Some 60 percent of Americans spend more annually than their income, according to Newsweek (4/27/01). U.S. consumers are a combined $7.3 trillion in debt.

Credit cards, unpaid bills, bankruptcy, and stress over financial mismanagement directly affect churches. And not just by lowering giving. Poor stewardship hurts the body financially, emotionally, and spiritually.

How can churches help relieve that burden? Here's what five churches are doing.

Making Sense of Mammon

Money is a deeply spiritual issue, and lasting change must occur from the inside out.

Good Sense is a year-round ministry with three components—teaching, training, and a support system built of both small group and one-on-one counsel. We help people understand that materialism and Christianity are both theologies that vie for their allegiance. While materialism's highest value is possession, Christianity stresses stewardship of God's possessions. The foundational principle is that we do not own our "stuff," but rather God entrusts ...