In many churches, stewardship commonly refers to stewardship of money. Typically, churches will conduct a stewardship campaign every fall where we invite members to make a financial pledge for the church’s annual budget in the coming year. In other words, we ask members to prayerfully commit to a certain level of stewardship of money to fund the church’s mission and ministry for one year. Hence, annual stewardship.

No. Our church ministries are 100% funded by pledges and donations from parishioners like you.

We are not asking you to give anything for 2023 now. The church is simply asking you to make a pledge for 2023. In other words, let the church know what you plan to give during the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2023.

An annual pledge is a commitment in faith to give to the church’s annual operating budget in the coming year (in this case for 2023).

Traditionally, Indian Hill Church, along with most churches, conducts a Stewardship campaign in the fall for the following year. This takes the guesswork out of planning next year’s budget and gives the finance committee and ultimately our Vestry-Session plenty of time to plan ahead. It also helps the leadership and staff know what the budget will allow for next year.

The 2023 budget includes:

• Clergy and lay staff salaries.
• Resources to continue excellent offerings in the areas of Worship, Formation and Mission.
• Ongoing expenses for utilities, maintenance, insurance, and upkeep.

Pledges in our annual stewardship campaign go towards the operating budget of the church. This includes all of the expenses that support day-to-day ministry at Indian Hill Church. It covers things like communications, programming for all ages, utilities, maintenance, and staff salaries. The annual stewardship campaign is completely separate from capital campaigns, which raise dedicated funds for improvements and additions to our physical spaces.

Indian Hill Church encourages our members to use the biblical standard of the tithe (Numbers 18:26). Of course, this is a decision for each household to reach prayerfully. We are grateful for all gifts.

According to the Bible (Numbers 18:26), tithe means “tenth,” or 10%, of annual income. If you feel you can’t give at that level, we still encourage you to think about your giving in terms of percentage of income. If you’re retired or on a fixed income, a tithe might mean something different at this stage of life. The important thing is that God calls us to joyfully give towards the work of the church from what God has given us.

We have talked about money due to the recently completed 75th Anniversary fundraising campaign. As you entrust your gifts to Indian Hill Church, we believe it’s important to let you know how those gifts are being put to use. The annual Stewardship campaign, however, is just five weeks as in past years. All healthy families, including church families, communicate openly and honestly about money. For Christians, money is not secret or taboo. It belongs to God. Jesus talked about it a lot. We believe five weeks a year is reasonable.

Of course. Each year, some members choose to pre-pay next year’s pledge in the current year. They often do this for tax planning purposes. When you prepay, the church deposits the monies now, but will keep these gifts in a separate account and will not use them until 2023. To pre-pay, please contact our business administrator, Heather Jordan, at hjordan@indianhillchurch.org or 513-561-6805 ext. 301. We also encourage you to use the pledge envelopes that we send home to every member.

There are several ways:

(1) Give securely online. Go to https://indianhillchurch.org/pledge to make a pledge or gift. You can give via credit card or bank transfer; you can also set up automatic recurring giving.

(2) Set up a recurring gift using your bank’s online bill pay service.

(3) Mail or drop off a check to the church office. Be sure to write “Stewardship 2023” on the memo line.

(4) Place a check or cash in the offering plate at any of our in-person services. If you use a check, please write “Stewardship 2023” on the memo line. If you use cash, put it in an envelope that has your name and “Stewardship 2023” written on it.

(5) Transfer stock or other securities. Contact our business administrator, Heather Jordan, with any questions about how to give: hjordan@indianhillchurch.org or 513-561-6805 ext. 301.

That’s up to you. Members give weekly, monthly, quarterly, or in a one-time contribution. Use your pledge card to let us know when to expect your contributions. If your giving schedule changes, please let us know.