What you have received as gift, give as gift.
Matthew 10:8

As Christian stewards, we recognize that everything we have, including our talents, our abilities, our loved ones, our resources, our world, our faith, and our very lives are gifts from God.

We are the caretakers of these gifts, and as Christ’s stewards we are called to:

receive God’s gifts with gratitude,

cherish and tend them in a responsible and accountable manner, 

share them with all in justice and love,

and return them with increase to the Lord.

To fully embrace the concept of stewardship we must examine our motivation and our reasons for giving. With stewardship the focus is not on the church’s need but on the need of the giver to give. It focuses on the need for individual and family participation as a matter of practicing and honoring one’s faith. Stewardship begins not with our institutional needs, no matter how important they are, but with the personal needs of each one of us to return to God a truly grateful portion of our time, talent and treasure in thanksgiving for all the blessings that he has given us. The highest motive for giving is our gratitude to God for his many blessings.

Stewardship is an expression of discipleship with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives.

Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, 1992