P. K. D. Lee: Effective

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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. 2 Corinthians 8:7

“Fundraising has been a neglected task within the churches in the Third World because of the free flow of funds from the western world…The ability to raise my support becomes the test of my ministry. If I raise funds from some other country, where they cannot see and assess my ministry, the support is purely by faith. When visits are made, those receiving the support put on their best show and the reality of the ministry is never seen.

I am speaking of sincere and godly ministries. The scams of course take the foreigners for a ride. Whether my ministry strategy is effective or not, the money keeps flowing and I have no pressure on me to develop the most effective strategy for the ministry. This absence of pressure due to an inadequate measure of the effectiveness of the ministry makes the ministry inefficient and sloppy.

Putting our ministry to the test of raising funds locally is vital to be able to assess whether what is being done is effective for the kingdom of God. This is the only test that provides both a quantitative and qualitative measure of one’s ministry. To be able to raise finances, we need both a large number of faithful supporters as well as spiritual supporters who can give liberally. So if my fundraising is effective, it means that I am reaching people and they are growing spiritually.”

P. K. D. Lee in Be Rich in Good Works (PDF) 58-60. Lee is a fellow Lausanne Global Classroom instructor with Ministry Fundraising Network. I also count him as a trusted friend in India. Learn about him here.

He paints the picture for the kind of giving we should stop doing to the majority world. We must stop making gifts to places like India that create dependencies, but rather give to build up effective disciples.

God’s servants everywhere must grow people so that effective ministry is locally funded. God’s design is not for church or parachurch work in one place to depend on ongoing support from others.

GTP has helped activate EFAC to help ministries follow standards for effectiveness and sustainability. Our efforts in South Asia next aim to strengthen stewards and set up a peer accountability group in Nepal.

So far the South Asia campaign effort is at $0 toward the goal of $1000. Consider a gift today. And to watch any or all of the four trainings we’ve done at GTP to help grow God’s workers in South Asia, check out this list.

Please, of give to ministries in India or Nepal, don’t feed the dependency for outside funds. Give capacity building gifts to entities like GTP to grow disciples who can to raise local funds through effective ministry.