Second Thoughts About Mission Giving
Sam E. Stone calls churches to rethink missionary support with consistency, fairness, and care for both foreign evangelism and the ministries that sustain Christian service.
Giving & Fundraising
Giving & Fundraising gathers Christian Standard articles that explore biblical generosity and practical approaches to supporting ministry. Here you’ll find teaching on stewardship, sacrificial giving, church finances, donor communication, and funding mission and outreach efforts with integrity. These articles aim to help individuals give joyfully, and help churches cultivate a culture of generosity—raising support in ways that are transparent, mission-focused, and faithful to the gospel.
October 14, 2007
TRIED & TRUE: Faith-Promise
First Christian Church in Fairfield, Illinois, has used faith-promise giving for decades to support missions. Learn the keys that sustained the vision, protected the fund, and kept missions engagement growing across generations.
September 2, 2007
“˜Does God Want You to Be Rich?”
Barbara Rendel reflects on what it means to be “rich,” weighing Scripture-based arguments about prosperity and calling readers to generous, outward-focused giving that serves others and reaches both the poor and the affluent.
August 15, 2007
Interview with Mike Prior
Mike Prior of Financial Planning Ministry explains living trusts, probate, and why many families delay estate planning. He also shares how planned giving through estate gifts can strengthen local churches and ministry partners.
August 15, 2007
Interview with Mike Prior: posted 8/15/2007
Mike Prior of Financial Planning Ministry explains wills, living trusts, and probate in plain English—and why estate planning can become a meaningful stewardship opportunity that strengthens local churches and ministry work over time.
March 25, 2007
Biblical Stewardship in the Local Church
Church stewardship shouldn’t feel like a game of chance. Tom Jones outlines 10 practical principles—vision, leader modeling, clear communication, and creative fundraising—to help congregations build a healthy financial base for mission.
March 25, 2007
Teaching a Touchy Subject
Bob Russell explains how churches can preach on stewardship without sounding self-serving. Learn why timing matters, why total stewardship beats fundraising, and how mission-focused motivation can grow generosity.
March 25, 2007
Five Ways to Prepare Your People for a Stewardship Sermon
Bob Russell shares five practical tips for preaching about money with confidence—building leadership support, weaving stewardship into regular sermons, emphasizing integrity, and framing messages to help people understand money and giving.
It’s Faith Raising, Not Just Fund Raising
Capital campaigns can strain a congregation—or strengthen it. Alan Ahlgrim shares hard-won lessons on vision, broad involvement, wise counsel, sustained follow-through, and confident faith that God is at work.
First Things First
A call for “compromise on compromise”: before churches fund new construction or renovation, the author proposes giving the first 51 percent of capital dollars to missions or benevolence—linking spending to belief while seeking unity.
Everybody”s Challenge
Mark A. Taylor reflects on serving a fellowship of churches ranging from rural “mini churches” to megachurches, and why stewardship questions—especially how we spend and give—matter for every congregation.
January 29, 2006
TESTIMONY FROM AFRICA: ‘You Have Been Stealing from God’
Bafundi Mpofu describes how a Zimbabwe congregation moved from dependency to self-support through tithing—fully funding pastors, planting new churches, and renewing mission purpose during economic collapse.
January 29, 2006
TESTIMONY FROM AFRICA: Dancing for Joy!
A mission trip to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, revealed “bundles of joy”—believers dancing forward to give sacrificially in the midst of hardship. Their generosity and hope offer a lasting lesson in joyful giving.
January 25, 2006
Joyful Givers
Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive—and research suggests generous people report greater happiness. A Zimbabwe church’s jubilant offering challenges us to recover cheerful, impact-focused giving.
October 26, 2005
The Giving We Dare Not Forget
After Hurricane Katrina, churches gave generously to relief and rebuilding. This article celebrates that response and urges believers to keep supporting missionaries, church plants, colleges, camps, and ministries that depend on steady giving.
