A Lutheran church, UCC church, and Disciples of Christ church in Minneapolis renovated a church building to fit the worship space needs of the three churches simultaneously.
Faithful Generosity Story Shelf
This story collection highlights congregations and other religious groups who are using their assets and resources in creative ways as an expression of faithful giving. Each story is short enough to read and discuss during a committee meeting or other group gathering. Use these accessible vignettes to spark new questions, conversation, and imagination with your leaders about funds, buildings, land, and other resources in your care. If you know a story that should be included in the Story Shelf, suggest it here.
Read stories about:
Investing for Impact
-
A Pastor’s Jericho in North Carolina
An enterprising pastor in Wilson, North Carolina pushed his congregation to revive its nonprofit and launch a plan to improve seven properties.
-
Building Black Wealth through Homeownership
Amid calls for reparations, Arlington Community Church launched a foundation to lend interest-free funds to help Black Americans purchase their first home in their community.
-
From Discernment to Epiphany
Atlanta’s First Presbyterian Church launched a social entrepreneurship program to recognize how God was already moving in their city and to provide business mentorship and financial assistance to aspiring social entrepreneurs.
Innovative Giving
-
Church Grows a Solution to a Hidden Need
Bethel A.M.E Church of Ardmore responded to food insecurity in their community by starting a garden on their property. The project started with one bed and now has 15 that produced 1,200 pounds of food in 2022.
-
Flood Becomes Turning Point for AME Church
After a flood did major damage to Bethel Church of Morristown, its pastor had a vision of rebuilding their property with support from outside of the congregation and to meet the needs of the larger community.
-
The Path to Reparations
Beyond the first step of acknowledgment, some faith communities are taking up concrete reparations as a way of demonstrating authentic repentance for their role in systemic oppression.
Selling/Donating Property
-
Church Finds Freedom in Selling Property
The congregation of Biltmore United Methodist Church sold their property and is devoting their energy and resources toward responding to Asheville, North Carolina’s most pressing social needs.
-
A Life Cycle and a Legacy
A rural Tennessee church closes with one final, old-time singing and a donation to a Christian disaster relief agency.
-
Presbytery Gives Property to Indigenous Group
Hudson River Presbytery transferred the title of former church to the Indigenous-led Sweetwater Cultural Center as a "pledge of partnership" and in an effort to make amends for harm done to Native American populations.
Sharing Property
-
The Power of a Roof
A church and mosque collaborate to power—and empower—their neighborhood by installing solar panels on the church roof.
-
Preserving & Sharing Latino Culture
A church's fixer-upper parsonage becomes a community center to preserve Latino culture and bridge cultural, generational, and denominational gaps.
-
Manse Becomes a Home for Refugees
A Presbyterian church transforms their unused manse (minister's house) into a home for Afghan refugees, and serve as community for the home's first tenants.
Browse more stories:
Page 3 of 7
Found 64 Results
Rather than sell one of its properties for substantial profit, the Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA transferred ownership to Four Winds American Indian Council in a small but meaningful act of decolonization.
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church used their extra church building to support a nonprofit focused on one of the most urgent and challenging social problems in their community.
Struggling with the financial realities of a small and aging congregation, Altama Presbyterian Church sold their property at a reduced cost to a local nonprofit because its mission aligned with their own.
The Community Church in Ada, Michigan combines their natural tendency for hospitality and fun with intentional community engagement to host an annual event that draws thousands of people each December to their church parking lot.
Davis Street UMC is selling its campus near downtown Burlington, NC to an. organization that provides therapeutic rehabilitation for children with autism.
After seven years of discernment and planning, the Dominican Sisters of Hope permanently protected 34 acres of their property from future development with a conservation easement.
Beyond the first step of acknowledgment, some faith communities are taking up concrete reparations as a way of demonstrating authentic repentance for their role in systemic oppression.
A story about how one Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation imagined using their space in a new way.
When asked to use its building and property to shelter women and families, Salt House Church said yes.
Page 3 of 7
Filter Resources
Apply