Did you know that 50 years ago "church" received 50% of all charitable giving? The further back you go, the more the church received. For awhile, we were the only game in town doing charitable work. Today, the number of non-profits grows every year. And they have moved our receipts to around 35% in 2010...and they will continue to compete with us.
I have no doubt that God can work through non-profits. None. But we must pay attention to why much of our church money has moved to the non-profit sphere. Why? Because they ask. They treat fund-raising like a business. They have development budgets and are staffed with fund-raising professionals. They have become expert at saying who they are and what they do--how they change lives. We, the church of Jesus Christ, tend toward sitting in our pews and thinking that we will get money "because we're the church."
Clif Christopher (Not Your Parent's Offering Plate) lifted up this perennial problem to this stewardship conference, reminding us (like we didn't know at some level already) that times have changed. But he also articulated well what we know (but again, need to be reminded) that we, God's church, are very different than any non-profit on the face of the earth. Sure, sometimes we do some of the same things. But the purpose of the church of Jesus Christ is unique. We change lives through and for Jesus Christ.
We don't ask people for their money to pay the light bill or to pave the parking lot. We use money that people generously share to change lives. As we come together to worship and teach and serve together, we park on those parking lots, and we need those lights and air conditioners, but they are the means to an end, not the end itself.
Can your stewardship team have that conversation? Do they know our purpose? On top of the fundamental purpose we all share, do they know the specific call to which your church has been gifted and positioned?
Christopher uses the St. Jude commercials as an example of good communication. You don't see the salaries of the doctors and nurses or the cost of the equipment, though the healing could not proceed without those things. What you see is their purpose...healed children.
I work with youth at my church, youth who have been nurtured by my congregation, many from birth. I see how their lives are shaped and changed by the faith nurture they have received. We have recently had several young families visiting with young children. I look at those children and can say--children nurtured in the faith in this church will be changed into disciples of Jesus Christ. We make and keep our baptismal promises. That's what your money goes for here. That is what we are called to do. That is what the Holy Spirit is enabling in this time and place. Thanks be to God.
Learning from non-profits is a good thing. It doesn't make us less "Christian." It makes us more effective disciples. We are not becoming a "fund-raising" business. We have already become a people of God--who have been given the distinctive purpose of changing lives for Christ. Let's speak joyfully about our call. Amen and Amen!
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