ruling, working and caring for His creation in cooperation with Him. This is the Biblical basis for the role of man as a steward.'

Section 1: God owns, We manage

God Owns Everything: Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1-2, Psalm 50:9-12; Romans 11:33-36

We own nothing: Job 1:21; 1 Timothy 6:6-7; Romans 11:33-36

God expects Stewardship: Luke 19:11-26; Matthew 24:45-51

God will hold us Accountable: 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10


 * After they have all shared their assigned verses, have each person in the groups share
 * What caught your attention? (or What did you like best?) Why?

'Summary: As the creator of the earth, God rightfully owns everything. All that we have has been given by God. His expectation is that we act as good stewards of the things he has given us. One day we will give an account of how we used what He entrusted to us.'

Section 2: Areas of Stewardship

Contentment with Resources: 1 Timothy 6:8-10; Philippians 4:10-13; 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Faithful to use Gifts and Abilities: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Stewardship of Money: Deuteronomy 8:17-18; Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 16:10-12; 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 13-15


 * After they have all shared their assigned verses, have each person in the groups share
 * What caught your attention? (or What did you like best?) Why?

'Summary: Stewardship is a perspective based on the truth that God is the owner and we are the managers of the things that belong to Him. Stewardship is more than just how we use our money. It relates to how we use all of the gifts and resources that God has given to us to glorify Him and expand His kingdom. In the context of our churches and fellowships, God intends for us to use all of our resources to maximize our impact by bringing more people to Christ and multiplying churches and fellowships.'

1. Stewards are grateful and content 

'Contentment comes from a perspective of trusting God and a realization that He owns everything. If I resent what others have, or complain about what I have, I am not a faithful steward. Paul exhorts us to lower our expectations to be happy with life’s essentials (1 Timothy 6:8). We should appreciate what God has provided for us.'

2. Stewards give willingly

'Knowing God owns everything (Psalm 24:1-2) and that he has promised to provide for all our needs (Matthew 6:33), frees us up to be willing givers and be generous toward others. '

3. Stewards can enjoy blessings

'God provides for us and expects us to enjoy His provision. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)'

4. Stewards realize work is a gift

'God provides both our ability to do work and our opportunity to work. (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)'

Preparing for Mission (20 mins)

 * In small groups, have participants Evaluate the following three areas and Make a plan on how they can improve.

Money

How is money collected in your church or fellowship? Who keeps it? Who decides how it is used? How is it accounted for? Is the process transparent?

Give one another feedback and comments about how to improve their financial processes.

Gifts and abilities

Are members in your churches and fellowships given opportunities to serve in their areas of giftedness?

How could people’s gifts be used even more effectively?

What will you do after the training to improve your stewardship and accountability of the resources God has given you in your churches and fellowships?

Contentment

How would you rate your contentment with your income? Your possessions? Do you struggle with jealousy?


 * Write “I will by when” statements. Include “Who will you teach this lesson to?”
 * Practice any additional skill that the leaders need in leading their groups or starting new ones

Sending the Laborers

 * Reinforce the overall vision: a church or faith community for every 1,000 people
 * Spend time in Prayer:
 * committing the goals that were set to the Lord
 * for God to raise up a movement of churches
 * for more laborers to come out of the harvest