Stewardship & Evangelization Core Community

Tim Shank
Email:  tpshank@yahoo.com​​​​​​​
Tel:  850-566-1077

The Stewardship and Evangelization Core Community Council plans and coordinates efforts to develop stewardship and spreading the Gospel as a way of life in the parish.

"Where your treasure is...there will your heart be." - Matthew 6:21

Stewardship flows out of an understanding that everything we are and have is a gift from God.  One use of the gifts we have been given is evanglization to all people.  Good Shepherd parish is committed to good stewardship and encourages the development of good stewards in its parish families.

Stewardship is not just a program, it's a complete lifestyle. The basis of stewarship is a life of total accountability and responsibility, acknowledging God as Creator and Owner of all.

Stewards, as disciples of Jesus Christ, see themselves as caretakers of all God's gifts. Gratitude for these gifts is expressed in prayer, worship, offerings and actions, as stewards share these gifts willingly with one another.

Stewardship is love in action. Good stewards often demonstrate their stewardship by giving of their time, their talent and their treasure.

Why We Evanglize

The gifts God has given to us are not gifts for ourselves. Like the large catch of fish or the overflowing measure of flour, faith makes our hearts abound with a love-filled desire to bring all people to Jesus' Gospel and to the table of the Eucharist. As Jesus wanted to gather all Jerusalem, "as a hen gathers her young," so also do we want to gather all people into God's kingdom, proclaiming the Gospel even "to the ends of the earth."  (Credit:  USCCB)
 

The Gift of Time

Service to our church and community consists of offering our time in activities such as serving the poor, volunteering at school, lecturing and taking communion to the home bound. The fit of time spent in prayer is just as important.
 

The Gift of Talent

God blesses us each with unique talents that can serve our church and community. By offering back those God-given talents to the church and one another,  we are able to bless Him in return.

The Gift of Treasure

Through this is often the most difficult gift to offer back, experience shows that giving of your financial resources often produces the most fruit in the lives of those who make the sacrifice.

Good stewardship means prayerfully considering giving from our financial resources, without guarantees of a return or gratification. Yes, this often requires stepping out in faith, when the diversion of financial treasure to charitable purposes would seem to create a hardship.

We must remember that no one can outdo Jesus in generosity. And He instructs us:

"...do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'...indeed, your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things...strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  - Jesus Christ

Our financial blessings can help accomplish God's work by supporting our parish's mission and its many ministries. In this respect, we are making a "return" on the Lord's contribution through the many gifts He has bestowed on us.

Those who practice these principles will tell you that stewardship produces much joy in the lives of those who voluntarily give of their time, talent and treasure.

No doubt, the spiritual benefits vastly outweigh all else. Stewardship deepens your faith and will ultimately change your life.

Planning and Coordination

The Stewardship and Evangelization Core Community plans and coordinates efforts to develop stewardship and evangilization as a way of life in the parish. Responsibilities include communicating the stewardship and evangelization message through a variety of awareness activities, as well as coordinating the annual time, talent and treasure appeals. Members also support and assist the ministries of the parish by providing overall coordination of ministry recruiting efforts, such as Volunteer Sunday and developing creative ways to draw others into ministry.

This community meets each year in August to evaluate the previous year's activities and formulate goals for the coming year.

General meetings are held once monthly on Wednesday evenings. Meeting minutes and plans can be found in the sidebar on this page.

Core Community Members