Stewardship:

The Gloria Dei Philosophy for Faith and Life

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Menomonee Falls is a community Committed to God, Challenged to Grow and Called to Serve.

In our church we practice stewardship with a philosophy that can be called Gimme 5. Gimme 5 takes seriously that all we are is due to God’s grace and all we have is part of living the gospel. Stewardship is not just about money, but is about all the gifts we have from God and the lifestyle that we adopt as part of growing in faith.

Gimme 5: Pray, Read, Gather, Serve, Give

We practice the five marks of Discipleship:

PRAY for God’s Reality to come, for the care of people and creation, for personal growth.

READ the Bible, looking for yourself in the wider story of God’s love for humanity and all of creation.

GATHER regularly with God’s people to worship, to learn, to grow, and to support each other.

SERVE God by serving others in our daily lives, especially the poor and hungry.

GIVE to the Work of God’s church with regular offerings. Start with a goal of 5% of income, then move to 10% (the Biblical standard).

5 + 5 = 10, a tithe!

The marks of Serve and Give combine to give us the other 5’s in Gimme 5. The Biblical standard for giving is called the tithe, or 10% of income. Those of us on pastoral staff are tithers, but we know that not many people are and it’s difficult to give away 10% of income if you’re not used to it. Therefore, we’ve asked that members “split” the tithe and strive to give five hours a week in service to others and 5% of income to God’s work through the church. We feel these are reasonable standards to work toward for our members. And if you ever reach these goals, we encourage you to set a new goal, building toward and beyond 10% of income and greater hours of service.