Make it Transformational: A Blog for Champion Discipleship

I think one of the most challenging ideas for ministry leaders to wrap their mind around is that the job of fundraising can be (and should be!) an enjoyable part of our ministry work. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it! Fundraising enjoyable?? 

Instead most people think of it as tedious and that it feels much too self-serving to be enjoyable. What do you think?

There is no quick fix for changing your mindset if you’re in the camp that would rather distance yourself from the task of fundraising, but let me suggest a place to start…

Remind yourself daily: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

I like how Jack Welch, CEO of GE, talks about leadership in his book Winning. He says leadership is not about you; it’s about the people who work for you. 

He goes on to say, “The day you become a leader, it becomes about them…Your job is to walk around with a can of water in one hand and a can of fertilizer in the other hand. Think of your team as seeds and try to build a garden. It’s about building these people.”

This is great advice for how leaders ought to relate to their staff, but consider how this applies to our relations with believers who come alongside us giving to and serving in the cause.

Might the work of fundraising be one additional way we can pour into people, helping them grow to full maturity in Christ?  Practitioners of Transformational Giving would say so.

Consider Paul and his devotion to those he was in fellowship with. He poured into believers so that they would grow in their faith and be presented “fully mature in Christ.” Maturity sounds good, but what does that entail and does giving fit anywhere in here?

Take a look at Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. He tells them, “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” We can gather from this that things such as faith, teaching, witnessing, studying the Bible, and concern for others are all crucial in the life of a mature Christian, but NONE are a substitute for the grace of giving.

Does Paul encourage giving because he has a goal to meet for his Jerusalem fund? Is it because he is short on funds? No. In his letter to the Philippians, we get a glimpse of why Paul sees such value in encouraging people to give. He says, “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.”

Giving is a good and important discipline for the believer, and is reflective of Christian maturity. Asking people to give is a good and important discipleship activity. When you fail to recognize either of these things, you will always look at asking as a selfish activity – a task to help you and your ministry and never the giver, and you’ll continue to hate it. 

And so I say, remind yourself daily: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!