What to Measure - Part 1

In Transformational Giving the question of what to measure always comes up.  One thing we know is we will always measure income in fund raising.  But since TG is about moving champions deeper in their journey and commitment to the cause, should measuring the journey be as important as measuring the income?  And if so how do you measure it?

There are two different resources I have come across that have helped me learn about measuring.  Each resource points to the need to measure BOTH.  Income measurements are important, but so are activity measurements

One teaching about measurement comes from Steve Moore in his book, Seize the Vuja De. Moore discusses a ‘gathering’ matrix as opposed to a ‘scattering’ matrix.  The gathering matrix is what we take in, i.e. gather.  It measures things such as: How many people attend church?  How much money did we collect?  How many souls were saved?  Etc.

 The scattering matrix is different.  It does not focus on what comes in but what goes out, i.e. what we scatter.  It may measure activities such as: How many people from our church shared their faith this month?  How did we invest our income to impact the Great Commission?  How many believers did we training in evangelism? So we shift our focus to what is coming in to what is going out.

The beauty is, if we are effective in scattering it impacts what we gather.  This may sound familiar since the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9 that those who sow generously reap generously.

Another resource that mirrors Moore’s ‘scattering’ matrix comes from the 4 Disciplines of Execution.  The authors of this book mention lag measurements as opposed to lead measurements.  Lag measurement measures what has already happened. It is called lag because it is after the fact and can no longer be influenced. This is a similar concept to the ‘gathering’ way to measure.  Lead measurements are different.  They are fluid and can be influenced because they are measurements of activity during the process not the results at the end. 

An example from the book is airline safety records.   The lag measurement is 100% of the planes landed safely.  But how do you get these lag measure results.  Well you have a pre-flight check list that you can control.  This checklist is measured while it happens.  And when done properly it produces the desired result.  So the ‘scattering’ matrix you measure is not the number of planes landed safely, it is how many pilots are properly doing their preflight check list.

So for a church, ‘scattering’ measurements may look like this:  Not just how many pastoral visits the church staff made, but how many church members are being equipped for visitation and doing visitation. 

This entry is the ground work.  The next entry we will look at how all this can impact measurements in TG.

Take the Guilt Out of Giving

A lot of financial appeals are motivated by guilt.  “If you do not give up your candy bar and pop, 3 children will die today.”  “Without your giving, I will not be able to go tell others about Jesus.”  And so on.

We have all heard them; maybe we have even said them.  But were they correct? Or should they have been said?  I struggle with the transference of guilt and knowing if it is even accurate.  But philosophy aside, let’s look at this method of funding up against the goal of giving being transformational.

In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 many of you know the servant who did not reproduce for the master was called wicked.  But note the attitude of the servant.  In Mt 25:25 he expresses his feelings about the master.  He was AFRAID of him. His whole motivation was not for change but self-preservation. 

Giving out of guilt is an act of self-preservation.  It says less about the lives we want to change and more about our desire to feel better about ourselves, or too relieve our bad feelings, or too calm our own fears.

Personally I do not feel guilt driven appeals are part of transformational giving. Rather as we grow in Christ we see giving as part of our discipleship journey.  So the desire to be Christlike drives giving.  If our giving is based on guilt, once the child is sponsored and the guilt is gone so is the giving.  But if the giving is reflective of the journey with Christ then the sky is the limit.

Dr. Steve DeNeff is his book SoulShift speaks to the servant in Matthew 25.  He shows the attitude of the wicked servant is one of a consumer not a steward. The consumer sees God as stingy and harsh and hopes to be blessed while hiding in fear.  The steward sees God as gracious and giving and wants to be a blessing to God.  This is a major difference.  The steward does not give out of fear or guilt, but out of relationship and blessing.

As We Go

I came across an interesting challenge from our TG friend Eric Foley in his blog on discipleship. The focus of his blog entry was on not doing all our discipling at retreats or over a cup of coffee.  But rather imitate Christ and disciple people as you go.  Take people along and let the example you give on the journey be part of your discipleship training.

 

For example in the last few years of my time pastoring a church I stated taking some of the church members with me to hospital visits.  I did not train them to visit the sick; I just took them with me.  We all learned a great deal by doing it together.

So now let’s take this same principle and see how it fits TG.

The ‘programs’ we are seeking to fund (missionaries, sending agencies, rescue ministries, churches and para-churches) all have the same opportunity to bring people along in their transformation.  We can do this through imitation. 

Rather than just teaching about the powerful changes of the local soup kitchen, take them to the local soup kitchen with you. Rather than just teaching the church attender the power of visiting the sick, take them with you to visit the sick.  For a missionary serving on the other side of the world you may say, “I cannot take all my champions to the ends of the earth to experience the outreach.”  True, but remember serving the world with a servant’s heart is at the core of the Great Commission.  So show a servant heart serving with them. Seek ways to serve the champion not just for the champion to serve you. 

Allow your service to be a reflection of what you are teaching them when you do meet for a cup of coffee or speak from a pulpit. Reach out to others together. Serve as you go and imitate the heart of Christ to the champion.

Basically we can take people deeper in their journey of transformation by getting our hands dirty and doing it with them.  In this we are discipling by example and using our actions for opportunities to reinforce the principles we teach.  Seeing us practice what we preach as we go is a key way to getting the message out of the building and into the street.

Retention is the New Acquisition

Retention is the New Acquisition.  This is a quote from a good article in the Agitator, Flat Earth Fundraising: Catch & Release Fishing.  This is a quote we need to hear.

I work mostly with missionaries; there are a few churches and colleges, but mostly missionaries.  Missionaries may have mailing lists of 350, 500, 700 people.  Just think if a mailing list of 500 people all gave $15 a month.  This would be $7500 in monthly giving.  That would be $7500 per month without getting one new team member.

However the individual raising funds who has 700-500 names on a mailing list is the same one who says, “I need new donors and new methods for new donor acquisition.”  The response should then be, “You have a data base full of champions waiting to go deeper. Work to retain and migrate this group before we go fishing for more.”

In the same article the author touches on that some of our ‘churning out’ methods on our donor mills to get new donors simply leads to destructive patterns.  So instead of churning more and more what if we increased what, Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay call, donor loyalty.  They say, “Increasing donor loyalty by 10% today, increases lifetime value of the fundraising database by up to 200%.”  In TG language we would say…migrating/discipling champions in their journey of giving is the equivalent of increasing loyalty. 

So if increased loyalty of 10% produces an increase in lifetime value, think what adding the spiritual element of Transformational Giving will do for the believer seeking to follow God’s will.  Funding is not to be snatch and grab, or catch and release, but an act of faith in God.  The fund-raiser who is not focused on catch and release is the one who cares more for the giver than the gift, thus avoiding a destructive method of “churn and burn.”

I want to suggest before we start looking for more ways to raise funds, we first improve current relationships.  Care for the champion. Reciprocate loyalty. And share the discipleship journey with the person giving.  All of which will strengthen retention. 

3 Simple Questions

There can be three easy questions you can have in your mind to help know the level a donor/champion is in his/her transformational journey. To refresh your memory of the transformational journey and its three levels of activity, Participant, Engaged, and Owner, you may need to click the level and see how these are defined.

The individual who is involved and begins to participate has answered the question:  “What can I do?”  This is the entry for us all.  We need to start somewhere.

The Participant who begins to ask, “Who else should do this with me?” is ready to function with the cause at the engagement level.  The sphere of influence is now getting bigger than the person and the project. 

The Engaged champion whose actions reflect the question, “Who else needs to know about this?” is now ready to be an owner and transfer the cause to others. Once the cause is being transferred, the individual has owned it is so much duplication begins.

