1. Give First. “We started a real estate fund as Romania was going through a boom; we were buying and selling property,” Emanuel explains. “Now we’ve moved into developing entire communities—a community feel where everything is within walking distance.” When the Bistrians’ firm sells a house, the first part goes to God; they give away the first 4000€ of each home sale. “We need to change the culture in Romania from receiving to giving. God gave first, so we should give first.” To remind themselves of this principle, the Bistrians […]
Category Archives: Funding Wisely
25
Jul
Jul
Situation: Prem from India Prem from India recently attended a JOG. Welcome Prem! He then wrote: In the area of giving, Matthew 6:1-4 points that “when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly”. I struggle to put this in perspective while planning to give towards organised ministries, where the givers details have to be mentioned for accounting and transparency […]
19
Mar
Mar
Situation: How to Give? Eugen from Kiev attended a Journey of Generosity last year. He wrote this week to ask, “How to properly dispose of funds if the Lord will increase the income of our family.” Lee Turner, who has championed our efforts in the Russian-speaking world, provided these great insights. Thanks, Lee! Scripture: Acts 20 Lee points out that “Acts 20:32-35 shows us that living the Gospel and leading a generous life are two sides of the same coin.” Steps: Discerning Toward the Causes God Calls You […]
Due Diligence and Reporting, Funding Wisely, Spirituality
Thoughts from Australia on “What kinds of ministries to support?”
07
Feb
Feb
Two friends in China both wrote recently with the same question:
Wang Wei wrote, “How do I identify where and how God wants to multiply all my gifs, talents & experience to be godly generous in God’s Kingdom?”
Xiu Ying asked, “How do I determine what kind of ministry God wants me to give to?”
Business, Funding Wisely
Danie Vermeulen, South Africa, on “Should my company’s giving differ from personal giving?”
17
Jan
Jan
Situation: Discerning the difference between corporate and personal giving Many of you run your own companies. You have personal passions. But you also see giving as a way to disciple your employees, or as a way to build your company’s brand. Stanley in India put it succinctly: “Should my company’s giving differ from personal giving? How do I establish corporate generosity?” Danie Vermeulen is a delightful member of our team. He’s served as a pastor and ministry leader. Most recently, he served as Executive Manager at the Mergon Foundation in […]
06
Dec
Dec
Lee Behar of the Maclellan Foundation answers this question from Samuel in Kenya: “How do you measure what you do with your granting? Do you have a good process for that? We haven’t learned how to measure the impact of our gifts.”
Church, Funding Wisely, Joy Giving
Danie Vermeulen, South Africa on “How to respond to personal requests from my pastors?”
18
Oct
Oct
Danie Vermeulen from South Africa answers this question: “I got a text from my pastor asking for money for personal support of one of our church staff. Then an email went out to parents of children in our youth program asking them to contribute to get new carpet for the youth pastor—and the sale on carpet ends tomorrow. Am I wrong to be troubled by these requests?”
Funding Wisely, Joy Giving
How can foreign donors encourage local giving? Wisdom from Zenet Maramara, The Philippines
14
Aug
Aug
A Great Expert to Answer a Great Question
This was a great question from Sarah. I invited my dear friend, Zenet Maramara of the Asian Theological Seminary (ATS) in Manila, for her perspective. During her tenure, Zenet has led ATS from relying primarily on foreign funds to receiving a staggering 99 percent of funds from Filipino givers. She knows what she’s talking about!