five TRUTHS for every
DONOR
By Bill High
Biblical Stewardship is the Key to Fundraising and Development in Christian Schools
C hristian educators strive toward the mission of shaping young minds and raising them up to change the world . It is a noble and necessary mission . But do we have the same goals for our donors ? Too often , fundraising is about the transaction . What if we viewed fundraising and development as an equally important ministry ? A mission of shaping donors ’ minds and raising them up to change the world ?
If we focused on shaping donors ’ minds as much as shaping students ’ minds , our development work would become less about the transaction and more about the transformation . At The Signatry , a global Christian foundation , I have found that educating donors in biblical stewardship is the key to fundraising and development .
In this article , I will unpack five critical areas to help donors move from transaction to transformation . Understanding these five truths about biblical stewardship will lead donors beyond the donation and into a truly transformed life of radical generosity .
1 . It ’ s all God ’ s . ( He is the owner .)
Abraham Kuyper , a Dutch theologian and politician , wrote , “ In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ , Who alone is sovereign , does not declare , ‘ That is mine !’” Everything is God ’ s . In the book of Psalms , David writes , “ The earth is the Lord ’ s and the fullness thereof , the world and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers ” ( Ps . 24:1-2 ).
The earth is the Lord ’ s . He built it , and He owns it . This truth is foundational to everything else we share with our donors about generosity . If nothing is theirs in the first place , then their decisions on using what God has entrusted to them will look very different .
2 . It ’ s not mine . ( We ’ re stewards .)
When I was in high school , I worked for a small holein-the-wall hamburger joint — L . C .’ s Hamburgers Etc . Sometimes the owner couldn ’ t be there to close down the place , so he ’ d ask me to close it down . This meant making sure all the other employees did their normal cleanup duties . But the biggest responsibility of all was to empty the cash register and walk it over to the bank for deposit in the night drop .
46 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW