A Journal devoted to Stewardship!

The Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS) has published its spring issue which is dedicated to biblical stewardship. The leadership asked six of us plus the Executive Director talked about the topic in his lead article.

Please read one and see the amazing consistency between us in our desire to please God first in how we go about our work.

The link is below. Even though these essays are written by and for schools, the principles are valid for anyone in Christian ministry.

Let me know what you think!

http://www.accsedu.org/files/2012%20CLASSIS/2012%20Spring%20Classis%20%28online%29.pdf

Christian School Fundraising - The Reason to Give

If someone asks you, "Why should I give to your school, how do you answer?". Here are some possible responses:

1. Tuition does not cover the entire cost; we need outside funds to exist and pay for incidentals.
2. We have students from low-income families; they need financial aid.
3. Our enrollment is declining and we need help to make up the gap.
4. Our enrollment is increasing and we need funds for our growing pains.
5. We are expanding our programs and we need infrastructure.
6. The church dropped our school from its missions budget and we need to make up the funds.

While any or all of these may be true, they are not reasons to give to our schools.

We must ask God to show us what is special about our school so that we can communicate it's unique mission for the community in which we are located. Then, we show the impact of the program in the lives of graduates and how they are prepared for their calling.

Lastly, we encourage donors to become generous givers and to enjoy the blessings that come from building up the Kingdom through sacrificial giving.

Here are a few ways to convey these:

1. Our school has these special qualities or unique selling propositions (USP's) that cause us to be effective in executing our mission to train the next generation of Christian leaders.
2. Here is a story about how God used the training at our school to impact a student who later impacted his or her community for Christ.
3. Here is a story of how a donor connected their passion for Christian education and how thrilled they are to participate in the life of the school.

We must always think of the consequences of our educational ministries. Why and how is our community stronger, more caring, more Christlike because our little army of change agents are impacting the world for Christ.

Secular Fundraising vs. Biblical Steward-raising

Scott Rodin and Gary Hoag have published a very valuable book The Sower, which trains us stewardship leaders. Here is a side-by-side comparison of three methods of seed sowing:

Secular Fundraising

• Leaders seek transactions: gifts to accomplish their organizations' purposes from donors who have financial resources.

Biblical Steward-raising

• Leaders seek transformation: to help others use the spiritual and material gifts entrusted to them to accomplish God's work.

Secular Fundraising:

• Leaders reinforce worldly thinking through strategies such as public donor recognition that may work culturally but be inconsistent biblically.

Biblical Steward-raising:

• Leaders help people discern between worldly thinking and godly thinking by modeling biblical stewardship principles.

Secular Fundraising

• "It's all about relationships!" The leader's goal is to build relationships with people that will result in many gifts over many years.

Biblical Steward-raising

• "It's all about the most important relationship!" The leader's goal is to draw people closer to God. As a result they will be more generously involved in God's work.

Praise the Lord that we can practice a distinctly Christian worldview, one that allows grows the giver in the walk with Christ and needing to be worried that our school will be underfunded.

If we focus on what God is calling us to do, He will provide resources He wants to come to us.