by Erik Ely, Generis
When it comes to any building initiative or project you must engage high capacity givers, those that God has blessed in an unusual way financially. A majority of your funding for your building project will come from the people in your church that fall into this category. We find that Pastors have many misconceptions about this group of High Capacity givers in their church. Here are a few of the most common oneās
Myth #1 High Capacity givers have it all together because they have money.
Many Pastors feel this way because of the type of house someone lives in or the toys that they can afford or the type of car that they drive must mean that a High Capacity Giver has life all together. That if they appear to be living the American dream, plus some, that their spiritual life must reflect their financial life. Solomon found out the hard way not to judge someone by his or her outward appearance. When he went to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel he chose everyone else because he thought they looked like a better king than David. 1 Samuel 16:7 says that God does not look at what people look at, but God looks at the heart.
Myth #2 High Capacity Givers know how to handle money, including giving it.
It is true that many people with wealth are what we would call āself-made.ā They worked hard, invested well and God has blessed them financially. But as we have seen in the professional sports world, the number of multi-millionaire athletes that go bankrupt shortly after their playing days have ended is astounding. The Bible is pretty clear about the role of the pastor in discipling the High Capacity giver. In 1 Timothy 6:17,18 it says this: āCommand those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. Paul here is teaching his young protĆ©gĆ© to teach people that God has blessed with means and they need to use it to further His kingdom.
Myth #3 High Capacity givers must not have the money I think they do because they donāt give to our church.
A vast majority of churches that we work with have at least one person in their church that God has blessed financially in an unusual way. It has been said that people donāt give to our church because we donāt give them a compelling reason to give. As pastors, we may be great at teaching and many other areas of ministry, but that does not mean that we know how to vision cast and tell inspiring stories of life change. A high capacity person in your congregation wants to know that their giving makes a difference in people’s lives. If we donāt communicate that, it does make a difference on how much they will give. They will always give somewhere that communicates better.
As pastors, we need to have a discipleship mind-set when it comes to the financial conversation. Our conversation needs to be transformational in nature not transactional.
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