Leland's Seven Stewardship Principles — Church Stewardship Program

A partnership with Leland Rubin, creator of the Seven Stewardship Principles, and Allan Bell - CPA, CMA, MBA, Nsites founder and creator

Seven Principles Academy Back to NsitesDemo data

Compiled church results

Every submitted response is averaged per rated area, weighted, and rolled up to a score for each principle and one church score. Agreement shows how far apart participants were.

Digital workbook OR-NM-1.0 (prototype) · compiled 2026-09-14 by Program team (demo)

Demo data

Compiled church score

46

Weighted average across seven principles

Responses compiled

Healthy

13

81% of 16 assigned

Widest disagreement

Needs attention

3 pts

Largest gap between the highest and lowest rating on one area

Biggest perception gap

Needs attention

S6 · 34 pts

Leadership rates Provide for Your Pastors' Wellbeing higher than members

How the compiled score is calculated

Shown openly so leadership can defend the number.

  1. Each participant rates every area from 0 to 4 (0 Not Established, 1 Emerging, 2 Developing, 3 Established, 4 Exemplary).
  2. All submitted ratings for an area are averaged. Unanswered areas are left out rather than counted as zero.
  3. The average is converted to a share of 4 and multiplied by that area's weight, so each principle totals 100 points.
  4. The seven principle scores are averaged to produce the compiled church score.
  5. Agreement is the distance between the highest and lowest rating given for the same area — wide gaps are flagged for discussion, not averaged away.

Compiled score by principle

Select a principle to open its detail below.

PrincipleStewardship areaGroupCompiledCoach ratingAgreementDetail
S1Build Financial LiteracyFoundation4850Wide disagreement
S2Build a Financial ReserveFoundation4750Some disagreement
S3Eliminate High-Cost LiabilitiesFoundation4545Wide disagreement
S4Cultivate Generosity Through GivingGenerosity5455Wide disagreement
S5Invest in Future MinistryProvision4745Some disagreement
S6Provide for Your Pastors' WellbeingProvision4145Wide disagreement
S7Give GenerouslyMission4245Wide disagreement

S1 — Build Financial Literacy: compiled detail

13 responses compiled. Distribution shows how many participants chose each rating.

48of 100

Compiled principle score

At risk

Coach rating in the printed workbook: 50

Rated areaWeightAverageRangeDistribution (0–4)
Shared Definition and Language20%2.08 / 413 (some)0:01:42:43:54:0
Statement and Budget Reading Competency20%1.77 / 403 (wide)0:11:42:53:34:0
Teaching Reach Across the Congregation20%2.00 / 413 (some)0:01:32:73:34:0
Measurement and Growth Tracking20%0.92 / 402 (some)0:31:82:23:04:0
Guardrails and Professional Referral Discipline20%2.92 / 414 (wide)0:01:12:43:34:5

How each group scored this principle

GroupScoreResponses
Leadership604
Staff583
Ministry leader433
Member283

Themes from participant notes

  • Leaders want plain-language financial training, not just reports8 mentions · “I nod along in the finance meeting, but I could not explain the statements myself.

Where leadership and members see the church differently

A large gap usually means the practice exists but people do not experience it.

PrincipleStewardship areaLeadershipMembersGap
S6Provide for Your Pastors' Wellbeing5925+34 pts
S1Build Financial Literacy6028+32 pts
S2Build a Financial Reserve6332+31 pts
S5Invest in Future Ministry5928+31 pts
S4Cultivate Generosity Through Giving6842+26 pts
S7Give Generously5633+23 pts
S3Eliminate High-Cost Liabilities5635+21 pts

Lowest-scoring principles — recommended next steps

Send these into the coaching queue and action plans after leadership approval.

  • S6Provide for Your Pastors' Wellbeing: compiled 41

    Weakest area: Risk Protection for the Pastoral Family at 0.77 of 4 across 13 responses (wide disagreement).

    Recommended: Refer the pastoral family to a qualified insurance professional for a coverage review.

    Teach Provide for Your Pastors' Wellbeing next in the Academy
  • S7Give Generously: compiled 42

    Weakest area: Honest Impact Reporting at 0.77 of 4 across 13 responses (wide disagreement).

    Recommended: Prioritize written agreements for the longest-running undocumented partnerships.

    Teach Give Generously next in the Academy
  • S3Eliminate High-Cost Liabilities: compiled 45

    Weakest area: Refinancing and Renegotiation Discipline at 1.00 of 4 across 13 responses (wide disagreement).

    Recommended: Request refinancing quotes on the two highest-cost liabilities this quarter.

    Teach Eliminate High-Cost Liabilities next in the Academy

Approval and limits

  • Compiled results awaiting leadership approval before distribution — coach of record Leland Rubin.
  • Individual answers are held for the coach. Church reporting, board packs and the printed workbook show compiled scores and themes only.
  • Prototype: responses live in this browser session only. No invitations, emails or text messages are sent, and nothing is written to a server.
  • Printing uses your browser's print dialog; no downloadable file is produced by this prototype.