It is really not hard at all to identify the level a champion may be functioning. Your role can be one to help the champion ask the next question to keep the involvement moving in a positive direction.  I fear some fail to disciple the champion because it seems too hard or cumbersome.  Hopefully these three questions help make the moving our champions simpler to understand.

Too Much Information?

“I know something you don’t know.” This familiar playground chant really is just the beginning. We all learned early that information is power. We may not say it in the same way as adults, but as we grow older the truth of information being power never goes away.

This is not to say it is bad. It is just true. How people use the power of information is what makes it good or bad.

In today’s world, power is accessible by more people than ever because the information is out there. With the web and blogs and whatever the next generation invents, we all know that being informed is not longer an issue. (Some champions in your ministry may have more info about what is happening than you.)

No longer are the ministry professionals the ones who have a ‘corner on the market’ of information. So when we do our web sites and brochures if all we are doing is spitting out info, we are not telling them much they do not already know. In an information age, our champions have information overload. If all we do is give more information we risk not moving anyone forward in their discipleship journey.

What is the role of the ministry in light of all the information out there? We have the opportunity to provide context for all the information the champion already has.

Let me give you an example:

John Doe lives in EveryTown, USA. EveryTown has the population of about 300,000 people. His mom, Momma Doe, lives in SmallVille, USA; population 5000. Momma Doe hears on the news about a shooting in EveryTown. She reads about it in the newspaper and sees it on the Internet. (Don’t kid yourself, Momma Doe does have Internet, I can prove it by all the forwards of cute little kittens she floods my inbox with every Monday.)

Momma Doe is worried her son John is not safe living in the ‘big’ city. So she calls to ask him to come home. Momma Doe has the information, and it sounds awful, but she does not have the context of the information. So John’s job is to put the information in context. He tells his mom that the shooting was not anywhere near where he lives and works. The shooting was in the drug district, it was the result of a drug deal gone bad, and it happened at 3:00 AM in an all night bar. So John will stay safe so long as he does not frequent the all night bar at 3:00 AM in the drug district and avoids getting involved in a drug deal gone bad.

John put the information in proper context.

Providing context is a great way to help your information sharing now move the champion forward. Once the info is placed in context we can begin to engage the audience at an equipping level that helps them know what to do with all their info. Most everyone has info, not everyone knows what to do with it.

So as you are moving someone forward in Transformational Giving and they say, “Why are you serving in that region, the information I read is that they all are evangelized?” You now have the opportunity to provide the context for the information.

The information a champion knows is not a threat to us, but an asset. First it shows they care enough to be informed, so jump on that and go on the journey with them to give context. Then help them act on what they know.

Time Spent

You know how the Beatitudes seem to turn everything upside down: blessed are the poor, the meek and so on? Well, the biblical roots of Transformation Giving do the same.

One part of TG that seems to be the reverse from the norm is how we spend our time. We often think our time should be spent with the crowds and a lot of big meetings. In fact for missionary who travel to churches, often get discouraged when the crowd is small.

And what about those fund-raising dinners? We always want the numbers for these to be high. That’s ok. We want our church services and banquets all well attending: nothing wrong with that sort of thinking. But if that is where our thinking ends, then we probably are not doing very well fund-raising and we certainly are not being transformational.

I know missionaries who Sunday after Sunday have a full schedule of meetings with good crowds and yet they are under-funded. So the solution is...better find more meetings? WRONG.

Look at how Jesus spent His time. Did he spend time with the crowds? Of course he did. Did the crowds produce followers? Yes. But look at the time spent with the crowds versus the time spent with the disciples. And look at the time spent with the 12 and see how he even took more time to spend with the three, Peter, James and John.

The lesson here is not to ignore the crowds, but rather if the message is to go beyond the ‘wow’ of the public presentation, discipleship in smaller groups must happen. Jesus spent time developing a few to influence the many.

There is a lesson in this for TG. If all we do is focus on the crowds and meetings and never work to develop individuals in their journey we risk failing to be ministers to the giver, and become just offering takers.

