How Much Can We Give?
When I was a kid, I was consumed with thoughts of making money?
There has got to be a way to make a lot of money.
I tried collecting golf balls from the bottom of a lake and selling them. I tried catching crawdads and selling them. (Who knew there wasn’t a market for dead crawdads?) I raked leaves. Mowed yards. Threw papers. Baby sat. Walked dogs. Whatever the gig, the goal was the same… make more money!
Sometimes it seems like churches are asking, “How can we raise (or make) more money?”
• Let’s have a bake sale.
• Let’s do a garage sale.
• Let’s hire a guy to do a three year fundraiser.
• Let’s sell raffle tickets.
• Let’s have an auction.
• Let’s sell all our products.
What if we asked another question?
Instead of asking…
“How can our church bring in more money?”
What if we asked…
“How much can our church give away?”
Visit 
Great question!
I was talking to one of my pastors this weekend. I recently listened (Daily Audio Bible) through Moses building of tabernacle. God had to ask the people to stop giving as they were giving too much.
This never seems to be a problem churches have. I don’t know if that is because the people are not giving as they should (I am sure that is a factor) or because the needs seem so great.
Joel,
I have heard great things about the Daily Audio Bible.
One reason our ministries might lack is because our ministries aren’t generous. We expect our people to give generously, but we don’t as a church.
When I’m asking, “How much can we give?” I’m speaking from the perspective of the church giving…
I’ve found that the more generous we are as a church, the closer we are to God (and He seems to bless His church in big ways).
Craig, good word on money! I was listening to this radio show this morning and they are collecting money for a child in africa, at 68$ per year. The man mentioned that a church he used to attend gave away envelopes randomly filled with money amounts up to a 50 dollar bill. He said that the church explained that money was to be used for the community. He said that people were amazed that a church would give money away. He then said it made a huge difference in how he and his wife went about the next week. They received a large sum of money, closer to 50 dollars, in their envelope. They bought groceries ad would look for people to help during that week. It’s amazing how money, when used in the right way, can influence a persons thinking and actions.
Again, Good word on money! This is off-topic but how do you keep everything scheduled? Do you use a PDA or the old fashioned method. As a business owner/church planter I struggle to keep everything in order and progressing efficiently. I am sure others could benefit from your advice.
Kyle,
My name is Sarah and I’m Craig’s assistant. You asked how Craig keeps his schedule. In the near future he’s going to blog about some FAQ’s and he’ll include some thoughts on this… stay tuned.
Sarah
Craig,
I think you’ve hit upon a crucial point in ministry over your last two posts that subtly lays the groundwork for a powerful realization. The mindset of “How can we get more money so we can do more,” is very limiting for individuals in the ministry because it possesses an undercurrent of, “we can’t wholely rely on God to move in our ministry and change lives so we must overcome our ministry’s shortcomings (whatever they may be) ourselves,” whether we realize we’re really thinking that way or not.
The most effective and edifying churches I’ve had the privelege of witnessing and experiencing have had a perspective that you seem to be discussing here.
Instead of, “How can we ‘raise’ more money” and “How much can we do,” their penetrating question has been:
“How much of ourselves are we willing to give?”
When the answer is everything, the Spirit of God will not be hindered by anything.
J.G.,
Great thoughts… “How much of ourselves are we willing to give?”
Keep it coming Craig! Keep digging! Behind the veil lies the raw/real deal! Isn’t that what we desperately long for? That raw, passionate relationship with our Lover, Jesus Christ! Kinda hard to see Him behind all the programs and sophisticated productions! BUT, He is there, waiting to be seen! Thanks for taking the time to post!
p.s. You said you disciple/mentor some staff members. Is that 1-on-1 time with these people or a group setting.
Good thought. I had a student ministries pastor who was always after me to let him do fund raisers, but I have always had this uneasiness about it. I think the church is here as God’s gift to the world to give to it and not to take from it.
Wow Craig, that’s a lot to ask for isn’t it? by the way churches ask and ask and ask for money…i think you’d be kicked out of a few congregations for that kind of talk. and you know what??? KEEP IT COMING! ;0) simple words like those that shake up the idea how a church should operate is what we need more of.
peace and love
Jesus didn’t ask for any money. Why should churches? Give it all away and be blessed beyond your imagination…
One of the first things that attracted me to LifeChurch.tv was the fact that we say that when the offering bucket comes around, if you need, go ahead and take out. No church that i grew up in ever said that, and its amazing to have people say that, especially since most churches have gotten into the focus that the money is for them