Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. Philippians 1:3-5
“In Kingdom fundraising, we [that is, ministry administrators and financial givers] acknowledge that together we can accomplish something far greater than we could ever accomplish alone. It’s a collaboration in which both parties have something to give and something to receive. It’s a spiritual exercise, rooted in relationship for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. It’s about something much bigger and more important than meeting an annual budget.”
Peter Greer in The Giver and the Gift: Principles of Kingdom Fundraising by Peter Greer and David Weekley (Bloomington: Bethany House, 2015) 21-22.
This is a great little book. I’m grateful that the good doctor, Bob Snyder M.D., founder of IHS Global, recommended it to me. Though it uses some of the language of secular fundraising that I distain, such as words like “donor” to describe “givers” to God’s work (the former term connotes ownership and the latter one is used repeatedly in the NT) or “philanthropy” for “giving” (philanthropy was the opposite of Christian giving in the world of the NT!), it contains solid principles for helping ministry administrators and financial givers build fruitful relationships and collaborate in God’s Kingdom. Buy it and read it if your service to God includes encouraging God’s people to give to God’s work.