Strategic Stewardship returns in fall 2025 | This course may be taken à la carte or as part of the Lewis Center Church Leadership Certificate | Hybrid course — Self-paced plus scheduled Zoom sessions
 
This course takes a look at what effective ministry leadership looks like when it comes to church finances and money, particularly in today's post-attractional and post-pandemic environment. It focuses less on the nuts and bolts of keeping the church's finances and more on the high-level leadership tasks and perspectives required to foster generosity, promote healthier dialogue around issues related to faith and money, and develop new strategies for economic sustainability. 
 
By the end of the course, participants should 1) Be more comfortable and confident addressing issues of money and faith in the church. 2) Understand how a proper theology of stewardship and biblical generosity can positively shape congregational practices. 3) Be able to start developing new strategies for giving that will enhance congregational generosity. 4) Better understand the ever-changing financial realities of ministry. and 5) Think more carefully and creatively about what new approaches to economic sustainability the 21st century might require. 
 
About the course
This course is entirely online and takes place over six weeks. It involves six asynchronous learning modules, where participants will complete a set of readings and assignments within a specific time frame, and three synchronous learning Zoom sessions, where participants will join the instructor and others in the course for a live discussion of the material. 
 
The textbook for this course is Craig Satterlee's Preaching & Stewardship: Proclaiming God's Invitation to Grow, and participants are asked to secure their own copy prior to the course. 
 
Course schedule and outline
 
Zoom Sessions: Thursdays, September 5, 19, and October 3, 2025 from 10-11:30 a.m. Eastern
Learning Module One: Thinking about money and the church
Learning Module Two: Church giving and finances in a post-pandemic world
Learning Module Three: Motivating generosity
Learning Module Four: Preaching and Stewardship
Learning Module Five: Money and Mission
Learning Module Six: Toward a new Paradigm for Financial Stewardship
 
If you have any questions or problems, please email pathways@wesleyseminary.edu.