A young girl in a Girl Scout uniform and pigtails walks up to you outside a grocery store and asks you to donate to her troop in exchange for a box of cookies. Do you? What about when you receive an e-mail forward from a friend or family member who is sure this one e-mail will make a difference? Do you even open it? Would it matter if the e-mail came from your church or was presented as a special offering?

We are daily bombarded by supplications to donate to a “worthy cause.” There are mission trip support letters, school car washes and beggars on the street. How do we decide who and what to give to? And what do we do when the church is asking?

When it comes to supporting the ministry of the church, there may be a temptation to control how our gift is used -- to leave strings attached, as the saying goes in some parts of the world. However, it is imperative that when we give, we place our trust in the Lord and the unified strength of the Body of Christ for how the gift is used.

Balanced Criticism
It is important to emphasize right away that we should not blindly give, nor should we stop analyzing whether our current ministries are effective. Some degree of responsible, critical analysis is always appropriate. The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) teaches us to be good stewards of the resources we are given. We are to take what we have been blessed with and multiply it. We cannot follow the example of the servant given one talent and bury our funds in the ground, nor can we haphazardly throw them away.

There is a tendency among individual donors in the church today, however, to question the legitimacy and profit of established ministries. This is acted out in a number of ways. Generally it results in the church, and ministries of it, having to prove they are financially sound investments that will “pay off.” Extensive financial reports are requested, not just by oversight committees, but by individuals considering involvement. Donors compare “competing” organizations, pitting, for example, one Christian sponsorship program against another. Tangible results or active involvement are required before a commitment to give is made.

The Issue of Control
This questioning, though potentially motivated by a number of factors, is basically a desire for control. In his article “Scrooge Lives,” Rob Moll says that American churches today do not trust their respective denominations to use funds wisely and individuals, in turn, do not trust their local churches. This is one of the causes of the lack of giving at both the denominational and local levels.1  The lack of trust comes from the lack of control. Once funds are donated, they are out of reach, and the right to decide how they are spent is yielded to someone else.

This desire for control is further evidenced by studies which show that 97% of church giving goes right back to ministries within the giving church.2  That is, it stays within the grasp of those who originally gave. Individuals want to stay involved, so they give to ministries within their church or in which they can participate. For example, short-term mission participation is skyrocketing across the United States.3

Implications for Missions
Missions may be the area of the church most highly affected by the issue of control over spending because it so frequently involves more than one set of cultural views on money. The administration of funds for mission work, on the mission field, can be a delicate situation. Kurt Nelson discusses how it is essential to move carefully in the administration of funds across cultures because poor administration can be destructive in conveying the gospel and in building relationships among the members of the Body. The culturally conceived notions of Americans regarding legitimate and fundable projects may not translate into the culture receiving assistance. There is not necessarily a “right” side in such a situation, but it does require a degree of understanding to navigate the differences without offending either side. This is not easily conveyed to all donors wishing to share in the ministry.

Obediently following God’s call, sharing in His nature of reaching out and drawing the lost into relationship with Him, is not something that can be lumped in with “worthy causes” nor suspiciously second-guessed at every turn. Aspects of missions will necessarily be outside the understanding and control of individuals. Nevertheless, we are called to participate in the Great Commission, and for some that comes simply in the form of financial support while others are called to administer the funds.

The Solution: Trust
As the Body of Christ, we are each given gifts by God so that we may serve together as a whole. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:4-8)

Those of us with the gift of giving, give generously. Those with the gift of leadership, “govern diligently.” We are not trusting in individuals to correctly use the funds we give. Instead, we are trusting in God to work through the Body He has created to accomplish His will with the resources He has bestowed on us. By resting in the knowledge that He is at the helm of His Church, we are free to give up control of our own giving.

-- Kati Rucker is a missions student at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO.
 
NOTES
1. Rob Moll, “Scrooge Lives! Why We’re Not Putting More in the Offering Plate and What We Can Do About It,” Christianity Today, 12 December 2008, 27.
2. ibid
3. David Livermore, Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006).
4. Kurt Nelson, “The Effective Use of Financial Resources in Missions Partnerships: Reducing the Dangers of Financial Dependency,” EMQ, April 2006.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Livermore, David A. Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006.
Moll, Rob. “Scrooge Lives! Why We’re Not Putting More in the Offering Plate and What We Can Do About It,” Christianity Today, 12 December 2008, 24-29.
Nelson, Kurt. “The Effective Use of Financial Resources in Missions Partnerships: Reducing the Dangers of Financial Dependency,” EMQ, April 2006, 228-236.