Years of working with hundreds of Christian schools and
ministries across the country convinced me that God is
about the business of doing impossible things for Christian
schools that have a vision for graduating young people
prepared and equipped to change this nation and the world
for Jesus Christ.
At some point, the vision has to be shared and then God
uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways to fund and
implement the vision. This primarily happens through
people giving generously and making significant steps of
faith by their giving.
As soon as our thoughts turn to money, or being asked to
give, our blood pressure tends to go up. Despite this, it’s on
my heart today to share just a few stories of how God works
through giving to Christian education. Some might say these
examples are exceptions rather than the rule. However, I’ve
personally witnessed the truth that God is near to those that
are willing to take steps of faith to invest in the next genera-
tion of students who will be shaped by a biblical worldview.
Consider the story of a Christian school project that was
about to be put on hold indefinitely. A downward spiral of
complexity and increased costs could ultimately kill the
project. The school was an impossible $1.2 million away
from it’s needed pledge goal with only a few weeks to go.
They received a call from a giver, let’s call her “Becky.”
According to Becky, she had heard about the likelihood
that the project would be called to a halt, and she didn’t
want to hear that sort of talk anymore. She said that after
much prayer, she was committing money to the Christian
school project from a pending sale of property she owned.
The asking price? Exactly $1.2 million. She said she didn’t
believe in coincidences and asked us to take a step of faith
forward with her, and that when the house sold we’d have
the money. It didn’t take long to make a decision on how to
respond to this phone call. We moved forward. Then one
day the phone call came in from Becky. The house sold, and
the check was on its way. The amount? $1.2 million.
But, it’s not all about huge dollar amounts.
I remember an 8th grader named “Susan” who came to see
me because she wanted to commit to giving $25 a year for
five years. The day came when we stood in a new Christian
school facility that her $25 gifts had built. Susan was now
in high school, and we talked about how she would always
remember being a part of God doing something impossible.
So many people choose to ignore hopes and plans for the
future and make excuses about the economy, their financial
situation, or the cost of tuition. They are unwilling to make
even the smallest of prayers and decisions to be a part of a
movement of God. Then, there are people like the faithful
grandmother with very limited financial resources who
sends a $100 check to a Christian school every year. On
the memo line she writes, “c/o Jesus.” Each time this school
receives the handwritten envelope, it reminds them to stay
hopeful.
There is no question that it takes solid leadership to raise
money. There is a tremendous amount of skill and discipline
needed as God calls us to advance biblical worldview educa-
tion. But, amazingly, God even works through our weak-
nesses and mistakes. He’s in those moments where our best
isn’t good enough.
For example, I’ll never forget what happened to one of the
leaders I worked with years ago. He met with a husband and
wife who were parents in the school. He shared their vision
for the future and did a great job (or so he thought) in asking
them to consider giving.
That evening after dinner, he received a phone call from
the husband he had met with that very day. Here’s what
he said, “Mr. Johnson, thanks for taking the time to meet
with us today. My wife and I were just discussing it, and she
informed me that what you were actually trying to say was
that you needed us to make a financial contribution to the
school. I want you to know that I was confused, but I got it
now, and you can count on our giving.”
Each of these different stories serve as a reminder that it
is God who equips the giver, moves the giver, and blesses
the giver to be a part of His work in advancing Christian
worldview education. I encourage you to take the steps of
faith needed to give your very best to your local Christian
school.
Editor’s Note: The stories in this article are all true. The names
have been changed to honor the privacy of each person. If
you would like to learn more about how your school can
build stronger support through better donor relationships,
go to developmentandleadership.org/renewanation.
Zach Clark has built on years of experience in seeing God do
impossible things for ministry organizations and has a big vision
to see Christian schools and ministries raise one hundred billion
cumulative dollars—fully funding them to fulfill their God-given
visions in this generation. Living out this passion led to the found-
ing of Development & Leadership Coaching, a non-traditional
service approach helping leaders grow and build a culture of generosity. Learn more
at developmentandleadership.org/renewanation.
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