Lapsed Champions - Data tracking |
Aug 13, 2009 |
As promised, this week I will tackle the topic of transformational data.
This is a key ingredient to transformational giving (TG) because we believe that God has called us to do more than raise money for a budget. In fact, He calls us into partnership with Him to transform lives for His purposes (you can read the full definition of TG on the "What's Transformational Giving" page).
He also calls us as leaders of Christian nonprofits and leaders in our community "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." (Ephesians 4:12) That's a complete flip from saying that we need to prepare people to give us loads of money so we can go off and do our good work, which is sadly the mentality of a number of nonprofits. No, we need to build up the body of believers so that they become mature in their faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ, "attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13) Faith and works go hand and hand. God provides the faith and then with His help, you can provide opportunities for people to work it out through various "works of service."
I say all this to set the table for why collecting transformational data is so important. You'll be stretched to try and do any of this if all you collect is monetary transactions! What then is transformational data?
We'll stay true to form and delve into the Word to figure this one out. Interestingly, what we find throughout the Bible is that God keeps all sorts of data on us! And, we find that the reason he tracks this data is to transform us in His likeness. Let me provide a few examples.
"The Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought." (1 Chronicles 28:9) Might it be important that we know the hearts of our champions? Their interests and motivations as to why they are involved? I think so!
So, in short, transformational data are steps that champions take with the cause that leads them to want to take another. It's a record of a growth step that helps you determine where the champion is in relation to the cause. It provides direction for you to know what NEXT step they should take that would help them continue to grow and learn.
Here are a few examples of transformational data that a missions agency might record: Read a biography of a missionary, hosted a missionary in their home, prayed for a missionary they didn't know, went on a short-term mission trip, etc. Get the idea?
This is where we begin and we do so by talking with our champions. Converse with them, learn their interests, know their motivations for being involved, explore their gifts that can used for impacting the cause, and record these things! Begin your efforts in preparing them for "works of service" that will ultimately grow them up in the fullness of Christ.
