Greetings all,
It's that time of the year when many church plants and Christian organisations are looking hard at their finances and working out how best to provide for the needs of the coming financial year. For many of you this will involve giving campaigns and renewed efforts to build financial as well as prayer support (It has for Geneva Push – you can financially support your network here!).
But as in every aspect of our lives, there is a worldly way to raise funds and a Christian way. It's obviously not just about getting people to give you money. Church planter Andrew Heard says the goal is growing generous hearts in your congregations. What he calls a, 'Why wouldn't you?” attitude. People involved in supporting church planting financially should be doing so because they believe they are partnering in advancing the Kingdom, not out of misplaced guilt or even moral responsibility. What you, and we, provide is an opportunity to serve when we provide them the chance to give.
That's why this month we've been devoting our site to the finer theological and practical points related to giving. Here are some of the fresh, Australian-generated resources at your fingertips:
The Rod Irvine collection
Rod Irvine is an experienced pastor and acknowledge expert in fundraising for churches, as well as the author of the Christian giving handbook, Giving Generously. We've worked with Rod to provide a wide range of resource for you to benefit from.
- The 'M' word – Al Stewart interviews Rod alongside of Stuart Starr about the key points that should shape the way you talk about money with your church.
- Six key principles when talking about money – Time poor? We've summarised the excellent hour long webinar about in a nifty article for you.
- Generous giving follows giving yourself to God – Rod Irvine's key points on what giving tells you about the state of your congregation's hearts
- Raising resources for the local church – Speaking specifically from his book, Rod leads a practical seminar on fundraising for church planters at the Multiply15 conference.
The best of the rest
We've also assembled a collection of new resources and previous greats on the topic of money, allowing you to work out how it should fit into every other part of your life as well as your church.
- What do you have to give to be a church planter? – A brief video with Andrew Heard investigating how generous your own heart has to be.
- The Church Planter's Personal Budget – A double helping of resources by Scott and Kim Parry-Jones involving practical tips for keeping your family budget on track and financial stress out of your marriage.
- Creating a culture of generosity – What should your long-term approach be to discipling christians so they become more cheerful givers? Andrew Heard shares his thoughts.