I had one missionary couple tell me that the last time they were in the states to do fund-raising they only had a few Sundays off for the whole year and they did not get their budget raised. They asked for a new way to reach the champion this time home. We talked about TG. So in their first four months home from the field they focused on pouring their lives into 4 local churches that support them. They attend prayer meetings and lead small groups for these churches. As a result of their investing time in a ministry of discipleship they told me they have pick up over $400 of new monthly support. They have also had friends from the churches give them more personal referrals for new contacts than they had the entire time they were home last time.

Their Story

Part of discipleship others is telling your story. Having a new disciple tell her story is a key part of the journey with Christ. In fact when you disciple people, you help teach them that they are now to be a witness. We teach them to tell someone else about Christ.

Look at Mark 5 and see what Jesus tells the man from Gadarene to do after the demons were cast out

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed
begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own
people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had
mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how
much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Jesus asks him to tell his story. The same holds true for when giving to God transforms our walk.

We spend most of our communication with donors and champions in telling them what God has done through their gift. Nothing wrong with this. This type of ‘reporting’ is good accountability. But it is one way communication. Let’s create two way communication.

The one giving to the ministry also has a story to tell. He needs to tell others how giving changed his walk. You have the opportunity to build a ‘stage’ for the champion to broadcast his story.

• Start by asking the champion to tell you her story.


• Then assist her in broadcasting the story. Perhaps tell the champion’s story in your next blog or newsletter.


• Finally coach her to tell this story she just told you to others.
  

Transformation is too important to not be talking about. It is also too big for us to talk about by ourselves. Get others talking. God likes it when we talk about Him!!

All Can Give

Giving is such a huge part of who God is. Nothing reveals this more than Christmas. So isn’t it interesting that so few who call themselves Christians give as Christ asked us to give.

I was in a church that apologized for taking an offering. Another asked guest not to give. I know their intent is in the right place because many outside the church see those inside the church as only after their money. But look at this through discipleship eyes. Since giving is being Christlike, and this is part of discipleship, it is like saying, “We do not want our visitors to reflect Christ this week, wait until you get to know us better before you decide to reflect Christ by giving.”

Everyone can give. In fact in the world of missionary outreach we face real issues when a culture feels they are ‘exempt’ from giving because they do not have enough. Watch this video and then tell me some people just do not have enough to give.

The church in the video from Mizoram, India was described by the pastor in the video as the poorest of the poor. But as a result of the “Handful of Rice” a church emerged and now raised $1,500,000 for outreach. They send missionaries all over the world. Their gift has changed the world for Christ.

Giving is a huge part of who Christ is. You want to be like Christ, then give. Teach this. Live this.

(For a good book on the fact that everyone in Christ has something to give, read When Helping Hurts. A must read for all ministries.)

A Positive Shift

In the latest book from Steve DeNeff along with David Drury, SoulShift, there is a chapter on shifting from being a “Consumer” to being a “Steward”. Good stuff in this chapter relating to the end result of what this blog calls Transformational Giving. So whether you call it ‘shifting from being a consumer to steward’ or ‘moving into a life of TG’, it is the same principles.

Parts of this chapter hit on key principles of TG. Allow me to quote some of Steve’s insights.

“Consumer to steward is a shift in ownership from acquiring things for ourselves
to offering what we have to God and others.”

In the parable of the talents, “Stewards see the master as generous. However, to consumers, the master is stingy.”

“The steward’s most coveted thing is never the master’s possessions but the master’s happiness.” I love this quote!!!

“Consumers always want to be on the receiving end of the blessing.
But stewards want to bless others.”

Think about these quotes from two different perspectives.

One, is how can you as a fund raiser communicate these truths to the listener? TG needs to be taught to the Body to overcome several misconceptions about the role of giving in the Church. The steward's giving is part of the spiritual journey and is a joy in serving God. This needs taught!

Two, think how these quotes above should change the way you ask the champion to give. They help us see we are dealing with heart issues not bank account issues. Therefore, the discipleship factor in TG is critical. So not only do we need to teach TG but we reflect these truths in our asking.

Help Get a Champion Started

Getting started can sometimes be the hardest part. After all once an object is in motion is it easier to keep it going. A big question for funding today is getting the ‘bodies at rest’ in motion. How do we get the person who is not even at the Participation level to get going?

With all the fears today about money and budgets, small steps can become a helpful way for new givers to see that their faith in God is not misplaced. However the small step in giving must be linked to relationship or discipleship if it is to help the champion move from getting involved to staying involved.

The other day I met with three young men who have a burden to be part of the solution. One mentioned he has always had a burden for missions and has supported missions. However he is not at a point that he can give funds regularly. (Unfortunately many ministries make the champion feel if they cannot give regularly they are not ‘on board’. This is unintentional but it tends to happen.) So he did what we want every champion to do…he found others ways than just dollars to give. He created a website with a vision to help others like him to start a pattern of giving.

Here is a part of his story… A missionary was visiting him once and mentioned that one of his methods of evangelizing was buying guys coffee and talking faith. So the champion said, I could help pay for one of these coffee meetings. The missionary said this would be a huge help and from this small idea the champion was being part of evangelism on the other side of the world. Then this got him thinking, what about the others from my generation who could help in similar fashion. So a website was born.

http://www.forafriend.com/ is a website for the champion to get started. They can pledge a gift, like a cup of coffee, a DVD, a Bible etc. Then from this site the champion hears back from the ministry telling them when the gift was used. Also the site gives the champion opportunity to drop the ministry emails and encouragement. It has the tools built in it for transformational giving. In other words, the gift can become an opening for discipling the champion to greater things in the Cause.

Moving Forward - Part 3 of 3

This is the final stage in moving champions forward. We have identified two levels already: Participate, and Engaged. This step is the Ownership level or the “O”.
To disciple a champion to this level it is the process of helping the champion become the owner of mobilizing others for the cause within their sphere of influence.

A champion is an owner when the following happen:
• Transfer cause to others
• Provide tools for others in working in the cause
• Reproducing yourself in others ie. Getting non active Christians to participate.
• This is a transfer of cause, not legal transfer

The moving forward is not linear movement. Rather it is circular in that the Owner brings in others to the Participant level of the cause and as they move deeper the cycle reproduces itself and the cause grows.

The Owner no longer waits on the agency or institution to move them forward. They move themselves and take the responsibility to move others in their sphere of influence. Reproducing becomes key at this level. Thus making empowerment one of your major tools in the journey you have with the “O’s”.

Moving Forward

We see that Transformational Giving has a discipleship element to it as the giver grows in her relationship to God. Any move of obedience deepens our walk with Christ, giving does this as well.

In TG we see there is progression in this discipleship journey. In the next few posts we will touch on a possible way for the institution to track and strategize with the giver to actually disciple him in giving.

For those who are regular readers of Eric Foley’s blog these next few posts may be review.

At WGM we define the movement of the giver, or champion as we call them, in three stages. The first stage is what is called a PARTICIPANT, or simply “P” level. This is the champion who usually works with you at the follow level:

- Project level
- Short term
- High touch/High yield
- Understandable without knowing you or the agency.

An example is the Christmas Shoebox Project you may do at Christmas. My church does these and the large majority do not even know that Samaritans’ Purse is behind this. It is a single project that is very short-term. It is easy to do with high involvement from the champion.

Another example may be a mission agency’s work team member. They go do a project. It is short-term, maybe two weeks. The project is very high touch and high yield as well. And a team member can go to a mission field and help missionaries without really knowing much about the agency they work with.

Every ministry needs “P” level activities to engage champions. Everybody has a role they can play and the “P” level activities are great levels to get involvement. TG will not happen without involvement that goes beyond check writing.

