A Church Leader’s guide to abundant thinking in this time of economic turmoil

There are hundreds of resources and thousands of opinions about the economy. It is difficult to sort through all the noise.

The Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation has assembled several vetted, well-qualified resources for you to review with your church leadership teams. This includes information to help you understand what is happening to your investments, and what church leaders can do about it. Don’t miss the FREE MONEY bonus at the end of the list.

Understanding the Economy…

Stock Market Declines: A Video with Wespath’s Chief Investment Officer, Dave Zellner of Wespath Investment Management:  We can’t predict how far the stock prices will fall and how long a bear market might last. What we do know is that we do not time the market. And we know that when bear markets end, they end suddenly and dramatically and reward patient investors.

Capital Group: How to Handle Market DeclinesPeople feel the pain of losing money more than they enjoy gains. Here are seven principles that can help fight the urge to make emotional decisions in times of market turmoil.

Investment Insights Blog: Inflation and the 60/40 Portfolio by Joe Halwax of Wespath Investment ManagementThis is the first time ever that both stock and bonds are concurrently in a 10%+ drawdown.

Take Action: Increase giving despite the economy and the markets:

Accelerating Generosity free eBook, by Generis, provides a step-by-step plan to cultivate a culture of generosity in your church. You can find this and other curated resources from consultant Jon Wright.  Generis is seeing regular, sustainable increases in giving of 12%, 15% and more, through Generosity Culture Coaching. The Foundation has grant money available to help your church pay for other resources offered by Generis.  

Three Ways Inflation is Already Affecting Your Ministry by Joe Park of Horizons Stewardship: In this article, Joe articulates many of the challenges faced by churches and refers to resources to help your church overcome today’s funding challenges.  The Foundation has grant money available to help your church pay for these resources.

Montana Nonprofit Association Fundraising Summit: Equity and Opportunity is on June 2, 2022 and is online. Connecting with other fundraisers is inspiring and can give you a boost if you are feeling down about the situation. The Foundation has grant money available to help your church pay for this event.

BONUS: FREE MONEY Employee Retention Tax Credit:  Generis and Capin Crouse are co-hosting an Employee Retention Tax Credit informational webinar on June 1, 2022. Remember the PPP loans? This is another CARE’s act relief effort available to churches. Most churches are eligible.

More Resources

Learn and practice Biblical Financial Stewardship through education resources provided by the Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation.