Provision · Principle 5 of 7
S5 — Invest in Future Ministry
Build a written ten-year capacity and calling vision, adopt a Future Ministry Fund charter and funding formula, draft a product-neutral investment policy statement for any invested balances, and adopt a decision-and-approval framework so ministry investment is planned rather than reactive.
Seven Principles curriculum version 1.0 — author-review draft pending Leland Rubin's approval prior to publication. · Leland's Seven Stewardship Principles methodology, content, exercises and deliverables are created by Leland Rubin and remain in author-review draft pending his approval.
Official outcome
Future Ministry Investment Plan
- Ten-year capacity and calling vision naming facilities, technology, staffing and program growth the church is stewarding toward
- Current-state capacity assessment covering facility condition, technology lifecycle, staffing depth and succession readiness
- Future Ministry Fund charter stating purpose, funding sources, contribution formula and use restrictions
- Funding formula translating a percentage of unrestricted income or surplus into a recurring Future Ministry Fund contribution
- Written investment policy statement for long-horizon invested balances covering time horizon, risk tolerance, diversification and prohibited practices
- Referral guardrail naming qualified, independent legal, tax, investment and insurance professionals for decisions requiring licensed advice
- Decision framework defining who proposes, who evaluates, who approves and who reviews future-ministry investments above stated thresholds
- Gaps register listing every open capacity, funding, governance or review gap discovered during the module
- 90-day action plan assigning each recommended action an owner, due date, resources required, success measure, status and review date
Suggested duration: 5 weeks · about 8 hours of leadership time · Owner: Executive Pastor · Coach: Leland Rubin · Approval: Not submitted
Principle health
At riskBaseline 45 · no follow-up yet
Principle purpose
Suggested leadership time: About 8 hours of leadership time
S5 Invest in Future Ministry exists because faithful stewardship is not only about managing what a church needs today, it is about deliberately setting resources aside for the ministry God is calling the congregation toward ten years from now. Facilities age, technology becomes obsolete, staffing needs grow with the congregation, and new capacity — a second service, a renovated children's wing, a expanded counseling ministry — never appears by accident. It appears because leadership decided, years earlier, to fund it on purpose. This module trains leadership to see beyond the current budget year and build a disciplined, transparent process for investing in future ministry capability: facilities, technology, staffing pipelines and the invested reserves that make long-horizon plans possible.
By the end of this module, leadership will have produced a Future Ministry Investment Plan that names a ten-year vision for capacity and calling, establishes a dedicated Future Ministry Fund with a funding formula and governance rules, adopts a written investment policy statement for any invested long-horizon balances, and creates a decision, approval and review process so that every major future-ministry investment is deliberate, documented and revisited on a schedule. This is patient, generational stewardship work, not a single capital campaign.
Official outcome — Future Ministry Investment Plan
Leadership will have reviewed current facility, technology and staffing capacity against a ten-year vision; approved a funding formula and governance charter for a Future Ministry Fund; adopted a written, product-neutral investment policy statement for any invested long-horizon balances; and adopted a Future Ministry Investment Plan with a decision-and-review calendar assigning named owners and dates.
Deliverable component checklist
- 1. Ten-year capacity and calling vision naming facilities, technology, staffing and program growth the church is stewarding toward
- 2. Current-state capacity assessment covering facility condition, technology lifecycle, staffing depth and succession readiness
- 3. Future Ministry Fund charter stating purpose, funding sources, contribution formula and use restrictions
- 4. Funding formula translating a percentage of unrestricted income or surplus into a recurring Future Ministry Fund contribution
- 5. Written investment policy statement for long-horizon invested balances covering time horizon, risk tolerance, diversification and prohibited practices
- 6. Referral guardrail naming qualified, independent legal, tax, investment and insurance professionals for decisions requiring licensed advice
- 7. Decision framework defining who proposes, who evaluates, who approves and who reviews future-ministry investments above stated thresholds
- 8. Gaps register listing every open capacity, funding, governance or review gap discovered during the module
- 9. 90-day action plan assigning each recommended action an owner, due date, resources required, success measure, status and review date
Learning objectives and completion requirements
Learning objectives
- • Build a written ten-year capacity and calling vision
- • Adopt a Future Ministry Fund charter and funding formula
- • Draft a product-neutral investment policy statement
- • Adopt a decision, approval and review framework for ministry investments
Completion requirements
- • All four lessons marked complete
- • All four exercises submitted
- • Required evidence uploaded
- • Named principal deliverable generated and approved
- • 90-day action plan created with owners and dates
- • Coach review recorded
Lessons
Four complete lessons. Each produces one named artifact for the official outcome.
Lesson 1 — Seeing Ten Years Ahead: Capacity, Facilities and Calling
Build a written ten-year capacity and calling vision that names the facilities, technology, staffing and program growth the church is stewarding toward. · 75 minutes · produces Ten-Year Capacity and Calling Vision Map
CompleteOpen full lessonLesson 2 — Building the Future Ministry Fund
Adopt a written Future Ministry Fund charter and funding formula that turns the prioritized ten-year vision into a recurring, disciplined contribution. · 90 minutes · produces Future Ministry Fund Charter and Funding Formula
Not completeOpen full lessonLesson 3 — Prudent Stewardship of Long-Horizon Funds
Draft a written investment policy statement for any invested Future Ministry Fund balances, grounded in the church's time horizon, risk tolerance and a qualified-advisor referral process. · 90 minutes · produces Investment Policy Statement Draft
Not completeOpen full lessonLesson 4 — Deciding, Approving and Reviewing Investments in Ministry
Adopt a written decision, approval and review framework that governs how future-ministry investment proposals are made, evaluated, approved and revisited. · 90 minutes · produces Decision, Approval and Review Framework
Not completeOpen full lesson