For Christians, the word stewardship conjures up images from the parables of Jesus: the wicked farmhands of Mark 12:1-11, the faithful servants of Matthew 25:14-30, and the dishonest steward of Luke 16:1-13. The Bible is anything but neutral in its teachings on how to care for the resources God has entrusted to His people.
For AFA, stewardship is a foundational principle that shapes ministry practices and calls for accountability in individuals, churches, and the government.
This perspective on stewardship is explored in Unit 5 of Activate, which features Rob West and Stephen McDowell as instructors. In their sessions, they offer biblical wisdom for Christians who seek to align their financial decisions with God’s purposes. They also explain how stewardship relates to the responsibilities of nations.
Personal finance
In his session Stewardship 101, Rob West (CEO of Kingdom Advisors and host of MoneyWise on American Family Radio) begins by reframing money as a spiritual tool rather than a material goal.
“Our financial journey is one of the key ways that God shapes our spiritual journey,” he said. “As we work out and wrestle with these decisions every day, God is shaping us and molding us into who He wants us to be. Money is a tool that God uses in my life to teach me to rely on Him, but it’s also a tool to accomplish His purposes.”
West elaborated on this concept in his session Managing Money God's Way, where he simplified financial decision-making by dividing it into four categories: live, give, owe, and grow. This framework provides believers with clarity and purpose in their approach to money.
“If it’s God that gives us the power to create wealth, we need to be humble in our success because everything flows from Him,” he stressed.
National stewardship
Stephen McDowell, co-founder and president of the Providence Foundation, expands the conversation to address broader economic principles on a national level in his sessions The Biblical Case for Capitalism (Parts 1 and 2).
“Liberty in America led to an avalanche of new inventions, discoveries, and advancements that benefitted all. When we became a nation some 250 years ago, we incorporated these biblical economic principles – freedom, private property, individual enterprise, and free markets,” he explained. “This propelled many new inventions because biblical capitalism encourages productivity, whereas socialism encourages slothfulness and theft.”
McDowell contends that stewardship is not limited to individual choices but extends to how societies organize their economies. Biblical principles provide a framework for economic systems that honor God and promote human flourishing.
Investing in God's kingdom
Both West and McDowell emphasize that stewardship is not about scarcity or hoarding but about embracing God’s abundant provision with gratitude and purpose – the purpose of advancing God’s kingdom.
“God’s design for us is for abundance,” West said. “To be able to take what He’s given us and use it for His glory, to hold it loosely, and to bless the people around us – that’s our opportunity.
“And when we think about the abundance that we have, what we quickly realize is that we have so much before even the first dollar. Think about the abundance you have starting with your position in Christ,” West said. “If you’re a Christ-follower and you’ve placed your trust in Jesus as your Savior, you are rich before even the first dollar.”
(Digital editor's note: This article was published first in the March 2025 print issue of The Stand. Click HERE for a free six-month subscription.)
