Thanking the Lord for Fundraising

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus

Too many people have told me that raising resources is a "necessary evil" in the administration of the school.

I think these folks have their theology and history wrong. Raising resources to advance the Kingdom to win others to Jesus has always been part of the fabric of the Christian life.

We recognize that every good gift came from God, that these are merely on loan to us, that good stewardship was an obligation and (when done with a right spirit) a joy. The apostle Paul commended believers for their generous giving as they responded to God's mercy and forgiveness (see the Macedonians).

Nowadays we think, "If someone would die and leave the school with this giant estate, then all our troubles would go away." No, they wouldn't. Lack of funds is not the problem anyway; lack of funds is a symptom of another problem. We'll talk about that another day.

Plus, why should our "problems" go away? In Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonica (as in other letters), he addressed persecution of the faithful. He told us to persevere and continue to worship and, yes, to give thanks - in all circumstances.

No, I don't want fundraising to be easy or fast. Here is why:

1. It keeps me listening and looking for the Lord's leading in my work
2. It reminds me that raising funds is not technique-dependent; while it does require that I do everything with excellence as our Lord deserves.
3. It keeps me praying and causes me to praise as friends become generous givers
4. It makes me grateful for each gift as it comes in - I can celebrate the details of God's blessing
5. It allows me to look back and see how the Lord provided for our needs and gave exactly what we needed

So, on this Thanksgiving Day, let's thank the Lord for the good work He has called us to and to remember that we are only a small part of a larger whole.

Please pass the gravy....

Was the Fundraiser a Success?

It depends. How do you measure "success"?

If success equals raising the Annual Fund, then it was not a success. If success means that every school family filled out pledge card or gave a gift, we weren't successful there, either.

Okay, did you get some big lead gift or more? Yes, sort of. We had a family pledge $10,000 This will be their first major gift and it represents some good spiritual growth in the father.

What else? Of the school families who pledged or contributed, all but one were new families to the school - that is exciting that the new families are catching the vision early.

One of the new donors is a young single woman who makes a very modest salary, but she is totally on board with the style of Christian education (classical) and sees the potential of students being educated in this environment. Her first gift was $250, very significant for someone at her station in life.

Lastly, in my "ask" I told our guests that we SHOULD give because we NEED to give. I explained that our gratitude to God for eternal life purchased by Christ must have a way of being expressed. Giving gifts is an important part of our responding with thankful hearts. Thankful hearts lead to generous giving. Generous giving is stewardship in action and leads to Kingdom building (treasure in heaven).

In conclusion, the evening was a success because Christ was held high and His people were encouraged to love Him and walk with him deeply.

Matthew 6:25-33

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

'Twas the Night Before the Ask...

Tomorrow we officially launch the Annual Fund campaign for the school. I am doing the "ask" myself, opting for the "insider" vs "headliner" approach.

The ask comes at the end of the annual Fine Dessert where every grade of the school will give a short demonstration of the work they are doing. I am following the Rhetoric students who will be having a apologetics discussion.

While I will share the financial goal ($225,000), I will not try to break it down into "manageable" chunks for donors to see if they can do their share.

Instead, I am sharing my 3 P's of Stewardship:

Passion - what desires for the Kingdom has God put on your heart?

Provisions - what gifts have you been blessed with that need to be released to Kingdom work?

Purpose - what is the right destination for your giving where it will have the greatest impact?

Legacy is another part of my short talk. We are leaving a legacy, one of generosity or one where we are "tippers" after receiving the blessing of eternal life.

We cannot go into these situations asking: "What are the right hooks or hot buttons?" We must always be looking out for the spiritual best interest of our donor/friends. We must let God be God and trust Him to bring the right resources at the right time for our school.

Pray hard, prepare well; then watch and wait.