Becoming a Steward Leader

How CLA's Steward Leadership Institute blessed my life and ministry.

Teo Cisneros | posted 1/31/2009

This past September, I had the wonderful opportunity to join nearly 100 other ministry executives and development professionals from across the United States at the Steward Leadership Institute (SLI), sponsored by the Christian Leadership Alliance.

Biblically based stewardship education is the cornerstone of this annual program, which brings together leaders in the field of development and stewardship to discuss cutting-edge ideas, trends, and strategies to help Christian nonprofits strengthen development initiatives and programs.

The insights of the program's highly qualified instructors equipped development professionals like me to effectively mobilize people, finances, and resources. The opportunity to share ideas and experiences with fellow ministry leaders and development professionals in the Christian community was another invaluable part of my SLI experience.

I am new to the field. In June 2008, I started working as vice president for development at Baptist University of the Americas (BUA) in San Antonio, Texas. BUA is dedicated to the formation of the next generation of cross-cultural Christian leaders from a Hispanic context. One of the unique things about our school is its accessibility and affordability. We are one of the most affordable private Christian universities in the nation. We are a donor-driven rather than a tuition-driven institution, which presents a tremendous advantage for students, but makes the job of a new development officer more challenging.

At the Steward Leadership Institute, I was particularly inspired by a session titled "Development 101," taught by John R. Frank, president of the Frank Group. As our instructor, Frank brought a breadth of experience and insight to this session. Together, we explored core principles of development.

The session examined the biblical foundation for fund development, as well as the fundamentals of direct mail, foundation funding, major gift development, planned giving, and other topics that helped us really ground ourselves in key principles for success. We also discussed Internet strategies, creating an annual development strategy and calendar, generational giving, and more. The ideas we considered profoundly impacted my thinking about the ministry of development.

I had heard about the Steward Leadership Institute during my first week of working at BUA. All the development I was doing for the first three months was based on relationships. As important as that might be, I learned very quickly that relationships can only take you so far. Obviously I was eagerly anticipating the SLI training. Frankly, the experience surpassed my expectations.

Immediately upon my return, BUA's president and I traveled to meet with potential donors who were interested in our school. As we met with them, I kept hearing my instructor saying, "It's not about you and your needs. It's about the donor and their needs. It's about creating opportunities for God's people to invest and get involved in something greater than themselves."

The meeting went very well. I saw the joy in the donors' faces as they heard ways their lives and resources could make a difference in the lives of our students. The next day, the donors called to inform us that they would be contributing to Baptist University of the Americas. It is worth noting that their donation was one of the largest we received during 2008. I actually contacted my instructor to share this story and thank him for the blessing he had been to my life and ministry.

I am already looking forward to the next Steward Leadership Institute, and I highly recommend it to anyone involved in this wonderful ministry of development.

Teo Cisneros is vice president for institutional development at Baptist University of the Americas.