Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you.” 2 Corinthians 12:14
“[We don’t] do fundraising. For us, it’s about “faith raising”. Why? Because we believe God is primarily interested in growing our faith, not getting our money. And when we grow in our faith, giving will naturally occur…We desire to grow your hearts to be “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). We don’t want something from you — we want something for you. That’s why we encourage you to be generous no matter where God asks you to deploy His resources.”
Steve Cummings in an excerpt of his article entitled, “What are we raising anyway?” in Multnomah Connection, June 2016.
Cummings nails it with this distinction. By shifting from fundraising to faith raising, he declares his desire (and God’s) for each person he serves. Is this your perspective for the ministries that you are involved with? Steve is a close friend and I know first hand that this perspective requires faith. Daily, he trusts God to provide for the ministry he serves. Do you? Steve and I would conclude that it’s the only way to go about the work because in the end, the faith of many grows, and God gets all the glory for the provision.