For the Love of God: A Biblical Re-Vision of Giving

Last week we looked at Matthew 6:21, and how the use of money reflects priorities. We were reminded that Jesus taught that where our treasure is, our heart will be also. When we give to God, we are expressing our desire to make Him a priority in our lives.

In Christian fundraising, the road well traveled primarily focuses on securing needed funds for ministry. The typical approach encourages Christian leaders to find people who have money and then convince them to give.

The the road less traveled, however, is different. Here, Christian leaders are focused on helping believers express their love for God by making Him a priority through the giving of their treasure.

On this road, the relationship between the giver and the ministry is secondary. What matters most is the relationship that both the giver and the receiver have with God, who stands at the center of this biblical model:

Yet the prevailing model still emphasizes the relationship between the giver and the recipient:

When the giver–recipient relationship becomes the primary focus, the giver may feel pressured to ensure that donated funds are used effectively, and the recipient may feel pressured to convince wealthy individuals to give.

This dynamic has led to several significant problems.

Problem #1: Donor Spin

Over the years, I’ve seen churches and ministries make exaggerated claims in order to convince God’s people to support their cause.

About twenty years ago, one ministry was reporting daily internet conversions in a Middle Eastern country at a rate that, if accurate, would have resulted in the entire population becoming Christian within seven years.

No one intended to lie or fabricate information. Instead, such claims often arise from pressure—pressure to justify ministry work not to God, but to donors.

Nearly thirty years ago, I visited Romania for the first time and met a youth worker in Cluj. During our conversation, I asked him about a major youth workers’ conference held earlier that year. He paused, then asked me if I wanted the truth. His reply surprised me.

He explained that six months before the conference, the city had only two vocational youth workers and ten to fifteen volunteer leaders.

A foreign organization arrived, hosted a conference with hotel accommodations, fine meals, and compelling speakers. Over five hundred people attended. The event was videotaped and later promoted to donors as training five hundred youth workers.

Then he asked, “Six months later, how many youth workers do you think Cluj had?” I hesitated, and he answered for me: the same two vocational workers and the same group of volunteers.

I don’t believe the organization deliberately lied. I believe they became more concerned with what donors thought than with what God thought. You can’t spin God.

Problem #2: Follow the Money

When we moved to Poland, I discovered that many people had expectations of me simply because I was American.

Many national Christian leaders hoped I could connect them to U.S. financial resources. These were godly men and women, but they were operating within a fundraising model they had never evaluated biblically—a model based on the assumption that wealth lies in the West and that ministry depends on getting access to it.

I experience this so often that when I travel internationally, I often speak Polish publicly and keep my American background quiet.

Across cultures, I noticed a pattern: when the giver–receiver transaction is the focus, Christian leaders inevitably follow the money to the wealthy. They are not greedy or manipulative; they are simply following a system that pushes them in that direction.

It goes like this: ministry requires funding, so you must find people with resources and convince them to give. And of course, investing time with someone able to give a large gift seems efficient. As one fundraiser told me, “Why spend fifty hours raising $25,000 from twenty-five people when I can spend two hours raising $25,000 from one donor?”

During early ministry trips to India, I wanted to meet as many Christian leaders as possible to learn what God was doing there. During one visit, an American pastor introduced me to his Indian contact.

When we arrived, we were greeted with flowers, serenaded by a children’s choir, and then invited to speak at a Bible school graduation the next day and lead training for two thousand children’s ministry workers. I declined both invitations—how could I responsibly teach leaders in a country and culture I knew almost nothing about?

My hosts were not interested in my questions about other Indian leaders or ministries. They simply wanted a connection to the U.S. I had seen this before in other regions: leaders competing for exclusive access to an American. These wonderful brothers and sisters were following a pattern they had never examined in Scripture.

The result is that many pastors and leaders feel like “a mix between a beggar and a snake oil salesman,” as my mentor Rob Martin writes in When Money Goes on Mission.

In this model, success is measured by closing the deal. Interaction becomes transaction.

Closing Thoughts

On the road less traveled, giving is an act of worship. Pastors and ministry leaders help believers give as God directs them. 

The goal is not to get money, but to help disciples grow in obedience—to give their hearts fully to God and to trust Him with their resources. Yes, we still share ministry needs, but we emphasize giving to God, not giving to us.

Our goal is to help God’s people give their hearts to God. Jesus’ words are simple but transformative:

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:21

Because of these words, fundraising can become ministry—a form of discipleship. When we invite believers to give, we are helping them give their hearts to God by giving Him their treasure. This is the fast lane of the road less traveled.