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The United Church of Christ (UCC) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have released new stewardship resources for 2025, aiming to help congregations strengthen the connection between faith and generosity. The materials are now available for purchase.
The Rev. James Fouther, generosity officer for the UCC’s Western Region, explained that the Stewardship Materials include pledge cards, bulletin inserts, devotional resources, and other tools designed to support churches in conducting successful stewardship moments during their services. “We want to give our congregations options for their people to be as generous with the wider church as possible,” Fouther said.
The theme for this year’s resources is “Dreaming God’s Dream.” Fouther described its significance: “…accepts the idea that the dreams of humanity for our possibilities are limited, but when we dream God’s dream for our lives, our families, our churches, then possibilities become infinite.” He added, “We hope to inspire folks to expand their understanding, their ideas around who God is, what God does, how God inspires humanity to achieve greater goals.”
Melissa St. Clair, minister for faith and giving with the Disciples of Christ, noted that Adrian Sanchez—an incarcerated individual at California Institution for Men—created the cover artwork through a partnership with a local UCC congregation. Participants were asked to write artist statements about their work. Sanchez titled his piece “The Process of Life” and stated: “I believe our young ones begin life with innocent hearts. I have learned to do things without violence.” He continued: “We were asked to imagine what a city of compassion would look like and how the people there would cooperate so that everyone would have enough food.”
St. Clair described the artwork as an illustration showing an egg hatching into a chick and then becoming a rooster—a metaphor similar to hearing “the spirit, where the spirit nudges us toward transformation.”
St. Clair outlined two main approaches for churches using these resources: one focused on funding church budgets and another on viewing generosity as a spiritual discipline within congregational life. She emphasized cultivating generosity alongside other spiritual practices: “Just as we would want our congregations to be cultivating more faithful prayers, exuberant worshipers, we want to encourage people to be more generous givers,” she said. “We know that giving deepens our relationship with God, and strengthens our sense of self, and we find that when this happens, the first purpose follows, which means we have more resources to do the ministry God is calling us to do.”
She referenced findings from the National Study on Congregational Economic Practices indicating a strong link between teaching generosity as a spiritual practice and increased giving in churches. According to research cited by St. Clair, weekly teachings on giving led 90% of congregations surveyed to report financial growth; monthly teachings saw 73% growth.
“What we encourage congregations to do at the leadership level is to reflect on why generosity matters, and be able to articulate that for themselves, and then provide tools to coach others to share their testimony,” St. Clair said.
The stewardship package can be purchased through UCC Resources and includes eight full worship services with hymn suggestions; sermon starters from eight authors; youth- and children-focused sets; campaign directions; Faith Formation materials; communication plans; letters; and additional support content.
For further information or details about purchasing 2025 Stewardship Theme materials from UCC Resources visit here.
