Prayer for Steward Leaders and Boards By R. Scott Rodin

An Exercise of Prayer for Steward Leaders and Steward Boards

I grew up in a high liturgical church and I still love the planned intentionality of moving through the rituals of prayer, reading, and response. I love liturgy. We wrote a liturgy to support our Steward Declaration and I hope you will consider using it as part of your daily devotions.

I want to offer a sort of prayer liturgy for all who seek to live as faithful stewards. I am thinking not only of steward leaders, but for the boards of Christian non-profits and for all followers of Jesus. This liturgy consists of five prayers[1].

Here is how they may sound in a group setting. I encourage you to pray through this with your family, your team, your co-workers, or even on your own, adjusting the wording to suit your situation.

THANKSGIVING

The first is a prayer of Thanksgiving. We start with this because it helps keep us mindful that God is our Provider, and he does so abundantly.

 “Lord, we give you thanks and praise for all that you have provided. We recognize that everything belongs to you. You own this ministry, its people, its finances, its programs, its clients, its impact, and its future. And Lord we acknowledge you have provided all these things and they are enough. Thank you, Lord for your abundance and continued faithfulness for all we have.

Fill our hearts with thanksgiving and praise. All of this is yours and we are called to steward it wisely and carefully. Help us to be faithful stewards and let our first act always be that of thankfulness, gratitude and praise for you and all you have provided for our life and work.”

SURRENDER

The second is a prayer of Surrender. It’s our opportunity once again to lay our lives and our ministry before him and surrender it back to him. It keeps us from allowing personal agendas or controlling attitudes to seep in.

“Lord as we look at all that is before us that represents this ministry; the budget, our staff, our programs, our executive director, our board, our strategic plan, the clients we serve, the community in which we operate and the future to which you call us, we collectively right now surrender all of this back to you. Lord show us our ownership tendencies and expose our desire for control. We confess that they will only get in the way of us truly being stewards of this ministry.

Forgive us, Lord if we have allowed some of those tendencies to creep into our conversation, our attitudes, or our decisions. Lord we surrender this ministry back to you. It’s already yours, and we acknowledge that fact. Along with this ministry Lord we surrender our lives to you. Take us and use us as faithful stewards in our work for your glory. In Jesus name.”

STRATEGIC VISION

The third is a prayer for a Strategic Vision. Here we ask God to help us to see and understand his vision for our future and the future of our work and ministry. It focuses us on ensuring that we are doing God’s work God’s way.

“Lord, in these challenging days it’s hard sometimes to know the direction we need to go. But we praise you because we don’t have to know where to go, we simply need to follow you where you want to lead us. And so, Lord we pray for a strategic vision. Lord we want to do your work, your way, for your glory. We have thanked you for being the provider and the owner of this ministry, we’ve surrendered everything in it back to you, now we pray that you would give us a vision for the future of this ministry.

Give us eyes to see where you want us to go, give us ears to hear your guiding words, and give us courage to pursue it. Lord, you have a great future for this ministry, help us to follow you and give us a vision for the future into which you are calling us. Thank you, Lord for that precious gift. In Jesus name.”

CONTENTMENT

The fourth is a prayer for Contentment. This is the one that might surprise us, and it may be the most powerful of the five. It reminds us that God always supplies all of our needs and that whatever he has provided is enough to do his will in our lives and the work to which he has called us. It keeps us from focusing on what we don’t have and yielding to the temptation to live with a scarcity mentality.

“Lord, this is such a hard prayer for us to pray because we struggle with it so much in our life and work. But Lord we pray that you would give us, the staff, our clients, our financial partners, and our community a collective sense of deep contentment in all that you have provided. Lord, we confess we so often look at what we don’t have, what we wish we could do, what we seem to lack. We acknowledge Lord how sinful that is when you promise to provide all of our needs according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Help us Lord to focus on all you’ve given us and keep us from a scarcity mindset. Lord, and fill our hearts with contentment. You have brought us to a good place. You have blessed us abundantly. We have asked you to provide our needs and you have provided them. Lord even as we look to the future and seek to do new and exciting things, we pray you help us always operate from a profound sense of absolute contentment in not only all that you have provided but in who you are. Bless us Lord with that precious gift as we seek to be faithful stewards of your organization through our work. In Jesus name.”

COMMISSIONING

The last one is a prayer of Commissioning. We pray that God would send us out ready to live and lead according to his calling while not relying on our own strength. It’s a commissioning to trust him and to know that he will supply us with the strength and courage we need to be faithful.

“Lord, thank you for hearing our prayers of thanksgiving, of surrender, seeking after a vision for your future for this ministry, and for deep contentment. Now Lord, send us from this place with the commissioning to do your work, your way, for your glory. Lord, we need your courage to pursue this mission. We need your strength to take on the challenges we face.

Keep us from operating out of our own strength, relying on our own skills and expertise, or trusting in our own wisdom. Keep us fully reliant on you for all that we need so that we can go from this place emboldened and encouraged to follow you. Commission us now Lord and equip us with all that we need to be faithful and joyful stewards of this ministry. In Jesus name.”

However you choose to use these prayers for steward leaders and boards, I pray this approach to prayer becomes a daily habit that blesses you and those with whom you work.

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[1] These prayers are taken from the Five Commitments found in The Greater Mission, Scott Rodin: Kingdom Life Publishing, 2021.

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R. Scott Rodin is Senior Consultant/Chief Strategy Officer for The Focus Group. Over the past thirty-eight years Scott Rodin has helped hundreds of organizations improve their effectiveness in leadership, fund development, strategic planning and board development. Be sure to read Dr. Rodin’s newest book is titled, The Greater Mission.

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Read the declaration and add your name to it!

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R. Scott Rodin will serve as faculty at The Outcomes Conference 2022. He is teaming up with Brad Layland, President, The Focus Group. Here is how they will be investing their best in other leaders during this workshop:

Engaging the Board in its Fundraising Role

Why aren’t board members more involved in fundraising? We will answer this question and introduce the five steps that will help you engage your board members and equip them to be allies in your development work. Outcomes: 1) Assess the level and effectiveness of your board’s fundraising engagement, 2) Identify the keys to greater board engagement and support of your development work, and 3) Create next steps to engage your board for greater fundraising success.

April 26-28, 2022 in Louisville – Register Today

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