Three Words that Will Refocus Your Fundraising

Posted by admin on Sep 15, 2010 in Blog, Fundraising | 0 comments

Twelve men and women crowded around the executive board room table. The rest of us sat in chairs along the wall or stuck in corners. Important people had flown in for this summit. Both coasts and three other states were represented. Body heat, the coffee makers, and the passions surrounding the round, glass top table taxed the air conditioning system. Men loosened ties. Women removed jackets.

FamilyLife was wrestling with donor development strategy. Wise men and women urged Dennis Rainey and the other leaders to leave behind the methods that had supported the ministry before the launch of the radio broadcast and the resulting explosive growth. A young, energetic direct-mail expert talked conversion rates, average gifts, and dunning. Another voice touted stratification and continuity giving. Debate rose and fell among these comrades. Anger never entered the room; only passion.
Dennis Rainey sat near the dry erase board taking it all in. He wrote notes on a yellow legal pad tucked in his brown portfolio. He asked probing questions. Every time, the person answering needed a few seconds before responding.
The day and debate wore on until Dennis stood and faced the group. The room grew quiet. Then he said three words which galvanized the future. He had said these words before, but we all needed to be reminded of them in that minute.
Money follows ministry.
I was on staff with FamilyLife at the time. All of us had become too concerned about whether or not the funds generated through our fundraising efforts would sustain the ministry. For a few hours, we had taken our eyes… and hearts… off of why we were there. The ministry had been blessed by God and was growing because husbands and wives were tearing up divorce papers… because father’s hearts were being turned toward their children’s… because pre-teens were being taught to live lives of moral and sexual purity… because moms with french fries ground into the floorboard carpet of their minivans were being encouraged every day… because God’s plan, purpose, and power for families was being taught.
If we forgot to build into the lives of our listeners, conference guests, Bible study participants, and product purchasers, we were going to flip the ministry upside down like so many others. We were headed toward the trap of raising money this month so we can be around to raise money next month. We were sliding downhill toward content being focused on the numbers and not on what God is doing.
As you look at your weekly financial needs for your church, are you risking the same fate? As you think about raising funds for a new building or remodeling, what is your focus?
At LifeWay, we don’t doubt that you have a funding priority at your church—whether you need to emphasize giving more or host a capital campaign. We’re not saying don’t hire LifeWay Stewardship to help. We’re not saying don’t pass the plate. We’re just urging you to remember what you are called to do. You’re not shoring up the budget; you are making ministry possible to infants. You’re not building a new building; you are following God’s lead to bind up the brokenhearted in your community.
Your fundraising efforts can never become the focus of what you do, say, broadcast, post, or preach.
Keep ministering. Keep following your calling.
The money will follow your ministry.
How have you learned to let money follow ministry?
Please comment below.