Christian Leadership Alliance

Vision, Strategy, and Goals

Price: $12.50
Member Price: $10.00

See more …


In which Season does your ministry raise the most financial resources each year?

Take the poll

Rediscovering Fundraising in Light of the Generous Heart of God

Wesley K. Willmer | Outcomes, Sep/Oct 2007, Vol. 31, No. 5

In Finding God in Unexpected Places, Philip Yancey relates that one month he saved and analyzed every fundraising appeal he received. He found that, of the 62 items, the appeals from the Christian organizations looked just like the appeals from everyone else, using all the same gimmicks. Not a single one focused on Yancey's need as a Christian to honor and obey God with his giving. Why is this true?

In reality, most Christian money raising (including in the church) is modeled after secular marketing transactional practices—doing whatever it takes to achieve the financial bottom line. for example, solicitations often encourage supporters to give for what they can get in return (tax deduction, premiums, naming opportunity, etc.), instead of challenging them to come closer to the heart of God.

It was out of this concern for the prevailing direction of fundraising in Christian organizations that 23 scholars (including three seminary presidents) and practitioners were assembled to develop the Biblical principles for stewardship and fundraising.

Because Scripture is clear that giving is part of a whole-life transformation reflected in a believer's stewardship and sanctification, and that God will call us to account for how we use our possessions, have you ever wondered why Christian fundraising doesn't shape its asking practices to facilitate these values? Could it be because those doing the asking would need to model these principles in their own lives and, perhaps, change the activities of their organizations?

The Bible mentions possessions in more verses than any other topic. This emphasis in Scripture lays the foundation for a more God-honoring approach to raising resources. Once you discover the true nature of God (that he owns everything and has infinite resources), why he asks his followers to be stewards (managers) of his resources, and that he wants his followers to be generous as Christ is generous, then you realize the fundraising process is really about facilitating the work of God to transform hearts to the image of Christ, so believers are generous, as Christ is generous.

As a result, they become eternally rich toward God (Luke 12:21). The biblical principles for stewardship and fundraising (see sidebar) support these three themes: being rich toward God, transformation and stewardship.

What does it mean to be rich toward God?

Luke 12:21 is the story of the rich fool who stores up treasures for himself here on earth and is not eternally rich toward God. As ministry leaders, we should be pointing people in the opposite direction—beyond ownership and hoarding to embracing stewardship and generous giving—thus becoming stewards who are rich toward God.