Perhaps a good exercise is to identify the “P” activities you offer the champion.

New?

Transformation has become a buzz word today in Christian circles. Nothing wrong with that. After all, the Bible does tell us not to conform to the world but to be transformed.

Some feel that the idea of Transformational Giving is new and we have just hopped on the ‘band wagon’ with using the word transformation. Well Transformational Giving is really not new. This blog is based on a rather old event at Zarephath in 1 Kings 17.

Some of the teaching may feel new simply because it may involve your group changing from transactional or subtractional types of funding to transformational. Another new thing for some may be having a list of principles complied in one place as Eric Foley has done. But really the idea of an offering being an act of transformation goes back to Abel’s offering to God.

In digging around to learn more, I found a newsletter from the spring of 2008 that has transformation as its theme. It is from the ECFA quarterly newsletter. This newsletter has some great info about transformation and the role it has in your organization.

One article is an interview with Wes Willmer about his book Revolution in Generosity: Transforming Stewards to be Rich in God. It helps us see how if your giving is transformational, generosity improves because it focuses on the biblical perspective of being rich in God.



Rich Haynie, has an article “God and Asking”. He states:

In my experience, most people do not travel the road of asking for financial resources founded on biblical principles. Yet those asking for funds are in a unique position to participate in God’s work of transforming the hearts of His children. Fund-raising can play an integral part in the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20)—both indirectly, by gathering the funds necessary to send people to “all the nations” to make disciples; and directly, by helping facilitate the transformation of people into the image of Christ by “teaching them to observe all He commanded” about money and possessions.

This ECFA publication was 2008. So maybe we are not so new, but maybe we should be if fund-raising is not based on biblical principles. Perhaps your ministry could use new methods built on some very old truths.

Leadership and Giving

Here is a question that was posed to leaders that is critical for every leader to answer: “If I follow you will I find Christ at the end?” Great question!!

Now, take this question and apply it to your fund raising strategy. I think we will find that the answer is not found in a transactional/traditional fund raising mindset. Let’s take the principle behind this question and phrase it in a way the champion might ask you about your ministry.

If I give to your ministry will the gift lead to Christ?

Think about this for a moment. Does the giver’s investment in your ministry change them, or does it just get you funded. I believe every gift has the potential to change the giver that is how God works. But think how much more we could show Christ if we were intentional about the gifts doing more than simply funding the ministry. What if we built a strategy that treats each gift as part of the givers discipleship journey, keeping in mind that at the end of the disciple journey the purpose is to see Christ?

All of our ministry’s have the goal that the funds received are used to advance the Kingdom of Christ for the ‘receivers’. But as leaders we are also responsible to help the donor see Christ as well. Leaders can help donors become champions, and help champions see the power of God through giving. In giving the champion is being like Christ.

We can help champions see that they reflect Christ through their gift. When this happens we will see the gift multiply (perhaps not financially) because when Christ is reflected we reach the goal of the showing people Christ. So leadership and giving must be linked. We not only lead our staffs and the recipients of our outreach, but we must also lead the donor. Christ-like leadership leads to Him and so too does Christ-like giving.

Why bother?

Ever wonder why God bothers with us being givers when “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills”? I mean really, if God had the desire to dump a billion dollars in your ministry’s bank account He could. But He doesn’t. Instead, pastors teach on giving, we take up offerings, relief agencies send direct mail and missionaries travel the countryside raising funds. Why all the bother?

Because it is not about the money. Giving is about relationships. But not just about the relationship you’re thinking. It is taught in ‘fund raising 101’ giving is about relationships “Giving comes through relationships with people.” Some even call it “Friend Raising” not fund raising. Honestly, if the only reason you want to be my friend is to support your ministry no thanks. My friendship is not for sale.

Giving is about relationships: mainly our relationship to God. Do I trust His character as the Provider? Do I believe His Word enough to know that He has all the resources I need? I can give away what He has given me because it is about my walk with Him not my bank account or your ministry budget.

If fund raising is approached with people’s relationship with God in mind then we should build our plan around the first principle of TG.

Principle 1: Every act of giving is first and foremost a statement about the faithfulness of God.

Giving is our statement about what we think of God and our relationship with Him. And, if our fund raising plan helps the giver see this is true for them as well, then we all have opportunity for our testimony to be reflected in our donations. Helping people give is part of disciple making and even (dare I say) an evangelistic move. Think for a moment, helping a person give has potential to lead him/her to faith in God.

Giving is indeed a testimony about what we think about God. So passing the offering plate can play as big a role in disciple making as the sermon just preached. However TG must become more than money but that is for another post.

The Role of Discipleship in TG

Transformational Giving involves discipleship. This may mean different things to different readers.

For example…missionaries work with donors or champions, this does not mean you disciple the champion’s entire spiritual journey. Rather your role is missions, therefore you may have a powerful role in helping the believer become stronger in her walk as she pursues God’s role for her in the Great Commission.

For the relief worker, this may mean assisting the believer in his journey in humanitarian outreach. You may be the one to help the giver see there is much more in the spiritual journey with the needy than just dollars.

For the pastor and the believers in the local church, discipleship will be much more comprehensive and not so ‘segmented’. In fact at the level of the local church, for the pastor and the believer discipling another person needs to be comprehensive. However for the believer helping his fellow believer in the journey, you may want to bring on board a missionary, or rescue worker, etc to assist in the comprehensive plan of discipleship. Imagine if you are working in a discipleship relationship with a fellow church member, if when you being to dive into the role you have in the Great Commission, you call your missionary friend to connect in this teaching. The potential for impact multiplies!

(Let me pause right here to say that have comprehensive discipleship is becoming lost in the local church. There is a new book, The Whole Life Offering: Christianity as Philanthropy, which can be a great resource in recapturing the need for discipleship to be comprehensive. Click here for a review.)

We also may have some we disciple at different levels. For example, the missionary may disciple a national believer in the believer’s wholeness in Christ; at this point the missionary serves the pastoral role to the follower. While at the same time the missionary can be discipling a donor to become a champion of the Great Commission, and stay focused on the mission outreach of the giver.

The point is: for giving to become transformational it must intentional in seeing it as a discipleship move. We must be intentional in helping the giver see his gift is not a matter of money but a matter of his spiritual journey. And anytime we intersect in another’s spiritual journey we potentially have an opportunity to be a part of discipleship. For some this is a small touch that propels them to deeper levels with Christ, for others it is more intense as we come alongside them for significant growth in Christ.

Parallel Pitfalls

During college I had a New Testament prof that was famous for repeating the same teaching all the time. It must have worked because I still remember it and want to share it with you now.

He said that throughout the Bible and in our lives we always get into trouble with God when He reaches out His hand and we look to see what is in the hand rather than reach for the hand itself.

In the end we really do not need what is in God’s Hand, we just need His hand.

This teaching has guided my prayer life for years. Not to say I always get it right, but I work to strive for God more than the blessings.

As I get into Transformational Giving and teach in various settings throughout the world, I have learned that praying and giving have potential to have the same pitfalls if we stray from a God-centered focus.

If as ministries in need of money, we only look at giving as a resource for just getting funded, then we miss the point of giving. Giving is a spiritual discipline for every believer. So if we miss the chance to see giving as disciple making and just a means to our end, we have reduced the believer to an ATM.

Just as in prayer, if we reduce prayer to just getting what we want, then we miss the needed relationship that makes us disciples. Doing this runs the risk of trying to make God a Genie in a bottle. We must not treat God or His followers as means to an end by always looking to see what is in the Hand instead of just grabbing the hand.

Prayer and fund raising both involve asking. But if this is the root and the only purpose for either, then neither we nor His church will grow. Prayer is about more than what we want or need, so too is giving and receiving.